Virginia Lawmaker Reveals Plan to Regulate AI in Healthcare and Beyond in 2026: An Interview With Delegate Michelle Maldonado
With Democrats taking full control of Virginia’s state government in the recent off-year election, lawmakers who have been stymied by the outgoing Republican governor’s vetoes are now eyeing the opportunity to set up new legal guardrails around the use of artificial intelligence in 2026. In an interview with Fisher Phillips, State Delegate Michelle Maldonado (D), the chief sponsor of a 2025 bill that would have required developers and deployers of AI technology to take steps to protect users from discrimination, said she will reintroduce a narrower version of that legislation focusing on the healthcare sector when the Commonwealth convenes again next year . Here’s what businesses in Virginia – and across the country – should be watching for. AI Moratorium Threats The shifting environment presented by recent federal threats to block or discourage states from enacting artificial intelligence legislation required a change in approach from state lawmakers, Maldonado said in a November 14 c...