LEHI, Utah — Rep. Doug Fiefia did not ask artificial intelligence to write the letter he sent to Utah's senators about the "Big, Beautiful Bill."
"I wrote it," he laughed during an interview with FOX 13 News. "But we had spellcheck and everything AI make sure."
Members of the Utah State Legislature, including House Republican leaders, have sent a letter opposing a provision of the "Big, Beautiful Bill" in Congress that enacts a moratorium on artificial intelligence regulation.
The letter, shared with FOX 13 News on Monday, calls for the AI moratorium to be stripped out.
"While we share your interest in promoting American innovation and global competitiveness, we believe this provision would hinder Utah’s nationally recognized efforts to strike the right balance between innovation and consumer protection," the letter said, adding: "A blanket federal moratorium would not only undermine state sovereignty, it would freeze progress in places where policymakers are working collaboratively with industry, academia, and the public to get this right."
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The letter is a noteworthy break between Utah's Republican-dominated legislature and the Trump administration, which has pushed the legislation in Congress. Rep. Fiefia, R-Herriman, has run a number of data privacy and tech bills in the Utah State Legislature. It was signed by dozens of Republicans and Democrats on Utah's Capitol Hill, including House Speaker Mike Schultz, R-Hooper.
Rep. Fiefia said he believes Utah has managed to strike a good balance between AI innovation and consumer protection. Utah has created a special office to handle artificial intelligence, a "sandbox" to allow companies to experiment (Utah has a large tech sector based in "Silicon Slopes" the region of the state where they have set up shop), but also taken steps to restrict nefarious use of AI including prohibitions on deepfakes, as well as disclosures to consumers that AI is being used in health care and other circumstances.
"There will be a lot of consumers hurt. I think point blank that’s the danger. AI will be taken to new heights, which is great," Rep. Fiefia said. "But also when you get that in the wrong hands, consumers will be hurt and Congress cannot move as quickly as we need to to make sure protections are in place."
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Rep. Fiefia argued that state legislatures are more nimble and can quickly move to protect people's privacy and ensure AI doesn't run rogue.
"I think this type of moratorium is dangerous because we know that Congress can’t ask as quickly as states," he said.
Nate Sanders, the chief experience officer for SchoolAI, a Lehi-based artificial intelligence company that creates chatbots and homework aides for schools across the nation, agreed with lawmakers' stance. He said Utah has struck a nice balance when it comes to regulation and allowing AI companies to experiment.
"We've had a lot of really exceptional research scientists, engineers, people like that come into the state," Sanders told FOX 13 News. "From a policy, I would say, thought leadership standpoint around AI? One of the best, if not the best in the United States."
SchoolAI operates under a number of regulations in its applications. They must abide by district regulations in addition to state and federal laws around student information.
"That goes all the way up to currently in the state of Utah, the AI safety and policy office is already thinking about ways to make this balance. So we have not felt this overreaching impact from a state level to be able to craft policy to work best for us," he said.
Rep. Fiefia said there is a lot in the Big, Beautiful Bill that he and his colleagues in the Utah legislature support, including reducing regulation.
"This type of piece that's added into the bill... it's really going to hurt individuals and families," he said. "At the end of the day, we are looking out for Utahns."
Read the letter here:
