On the morning of April 28, Florida's Senate used an unusual shortcut: it pulled the state's "AI Bill of Rights" out of committee and sent it straight to a floor vote.
The special session had been called for congressional redistricting, but Governor Ron DeSantis added AI to the agenda at the last minute. A state legislature carving out time for a dedicated AI bill is still rare in the United States, and this one moved with unusual speed. Senator Tom Leek is the sponsor, but DeSantis is the political force behind it.
The bill still faces an uncertain path in the House. Even so, the Senate vote pushed state-level regulation of AI companion products to the front of the national debate.
What the bill would regulate
The proposal has three concrete pillars.
First, companion AI services could not talk to minors without parental consent. This language is aimed at products such as Character.AI and Replika that simulate emotional relationships. If a service may reach users under 18, the platform would need a parental-consent mechanism. A simple checkbox saying "I am an adult" would not be enough.
Second, conversational AI would have to disclose that it is not human. This rule is broader than the companion-AI provision and would apply to chat-based systems more generally, with the goal of preventing bots from passing themselves off as real people.
Third, the bill sets a penalty ladder. Ordinary violations can receive a 45-day cure period. Serious or non-curable violations can bring fines of up to $50,000 per violation, plus an additional $10,000 for each minor who was improperly allowed to access a covered service.
Schools would also face limits. Elementary students could not use AI without supervision, except for translation and disability accommodations, and parents would have an opt-out right. The Florida attorney general's office would enforce the law.
Why DeSantis used a special session
The politics around the bill are more revealing than the text alone.
The Senate had already passed a version during the regular session, but House Speaker Danny Perez refused to take it up, arguing that AI should be regulated by a unified federal framework rather than by individual states.
"There isn't a mandate somewhere in that executive order or proposed legislation for states to take initiative."
-- Danny Perez, speaker of the Florida House
That view lines up with the Trump administration's federal-first approach. The White House's AI blueprint released earlier this year also pushed for federal pre-emption over state AI rules. Perez is not merely opposing DeSantis; he is siding with the unified-federal-rule camp.
DeSantis chose a familiar Florida tactic. A special session built for redistricting became a vehicle for AI, vaccines and other issues. The Senate skipped committee and voted the same day, giving the governor the procedural speed he wanted.
The open question is whether the House yields. Florida Phoenix said the bill's chances there appeared slim. If the House again refuses to hear it, DeSantis will have spent the special-session maneuver without a finished law.
Industry pushback
The Computer & Communications Industry Association opposed the bill on April 27. Its objections centered on three points: the definition of AI may be too broad; a state-by-state compliance map could slow innovation; and smaller developers may struggle with the cost of new obligations.
"A patchwork of state-level requirements creates uncertainty for developers."
-- Tom Mann, CCIA representative
That argument did not appear to move the Florida Senate. Several cases over the past year have put companion chatbots and minors under political scrutiny. Character.AI litigation remains unresolved, and a Gemini-related teen case reached court earlier this year. Parent pressure is proving stronger than industry lobbying.
DeSantis also picked an issue with broad political appeal. Protecting minors is hard for either party to oppose publicly, it polls well locally, and it lets Florida distinguish itself from the Trump administration's preference for federal priority.
The state patchwork is already here
Florida is not acting in isolation. In the past three weeks, California bills on AI-related self-harm and child protection for companion AI moved through committees; Connecticut's 64-page SB 5 passed the Senate 32 to 4 and covers companion AI, hiring AI, frontier-model oversight and an AI sandbox; Colorado advanced an anti-surveillance-pricing bill out of a Senate business and labor committee; and Florida brought its AI Bill of Rights into a special-session vote.
Across the country, at least 11 states have been moving AI bills in the second quarter of 2026. The bills do not line up neatly: California uses one definition of AI, Florida another and Connecticut a third. Fragmentation is no longer hypothetical.
CCIA's patchwork warning is already becoming reality. The counterargument is just as clear: Congress has not passed a federal AI law after two years, the 2026 White House AI blueprint lacks enforceable statutory language, and state lawmakers have concrete voter concerns to answer.
The result is that states are moving first. AI companies have spent two years telling lawmakers to wait for a federal framework. That line is losing force.
The next tests are whether Florida's House relents and whether other states copy the narrow rule that companion AI cannot engage minors without parental permission. If they do, this could become a minimum compliance line for consumer AI in the United States. Character.AI-style services would not be the only products affected; general assistants such as ChatGPT and Claude would also need changes for teen-facing versions.
Sources: Florida's "AI Bill of Rights": What happened, what's in it, CocoLoop, and what's next (Florida Phoenix); CCIA Raises Concerns as Florida Senate Takes Up AI Bill of Rights During Special Session (CCIA); Proposed State AI Law Update: April 27, 2026 (Troutman Privacy); Amended AI bill passed by CT Senate after extensive questioning (CT Mirror)