Arizona’s lawmakers are starting to take AI legislation seriously, and not a moment too soon.

GOP lawmakers in the state House announced this week the creation of the AI and Innovation Committee, headed by Rep. Justin Wilmeth. It’s not clear yet exactly what legislation the committee hopes to advance, but lawmakers appeared to grasp how important AI regulations will be in the coming years.

Wilmeth said he wants the committee to be a “forum where experts, industry leaders, and members of the public can share their perspectives, knowledge, and concerns so we can create informed and effective legislation.”

Arizona lawmakers have dipped their toes into AI regulations before, including a few bills last year focused on deepfakes and the use of AI in health insurance claims, but they haven’t tackled a wide range of issues raised by AI.

Without clear rules from the Legislature, cities and counties have dealt with AI and the data centers that power AI on their own terms, while state officials stake out their own positions on AI policies and the Trump administration ramps up a nationwide effort to lead the global AI race.

Meanwhile, AI companies are pouring billions of dollars into data centers in Arizona and local communities are rebelling against the unknown consequences of those data centers.

On top of all that, the new legislative committee arrives as a battle heats up between the states and the federal government over who gets to regulate AI.

President Donald Trump issued an executive order last month that would neuter state laws that limit the AI industry, just a few months after he tried to put a 10-year moratorium on AI-related state laws of any kind.

We’re using Skywolf, our AI-powered legislative intelligence service, to track the AI bills at the state Capitol.

So far, it’s mostly retread bills, plus legislation to end tax cuts for data centers and a bill banning sexually explicit deepfakes. But there’s surely more to come.

You can follow along by bookmarking our AI bill tracking list — or sign up for a demo of the tool and create your own lists!

Arizona has been the Wild West of data centers for at least the past year.

This week, the Marana Town Council approved the rezoning of 600 acres for a data center, over the objections of dozens of Marana residents who spoke at a public meeting on Tuesday.

But critics weren’t the only ones in the room. A representative from a carpenters union supported the rezoning, saying it would bring jobs to the area.

In Chandler, which is already home to nearly a dozen data centers, the city council rejected a $2.5 billion data center project last month.

The city council heard hours of complaints from city residents worried about noise and quality-of-life concerns, as well as arguments in support of the data centers from former Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, who is lobbying on behalf of AI companies and said she’s working “hand in glove” with the Trump administration.

The Marana rezoning came after the town council passed an ordinance in December 2024 that outlined how data centers could use water and electricity, and required a rezoning process.

But in Chandler, the rules for building data centers are much stricter. Since the city council passed an ordinance in 2022 that made it harder to build new data centers, just two have been built.

Although data centers are the big-ticket items that Arizona’s legislators likely will have their eyes on, it’s far from the only issue playing out in Arizona’s cities and counties.

Police departments in the Phoenix area have been gradually adopting AI tools, but it’s still a point of contention.

On Tuesday, the Pima County Board of Supervisors rejected a plan to allow the sheriff’s department to use Draft One, an AI tool that takes body camera footage and generates incident reports. The supervisors pointed to concerns over who would own the data and how trustworthy the AI-generated reports would be.

State officials are also navigating uncharted waters when it comes to how to adopt and use AI, and whether Arizona wants to give tax breaks to encourage data centers here in the desert.

Gov. Katie Hobbs launched an AI Steering Committee last year, but it hasn’t produced any tangible results yet.

In the meantime, Hobbs said she wants officials to rethink the tax breaks the state offers for data center projects. Last month, she said the tax breaks are working, but lawmakers should try to find “the right balance,” including respecting the will of local communities that want data centers.

She’s not the only one who’s critical of those tax breaks. GOP Rep. Neal Carter introduced HB2199 to end those tax breaks this year, rather than in 2033, when they are set for a review.

But because the bill would actually increase state revenues, it would require a two-thirds majority vote in each chamber to proceed to the governor’s desk.

Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes is also taking a hard look at how AI and data centers affect the state.

Earlier this week, she said the Arizona Corporation Commission made a “huge mistake” by approving an energy supply agreement for the so-called Project Blue data center near Tucson.

She’s worried the deal between the data center developers and Tucson Electric Power will lead to higher rates for residential customers.

Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne is embracing AI as an education tool. On Tuesday, Horne visited the Elgin School in Santa Cruz County to laud the adoption of the Khanmigo tool, which uses an AI chatbot to offer personalized tutoring.

We could keep listing the ways local and state officials are trying to deal with AI and data centers, but you get the idea.

The new AI and Innovation Committee doesn’t have any hearings scheduled yet, and the House hasn’t announced who will serve on the committee, beyond Wilmeth, it’s chairman. But that will change when the legislative session begins on Monday.

Rest assured, we’ll keep track of what the committee does and let you know what the deal is.