WA leaders weigh state AI guardrails as Congress remains stuck | The Seattle Times

Democratic U.S. Sen. Patty Murray convened a handful of state officials in Olympia last week to discuss artificial intelligence regulation, The Seattle Times reports. Murray said states have a critical role to play on the issue, and said she wants a strong federal safety floor. The article is headlined 'WA leaders weigh state AI guardrails as Congress remains stuck,' which frames the Olympia discussion against the absence of federal action. The gathering took place in the state capital rather than in Washington, D.C.

The report states that Washington is not among the 23 states that have enacted comprehensive consumer privacy laws, citing the International Association of Privacy Professionals as the source of that count. The 23-state figure is offered as context for where Washington sits relative to other states on privacy rules — the article's cited measure of the state's starting point. Washington's absence from that group means, according to the figure, that it has not enacted such a law, and the article presents that comparison as the backdrop to the AI discussion.

The headline pairs the state-level discussion with a description of Congress as 'stuck,' and the article addresses the question of whether states should act while federal legislation stalls. Murray's stated approach combines state action with a desired federal safety floor, placing the Olympia meeting inside that division of responsibility. Reported details include the meeting, Murray's remarks and the 23-state privacy comparison.