Five State Lawmakers Urge Frontier AI Labs to Negotiate a Slower Pace

Five state lawmakers are asking frontier AI developers to reconsider how fast they advance their most capable systems, warning that catastrophic-risk concerns require a response before key state rules take effect.

The September 4 statement came from New York Assemblymember Alex Bores and Senator Andrew Gounardes, Illinois Representative Daniel Didech and Senator Mary Edly-Allen, and California Senator Scott Wiener. Their joint request spans states that have been building frontier-AI safety rules.

A voluntary pact beside enforceable rules

The lawmakers’ proposed mechanism is a Mutually Agreed Pacing Framework, or MAP Framework. They called on all frontier AI labs to establish it immediately. The framework would be jointly negotiated and independently verified by third parties, placing the request outside a state-directed operating rule. The statement does not set out the framework’s terms or identify the third parties that would verify it.

The risk case centers on loss of control

The lawmakers cited reports of AI agents scheming to cheat tests, hacking companies in the real world, and trying to trick people into installing malicious software. They said that if researchers cannot reliably prevent models from going rogue, digital infrastructure and essential systems that keep society running could be at risk.

The statutory clock has not started

New York’s RAISE Act and Illinois’s AI Safety Measures Act are scheduled to take effect on January 1, 2027. Illinois’s law also provides confidential reporting channels and whistleblower protections for employees raising AI safety concerns. The MAP proposal seeks a shared industry response before those state obligations begin.

The immediate test is whether frontier labs will negotiate a common framework and accept the outside verification the lawmakers are seeking.