The Pennsylvania House Republican Caucus said on Friday that several members are planning to introduce a two-bill legislative package designed to spur new business investments in artificial intelligence (AI) and incentivize new AI business development.
State Reps. Joe D’Orsie (R-Manchester), Robert Leadbeter (R-Columbia), and Stephenie Scialabba (R-Butler) are seeking cosponsors for an AI Development Tax Credit and for the creation of an Artificial Intelligence Consortium.
“Pennsylvania should be center stage when it comes to emerging technology. As chair of the Pennsylvania Artificial Intelligence Opportunity Task Force, I’ve been prioritizing discussion and collaboration this spring between industry leaders and lawmakers with the goal of fostering thoughtful legislative ideas that encourage opportunity, not stifle it,” said Scialabba. “Those conversations have informed the creation of this legislation, which seeks to attract and retain business and spur substantial innovation investments in Pennsylvania.”
The forthcoming bill to develop an AI tax credit will aim to expand the existing Semiconductor Manufacturing Tax Credit to include a new AI Development Tax Credit to encourage AI companies to stay in Pennsylvania and encourage new companies to establish operations in the commonwealth, the caucus said.
“The time to seize the opportunity that AI innovation provides is today, not tomorrow,” Leadbeter said. “We know this kind of emerging technology translates to family-sustaining jobs not just in the tech sector, but in energy, agriculture, and the service industry. Ideas like the AI Development Tax Credit put communities like mine first by signaling to AI innovators that rural Pennsylvania is open for business.”
Likewise, the bill to create an AI Consortium will task members with vetting potential regulatory barriers, convening AI stakeholders, and recommending legislation that both provides guardrails and encourages innovation and opportunity in the AI field, according to the caucus.
“There are already a growing number of start-ups in Pennsylvania investing heavily in this field, but perhaps the biggest risk to AI innovation is the impulse to overregulate, stunting growth and discouraging innovation,” said D’Orsie. “As legislators, we must make sure entrepreneurs and innovators, regardless of industry, have an easy path to doing business in the commonwealth.”