Chamber Warns Colorado AI Rules Could Be Broadest in U.S.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce has told the Colorado Department of Law that the state's Automated Decision-Making Technology Act, SB 26-189, "could be interpreted more broadly than any ADMT law in the United States or globally."

The warning came in formal pre-rulemaking comments responding to the Department's request for informal input on implementing two laws: the ADMT Act and HB 26-1263, the Chatbot Safety Act.

The Chamber, which describes itself as the world's largest business federation, says it represents more than three million businesses of all sizes, sectors, and regions, along with state and local chambers of commerce and industry associations.

The group positioned itself as neither an opponent of AI regulation nor a cheerleader for unrestricted deployment. "The Chamber strongly supports the responsible development and deployment of artificial intelligence and automated decision-making technologies," the comments state. "We believe that well-designed regulations can protect consumers while enabling businesses to innovate and compete."

The objection is about scope, not principle. The Chamber argues that, as currently written, the ADMT Act's language reaches farther than any comparable statute domestically or abroad. The concern carries weight because Colorado is writing the rules that will define how the statute operates in practice. Broad statutory language paired with broad implementing rules could set a compliance benchmark that exceeds anything companies face elsewhere in the United States or globally.

The Chamber did not stop at criticism. Its filing signals a preference for rules that keep the statutes workable: regulations that protect consumers without stretching definitions of automated decision-making to cover ordinary business software.

Colorado's rulemaking process is still in its informal, pre-rulemaking stage. The Department of Law sought input before drafting formal rules, and the Chamber's submission is part of that record. How the Department responds to scope concerns from the country's largest business lobby will shape the compliance burden for companies using automated decision systems and chatbots in the state.

The Chamber's intervention suggests the fight over Colorado's AI laws is shifting from the legislature to the regulatory arena, where definitions written into rule could determine whether the ADMT Act becomes a national outlier or a workable template.