U.S. Chamber Pushes Back on Colorado's Proposed AI Rules

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce has formally objected to Colorado's proposed rules implementing two state artificial intelligence laws, arguing the draft regulations go beyond what responsible AI governance requires.

In comments submitted to Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser and the staff of the Colorado Department of Law, the Chamber responded to proposed rules published August 11, 2026, covering SB 26-189, the "Automated Decision-Making Technology in Consequential Decisions Act" (ADMT Act), and HB 26-1263, the "Conversational Artificial Intelligence Services Act" (Chatbot Safety Act). The rules carry the regulatory designation 4 CCR 904-6.

The stakes are considerable. The Chamber describes itself as the world's largest business federation, representing more than three million businesses of all sizes, sectors, and regions, along with state and local chambers of commerce and industry associations. Its filing signals that a substantial slice of the American business community is watching how Colorado implements its AI framework.

The Chamber's position is not one of blanket opposition to AI regulation. "The Chamber strongly supports the responsible development and deployment of artificial intelligence and automated decision-making technologies," the organization wrote in its letter. "We believe that well-designed regulations can protect consumers while enabling businesses to innovate and compete."

That endorsement, however, comes with a significant qualifier. The Chamber flagged concerns about the specifics of the Department's proposed rules, which it details at length in its full submission. The organization's core argument is procedural and substantive at once: regulations can serve consumers and competition, but only if they are designed with precision.

Colorado's two laws under implementation represent some of the most aggressive state-level efforts to police AI systems. The ADMT Act targets automated decision-making in consequential decisions — high-impact choices affecting consumers. The Chatbot Safety Act covers conversational AI services, a category that has expanded rapidly as companies deploy customer-facing chatbots and AI assistants.

For businesses operating in Colorado, the implementing rules will determine the practical compliance burden. Rulemaking of this kind fixes the operational details the statutes leave open: what disclosures companies must make, how they must assess their systems, and what exposure they face when AI tools go wrong. That is precisely where industry groups typically focus their lobbying — and where the Chamber has now planted its flag.

The Department of Law published the proposed rules on August 11, 2026, opening a public comment period that drew the Chamber's formal response. Attorney General Weiser's office will now weigh the submissions as it finalizes 4 CCR 904-6.

The Chamber's intervention matters beyond Colorado. State AI rules increasingly function as de facto national standards, because few companies build separate compliance regimes for individual states. A business federation representing three million enterprises can shape not only Colorado's final text but also how other legislatures draft the next wave of AI statutes.

The Chamber's letter frames the debate as a design problem rather than a question of whether to regulate. The organization backs consumer protection in principle. Its objection centers on how the Department has translated legislative intent into enforceable rules.

The outcome will test whether Colorado can implement consequential-decision and chatbot safeguards without triggering the compliance costs and innovation drag that industry groups warn about. Companies deploying AI in Colorado should track the final version of 4 CCR 904-6 closely — the rules, once adopted, will set the compliance baseline for automated decision systems and conversational AI services across the state.