Hartford Business Journal

HARTFORDBUSINESS.COM | MAY 19, 2025 9 POLITICS & POLICY "Business needs change from year to year and their cash management needs may have also changed as well." Cash Management Solutions Member FDIC – J E N N I F E R Y E R G E A U, Vice President, Cash Management Commercial & Institutional Sales jyergeau@bankatpeoples.com | 860.397.9014 • Business eDepositPlus • Electronic Payments • Check & ACH Positive Pay • Automatic Sweep to Line of Credit • PeoplesOnline Cash Management bankatpeoples.com/cashmanagement Learn More It was through the chamber that he met Sen. James Maroney (D-Milford), who co-chairs the AI Working Group and co-founded the legisla- ture's AI Caucus. Vitale said his interaction with the working group occurred last year, when he partic- ipated in strategy sessions with Maroney and his team, as well as other Connecticut organizations. Maroney said Vitale has provided "valuable expertise" to the working group. "As we've talked through some of the ideas for Senate Bill 2, he's been helpful," Maroney said. "(Vitale) is someone who's developing AI solu- tions as a small business and has been able to give us his input on the proposed guardrails that we'd like to put in, and that he finds reasonable." Vitale said he supports Connecti- cut's proposed AI regulation bill, which he describes as "sensible." "We believe that sensible regulation can actually lead to higher innovation," he said. "When people know what the rules of the road are, they're able to see more clearly what the requirements are." Senate Bill 2 Not everyone agrees with that. In addition to Lamont, who opposed the bill last year and has yet to change his position, others have also voiced opposition to at least parts of the AI legislation. They include Department of Economic and Community Develop- ment Commissioner Daniel O'Keefe, the Connecticut Hospital Association, Connecticut Business & Industry Association and Yankee Institute for Public Policy, among others. "Being early in regulating a rapidly evolving emergent category with signifi- cant economic poten- tial presents its own risks," O'Keefe testified during a public hearing on the bill. "Rather than being a state that welcomes innova- tion, we become the only state in the region that resists it." Senate Bill 2 seeks to regulate a broad array of AI-related issues. Of particular concern is the regulatory framework the 61-page bill proposes for the private sector's use of AI technology. For example, it requires companies to create impact assessments on AI technology they're developing or using, with the attorney general acting as an enforcer. In particular, the bill singles out devel- opers and users of "high-risk AI" that, when used, makes, or is a controlling factor in making, a consequential decision on employment opportunities or financial, loan, healthcare, housing, insurance or legal services. The goal, proponents say, is to ensure AI systems don't discriminate against or disadvantage people based on ethnicity, race, religion, age or other factors. "The requirements for conducting impact assessments, maintaining risk management programs, and documenting AI decision-making processes will impose substan- tial costs on small businesses in Connecticut," said Connecticut Business & Industry Association Vice President of Public Policy Chris Davis in testimony on the bill. "Many small businesses simply do not have the resources or time to dedicate to comply with the law and may choose not to use beneficial artificial intel- ligence to create effi- ciencies that improve productivity, increase tax revenue and grow our economy." Industry groups do support some compo- nents of Senate Bill 2, particularly measures that aim to boost the state's AI workforce. For example, the legislation creates a Connecticut AI Academy, Connecticut Technology Advisory Board and enhances DECD's Technology Talent and Innovation Fund to expand the tech talent pipeline. It also establishes a regulatory sandbox for AI innovation, to facil- itate the development, testing and deployment of new AI systems. Meantime, a related bill, Senate Bill 1484, was introduced by the Labor and Public Employees Committee and would limit an employer's use of electronic monitoring and establish various requirements concerning a company's use of AI systems. Both bills were recently approved along party-line votes by the Judiciary Committee and moved on to the Senate, which was expected to refer them to the Appropriations Committee. Maroney says he and members of the Democratic leadership continue to discuss Senate Bill 2 with the governor's office. "I think that most of the economic benefit of artificial intelligence is going to come from businesses being able to deploy and use solu- tions to make themselves more efficient," Maroney said. "And so, they want a clear path to understand what can and can't be done." Vitale says he believes some AI regulation is important. "We definitely believe in things like impact testing and minimizing the chance for algorithmic bias when you're talking about high-consequence decisions, like whether or not someone receives a loan, or whether someone receives a tenancy at an apartment or a criminal sentence," he said. Chris Davis Daniel O'Keefe James Maroney

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