Missouri Lawmakers Fear AI BIll Could Jeopardize Non-Deployment Funds: Report
States with ‘onerous’ AI laws are set to be ineligible for the funding – $900 million in Missouri’s case.
WASHINGTON, April 8, 2026 – Some Missouri lawmakers are hesitant to move forward with an AI bill, fearing it would jeopardize the state’s access to $900 million in broadband funding, the Missouri Independent reported.
Under a December executive order, states with “onerous” laws on AI companies are ineligible for part of their Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment program allocations, whatever isn’t going to be spent on deployment projects. That makes up more than $22 billion of the program’s $42.45 billion budget, according to a recent analysis from Broadband Marketers founder Doug Adams, thanks in part to cost-cutting measures by the Trump administration.
The National Telecommunications and Information Administration was supposed to define last month which laws would be considered “onerous,” as well as what the non-deployment funds could be used for, but delayed the guidance.
