AI grant program

AN ACT Relating to creating an artificial intelligence grant 1
program to promote the economic development of innovative uses of 2
artificial intelligence; amending 2024 c 163 s 2 (uncodified); adding 3
new sections to chapter 43.330 RCW; and creating new sections.4
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:5
NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. The legislature recognizes that fostering 6
technological innovation is essential for Washington state's economic 7
growth and long-term competitiveness. By investing in emerging 8
technologies, including artificial intelligence, the state can access 9
new sources of revenue, create high paying jobs, and position itself 10
as a national leader in cutting-edge industries. Artificial 11
intelligence-driven solutions have the potential to address critical 12
statewide challenges, such as predicting and managing wildfires, 13
improving the effectiveness of cybersecurity, and improving public 14
health responses. Supporting the development of these technologies 15
will not only strengthen Washington's economy, but also enhance 16
public safety and government efficiency.17
Therefore, the legislature intends to establish an innovation 18
grant program to support organizations that create transformative new 19
technologies. These grants will provide critical funding to startups, 20
research institutions, and companies working on advancements with 21
H-1126.1
HOUSE BILL 1833
State of Washington 69th Legislature 2025 Regular Session
By Representatives Keaton, Barnard, Penner, Eslick, and Salahuddin
Read first time 02/04/25. Referred to Committee on Appropriations.
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broad public benefits, ensuring that Washington remains at the 1
forefront of technological progress. By encouraging innovation, this 2
act will drive economic expansion, attract private investment, and 3
equip the state with cutting-edge tools to address its most pressing 4
challenges. 5
NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. A new section is added to chapter 43.330 6
RCW to read as follows: 7
(1) Subject to the availability of amounts appropriated for this 8
specific purpose, the department shall establish the spark act grant 9
program to promote the economic development of innovative uses of 10
artificial intelligence. 11
(2) The department shall solicit input from the artificial 12
intelligence task force, created in chapter 163, Laws of 2024, no 13
less than once per year through 2027, to identify state priorities to 14
form the basis of the grants. When the department evaluates 15
applications, it shall prioritize: 16
(a) An applicant that has committed to ethical uses of artificial 17
intelligence; 18
(b) An applicant that has analyzed the risks associated with its 19
product; 20
(c) Small businesses; and 21
(d) Projects with statewide impact. 22
(3) The department shall award grants on at least an annual 23
basis. 24
(4) The department shall pursue all available opportunities for 25
federal funding and solicit private donations for the spark act grant 26
program account created in section 4 of this act. 27
(5) Eligible applicants shall apply for the grant program in a 28
manner to be determined by the department. To be eligible, an 29
applicant's proposal must include technology that will be shared with 30
the state and provide a state benefit, such as wildfire tracking, 31
cybersecurity, or health care advancements. 32
(6) The department shall identify relevant federal grants related 33
to the economic development of innovative uses of artificial 34
intelligence in its inventory of grant opportunities required by RCW 35
43.330.260. 36
(7) For the purposes of this section, "artificial intelligence" 37
means the use of machine learning and related technologies that use 38
data to train statistical models for the purpose of enabling computer 39
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systems to perform tasks normally associated with human intelligence 1
or perception, such as computer vision, speech or natural language 2
processing, and content generation. 3
(8) The department may adopt rules to implement this section.4
NEW SECTION. Sec. 3. A new section is added to chapter 43.330 5
RCW to read as follows: 6
(1) Beginning October 31, 2027, the department shall report on 7
the spark act grant program established in section 2 of this act. The 8
report must be updated every two years, posted on the department's 9
website, and transmitted to the governor and the legislature in 10
accordance with RCW 43.01.036. 11
(2) The report must identify the: Priorities identified for the 12
reporting period; number of applications received by the department; 13
number and amount of grants awarded; types of projects supported by 14
the grants; and source of revenues for the grants.15
NEW SECTION. Sec. 4. A new section is added to chapter 43.330 16
RCW to read as follows: 17
(1) The spark act grant program account is created in the custody 18
of the state treasurer. Revenues to the account consist of 19
appropriation by the legislature, donated funds from private and 20
public sources, federal funding, and all other sources deposited in 21
the fund. 22
(2) Expenditures from the account may be used only for the spark 23
act grant program under section 2 of this act, including 24
administrative expenses. Only the director of the department, or the 25
director's designee, may authorize expenditures from the account. The 26
account is subject to the allotment procedures under chapter 43.88 27
RCW, but an appropriation is not required for expenditures.28
Sec. 5. 2024 c 163 s 2 (uncodified) is amended to read as 29
follows: 30
(1) Subject to the availability of amounts appropriated for this 31
specific purpose, a task force to assess current uses and trends and 32
make recommendations to the legislature regarding guidelines and 33
potential legislation for the use of artificial intelligence systems 34
is established. 35
(2) The task force is composed of an executive committee 36
consisting of members as provided in this subsection.37
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(a) The president of the senate shall appoint one member from 1
each of the two largest caucuses of the senate. 2
(b) The speaker of the house of representatives shall appoint one 3
member from each of the two largest caucuses of the house of 4
representatives. 5
(c) The attorney general shall appoint the following members, 6
selecting only individuals with experience in technology policy:7
(i) One member from the office of the governor;8
(ii) One member from the office of the attorney general;9
(iii) One member from Washington technology solutions;10
(iv) One member from the Washington state auditor;11
(v) One member representing universities or research institutions 12
that are experts in the design and effect of an algorithmic system;13
(vi) One member representing private technology industry groups;14
(vii) One member representing business associations;15
(viii) Three members representing community advocate 16
organizations that represent communities that are disproportionately 17
vulnerable to being harmed by algorithmic bias; 18
(ix) One member representing the LGBTQ+ community;19
(x) One member representing the retail industry;20
(xi) One member representing the hospitality industry;21
(xii) One member representing statewide labor organizations; and22
(xiii) One member representing public safety. 23
(d) The task force may meet in person or by telephone conference 24
call, videoconference, or other similar telecommunications method, or 25
a combination of such methods. 26
(e) The executive committee may convene subcommittees to advise 27
the task force on the recommendations and findings set out in 28
subsection (4) of this section. 29
(i) The executive committee shall define the scope of activity 30
and subject matter focus required of the subcommittees including, but 31
not limited to: Education and workforce development; public safety 32
and ethics; health care and accessibility; labor; government and 33
public sector efficiency; state security and cybersecurity; consumer 34
protection and privacy; and industry and innovation.35
(ii) Subcommittees and their members may be invited to 36
participate on an ongoing, recurring, or one-time basis.37
(iii) The executive committee in collaboration with the attorney 38
general shall appoint members to the subcommittees that must be 39
comprised of industry participants, subject matter experts, 40
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representatives of federally recognized tribes, or other relevant 1
stakeholders. 2
(iv) Each subcommittee must contain at least one member 3
possessing relevant industry expertise and at least one member from 4
an advocacy organization that represents communities that are 5
disproportionately vulnerable to being harmed by algorithmic bias 6
including, but not limited to: African American; Hispanic American; 7
Native American; Asian American; Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander 8
communities; religious minorities; individuals with disabilities; and 9
other vulnerable communities. 10
(v) Meeting summaries and reports delivered by the subcommittees 11
to the executive committee must be made available on the attorney 12
general's website within 30 days of delivery. 13
(vi) The executive committee shall identify and direct the 14
appropriate subcommittee to provide input, no less than once per 15
year, to assist the department of commerce in the identification of 16
state priorities to form the basis of the spark act grants that will 17
promote the economic development of innovative uses of artificial 18
intelligence, pursuant to section 2 of this act.19
(3) The office of the attorney general must administer and 20
provide staff support for the task force. The office of the attorney 21
general may, when deemed necessary by the task force, retain 22
consultants to provide data analysis, research, recommendations, 23
training, and other services to the task force for the purposes 24
provided in subsection (4) of this section. The office of the 25
attorney general may work with the task force to determine 26
appropriate subcommittees as needed. 27
(4) The executive committee and subcommittees of the task force 28
shall examine the development and use of artificial intelligence by 29
private and public sector entities and make recommendations to the 30
legislature regarding guidelines and potential legislation for the 31
use and regulation of artificial intelligence systems to protect 32
Washingtonians' safety, privacy, and civil and intellectual property 33
rights. The task force findings and recommendations must include:34
(a) A literature review of public policy issues with artificial 35
intelligence, including benefits and risks to the public broadly, 36
historically excluded communities, and other identifiable groups, 37
racial equity considerations, workforce impacts, and ethical 38
concerns; 39
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(b) A review of existing protections under state and federal law 1
for individual data and privacy rights, safety, civil rights, and 2
intellectual property rights, and how federal, state, and local laws 3
relating to artificial intelligence align, differ, conflict, and 4
interact across levels of government; 5
(c) A recommended set of guiding principles for artificial 6
intelligence use informed by standards established by relevant 7
bodies, including recommending a definition for ethical artificial 8
intelligence and guiding principles; 9
(d) Identification of high-risk uses of artificial intelligence, 10
including those that may negatively affect safety or fundamental 11
rights; 12
(e) Opportunities to support and promote the innovation of 13
artificial intelligence technologies through grants and incentives;14
(f) Recommendations on appropriate uses of and limitations on the 15
use of artificial intelligence by state and local governments and the 16
private sector; 17
(g) Recommendations relating to the appropriate and legal use of 18
training data; 19
(h) Algorithmic discrimination issues which may occur when 20
artificial intelligence systems are used and contribute to 21
unjustified differential treatment or impacts disfavoring people on 22
the basis of race, color, national origin, citizen or immigration 23
status, families with children, creed, religious belief or 24
affiliation, sex, marital status, the presence of any sensory, 25
mental, or physical disability, age, honorably discharged veteran or 26
military status, sexual orientation, gender expression or gender 27
identity, or any other protected class under RCW 49.60.010 and 28
recommendations to mitigate and protect against algorithmic 29
discrimination; 30
(i) Recommendations on minimizing unlawful discriminatory or 31
biased outputs or applications; 32
(j) Recommendations on prioritizing transparency so that the 33
behavior and functional components artificial intelligence can be 34
understood in order to enable the identification of performance 35
issues, safety and privacy concerns, biases, exclusionary practices, 36
and unintended outcomes; 37
(k) Racial equity issues posed by artificial intelligence systems 38
and ways to mitigate the concerns to build equity into the systems;39
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(l) Civil liberties issues posed by artificial intelligence 1
systems and civil rights and civil liberties protections to be 2
incorporated into artificial intelligence systems; 3
(m) Recommendations as to how the state should educate the public 4
on the development and use of artificial intelligence, including 5
information about data privacy and security, data collection and 6
retention practices, use of individual data in machine learning, and 7
intellectual property considerations regarding generative artificial 8
intelligence; 9
(n) A review of protections of personhood, including replicas of 10
voice or likeness, in typical contract structures, and a review of 11
artificial intelligence tools used to support employment decisions;12
(o) Proposed state guidelines for the use of artificial 13
intelligence to inform the development, deployment, and use of 14
artificial intelligence systems to: 15
(i) Retain appropriate human agency and oversight;16
(ii) Be subject to internal and external security testing of 17
systems before public release for high-risk artificial intelligence 18
systems; 19
(iii) Protect data privacy and security; 20
(iv) Promote appropriate transparency for consumers when they 21
interact with artificial intelligence systems or products created by 22
artificial intelligence; and 23
(v) Ensure accountability, considering oversight, impact 24
assessment, auditability, and due diligence mechanisms;25
(p) A review of existing civil and criminal remedies for 26
addressing potential harms resulting from the use of artificial 27
intelligence systems and recommendations, if needed, for new means of 28
enforcement and remedies; and 29
(q) Recommendations for establishing an ongoing committee that 30
must study emerging technologies not limited to artificial 31
technology. 32
(5) The executive committee of the task force must hold its first 33
meeting within 45 days of final appointments to the task force and 34
must meet at least twice each year thereafter. The task force must 35
submit reports to the governor and the appropriate committees of the 36
legislature detailing its findings and recommendations. A preliminary 37
report must be delivered by December 31, 2024, an interim report by 38
December 1, 2025, and a final report by July 1, 2026. Meeting 39
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summaries must be posted to the website of the attorney general's 1
office within 30 days of any meeting by the task force.2
(6) Legislative members of the task force shall be reimbursed for 3
travel expenses in accordance with RCW 44.04.120. Nonlegislative 4
members are not entitled to be reimbursed for travel expenses if they 5
are elected officials or are participating on behalf of an employer, 6
governmental entity, or other organization. Any reimbursement for 7
other nonlegislative members is subject to chapter 43.03 RCW.8
(7) To ensure that the task force has diverse and inclusive 9
representation of those affected by its work, task force members, 10
including subcommittee members, whose participation in the task force 11
may be hampered by financial hardship and may be compensated as 12
provided in RCW 43.03.220. 13
(8) The definitions in this subsection apply throughout this 14
section unless the context clearly requires otherwise.15
(a) "Artificial intelligence" means the use of machine learning 16
and related technologies that use data to train statistical models 17
for the purpose of enabling computer systems to perform tasks 18
normally associated with human intelligence or perception, such as 19
computer vision, speech or natural language processing, and content 20
generation. 21
(b) "Generative artificial intelligence" means an artificial 22
intelligence system that generates novel data or content based on a 23
foundation model. 24
(c) "Machine learning" means the process by which artificial 25
intelligence is developed using data and algorithms to draw 26
inferences therefrom to automatically adapt or improve its accuracy 27
without explicit programming. 28
(d) "Training data" means labeled data that is used to teach 29
artificial intelligence models or machine learning algorithms to make 30
proper decisions. Training data may include, but is not limited to, 31
annotated text, images, video, or audio. 32
(9) This section expires June 30, 2027. 33
NEW SECTION. Sec. 6. This act may be known and cited as the 34
spark act.35
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