Governor Maura Healey urged Massachusetts lawmakers on Thursday to include binding AI safety and transparency requirements in the Mass Wins economic development bill, calling for independent evaluations of the most powerful AI models and faster reporting of serious safety incidents. The recommendations arrive as the Legislature negotiates final language for the bill, and as states including California, New York, and Illinois have already enacted laws addressing frontier AI systems.
"AI has enormous potential to drive scientific discovery, strengthen key industries, improve public services, and create new opportunities for businesses and residents across Massachusetts," Governor Healey said. "At the same time, the rapid pace of AI development raises serious concerns about safety, accountability, privacy, civil rights, the future of work, and public trust. We cannot allow this technology to move faster than our ability to put appropriate safeguards in place, and we can't let the responsibility for managing these risks rest with technology companies alone."
What the Governor wants in the final bill
The Senate version of the Mass Wins Act already contains safety and transparency provisions for high-risk AI models. Governor Healey's letter to the Conference Committee members recommends strengthening two specific areas before the bill reaches her desk.
First, she wants a path toward independent safety evaluations. Current approaches often rely on companies assessing their own systems. The Governor is calling on government, industry, and academic institutions to help develop the safety standards and technical expertise needed to conduct reviews that are not controlled by the developers themselves.
Second, she is pushing for earlier reporting of serious incidents. Under her proposal, companies would need to notify the state sooner when safety failures occur, giving regulators greater visibility into emerging risks and the ability to intervene before additional harm reaches the public.
A regulatory patchwork takes shape
Massachusetts is not acting in isolation. California, New York, and Illinois have already passed laws covering safety protocols, transparency obligations, and the reporting of critical safety incidents tied to frontier AI systems. The Governor's office framed the Mass Wins recommendations as part of a broader state-level response to a technology that has, in her words, moved faster than the safeguards designed to govern it.
Governor Healey also reiterated her call for federal action, saying that strong measures are needed at both the state and national levels to ensure accountability does not rest solely with the companies building these systems.
Why this matters for government and legal professionals
The proposed framework signals a shift toward enforceable, auditable AI safety requirements rather than voluntary industry commitments. For attorneys, compliance officers, and policy staff, independent evaluation mandates would create new evidentiary standards and potential liability questions around model development and deployment. Earlier incident reporting would compress the timeline for regulatory response, demanding faster legal analysis and internal review procedures. Professionals who work at the intersection of technology and regulation may need to build fluency in safety evaluation methodologies. Structured training, such as AI Public Policy Courses or AI Regulatory Compliance Courses, can help teams prepare for the technical and legal demands these frameworks introduce.
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