S. 2750: SANDBOX Act

S. 2750, the SANDBOX Act, would set up an "Artificial Intelligence Regulatory Sandbox Program" inside the Office of Science and Technology Policy, or OSTP. The OSTP Director would have to launch it within 1 year of enactment, and the program would automatically end 12 years after it is established. Companies could apply if they are under U.S. jurisdiction and already have — or promise to create within 180 days of a written agreement — a business incorporated in the United States or with a principal place of business here.

The bill is designed to move fast. The head of the relevant federal agency would have 90 days to approve or deny an application, with one possible 30-day extension. If the agency misses the deadline and does not file a decision, the OSTP Director must presume there is no objection. If the agency suggests changes to reduce risks, the applicant gets 60 days to revise the application, and then the agency gets up to another 60 days to review it. Even after approval, the waiver does not take effect until the Director provides a written agreement, which must happen within 45 days after the application is granted.

The temporary relief can last a long time. An initial waiver runs for 2 years and can be renewed for up to 4 more 2-year periods, meaning a company could operate under sandbox relief for as long as 10 years. Participants would have to report incidents within 72 hours if they lead to health and safety harm, economic damage, or an unfair or deceptive trade practice. The bill defines health and safety risk broadly enough to include bodily harm, loss of life, or substantial adverse effects on health, including life before birth or unborn humans. "Risk of economic damage" is narrower: likely tangible, physical harm to a consumer's property or assets.

The bill also tries to turn these experiments into a pipeline for deregulation. After May 1 each year, on the first day both chambers are in session, the OSTP Director must send Congress a special message naming covered provisions that should be amended or repealed based on sandbox results. Congress would then get an expedited process for a joint resolution of approval, with action supposed to finish within the first 60 legislative days after receiving the message. Committees that sit on a resolution too long would be discharged after 10 legislative days, or after 2 legislative days in the House for a Senate-passed resolution. Supporters will see that as a way to modernize outdated rules for AI. Critics will see it as a mechanism for bypassing normal safeguards and accelerating rollbacks across a wide range of agency rules, guidance, FAQs, bulletins, and even rules expressly required by statute.