Ahead of states’ 2026 legislative sessions, Google paid state lawmakers upwards of $2,000 as “gifts” to cover their attendance at a secret all-inclusive summit with “educational” sessions extolling the benefits of artificial intelligence among other policy issues. Lawmakers enjoyed hotel rooms costing up to $500 a night, a party at Wrigley Field, and a chance to rub elbows with company executives and lobbyists, according to public records reviewed by the Lever.
Now, dozens of those same state officials will be weighing legislation on matters like artificial intelligence, data center construction, and online privacy that could boost Google’s profits.
The summit, which took place over three days near the end of October, comes at a time when battles over regulating tech platforms and artificial intelligence have largely shifted to statehouses, as action stalls at the federal level. Google, which boasts one of the country’s largest AI businesses, has spearheaded a multimillion-dollar lobbying blitz to kill related state regulations, most recently targeting an AI safety bill that passed earlier this year in California.
Federal anti-corruption laws prohibit outright bribes to politicians in exchange for favors. However, the regulation of gifts to government officials for “educational events” is left up to a patchwork of state laws.
At least twenty state lawmakers from ten states attended the summit, according to state ethics disclosures and public social media posts, though the event’s entire list of attendees is not yet known. The deadlines for filing “honorarium disclosures” to ethics offices detailing such gifts vary by state, if they’re required at all.
The known guest list featured leading lawmakers in state capitals with the power to set the legislative agenda, fast-tracking or stamping out proposed bills.
Those officials include:
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- Representative Tom Sawyer, Democratic House minority leader in Kansas, where the legislature…
Auteur: Luke Goldstein
