A congressional committee wants Delaware to show its work in drafting a new kind of AI-run corporation. It wrote to Governor Matt Meyer Monday, asking for a response by November 9.
Letter comes from US House’s chief investigative committee:
House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform Chair James Comer (R-Ky) wrote that his committee is “concerned that Delaware’s AIC proposal could be used to protect powerful AI companies and their investors from responsibility for reckless harmful actions.”
The Governor Meyer’s office said Monday that it received and is reviewing the letter. Meyer added Thursday:
“It's five days to an election for a sitting Kentucky congressman – to write the governor of Delaware?” Meyer said. “We'll wait a few days till the political winds die down and do what's right for the people of the state.”
Delaware launched its AI Commission with legislation in 2024. And it created a subcommittee the next year, which is directed to collaborate with the Secretary of State on a regulatory framework to experiment with possible uses of agentic AI.
This year, it drafted legislation that would allow approved entities to participate in a thirty-month experiment with a state regulator and oversight committee. In the “regulatory sandbox,” an AIC can have any lawful purpose, except for financial services. Under the draft structure, AICs can sue and be sued in its own name.
Requests in the letter, leadership of AI policy
Comer’s letter to the governor says his committee wants “all documents” held by the administration on AIC policy development efforts and “discussion about artificial intelligence and liability.”
Comer highlighted the Delaware Secretary of State’s interest in promoting Delaware’s corporate franchise. His letter mentions a July Fortune article co-written by the Secretary of State and John Nay, the co-founder and CEO of Norm AI, which announces a “public-private partnership led by Norm Ai” to develop the industry framework for artificial intelligence companies. Nay’s company focuses on AI legal services.
John Nay is not on the regulatory subcommittee. Delaware paid $10,000 for consulting to Nomos AI Inc in September, which is the company’s legal name.
Tech entrepreneur Patrick Callahan, chairs the regulatory subcommittee, which he joined in 2024. He’s a board director of the Delaware Prosperity Partnership. His data analytics business was acquired by LabWare in 2022. The company’s done millions of dollars in consulting for the First State, more than half of which were during the years Callahan was there.
He launched an AI consulting business Keel3 in 2025. His partner in the business, Allan Kyle, is also on the AI subcommittee.
Delaware lawmakers weigh in
The drafted legislation offers liability protections to owners of company operated by AI. State Rep. Frank Burns (D-Newark) said he wants to learn more, but he thinks this aspect of the potential AIC framework will, “encourage riskier models to be used.”
He’s skeptical of protections built into the sandbox and framework, because much of the work done drafting the legislation came before incidents of security breaches became public.
He views the AIC as a strategy, “to get more money in through the corporate franchise by providing this liability shield.”
Upon learning of the letter on Tuesday, he said AI concerns are not partisan. But added, “the thing that could kill the (Delaware corporate) franchise is if the federal government decides that they're going to take over corporate law and federalize it.”
In AI regulatory subcommittee meetings, its members make clear that they have their own reservations about AI. And it intends to approve participants for the sandbox who will help Delawareans, naming Fintech, education, and healthcare.
Delaware Public Media spoke with State Rep Krista Griffth (D-Fairfax), a member of the AI regulatory subcommittee on Tuesday morning upon her first review of the letter.
“The subcommittee spent a lot of time making sure that whatever would be drafted would be very seriously protected from harming any Delawarean,” she said.
She pointed out the draft legislation builds in consumer protections. The AI entity would keep logs of its actions that are reviewed by an attorney. The draft says AICs approved for the sandbox won’t do business with the general public. And the AICs must disclose their status to entities it interacts with.
Griffith said her subcommittee’s work is separate from the Secretary of State, as its job is not to look for collaborators or vendors. It was assigned to examine the concept of AICs and, “how could it be safe? That work's done.”
The broader AI Commission has questions about the draft, Griffith said. So, it hasn’t been sent on to Meyer or the state legislature yet.
She added the legislation is a controlled trial, not a permanent change for Delaware code, which is why it’s being drafted in a designated committee, rather than the corporate law council that traditionally handles changes to Delaware’s corporate rules.
Delaware Public Media reached out to the secretary of state’s office for comment but did not receive a response.
