SB 293 — An Act providing for a report on artificial intelligence in the workforce; and imposing duties on the Department of Labor and Industry and Department of Community and Economic Development.

PRINTER'S NO.   774

                   THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA



                       SENATE BILL
                       No. 293
                                               Session of
                                                 2025

     INTRODUCED BY HUGHES, PHILLIPS-HILL, SANTARSIERO, TARTAGLIONE,
        HAYWOOD, KANE, COSTA, SAVAL, BROWN AND CAPPELLETTI,
        MAY 12, 2025

     REFERRED TO LABOR AND INDUSTRY, MAY 12, 2025


                                   AN ACT
 1   Providing for a report on artificial intelligence in the
 2      workforce; and imposing duties on the Department of Labor and
 3      Industry and Department of Community and Economic
 4      Development.
 5      The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
 6   hereby enacts as follows:
 7   Section 1.   Short title.
 8      This act shall be known and may be cited as the Artificial
 9   Intelligence Workforce Impact Act.
10   Section 2.   Findings and declarations.
11      The General Assembly finds and declares as follows:
12          (1)   The field of artificial intelligence is evolving
13      quickly and has the potential to disrupt jobs. It is
14      imperative to prepare the workforce in this Commonwealth to
15      develop and work alongside this new technology and mitigate
16      job displacement.
17          (2)   To prepare for the growth, development and
18      deployment of artificial intelligence, the Commonwealth needs
 1      a proactive approach that includes identifying the following:
 2                (i)    Data and data access necessary to properly
 3          analyze the impact of artificial intelligence on the
 4          workforce in this Commonwealth.
 5                (ii)    Industries in this Commonwealth projected to be
 6          most impacted by artificial intelligence.
 7                (iii)    Opportunities for Commonwealth workers and
 8          other stakeholders to influence the impact of artificial
 9          intelligence across industries in this Commonwealth.
10                (iv)    Demographics of those whose career
11          opportunities are most likely to be affected by growth of
12          artificial intelligence.
13                (v)    The skills, expertise and education needed to
14          develop, operate or work alongside artificial
15          intelligence.
16                (vi)    Methods to ensure that necessary skills,
17          expertise and education are accessible to all segments of
18          the current and future workforce.
19   Section 3.   Definitions.
20      The following words and phrases when used in this act shall
21   have the meanings given to them in this section unless the
22   context clearly indicates otherwise:
23      "Artificial intelligence."     The term includes the following:
24          (1)   An artificial system that performs tasks under
25      varying and unpredictable circumstances without significant
26      human oversight or that can learn from experience and improve
27      performance when exposed to data sets.
28          (2)   An artificial system developed in computer software,
29      physical hardware or other context that solves tasks
30      requiring human-like perception, cognition, planning,

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 1      learning, communication or physical action.
 2          (3)   An artificial system designed to think or act like a
 3      human, including cognitive architectures and neural networks.
 4          (4)   A set of techniques, including machine learning,
 5      that is designed to approximate a cognitive task.
 6          (5)   An artificial system designed to act rationally,
 7      including an intelligent software agent or embodied robot
 8      that achieves goals using perception, planning, reasoning,
 9      learning, communicating, decision making and acting.
10      "Institutions of higher education."   The term includes any of
11   the following:
12          (1)   A community college operating under Article XIX-A of
13      the act of March 10, 1949 (P.L.30, No.14), known as the
14      Public School Code of 1949.
15          (2)   A university within the State System of Higher
16      Education.
17          (3)   The Pennsylvania State University.
18          (4)   The University of Pittsburgh.
19          (5)   Temple University.
20          (6)   Lincoln University.
21          (7)   Any other institution that is designated as "State-
22      related" by the Commonwealth.
23          (8)   Any accredited private or independent college or
24      university.
25          (9)   Any private licensed school as defined in the act of
26      December 15, 1986 (P.L.1585, No.174), known as the Private
27      Licensed Schools Act.
28      "School entity."   A public school, including a charter school
29   or cyber charter school, private school, nonpublic school,
30   intermediate unit or area career and technical school operating

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 1   within this Commonwealth.
 2   Section 4.     Report.
 3      (a)   Impact study and report.--The Secretary of the
 4   Department of Labor and Industry and the Secretary of the
 5   Department of Community and Economic Development shall, jointly
 6   and in collaboration with the individuals and entities described
 7   in subsection (c), conduct a comprehensive study on artificial
 8   intelligence and its future impact on the workforce in this
 9   Commonwealth and submit a final report to the General Assembly
10   not later than one year after the effective date of this
11   subsection. The report shall include the information and
12   recommendations listed in subsection (b) and a summary of the
13   collaboration efforts conducted under subsection (c).
14      (b)   Required information.--The following shall be included
15   in the report submitted under subsection (a):
16            (1)   An identification of the specific data relating to
17      the workforce, and the availability of the data, necessary to
18      properly analyze the impact and growth of artificial
19      intelligence on the workforce of this Commonwealth and
20      outline how much of this data is privately owned, and the
21      effectiveness of Federal, State or industry efforts,
22      including public-private partnerships, to make privately
23      owned data on the workforce of this Commonwealth available
24      for research purposes.
25            (2)   Identification of industries and occupations
26      projected to have the most growth in artificial intelligence
27      use, whether the technology is likely to result in the
28      enhancement of workers' capabilities or replacement, and
29      level of education currently consistent with industries and
30      occupations identified.

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 1        (3)   Identification of opportunities for workers,
 2    educators, institutions of higher education, the General
 3    Assembly or other relevant stakeholders to influence the
 4    impact of artificial intelligence on workers across various
 5    industries.
 6        (4)   Analysis of demographics which currently stand to
 7    experience expanded career opportunities and which
 8    demographics currently appear most vulnerable to career
 9    displacement due to artificial intelligence.
10        (5)   Analysis of the skills, expertise and education,
11    including computer science literacy, needed to develop,
12    operate or work alongside artificial intelligence over the
13    next two decades, compared to the levels of the expertise and
14    education of the workforce as of the effective date of this
15    paragraph, differentiating between core competencies required
16    of the entire workforce and competencies required within the
17    industries and occupations identified in paragraph (2).
18        (6)   Identification of methods by which necessary skills,
19    expertise and education can be effectively delivered to the
20    workforce in this Commonwealth.
21        (7)   Identification of industry leaders and institutions
22    of higher education located in this Commonwealth at the
23    forefront of research and application of artificial
24    intelligence in the industries and occupations identified in
25    paragraph (2).
26        (8)   Identification of the resources and opportunities
27    required for institutions of higher education to deliver
28    skills, expertise and education identified in paragraph (5).
29        (9)   Recommendations to alleviate worker displacement,
30    prepare future workers for the artificial-intelligence

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 1    economy and any other relevant observations or
 2    recommendations within the field of artificial intelligence,
 3    which shall include recommendations on methods:
 4               (i)    to expand public access to privately owned
 5        workforce data, for the purpose of researching the effect
 6        of emerging technologies on the workforce in this
 7        Commonwealth;
 8               (ii)    for stakeholders, workers, educators,
 9        institutions of higher education, the General Assembly or
10        other relevant stakeholders to effectively mitigate
11        perceived negative impacts of artificial intelligence on
12        segments of the workforce in this Commonwealth;
13               (iii)    to reskill or otherwise offset socioeconomic
14        harm to demographics identified in paragraph (4) as most
15        vulnerable to career displacement due to artificial
16        intelligence;
17               (iv)    to encourage low cost, open source sharing of
18        industry valued credentials certifying the types of
19        skills, expertise and education identified in paragraph
20        (5);
21               (v)    to ensure that core skills and competencies
22        identified in paragraph (5) can be evaluated, updated and
23        made public by relevant stakeholders as needed, given
24        rapid developments in the field of artificial
25        intelligence;
26               (vi)    to ensure that institutions of higher education
27        receive resources and opportunities identified in
28        paragraph (8);
29               (vii)    to promote knowledge sharing and capacity
30        building between industry leaders and institutions

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 1            identified in paragraph (7); and
 2                  (viii)   to ensure that the skills, expertise and
 3            education needed to develop, operate or work alongside
 4            artificial intelligence are delivered to vulnerable
 5            demographics identified in paragraph (4), rural workers
 6            and other historically underserved segments of the
 7            workforce in this Commonwealth.
 8      (c)   Collaboration.--In preparing the report under subsection
 9   (a), the Secretary of Labor and Industry and the Secretary of
10   Community and Economic Development shall collaborate, through a
11   series of public meetings, roundtables or other methods, with:
12            (1)   school entities;
13            (2)   institutions of higher education;
14            (3)   workforce-training organizations;
15            (4)   public sector and private sector labor
16      organizations;
17            (5)   a broad range of business and industrial
18      stakeholders in the technology, manufacturing, employment,
19      human resources and service sectors, including companies,
20      think tanks and industry organizations;
21            (6)   in the discretion of the Secretary of Labor and
22      Industry and Secretary of Community and Economic Development,
23      any Federal agency determined to be appropriate; and
24            (7)   in the discretion of the Secretary of Labor and
25      Industry and Secretary of Community and Economic Development,
26      any Commonwealth agency determined to be appropriate.
27   Section 5.     Effective date.
28      This act shall take effect in 60 days.




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