Govs. Moore and Cox join former Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo and former Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb to discuss state-based leadership for AI job opportunities
OKLAHOMA CITY – The National Governors Association (NGA) and RAISE US – a nonpartisan, national organization partnering with governors, employers, training partners, and workers to help Americans make a successful transition to an AI economy – today announced a $1 million partnership to promote state AI policy development. The announcement came during a panel discussion among Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, Utah Gov. Spencer Cox, and RAISE US co-founders former U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo and former Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb about the investments needed to reimagine America’s workforce systems for an AI economy.
“AI is here, and we have no time to waste in mobilizing employers, educators, and government to make sure workers don’t get left behind,” said Gov. Moore. “In Maryland, we are moving quickly to equip our workforce with the skills, tools, and resources they need to succeed. Governors are at the forefront in preparing the nation for the AI transition, and our partnership with RAISE US will give states real-time data on the most effective strategies to quickly scale and implement. More than 20 new governors will take office next year, and our goal is to help them hit the ground running with proven policies to ensure workers are supported, not supplanted.”
“A successful AI transition is one that generates more opportunity, not less – and achieving that outcome takes industry, educators and state government all working together,” said Gov. Cox. “We named Utah’s effort the Pro-Human AI Initiative because we are fully focused on a future in which technology works for people, not the other way around. It’s good for the nation when governors work together to share ideas, and the RAISE US policy lab is a resource all states can look to as we deploy worker-first strategies to help more people succeed in the AI economy.”
“When I talk to workers across the country, I hear the same thing: they want to succeed, and they are ready to do the work,” said Gina Raimondo, RAISE US Co-Chair & CEO. “What they need is a system that actually helps them get there. That is what this partnership is about. NGA has the relationships with governors, and RAISE US has the coalition, the data, and the proof points of what is working on the ground. Together, we will make sure that workers have access to the tools and the programs that give them a real shot at a good job in an AI economy. That is not a small ambition. But it is the right one.”
“I spent eight years as governor, and I can tell you that the best workforce ideas almost never originate in Washington,” said Eric Holcomb, RAISE US Co-Chair. “They first scale in a statehouse, or a community college, or an employer’s HR department. Then, they spread nationally because governors talk to each other and share what is working. That is exactly what this partnership with NGA is designed to do at scale. RAISE US is testing real solutions in real states and measuring real outcomes. The NGA is the fastest way to get those lessons into the hands of every governor in the country, including the more than 20 who will take office next year. The timing could not be better.”
Through its AI-Ready States program, RAISE US is partnering with governors in Arkansas, Connecticut, Maryland, and Utah to reorient public workforce and education infrastructure for a shifting labor market through policy solutions like earn-and-learn apprenticeships, short-term credentials mapped to real employer demand, and incentives to support employer programs to retrain and redeploy workers. Additional states will join in the months ahead.
“Governors are taking the lead to ensure the United States wins the AI race – and that means investing not just in policy and infrastructure, but in people,” said NGA CEO Brandon Tatum. “NGA and RAISE US are both actively working to harness AI for the benefit of workers and economic growth. Our partnership will strengthen our efforts to find the best ideas and disseminate them throughout the country, so all governors are working from the best, mostly timely information. AI is moving quickly, and we need to do more than keep up; we need to get ahead to make sure workers are prepared to make the most of new opportunities.”
NGA’s new partnership with RAISE US will identify and amplify new policy models that help states design and pilot new corporate incentives to retrain and redeploy workers, support people through job transitions, and develop training models tied to real employer demand. The findings will be shared during NGA’s 2027 Winter Meeting, which will take place Feb. 18-20, 2027, in Washington, D.C.
In January, the NGA launched a bipartisan Working Group on AI & the Future of Work, in partnership with Center for Civic Futures and McKinsey & Company. Comprised of governors’ advisors from more than 20 states, the working group is coordinating to develop A Roadmap for Governors on AI & the Future of Work set for release in November. To learn more about NGA’s work with states on AI, visit NGA’s website on AI and the Future of Work.
