House Oversight chair Comer probes Delaware's plan for companies run by AI agents

House Oversight chairman James Comer has opened an inquiry into Delaware's plan for a new corporate form, the Artificial Intelligence Company (AIC), which would be run day to day by an AI agent [1]. In a 26 October letter, he asked Governor Matt Meyer for documents by 9 November 2026 [2].

What is Comer asking Delaware for?

James Comer asked Delaware Governor Matt Meyer for documents on the AIC proposal by 9 November 2026. The letter requests, for the period from 1 January 2025, all communications on AIC policy development, including internal AI chat logs [2]. It also asks for ethics and consulting agreements with outside contributors, records on safety concerns and all drafts and comments on AIC proposals [2].

Comer, a Kentucky Republican, cites House Rule X, which he says gives the committee authority to investigate any matter and to study relationships with states [1][2]. The letter formally seeks the state's assistance in obtaining the documents [2].

What would an AI-run company be?

Delaware's draft would let an AI agent run a company day to day while shielding the human or firm that funds it. According to the letter, the capitalizer would be protected from the AI's harms except where it fails to capitalize the company or uses it to commit fraud or a willful violation of law [2].

Ars Technica, which reviewed the draft bill, reports that an AIC could have any lawful purpose except banking and that the plan foresees a 30-month regulatory sandbox to test the idea [3]. The proposal is not law: the letter cites a report that the 36-page draft is likely to be introduced in the General Assembly next year [2].

How did the Delaware plan come about?

Meyer signed House Joint Resolution 7 on 23 July 2025, directing the state AI Commission and Secretary of State Charuni Patibanda-Sanchez to create a sandbox for agentic AI [2]. A commission report of 22 December 2025 said a subcommittee was working towards a draft framework; Comer notes it did not mention any assessment of safety or harms [2].

The letter names John Mark Zeberkiewicz of the Delaware-based law firm Richards, Layton & Finger as the reported principal drafter [2]. In July 2026, Patibanda-Sanchez announced the plan in a Fortune op-ed co-written with John Nay, founder and CEO of Norm Ai, which Ars describes as leading the public-private partnership on the framework [2][3].

Why does Washington care about a state corporate law?

Comer says the probe could inform federal efforts to limit state AI regulatory initiatives. The committee release says the information could feed into possible federal legislation of that kind [1]. Comer also questions the lack of transparency about which AI companies and their representatives shaped the initiative [1][2].

A spokesperson for Meyer told Ars Technica the office had received the letter and is reviewing it, while the Secretary of State's office declined to comment [3].

Our read

Opinion: Comer's letter mixes two fights: a fair question about who wrote a liability shield for AI-run firms, and a broader push to curb state AI rules from Washington. Delaware sells the AIC as transparency for agents, so it should be easy to show the drafting record; if it can't, the federal pre-emption camp gets its best example yet.

What we could not verify

• Who, beyond the names in the letter, contributed to the AIC proposal; the letter itself says the state's working relationship with an AI company contributing to it has not been explained publicly.
• Whether Governor Meyer will hand over the requested documents by 9 November; his office said only that it is reviewing the letter.
• Whether the draft bill will be introduced in Delaware's General Assembly next year, and in what form; that timing is a press report cited in the letter, not an official schedule.
• Whether Comer will actually propose a federal bill; the release says the information could inform possible federal legislation, without naming one.