State AI laws face constitutional limits under the dormant Commerce Clause, but courts lack the data to weigh interstate burdens against local benefits. The article argues policymakers must build evidentiary records—through standardized burden and benefit estimates—and equip judges with analytical tools for effective cost-benefit review.

• Over 1,500 AI bills across 45 states this year are creating a dormant Commerce Clause crisis, but judges have no standardized data to run the required Pike balancing test weighing interstate burdens against local benefits.
• This evidence gap hits startups hardest since large platforms can absorb compliance costs across a patchwork of state rules while smaller firms can't—illustrated by xAI's new lawsuit against Colorado's AI Act.
• The White House Executive Order's Commerce Department review and DOJ task force on state AI laws will generate some data but won't close the gap alone.
• Fixing this requires mandated impact analyses with consistent metrics for proposed state AI rules, plus judicial tools like checklists, model findings, or a benchbook to help courts actually apply the evidence.