For legislators and legislative staff
The Fiduciary Commons Framework is a constitutional and legislative architecture governing government handling of digital identity, citizen data, and algorithmic decision-making. It proposes three foundational model statutes designed for introduction in state legislatures, each addressing a distinct layer of the problem.
VIDA mandates the identity infrastructure: citizen-controlled credentials, privacy-preserving verification, and a constitutional prohibition on surveillance-capable architectures. PDTA establishes the enforceable fiduciary duties that govern every subsequent use of citizen data within that infrastructure, with a private right of action allowing citizens to enforce those duties directly in court. GAAFA ensures AI and algorithmic systems making decisions about citizens respect the same constitutional constraints, with tiered governance, pre-deployment assessments, and the right to algorithmic explanation.
The architecture is designed so that all three reinforce each other, and the constitutional protection is strongest when all three are enacted together.
Governs identity infrastructure. Requires citizen-controlled credentials and prohibits surveillance-capable architectures. A state that enacts VIDA has built the technical foundation, but has not yet imposed enforceable fiduciary duties on how government uses the data that identity verification generates.
Adds enforceable fiduciary duties with a private right of action. Government actors owe duties of loyalty, care, and confidentiality regarding citizen data, and citizens can enforce those duties directly in court. This is the core constitutional architecture, but it does not yet reach AI and algorithmic decision-making.
The complete constitutional architecture. Every layer is covered: identity infrastructure, data governance, and algorithmic accountability. This is the configuration that provides the strongest constitutional protection and the most complete legislative response to the problems the framework identifies.
Plain-language summary of every section across all three statutes, followed by answers to the questions committee staff most commonly raise. PDF download.
White paperThe constitutional argument, the structural problem, and the legislative solution in a format designed for deeper review. PDF download.
All three foundational statutes and both companion statutes, in their current amended form.
Identity infrastructure and surveillance architecture prohibition. Amended July 2026.
Foundational statuteEnforceable fiduciary duties and private right of action. Amended July 2026.
Foundational statuteAI governance, tiered accountability, and algorithmic explanation rights. Amended July 2026.
Companion statuteAutomated license plate reader governance with query-without-collection architecture. July 2026.
Companion statuteCommercial surveillance and digital likeness protection under separate legislative authority. July 2026.
The Supreme Court's 2026 decision in Chatrie v. United States categorically rejected durational thresholds for Fourth Amendment protection and described unchecked government surveillance as a "virtual panopticon." The Court identified the constitutional problem. This framework provides the legislative solution. Read more →
Utah has enacted identity-layer legislation (SB 260 and SB 275) through its SEDI initiative that converges substantially with VIDA's architecture. Utah is in conversation with multiple states considering joining the SEDI Consortium. A state that enacts SEDI-model legislation has built the foundation; enacting the framework's three foundational statutes completes the constitutional architecture.
IAPP: "The ground shifts: Chatrie's impact on data governance beyond the Fourth Amendment" (July 2026)
StateTech: "The case for constitutionally grounded AI and data architecture" (May 2026)
Questions about introduction, drafting assistance, or committee testimony: legislative@fiduciarycommons.com