AI ObservatoryCosta Rica
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02 / Legislation

7 AI-related bills, none passed

The inventory distinguishes 4 bills whose primary subject is AI and 3 directly related bills. 4 have committee reports and 3 remain in committee.

Context surrounding the bills

These notes record public events and context. They do not replace the status published by the Legislative Assembly.

Editorial reading

Second National Forum on AI in Health: national agenda under construction and 15 CCSS pilot areas

The Second National Forum on AI in Health took place on June 17, 2026, hosted by the Costa Rican Chamber of Health (CCS), the Latin American University of Science and Technology (ULACIT) and the Digital Health Institute for Transformation (DHIT) at the National Auditorium of the Children's Museum in San José. The program featured the official panel 'The AI in Health Agenda: challenges, opportunities and commitments', with participation of Deputy Minister of Health Allan Mora and Elliott Garita, president of the Costa Rican Medical Association. In parallel, an HL7 FHIR R5 Laboratory Results Connectathon was held as a first technical step toward a national clinical-data interoperability guide. Massimo Manzi, executive director of the Costa Rican Chamber of Health (CCS) / PROMED, said the country is close to officializing a national agenda on AI in health, drafted jointly with the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Science, Innovation, Technology and Telecommunications (MICITT), and warned about balancing regulation and innovation. According to Observador.cr, acting CCSS medical manager Marvin Palma stated that the institution uses artificial intelligence in 15 primary-care pilot areas, including cardiovascular and diabetic risk assessment, and described projects under analysis to identify 'hot zones' in mammograms and other imaging studies. CCSS clarified that AI-assisted waiting-list cleanup keeps a human-validation step before removing any record.

Costa Rica is moving toward a sector-specific framework for AI in health ahead of a general AI framework: the three AI regulation bills (23.771, 23.919 and 24.484) remain uncalled by the executive, while the health sector is pushing its own agenda with executive backing (Deputy Minister of Health on the official panel, Health + MICITT coordination), institutional support from CCSS, from academia (ULACIT) and from an international body (DHIT). The HL7 FHIR R5 Connectathon adds a concrete technical dimension: clinical-data interoperability as a precondition for any large-scale AI rollout. This consolidates a pattern of soft sectoral regulation rather than a cross-cutting framework; it opens advocacy opportunities for sector actors and increases the importance of institutional traceability of the catalogued pilots (AIDA, LIDIA, REDIMED, waiting-list cleanup).

Observador.cr ↗Delfino.cr ↗Promed Costa Rica (Costa Rican Chamber of Health) ↗
Editorial reading

Fernández agenda: 62 bills called, none on AI

The Laura Fernández administration called 62 bills for extraordinary sessions of the Legislative Assembly in May 2026. Stated priorities: security, energy, fiscal reform and public debt. None of the three active AI regulation bills (23.771, 23.919 and 24.484) were included. Bill 23.919 has had an approved committee report since March 2025 and is technically ready for floor debate. This decision continues the previous administration's pattern: the Chaves government also did not call the AI bills during 2022-2026, and the Ministry of Science and Technology formally opposed all three projects, arguing risk of regulatory obsolescence.

Public bodies with verified AI adoption in pilot or operational use (the Finance Ministry, CCSS and the Judicial Branch) remain without a specific legal framework. The absence of an executive call does not prevent legislative progress on the Assembly's own initiative, but does signal that AI is not a priority for the executive in this period.

La Nación CR ↗Infobae CR ↗

Official bill register

Number, committee, scope, status and verification are transcribed separately from editorial context.

File

23.771

Law to Regulate Artificial Intelligence in Costa Rica

General framework for the development, use and application of AI in Costa Rica. The current substitute text (September 2024) designates MICITT as the governing authority, with technical support from SUTEL, responsible for registration, oversight and auditing; it sets four risk levels and requires chatbots to disclose that the interaction is with an AI system and deepfakes to disclose that the content was artificially generated or altered. It has a majority affirmative committee report from the Science, Technology and Education Committee and has been on the Plenary agenda since October 2024, without a vote. Filed by Vanessa Castro Mora (PUSC). The bill expires on May 30, 2027 if it is not approved before then.

Official legislative status
Committee report issued
Scope in relation to AI
Core AI regulation
Verified
Committee
Science, Technology and Education
Filed
Official status source
Open official evidence ↗
Complementary reference
Open reference ↗

File

23.885

Law to Regulate New Forms of Propaganda

Broader electoral reform intended to regulate new forms of political advertising. The bill has a committee report and reached the Plenary. Floor amendments filed against the text included rules on fake profiles, synthetic content, artificial intelligence and deepfakes; the observatory classifies it as directly related, not as a general AI law. The amendments document legislative proposals and are not presented here as enacted text.

Official legislative status
Committee report issued
Scope in relation to AI
Directly related
Verified
Committee
Electoral Reform
Filed
Official status source
Open official evidence ↗
Complementary reference
Open reference ↗

File

23.919

Law for the Responsible Promotion of Artificial Intelligence in Costa Rica

Framework for the responsible promotion of AI with an emphasis on fundamental rights. The current substitute text (March 2025) creates the Inter-Institutional Commission for the Development of AI (CIDIA), attached to MICITT, and an ethical, technical and scientific advisory committee; it defines the high-risk systems category and penalizes the use of AI to spread disinformation through linguistic content and to create video, image or voice files made to appear authentic in order to deceive. It has a majority affirmative committee report from the Human Rights Committee and has been on the Plenary agenda since April 2025, without a vote. Filed by Óscar Izquierdo Sandí (PLN). The bill expires on September 6, 2027 if it is not approved before then.

Official legislative status
Committee report issued
Scope in relation to AI
Core AI regulation
Verified
Committee
Human Rights
Filed
Official status source
Open official evidence ↗
Complementary reference
Open reference ↗

File

24.484

Law for the Implementation of Artificial Intelligence Systems

Risk-based general framework. The current substitute text (October 2025) assigns MICITT the governing role and coordination with seven other institutions, and reaches foreign individuals and legal entities whose systems have effects in the country. It is the only one of the three general bills that expressly defines generative artificial intelligence as a general functional category, in addition to deep fakes. It has a unanimous affirmative committee report from the Science, Technology and Education Committee (October 2025) and has been on the Plenary agenda since February 2026, without a vote. Filed by Johana Obando Bonilla and three other legislators. The bill expires on August 6, 2028 if it is not approved before then.

Official legislative status
Committee report issued
Scope in relation to AI
Core AI regulation
Verified
Committee
Science, Technology and Education
Filed
Official status source
Open official evidence ↗
Complementary reference
Open reference ↗

File

24.875

Law to Regulate the Use of Artificial Intelligence in Electoral Processes

Establishes disclosure duties for AI-generated content and proposes prohibitions on electoral deepfakes, automated fake accounts and microtargeting strategies designed to undermine electoral integrity. It provides for fines from 10 to 50 base salaries. At the official April 7, 2026 cutoff it remained in committee, with no substitute text or committee report; later motions were recorded, but no official evidence of a status change was found. Filed by Vanessa De Paul Castro Mora (PUSC).

Official legislative status
In committee
Scope in relation to AI
Core AI regulation
Verified
Committee
Electoral Reform
Filed
Official status source
Open official evidence ↗
Complementary reference
Open reference ↗

File

25.171

Law for the Protection of Personal Traits and Artistic Creations in Digital Environments

Directly related bill covering the protection of artistic creations, personal identity and electoral transparency in digital environments. The reviewed text includes duties to identify content created or altered through AI and rules against deepfakes and impersonation. On April 21, 2026, the Supreme Electoral Tribunal objected to the electoral language then under consultation on technical and constitutional grounds. The bill remains before the Science, Technology and Education Committee.

Official legislative status
In committee
Scope in relation to AI
Directly related
Verified
Committee
Science, Technology and Education
Filed
Official status source
Open official evidence ↗
Complementary reference
Open reference ↗

File

25.379

Law against the Manipulation of Public Opinion and the Popular Will (Anti-Troll Law)

Directly related bill intended to prevent and sanction coordinated manipulation of public opinion through fake, automated or funded accounts, including algorithmic coordination and the use of artificial intelligence. It was filed in January 2026 and referred to the Legal Affairs Committee. In March 2026, the Supreme Electoral Tribunal objected to imprecisions in the text under consultation; no official evidence of a committee report or passage was found.

Official legislative status
In committee
Scope in relation to AI
Directly related
Verified
Committee
Legal Affairs
Filed
Official status source
Open official evidence ↗
Complementary reference
Open reference ↗