California signs bills setting up an AI-auditor oversight system

Governor Gavin Newsom signed SB 813, authored by Senator Jerry McNerney, and AB 1405, authored by Assemblymember Rebecca Bauer-Kahan — the two of a wave of AI bills sent to his desk as the legislative session closed in late August. SB 813 sets up a framework under which independent organisations can be recognised to verify whether an AI system complies with state law; AB 1405 creates a state registry of third-party AI auditors and sets standards for their independence, transparency and integrity. Neither bill sets substantive safety requirements for models themselves — they build the machinery for checking compliance with other laws, rather than adding new obligations of their own.

Both OpenAI and Anthropic backed the legislation, with Anthropic’s support reported to have come about a month before signing and OpenAI’s arriving shortly before Newsom signed. Coverage noted the bills passed with industry endorsement rather than industry opposition, a contrast with the fights over SB 1047 two years earlier and the narrower SB 53 the year after.

In his signing statement, Newsom called on Washington to act, saying the technology’s “scale and potential consequences” demanded “sustained action from every level of government” and that the federal government “must step forward with robust, national regulations that match the urgency of this moment.” Several other AI bills passed by the legislature in the same closing session — including SB 1000’s content-provenance rules, the “No Robo Bosses” workplace-automation bill SB 947, and a mental-health-AI bill, SB 903 — remained before the governor, who has until 30 September to act on each under the state’s end-of-session rule.