SACRAMENTO, September 11 — California has moved first, and the rest of the country is now watching. Governor Gavin Newsom signed two bills on September 9 establishing first-in-the-nation standards for third-party audits and independent assessments of artificial intelligence systems, according to the governor’s office. The legislation — Senate Bill 813 and Assembly Bill 1405 — strengthens California’s framework for safe, transparent and accountable AI at a moment when the technology is advancing rapidly and leading experts are raising increasingly urgent concerns about the risks these systems pose.
Senate Bill 813, authored by Senator Jerry McNerney (D-Pleasanton), establishes a first-in-the-nation framework for independent verification organizations that can assess AI systems and models for compliance with state law. Assembly Bill 1405, authored by Assemblymember Rebecca Bauer-Kahan (D-Orinda), creates a state registry for AI auditors and sets standards for their independence, transparency and integrity.
Together, the two measures build a framework for independent third-party evaluation and audits — laying the foundation for greater transparency and accountability as AI becomes increasingly embedded in critical sectors of California’s economy and public life. McNerney said AI has the potential to improve lives, but without effective guardrails it poses significant risks. He said it was learned just this week that the most powerful AI systems teamed with AI agents pose real threats to humanity.
Newsom’s signing of SB 813, McNerney said, sends a clear message that California is taking the lead on assessing AI’s safety risks since Washington, D.C., is unable or unwilling to do so. The law codifies one of the primary recommendations of the governor’s blue-ribbon panel on AI by establishing independent, third-party evaluations of artificial intelligence to help ensure the technology remains safe and beneficial.
Bauer-Kahan thanked Newsom for protecting Californians from emerging AI risks. Californians deserve to know that the AI systems and models shaping their lives are safe and secure, she said, and industry cannot be expected to simply grade its own homework. Third-party auditors are essential to ensuring AI is safe for communities and critical infrastructure, she said, because they will be able to identify risks, verify claims and hold developers to meaningful standards.
She called AB 1405 groundbreaking legislation that for the first time establishes a mechanism for credible third-party auditing, laying the groundwork for meaningful oversight of the AI technologies that touch lives every day.
Newsom presses Washington to act
The governor’s office said concerns raised in recent incidents reinforce what California has long recognized: artificial intelligence holds extraordinary promise, but it must be developed and deployed with meaningful safeguards to protect the public. Newsom said California has taken nation-leading action to advance AI safety, transparency, accountability and responsible innovation. But the scale and potential consequences of the technology demand sustained action from every level of government, he added, and the federal government must step forward with robust, national regulations that match the urgency of this moment.
California’s record on the issue stretches back before this week. In 2023, Newsom issued a first-of-its-kind executive order directing the state to safely use AI for the benefit of Californians; to identify potential risks to individuals, communities, state government and state workers; and to implement guardrails ensuring the government’s own use of AI protects Californians.
Watch this space. The shift is from voluntary promises to verified proof — and with a state registry of auditors now on the books, the next test is whether other states, and Washington, follow California’s lead.
