United States · California
California AI laws: what's in force, and what's coming
California has no single comprehensive AI act, but it has the densest set of AI laws in the US: frontier-model safety reporting, training-data and content-provenance transparency, companion-chatbot safeguards, workplace automated-decision limits and health-care AI rules. State agencies add regulations, including the privacy agency's automated decisionmaking technology (ADMT) rules effective January 1, 2026 and Civil Rights Council employment rules on automated decision systems.
01 / State law
California's AI laws
| Law | Citation | Status | Effective | What it covers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Transparency in Frontier Artificial Intelligence Act | SB 53 (2025) | In force | 1 Jan 2026 | Large frontier model developers must publish a safety framework, report critical safety incidents to the state and protect whistleblowers. |
| Companion chatbots | SB 243 (2025); amended by SB 1119 (2026) | In force | 1 Jan 2026 | Companion chatbot operators must disclose the bot is AI, keep self-harm response protocols and add protections for minors; SB 1119 adds independent child-safety audits from 2029. |
| California AI Transparency Act | SB 942 (2024); amended by AB 853 (2025), SB 1000 and AB 2713 (2026) | In force | 2 Aug 2026 | Covered generative AI providers must offer a free AI-detection tool and embed provenance disclosures in AI-generated image, video and audio; later amendments extend duties to large platforms. |
| Generative AI training data transparency | AB 2013 (2024) | In force | 1 Jan 2026 | Developers of generative AI systems offered to Californians must post documentation about the data used to train them. |
| No Robo Bosses Act (automated decision systems at work) | SB 947 (2026) | Enacted, effective later | 1 Jul 2027 | Employers may not rely solely on an automated decision system to discipline or fire workers; a human must corroborate the output, and affected workers get notice. |
| AI in clinical care | AB 1979 (2026) | Enacted, effective later | 1 Jan 2027 | Health facilities and physician offices must ensure licensed providers use independent judgment when AI informs care; AI may not perform functions reserved for licensed professionals. |
02 / Government use
Rules for the state's own AI use
Executive Order N-12-23 on generative AI
03 / Lawyers
State bar guidance on AI
Practical Guidance for the Use of Generative Artificial Intelligence in the Practice of Law
Optional evidence · where Planisphere fits
Keep a record anyone can check
When your team meets a duty, Planisphere can seal the event it reports as a receipt.
A disclosure shown, a review signed, a model change approved: the event your system reports.
The event becomes a sealed receipt, dated and attributed to whoever is signed in.
Paste the receipt into Verify. No account or key.
A record supports your compliance evidence process. It is not a legal finding or a certification. Systems that call Planisphere's gate API can also hold or refuse an action before it runs.
SOURCES
Go back to the source
Office of Governor Gavin Newsom
California Privacy Protection Agency
State Bar of California
California Health Care Foundation
Tech Policy Press
CHANGE LOG
What changed, and when
Rebuilt from state legislature and agency sources.
Related: Every US state · Alaska · Arizona · Arkansas · Colorado · Connecticut · Delaware