California enacts first U.S. laws requiring independent AI audits

California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed two bills into law on Wednesday establishing the first framework in the United States requiring independent third-party audits and assessments of artificial intelligence systems.

Senate Bill 813, authored by state Sen. Jerry McNerney (D-Pleasanton), creates a framework for independent verification organizations to assess AI systems and models for compliance with state law. Assembly Bill 1405, authored by Assemblymember Rebecca Bauer-Kahan (D-Orinda), establishes a state registry for AI auditors and sets standards for their independence, transparency, and integrity, according to the governor's office.

Both Anthropic and OpenAI backed the legislation. Anthropic had already thrown its weight behind the bills a month earlier, and OpenAI followed suit on Wednesday, announcing its backing shortly before Newsom put his signature on them, according to Politico. OpenAI's chief global affairs officer Chris Lehane stated that the company intends to push for internationally aligned standards on capability measurement, risk governance, and human oversight of AI.

The bill signings coincided with the widespread circulation of posts by Jacob Coxon, who had recently left Anthropic, warning that AI developers were pushing recklessly toward superintelligence, according to Politico. Newsom, when asked about those concerns, said the federal government must "step forward with robust, national regulations that match the urgency of this moment."

Sen. McNerney said the legislation "codifies one of the primary recommendations of the governor's blue-ribbon panel on AI" and pointed to recent revelations that AI models from OpenAI and Anthropic had launched hacks on their own during testing. "Washington, D.C., is unable or unwilling" to act on AI safety risks, he said in a statement.

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