McNerney Applauds Newsom’s Executive Order Fast-Tracking SB 813, a Landmark Law to Assess Artificial Intelligence Safety Risks

State Sen. Jerry McNerney today applauded Governor Gavin Newsom’s executive order, fast-tracking the implementation of McNerney’s SB 813. This landmark law establishes a first-in-the-nation framework for independent, third-party assessments of potential safety risks posed by artificial intelligence systems.

Sen. McNerney also praised the governor’s order calling for speedy recommendations from state agencies and AI experts on establishing safety standards for AI and for mandating AI companies to embed independent evaluators established by SB 813 onsite in their labs to conduct periodic audits and assessments.

“Gov. Newsom was absolutely justified in taking urgent action on AI safety following the recent revelations about the catastrophic risks posed by artificial intelligence,” said Sen. McNerney, D-Pleasanton. “Fast-tracking my SB 813 was the right thing to do. I also plan to introduce legislation in December to implement the governor’s recommendations on establishing AI safety standards, mandatory safety assessments, and more.”

The governor’s executive order directs state agencies to fully implement SB 813 by May 1. The order also directs the implementation of Asm. Rebecca Bauer-Kahan’s AB 1405 by Dec. 1, 2027. AB 1405 is a companion bill to SB 813.

The governor’s order also directs the Government Operations Agency, in consultation with the Governor’s Office of Emergency Services, by Nov 16, 2026, to develop, in consultation with national experts, recommendations to:

• Require all large AI frontier developers to embed independent evaluators onsite in their labs to conduct periodic audits and evaluations of AI safety.
• Require the safety frameworks, transparency reports, and risk assessments that frontier AI companies are mandated to complete to be independently verified pursuant to standards determined to be adequate by the third-party Independent Verification Organizations (IVOs) created by SB 813.
• Require the creation of a “kill switch” for frontier models, with the efficacy of the switch verified on an ongoing basis by an IVO.
• Update the definition of critical safety incidents that AI companies are required to report to include a range of loss-of-control incidents, covering recently reported incidents from large frontier developers.

Once the recommendations are completed in November, Sen. McNerney plans to review them and introduce legislation in early December to ensure artificial intelligence systems are safe and beneficial.

SB 813 was the first such AI safety law in the nation. It implements a framework under the direction of the Government Operations Agency to:

• Establish IVOs to provide independent assessments of AI systems and models; 
• Create requirements for IVOs to ensure they have appropriate expertise, use credible methodologies, and remain independent from the entities they assess;
• Convene working groups to solicit stakeholder input in the identification of AI safety standards;
• Identifies effective approaches for evaluating AI systems.

For more on SB 813, go here.

Sen. Jerry McNerney is chair of the Senate Revenue and Taxation Committee and is a member of the Privacy, Digital Technologies, and Consumer Protection Committee, which has jurisdiction over AI bills. His 5th Senate District includes all of San Joaquin County and Alameda County’s Tri-Valley.