On Sept. 30, 2026, Governor signed a package of laws and an executive order aimed at strengthening California’s artificial intelligence rules, the governor’s office said in a news release.

The office said the package includes first‑in‑the‑nation worker protections intended to limit automated workplace decision‑making; it prohibits employers from relying only on AI for disciplinary actions or terminations, requires notice when a mass layoff, relocation or termination is caused by an AI system, bans use of workplace surveillance tools in bathrooms, and requires California public higher education institutions to provide AI training for students, faculty and staff.

The office said the package also adds legal limits in professional settings; new statutes ensure doctors and licensed providers can use their professional judgment when clinical decision tools are used, and require developers of clinical decision tools to take reasonable steps to reduce known or predictable bias.

The office said the laws strengthen transparency; they prohibit deletion of a digital watermark, allow access to provenance metadata to help identify AI‑generated material, expand the California AI Transparency Act and require that public comments at local government meetings come from real people rather than AI bots.

The office said the package updates civil and criminal law to protect likeness rights and to target false impersonation and nonconsensual explicit content produced with AI deepfakes.

The office said the laws also address biological safety; gene synthesis companies must follow safety guidelines, verify customers and screen genetic material they supply for dangerous pathogens or sequences linked to diseases such as polio and Ebola.

The office placed the new measures in a broader framework of state action on AI; it cited earlier laws and orders including SB 813 on independent verification organizations, AB 1405 establishing a registry for AI auditors, SB 53 on transparency for frontier AI and the bipartisan Adam’s Law on child‑safety for AI companions.

The office said the governor issued an executive order to define the term “Artificial Intelligence” for state purposes and to accelerate third‑party oversight and independent audits; the office said proposals under consideration include requiring independent third parties to write safety plans for frontier AI companies and requiring emergency shutoff mechanisms for frontier models, among other measures still under review by experts convened by the state. These proposals are under consideration and not yet law, the office said in the release and asked outside experts to produce guidance within two months of the order’s issuance, the release said.

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Gavin Newsom

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