What the Governor Did With California's 2026 AI Bills
By Alex (J.D. candidate, not a lawyer)
Status as of October 1, 2026
Seven AI bills tracked by SentryHall passed the California Legislature in August 2026 and went to the Governor in September 2026. As of October 1, 2026, the official bill histories show that the Governor signed six of them and vetoed one.
This page lists what the official bill records show for each bill, explains the constitutional rules on timing and effective dates, and links every status to the bill's history on leginfo. It is general information about the law.
The seven bills at a glance
| Bill | Short name | Outcome | Date of action | Chapter | Official record |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SB 574 | Attorneys, arbitrators, and generative AI | Enacted in 2026. | September 30, 2026 | Stats. 2026, ch. 858 | Read the bill history on leginfo |
| SB 947 | Automated decision systems in employment | Enacted in 2026. | September 30, 2026 | Stats. 2026, ch. 859 | Read the bill history on leginfo |
| SB 1000 | AI Transparency Act revisions | Enacted in 2026. | September 30, 2026 | Stats. 2026, ch. 861 | Read the bill history on leginfo |
| AB 1609 | Customer service chatbots | Enacted in 2026. | September 28, 2026 | Stats. 2026, ch. 733 | Read the bill history on leginfo |
| AB 1883 | Workplace surveillance tools | Enacted in 2026. | September 30, 2026 | Stats. 2026, ch. 853 | Read the bill history on leginfo |
| SB 903 | AI in psychotherapy services | Vetoed by the Governor. | September 30, 2026 | None | Read the bill history on leginfo |
| AB 1979 | Clinical decision support and AI | Enacted in 2026. | September 30, 2026 | Stats. 2026, ch. 854 | Read the bill history on leginfo |
How the Governor's deadline worked this year
What the law says. Each of the seven bills passed the Legislature before September 1, 2026, and reached the Governor after that date. Under the California Constitution, a bill in that position becomes a statute if the Governor does not return it on or before September 30 of that year (Cal. Const., art. IV, § 10, subd. (b)(2)). (Read the official text.)
What it means in general. For these seven bills, the Governor had until September 30 to return each one. The official bill history for each bill records what happened. The official bill history can take time to show the Governor's actions, so this page reports each history as of a stated date. For all seven bills, the history shows an action by the Governor: "Approved by the Governor." for six bills and "Vetoed by the Governor." for one.
Bills that became law
Each bill below shows "Approved by the Governor." in its official history, followed by a chapter number from the Secretary of State.
SB 574: Attorneys, arbitrators, and generative AI
Once in effect, SB 574 bars attorneys from delegating the practice of law to generative AI and requires confidentiality safeguards and verification of AI outputs, including citations. The Governor approved it on September 30, 2026, and it was chaptered the same day as Chapter 858, Statutes of 2026. (Read the bill history on leginfo.)
SB 947: Automated decision systems in employment
SB 947 limits employer uses of automated decision systems beginning July 1, 2027. Once in effect, it also gives employees data rights for ADS-driven discipline or termination. The Governor approved it on September 30, 2026, and it was chaptered the same day as Chapter 859, Statutes of 2026. (Read the bill history on leginfo.)
SB 1000: AI Transparency Act revisions
SB 1000 recasts the California AI Transparency Act (SB 942), including removing the user threshold for covered providers and renaming the detection tool a disclosure verification tool. It is an urgency statute and has been in effect since September 30, 2026. The Governor approved it on September 30, 2026, and it was chaptered the same day as Chapter 861, Statutes of 2026. (Read the bill history on leginfo.)
AB 1609: Customer service chatbots
Beginning in 2027, AB 1609 bars large private businesses from representing customer service chatbots as human and requires access to a human agent during business hours. The Governor approved it on September 28, 2026, and it was chaptered the same day as Chapter 733, Statutes of 2026. (Read the bill history on leginfo.)
AB 1883: Workplace surveillance tools
Once in effect, AB 1883 bars employers, with exceptions, from using AI workplace surveillance tools that collect neural data or recognize a worker's emotional state. The Governor approved it on September 30, 2026, and it was chaptered the same day as Chapter 853, Statutes of 2026. (Read the bill history on leginfo.)
AB 1979: Clinical decision support and AI
Once in effect, AB 1979 requires health providers to ensure licensed professionals keep independent judgment when care is informed by clinical decision support system output. The Governor approved it on September 30, 2026, and it was chaptered the same day as Chapter 854, Statutes of 2026. (Read the bill history on leginfo.)
Bills the Governor vetoed
SB 903: AI in psychotherapy services
SB 903 would have limited AI in psychotherapy services to administrative or supplementary support, with further restrictions on AI use. The official bill history shows "Vetoed by the Governor." on September 30, 2026. The Governor's office posted a veto message. (Read the veto message.) (Read the bill history on leginfo.)
What the law says. A vetoed bill goes back to the house where it started. "If each house then passes the bill by rollcall vote entered in the journal, two-thirds of the membership concurring, it becomes a statute" (Cal. Const., art. IV, § 10, subd. (a)). (Read the official text.)
As of October 1, 2026, the latest entry in the SB 903 bill history, dated September 30, 2026, reads "In Senate. Consideration of Governor's veto pending."
Why SB 574 matters for AI in legal practice
SB 574 sets rules for attorneys and arbitrators who use generative AI. Once in effect, it bars attorneys from delegating the practice of law to generative AI. It also requires confidentiality safeguards and verification of AI outputs, including citations.
The bill also adds Code of Civil Procedure section 180, which reads: "The Judicial Council shall publicly revisit, and revise as necessary, Standard 10.80 of the California Standards of Judicial Administration to incorporate any necessary changes to reflect the further development of generative artificial intelligence." (Read the bill on leginfo, SEC. 4.)
Courts have already addressed AI citation errors. For background, see the California Supreme Court's AI footnote and our explainer on when sanctions are reported to the State Bar.
When the new laws take effect
What the law says. Under the California Constitution, a statute enacted at a regular session generally takes effect "on January 1 next following a 90-day period from the date of enactment" (Cal. Const., art. IV, § 8, subd. (c)(1)). For a bill enacted by September 30, 2026, that date is January 1, 2027. Urgency statutes follow a different rule. They "go into effect immediately upon their enactment" (Cal. Const., art. IV, § 8, subd. (c)(3)). (Read the official text.)
What it means in general. A bill can also set its own later start date for some or all of its parts. Two of the six bills have their own timing:
- SB 1000 is an urgency statute. Its title describes it as "declaring the urgency thereof, to take effect immediately." It was enacted on September 30, 2026. (Read the bill on leginfo.)
- SB 947 adds a Labor Code section that reads: "This part shall become operative on July 1, 2027." (Read the bill on leginfo, Lab. Code § 1526.7.)
How we tracked this
We checked each bill's official history on leginfo on October 1, 2026. Each status on this page matches that check. The full list of bills, rules, and court items we follow is in the California AI Law Tracker.
Sources
- California Constitution, article IV, section 10, subdivisions (a) and (b)(2).
- California Constitution, article IV, section 8, subdivisions (c)(1) and (c)(3).
- Bill histories on leginfo: SB 574, SB 947, SB 1000, AB 1609, AB 1883, SB 903, AB 1979.
- Bill text on leginfo: SB 574 (Code Civ. Proc. § 180), SB 947 (Lab. Code § 1526.7), SB 1000 (urgency clause).
- Governor's veto message on SB 903, September 30, 2026.
SentryHall publishes general legal information for educational purposes. It is not legal advice, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. The author is a law student, not a lawyer. Laws change and apply differently to different facts. For advice about your situation, talk with a lawyer licensed in California. You can look up a lawyer's license status at calbar.ca.gov.