California cluster: SB 53 · AB 2013 · SB 243 · SB 942
Issuer: California Legislature
Date: 1 JAN 2026
Status: IN FORCE in United States, as of 29 JUL 2026
SB 53 frontier transparency (>10²⁶ FLOPs + $500M revenue; OES incident reporting), AB 2013 training-data summaries, SB 243 companion chatbots (PRA ≥$1,000), SB 942 watermarking (UPCOMING 2 Aug 2026).
The deepest state stack. SB 53 (Transparency in Frontier AI Act): developers of models trained >10²⁶ FLOPs with $500M+ revenue must publish safety frameworks and pre-deployment transparency reports, and report critical safety incidents to Cal OES (15 days; 24h for imminent threats). AB 2013: generative-AI training-data summaries. SB 243: first state companion-chatbot safety law with a private right of action (≥$1,000/violation). SB 942 (delayed by AB 853): content provenance/watermarking from 2 Aug 2026.
What it actually requires (4 provisions)
- SB 53: frontier-model transparency: safety frameworks, pre-deployment reports, OES incident reporting (eff. 1 Jan 2026)
- AB 2013: GenAI training-data summaries (eff. 1 Jan 2026)
- SB 243: companion chatbots: disclosure, self-harm protocols, minor protections, PRA ≥$1,000 (eff. 1 Jan 2026)
- SB 942 + AB 853: latent disclosures/watermarking + free AI-detection tools (eff. 2 Aug 2026)
How its status moved
- SIGNEDSep to Oct 2025
- EFFECTIVESB 53 / AB 2013 / SB 243: 1 Jan 2026
- UPCOMINGSB 942 watermarking: 2 Aug 2026
Sources (2)
SB 53: Transparency in Frontier Artificial Intelligence Act
First-in-nation frontier-model transparency law: >10²⁶ FLOPs + $500M revenue threshold, safety frameworks, Cal OES incident reporting.
SB 942: California AI Transparency Act
From 2 Aug 2026: latent disclosures/watermarking in AI-generated content plus free AI-detection tools from large GenAI platforms.
The rest of the United States stack
15 more instruments in this jurisdiction, each with its own status, provisions and sources.
- EO 14110 “Safe, Secure, Trustworthy AI”REVOKEDBiden safety EO; reporting mandates died with it.
- EO 14179 “Removing Barriers…”IN FORCEPro-innovation directive; ordered the AI Action Plan.
- America's AI Action Plan (“Winning the Race”)IN FORCE90+ actions, three pillars; policy, not law.
- EO 14365 “National Policy Framework”CONTESTEDDOJ AI Litigation Task Force (est. 9 Jan 2026) + BEAD funding leverage against state AI laws; intervened against Colorado Apr 2026.
- State-law moratoriumFAILEDStripped 1 Jul 2025, Senate 99 to 1.
- NIST AI RMF 1.0 + GenAI ProfileVOLUNTARY / SOFT LAWGovern/Map/Measure/Manage; safe harbor in TX TRAIGA; embedded in procurement.
- OMB M-25-21 & M-25-22IN FORCEAgency AI use & acquisition rules; bind federal agencies only.
- TAKE IT DOWN Act (Pub. L. 119-12)IN FORCEFirst federal AI-content law; FTC 48-hr takedown enforcement since 19 May 2026; up to $53,088/violation.
- Colorado SB 24-205 (Colorado AI Act)REPEALEDFirst comprehensive state AI law; stayed 27 Apr 2026 after xAI suit + DOJ intervention; never took effect.
- Texas TRAIGA (HB 149)IN FORCEProhibited-practices model; AG enforcement; $10k to $200k/violation; NIST safe harbor; sandbox.
- Utah AI Policy ActIN FORCEDisclosure-on-request; no 'AI did it' defense; Learning Laboratory; ≤$2,500/violation.
- Illinois HB 3773 + AIVIA (2020)IN FORCEAI employment discrimination = civil-rights violation; first US AI-hiring law for video interviews.
- NYC Local Law 144IN FORCEFirst US bias-audit mandate; $500 to $1,500/day; Dec 2025 Comptroller audit found enforcement 'ineffective'.
- Sectoral enforcers: FTC · FDA · EEOC · CFPBIN FORCEFTC (Operation AI Comply; Growth Cave $48.6M), FDA (1,247+ AI devices; PCCP), EEOC (guidance pulled, statutes intact), CFPB (ECOA/Reg B; Apr 2026 rule narrows disparate impact ⚠).
- CAISI frontier-model evaluationsVOLUNTARY / SOFT LAWVoluntary pre-deployment testing agreements (Anthropic, OpenAI, Google DeepMind, Microsoft, xAI); EO 14409 cybersecurity testing ⚠ single-source.
Where this sits in the wider picture
- The United States regime dossier gives the doctrine this instrument belongs to, next to the other two jurisdictions.
- The Framework Explorer, filtered to US lists every instrument in this jurisdiction in one filterable index.
- The governance simulator shows what these rules do to a real AI system, next to what the other two jurisdictions do to the same one.
- The timeline places this date beside what the other capitals were doing that month.
Knowing the instrument is step one. Complying with it is the job.
The programs teach the work that follows a rule like this one: classification calls, conformity assessment, filings, documentation, and the judgment to defend every decision.
VERIFIED 29 JUL 2026. Every fact on this page is drawn from the sources listed above and dated to the day it was checked. Study aid, not legal advice: the official texts are always authoritative.