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Adopted, not yet in forceBinding · Law

Independent Verification Organizations (SB 813) and Artificial Intelligence: Auditors: Registration (AB 1405)

Record US-CA-07 · Chapter 179, Statutes of 2026 (Senate Bill 813); Chapter 178, Statutes of 2026 (Assembly Bill 1405)

Issued by
California State Legislature; signed by Governor Gavin Newsom
Jurisdiction
California (US)
Level · region
Sub-national · North America
Country
United States
Published / adopted
2026-09-09
Language
English
Official identifier
Chapter 179, Statutes of 2026 (Senate Bill 813); Chapter 178, Statutes of 2026 (Assembly Bill 1405)

Summary

SB 813 (McNerney) creates a state framework for certifying 'independent verification organizations' that can assess AI models and systems for compliance with state law, codifying a central recommendation of the frontier AI working group. AB 1405 (Bauer-Kahan) creates a state registry of AI auditors with standards for independence, transparency and integrity.

Safety topics

evaluation & testingaccountability & liabilitygeneral-purpose / frontier AI

Status notes

Both approved by the Governor on 9 Sep 2026: SB 813 as Chapter 179 and AB 1405 as Chapter 178, Statutes of 2026. SB 813 adds Chapter 14 (commencing with Section 8898) to Division 1 of Title 2 of the Government Code, and AB 1405 adds Chapter 5.9.5 (commencing with Section 11549.80) to Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2. EO N-9-26 of 18 Sep 2026 (US-CA-09) orders the Government Operations Agency to complete the requirements of Gov. Code sec. 8898.1 and post application requirements, procedures and criteria for independent verification organizations by 1 May 2027, and to complete the requirements of Gov. Code sec. 11549.82(a) by 1 Dec 2027. Combined into one record because they were enacted together as a single verification and audit framework.

Sources

Open the official source https://www.gov.ca.gov/2026/09/09/governor-newsom-signs-first-in-the-nation-ai-safeguards-to-protect-californians-calls-on-the-federal-government-to-do-its-part/

Secondary source: https://www.gov.ca.gov/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/FINAL-N-9-26-AI-EO-9.18.26-SIGNED.pdf

Local copy

Archived. Last attempt 2026-10-18 07:40:40 UTC

Official source (third-party copy, not published) archive/US-CA-07/2026-10-18/official.html
Retrieved 2026-10-18 06:50:49 UTC
SHA-256 6b18759be36e7151d035354f515232ecde6af825dff69d648bcc83b164d25a94
Secondary source (third-party copy, not published) archive/US-CA-07/2026-10-11/secondary.pdf
Retrieved 2026-10-11 14:05:18 UTC
SHA-256 ea398613db19dd4e6479a04a93753d8efbcbfc91e5ecb8a42786721553da3fc5

Verification

A
The instrument's own official text, or an official register, was stored and confirms the title, date and status. checked 2026-10-18 · official-url-fetched
Refresh of 18 Oct 2026 under the rule that level A needs the instrument's own text or an official register. Stored in this run: the Senate Weekly History No. 67 of 1 Oct 2026 (senate.ca.gov) and the Assembly Weekly History No. 37 of 5 Oct 2026 (clerk.assembly.ca.gov), the legislature's records of SB 813 and AB 1405. They give the subject titles 'Independent verification organizations' and 'Artificial intelligence: auditors: registration', the Government Code chapters the acts add and their approval and chaptering on 9 Sep 2026 as Chapters 179 and 178, Statutes of 2026; the title and official_identifier now follow them. Re-read: the Governor's release of 9 Sep 2026 (gov.ca.gov, copy of 18 Oct 2026), which gives the authors and purposes, and EO N-9-26 of 18 Sep 2026 (gov.ca.gov PDF, stored as the record's secondary source), which gives the implementation deadlines and the Government Code sections. The bills' text on leginfo.legislature.ca.gov still refuses automated downloads, so the statutes' text and their effective date are not stored, and the summary rests on the release and the executive order.
Second check: Independent check by Claude Code (claude-sonnet-5-5), 2026-10-18: 6 field(s) supported.

History

  1. 2026-10-18notes: Both signed 9 Sep 2026. EO N-9-26 of 18 Sep 2026 (US-CA-09) orders the Governmen → Both approved by the Governor on 9 Sep 2026: SB 813 as Chapter 179 and AB 1405 a — first sentence now gives the approval date, the chapters and the Government Code chapters each act adds2026-10-18-refresh-level-rule-2 · Claude Code (claude-opus-5-5)
  2. 2026-10-18official_identifier: California Senate Bill 813 and Assembly Bill 1405; Government Code secs. 8898.1 → Chapter 179, Statutes of 2026 (Senate Bill 813); Chapter 178, Statutes of 2026 ( — bill numbers and Code sections replaced by the citable chapter numbers from the legislature's records (Chapters 179 and 178, Statutes of 2026); the Code sections stay in the notes2026-10-18-refresh-level-rule-2 · Claude Code (claude-opus-5-5)
  3. 2026-10-18title: Independent Verification Organizations for AI Systems (SB 813), with companion A → Independent Verification Organizations (SB 813) and Artificial Intelligence: Aud — the agent's rendering ('Independent Verification Organizations for AI Systems (SB 813), with companion AI Auditor Registry law (AB 1405)') replaced by the two bills' subject titles in the legislature's records, as for the register's other California bills (US-CA-12 'Toys: Companion Chatbots (SB 867)')2026-10-18-refresh-level-rule-2 · Claude Code (claude-opus-5-5)
  4. 2026-10-14notes: Both signed 9 Sep 2026. Effective dates not confirmed; California non-urgency st → Both signed 9 Sep 2026. EO N-9-26 of 18 Sep 2026 (US-CA-09) orders the Governmen — Removed the remark that the effective dates were unconfirmed (it now sits in verification.note), and with it the default-rule date, which no stored file supports. EO N-9-26 deadlines kept and linked to US-CA-09.2026-10-14-refresh-ids-ca-on-01-coe-01-int-15-us-ca · Claude Code (claude-opus-5-5)
  5. 2026-10-14official_identifier: California Senate Bill 813 and Assembly Bill 1405 (2025-2026 Regular Session); G → California Senate Bill 813 and Assembly Bill 1405; Government Code secs. 8898.1 — pipeline run 2026-10-14-refresh-ids-ca-on-01-coe-01-int-15-us-ca (refresh), candidate US-CA-072026-10-14-refresh-ids-ca-on-01-coe-01-int-15-us-ca · Claude Code (claude-opus-5-5)
  6. 2026-10-14date_last_updated: 2026-09-18 → – — 2026-09-18 is the date of EO N-9-26, a separate implementing order recorded as US-CA-09, not an amendment or new version of SB 813 or AB 1405. AGENTS.md 5.6 keeps the field for amendments and new versions; the EO stays in the notes.2026-10-14-refresh-ids-ca-on-01-coe-01-int-15-us-ca · Claude Code (claude-opus-5-5)

Related records

California SB 53 (TFAIA) California (US) · In force

California EO N-9-26 California (US) · In force

California Frontier AI Policy Report California (US) · Published (non-binding, current)

FRONTIER Act United States · Draft / proposed

Citation

California State Legislature; signed by Governor Gavin Newsom. Independent Verification Organizations (SB 813) and Artificial Intelligence: Auditors: Registration (AB 1405) [Chapter 179, Statutes of 2026 (Senate Bill 813); Chapter 178, Statutes of 2026 (Assembly Bill 1405)]. 2026-09-09. https://www.gov.ca.gov/2026/09/09/governor-newsom-signs-first-in-the-nation-ai-safeguards-to-protect-californians-calls-on-the-federal-government-to-do-its-part/. Status: Adopted, not yet in force; verified 2026-10-18 (level A). Local copy archive/US-CA-07/2026-10-18/official.html retrieved 2026-10-18 06:50:49 UTC, SHA-256 6b18759be36e7151d035354f515232ecde6af825dff69d648bcc83b164d25a94. Every AI Policy Ever, version 1.18 (snapshot 2026-10-18), record US-CA-07.

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