Governor Gavin Newsom signed Senate Bill 813, authored by Senator Jerry McNerney, and Assembly Bill 1405, authored by Assemblymember Rebecca Bauer-Kahan, on 9 September 2026. Both measures have completed passage through the California Legislature and received gubernatorial signature in the 2025 to 2026 Regular Session, so they are enacted law rather than pending proposals. They govern who may assess artificial intelligence systems for compliance with state law and the conditions attaching to that role.
Senate Bill 813 of the 2025 to 2026 Regular Session sets the terms on which independent verification organisations may assess artificial intelligence systems and models for compliance with California law. Assembly Bill 1405 of the same session establishes a state registry for AI auditors and sets standards governing their independence, transparency and integrity. The Office of the Governor states that the two bills operate together to provide independent third party evaluation and audits of AI systems, building on Senate Bill 53, signed in 2025.
Developers of artificial intelligence models and the California businesses deploying them gain a defined route to evidence compliance through an outside assessor rather than self attestation alone. Audit and assurance firms, testing laboratories and model evaluation specialists that want to serve the California market will need to appear on the state registry and satisfy the independence standards, which closes the role to entities holding disqualifying ties to the developers they assess. In house legal and compliance teams commissioning an evaluation should check an assessor's registry status before instructing.
Two questions shape compliance planning. The first is whether independent assessment is required for a defined class of developer or operates as a voluntary route to evidence compliance with California law. The second is the date the registry opens and registered auditors become available to instruct, which governs when a developer can obtain an assessment in practice. Both turn on the enrolled text and on implementation by the responsible state body, so developers scheduling audit work for 2027 should track that implementation now.
Licentium advises artificial intelligence developers, deployers and assurance providers on audit, verification and compliance duties across United States state AI statutes. Work we undertake includes mapping model and deployment activity against California audit and verification duties, reviewing independence and conflict positions for firms seeking auditor registration, drafting engagement terms and scope documents for third party AI assessments, and preparing evidence packs that support an independent compliance assessment.