Why it matters
Governor Gavin Newsom signed a package of AI bills in September 2026. On September 10 he signed five of them into law: AB 1709, AB 2246, AB 1856, SB 867, and SB 1119, known as Adam's Law, which expands California's rules for companion chatbots used by children. SB 1000, authored by Sen. Becker, took effect immediately on September 30 as an urgency statute. It removes the 1 million-monthly-user threshold from the California AI Transparency Act's definition of "covered provider," extending disclosure duties to any publicly accessible generative AI system in the state. It also eliminates the requirement that providers offer users the option to include a manifest disclosure in AI-generated content. AB 2713, authored by Asm. Wicks, requires large platforms to show users whether content was AI-generated. On September 16 Newsom held a ceremonial signing of SB 1050, which regulates AI-generated "synthetic performers" in advertising, at SAG-AFTRA's Los Angeles headquarters. On September 28 he signed AB 1609, authored by Asm. Zbur. Starting January 1, 2027, businesses with more than $500 million in national gross annual revenue cannot represent a customer service chatbot as human and must clearly disclose its AI nature when a reasonable person would likely be misled.
No enforcement actions under these statutes have been reported. Coverage so far consists of law-firm commentary, including Legal500 and NatLawReview analyses published in late October, so how regulators will read several provisions remains unsettled. As of October 20, AB 1609 was still listed as awaiting entry into force. Newsom also vetoed AB 2575 (Ortega), which would have covered AI in health care and required facilities to disclose AI systems used in patient care.
The timing matters because compliance dates are close. California's first companion-chatbot disclosure law, SB 243, was signed in October 2025, and the AI Transparency Act took effect August 2, 2026. Attorneys advising companies should first determine whether a client exceeds the $500 million revenue threshold for AB 1609 and, if so, review customer-facing chatbot disclosures before January 1. They should also assess whether SB 1000's removal of the user threshold now brings clients within the AI Transparency Act, and audit how AI-generated content is labeled and traced, given AB 2713's platform requirements. Clients offering chatbots to minors should review SB 1119 now.
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