AB 1405: Artificial intelligence: auditors: registration.

Official summary

Legislative Counsel’s Digest (official, as of the latest version). Written by nonpartisan legislative staff; reproduced verbatim.

Existing law establishes the Department of Technology within the Government Operations Agency. Existing law requires the department to conduct, in coordination with other interagency bodies as it deems appropriate, a comprehensive inventory of all high-risk automated decision systems that have been proposed for use, development, or procurement by, or are being used, developed, or procured by, any state agency.

Existing law generally regulates artificial intelligence, including the Transparency in Frontier Artificial Intelligence Act, which, among other things related to the safety of certain artificial intelligence models, requires a large frontier developer to write, implement, comply with, and clearly and conspicuously publish on its internet website a frontier AI framework that applies to the large frontier developer’s frontier models and describes how the large frontier developer approaches certain safety-related items. Existing law defines “artificial intelligence” as an engineered or machine-based system that varies in its level of autonomy and that can, for explicit or implicit objectives, infer from the input it receives how to generate outputs that can influence physical or virtual environments.

This bill would require the Government Operations Agency to, no later than January 1, 2029, establish an AI Auditor Registry on the agency’s internet website allowing AI auditors to register with the agency and allowing natural persons to report misconduct by a registered AI auditor, and require the agency to fix annual registration fees, as specified. The bill would, commencing January 1, 2029, prohibit an unregistered person from offering, selling, or conducting a covered AI audit, as defined, and would require the agency to, among other things, issue a unique registration number to each registered AI auditor and publish information provided by a registered AI auditor on the agency’s internet website. The bill would require the registration number of a registered AI auditor to be clearly and conspicuously displayed on all advertising materials offering or soliciting covered AI audit services. The bill would authorize the agency to adopt regulations that are reasonably necessary to effectuate the purposes of the bill.

This bill would require an AI auditor that registers with the agency to provide specified information to the agency and would impose various requirements on a registered AI auditor that conducts a covered AI audit, including, among other things, providing the auditee with a report that includes a signed and dated statement indicating that the audit was conducted according to the provisions of this bill.

This bill would require a registered AI auditor to adhere to various standards of independence, objectivity, and integrity, including not seeking, soliciting, negotiating for, or accepting employment with an auditee while participating in the audit and not conducting a covered AI audit if the auditor has a financial, business, employment, or other interest or relationship that would reasonably be expected to impair the auditor’s independence or objectivity. The bill would prohibit a registered AI auditor from preventing an employee from engaging in, or from retaliating against an employee who has engaged in, specified whistleblower activity. The bill would authorize the agency to investigate alleged violations of the bill, as specified, and provide that a violation constitutes grounds for removal from the registry and referral to the Attorney General or other appropriate enforcement authority.

This bill would create the AI Auditors’ Registration Fund within the State Treasury, to be administered by the agency, and would require that all moneys collected or received by the agency pursuant to the above-described provisions be deposited into the fund to be available, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to administer the above-described provisions.

Sponsors

Sponsors by party (alphabetical): Democratic 4

“Support” is shown only as formal sponsorship recorded by the legislature. Roll-call votes are available on the official bill page.

Recent official actions

1. September 9, 2026Chaptered by Secretary of State - Chapter 178, Statutes of 2026.
2. September 9, 2026Approved by the Governor.
3. September 9, 2026Enrolled and presented to the Governor at 1 p.m.
4. August 30, 2026Senate amendments concurred in. To Engrossing and Enrolling. (Ayes 60. Noes 6. Page 6929.).
5. August 30, 2026In Assembly. Concurrence in Senate amendments pending.
6. August 30, 2026Read third time. Passed. Ordered to the Assembly. (Ayes 29. Noes 10.).
7. August 26, 2026Read second time. Ordered to third reading.
8. August 25, 2026Read third time and amended. Ordered to second reading.
9. August 13, 2026Read second time. Ordered to third reading.
10. August 13, 2026From committee: Do pass. (Ayes 5. Noes 2.) (August 13).
11. August 29, 2025In committee: Held under submission.
12. August 18, 2025In committee: Referred to suspense file.