Senator Scott Wiener, in a July 8 open letter, announced new amendments to Senate Bill 53, expanding the legislation to include transparency requirements for developers of the most advanced AI models. Drawing from the recommendations of Gov. Gavin Newsom’s Joint California Policy Working Group on Frontier Models, Wiener’s revised bill focuses on transparency and accountability while deliberately excluding startups, academics, and smaller developers from its requirements. 

The group was formed last year after the governor vetoed Senator Wiener’s previous attempt to regulate AI in California, Senate Bill 1047. The high-profile measure, opposed by major tech companies, drew national attention as prominent figures weighed in on both sides.

The bill reflects a “trust, but verify” approach recommended by the Working Group, co-chaired by Dr. Fei-Fei Li, Dr. Mariano-Florentino Cuéllar, and Dr. Jennifer Tour Chayes. The proposed framework requires large, well-resourced AI companies to publish safety and security plans, report critical safety incidents, and strengthen whistleblower protections. Wiener emphasized that SB 53’s aim is to improve accountability without imposing new liability for misuse, allowing developers discretion in how they meet transparency obligations.

In addition to transparency measures, SB 53 includes provisions for establishing CalCompute, a public cloud compute cluster at the University of California that will provide free or low-cost computing resources to startups and researchers. Wiener positioned this initiative as part of a broader effort to democratize AI innovation, building on his past legislative work supporting semiconductor manufacturing and net neutrality protections. “Startups, researchers, and smaller developers play a critical role in driving innovation, and I will continue to support them with SB 53 and beyond,” Wiener stated.

The bill’s requirements apply exclusively to large-scale AI developers investing hundreds of millions of dollars in building powerful frontier models, with a scope that can evolve alongside technological progress. While current metrics reference computing thresholds similar to frameworks outside California, Wiener emphasized flexibility in adapting these thresholds to keep pace with a rapidly changing field.

Wiener described this version of SB 53 as a working draft and invited ongoing feedback from the AI community to refine the legislation before it advances through the Legislature. 

Image: sd11.senate.ca.gov