California
Sacramento Snapshot: How the California Legislature is tackling AI this year
If you ask Sen. Tom Umberg, the legislature’s role in regulating artificial intelligence is multi-faceted.
It’s no secret that California is expected to play an outsized role in AI regulation. After all, the state is home to many of the world’s largest AI companies, the governor’s office boasts.
But it’s a balancing act, Umberg says, of tackling concerns related to bias and transparency in the AI space with encouraging innovation and start-ups.
“At one point, (the California Legislature) had 55 bills dealing with AI, mostly focused on risks. But we are creating both the regulatory entity that will provide guidance as well as some safety mechanisms to make sure that the risks that are inherent in AI are mitigated,” said Umberg, a Santa Ana Democrat who chairs the Senate Judiciary Committee, which hears many AI-related bills.
Gov. Gavin Newsom, speaking at an AI event in San Francisco last week, also warned against over-regulating AI, Politico reported.
“I don’t want to cede this space to other state or other counties,” Newsom reportedly said. “If we over-regulate, if we overindulge, if we chase the shiny object, we could put ourselves in a perilous position.”
So what are the bills legislatures are considering this year?
Bills still in consideration — after clearing a major legislative deadline last month — tackle deepfakes (digitally altered photos or videos that seem realistic but are, in fact, fake and can be extremely harmful), data transparency and election security, among other things.
One still in play is AB 1856 from Assemblymember Tri Ta, R-Westminster, which creates misdemeanor penalties for someone found to have knowingly distributed pornographic deepfake videos or photos of someone without that person’s consent.
The bill is supported by the California State Sheriffs Association which argues that AI technology has “exacerbated the prevalence and severity of revenge porn,” which is commonly used by an ex-partner to embarrass, coerce or otherwise harm someone. But the California Public Defenders Association opposes it, arguing that it could violate First Amendment protections.
Another, from Assemblymembers Marc Berman, D-Menlo Park, and Gail Pellerin, D-Santa Cruz, is billed as an election integrity bill. It would require large online platforms to block the posting of digitally altered false images, videos or audio recordings that purport to show a candidate saying or doing something they did not actually say or do.
Earlier this year, voters in New Hampshire received a robocall that sounded like the voice of President Joe Biden encouraging them not to participate in the primary elections, according to the state’s attorney general.
“We have entered the age of AI-generated disinformation, which poses a severe risk to our elections and our democracy,” said Berman. “Deepfakes are a powerful and dangerous tool in the arsenal of those who want to wage disinformation campaigns, and they have the potential to wreak havoc on our democracy by attributing speech and conduct to a person that is false or that never happened.”
Other bills include:
Data transparency: AB 2013 requires developers of AI systems to publicize information about the data used to create the system or site. From Assemblymember Jacqui Irwin, D-Thousand Oaks, the idea is to enhance consumer protection, according to the bill’s analysis, with a greater understanding of how these AI systems and services work.
“Consumers may use this knowledge to better evaluate if they have confidence in the AI system or service, compare competing systems and services or put into place mitigation measures to address any shortcomings of the particular system or service,” Irwin said in the analysis.
Safeguards for large-scale systems: If this bill is successful, developers of powerful and large-scale AI models and the technology that trains those models would need to implement certain safeguards related to safety and security.
SB 1047 would also create CalCompute, “a public AI research cluster that will allow startups, researchers and community groups to participate in the development of large-scale AI systems,” according to the bill’s analysis.
“By focusing its requirements on the well-resourced developers of the largest and most powerful frontier models, SB 1047 puts sensible guardrails in place against risk while leaving startups free to innovate without any new burdens,” said Sen. Scott Wiener, D-San Francisco. “We know this bill is a work in progress, and we’re actively meeting with stakeholders and seeking constructive input.”
California Artificial Intelligence Research Hub: SB 893 establishes a new entity that would “facilitate collaboration between government agencies, academic institutions and private sector partners to advance artificial intelligence research and development,” according to the bill.
The idea behind the hub from Sen. Steve Padilla, D-San Diego, is to facilitate innovation in AI development; ensure AI technologies are prioritizing fairness and transparency; provide researchers with access to data, training and education; and support AI development through the building of a public computing infrastructure and ensuring access to existing commercial infrastructures, among other things.
“Emerging AI technologies are costly and energy intensive and require broad-based coordination among institutions and other sectors,” said Padilla. “Shared resources will be vital to the continued development of AI technology in California. The creation of the California Artificial Intelligence Research Hub allows us to pool and leverage the state’s financial resources and the intellectual firepower of our academic sector to democratize AI and stop it from becoming monopolized by proprietary interests alone — the tech titans.”
In other news
• Three UCI graduate students — who were arrested when police removed the Gaza Solidarity Encampment on campus on Wednesday, May 15 — traveled to Sacramento last week where they met with more than two dozen Assemblymembers and spoke about the UC’s “increasingly concerning efforts to suppress free speech on our campuses and in our workplaces,” said Mark Gradoni, one of the three arrested grad students, who are also all teaching assistants.
Sent by UAW Local 4811 — a labor union representing UC student employees and academic, graduate student and postdoctoral researchers — the students presented Assemblymembers with a letter that calls on the UC to “cease committing further unfair labor practices” connected to the campus protest when the university called on law enforcement to crack down against members and to “abide by Californian and federal law on freedom of speech and assembly,” Gradoni said.
• Actor Danny Glover was at the Capitol last week to advocate for arts funding.
“What an honor it was to welcome the incomparable Danny Glover to the State Senate today for his advocacy trip,” said Sen. Anthony Portantino, D-Burbank, on social media. “As many of you know I’ve been working on arts funding and support for our nonprofit community theaters. Mr. Glover was in the capitol to testify on behalf of that funding.”
Staff writer Hanna Kang contributed to this report.
California
California Islamic calligraphy artist preserves ancient tradition during Arab American Heritage Month
As Arab American Heritage Month is celebrated, one Northern California artist is keeping the centuries-old tradition of Islamic calligraphy alive, one carefully measured stroke at a time.
Sehar Shahzad is a student calligrapher. Before starting any project, Shahzad said “one of the first things that calligraphers learn is how to cut their pens.”
Her tools must be in pristine condition.
“Your instruments are just as important as anything else in this art,” she said.
Shahzad said that as a young girl growing up in Toronto, she took up Islamic calligraphy while reflecting on her religion.
“It’s not like I’d never seen it before, but it was my first time kind of trying it,” she said. “And there’s no other way to say it except that I just fell in love with it.”
Now married with three children, Islamic calligraphy is very much part of her life.
“I remember thinking that this isn’t something that I just want to learn for fun,” she said. “I really want to be able to master it.”
Shahzad said that every angle and curve follows strict geometric rules and is measured with dots.
“For example, this letter here was just a little bit too long, so we use these nuqtas to help us guide and understand how long that letter should be,” she said.
Like the Arabic language, Islamic calligraphy is read from right to left. Its bold simplicity requires precision and a deep understanding of proportion.
“When you’re creating a composition, it’s not only about the letter itself,” Shahzad said. “It’s about composition as a whole and making sure that everything balances together.”
Even though she’s still mastering her form, Shahzad’s work is featured in the prayer room of a Muslim cemetery in Napa and in the domes of mosques in San Jose, Hayward, and San Francisco.
Still, she considers her work on paper the most special.
“A form of meditation, a form of worship, requires focus, requires discipline, really brings me to a different space,” Shahzad said. “And I think that’s what I love most.”
Proving that in this fast-paced world, this millennia-long tradition is far from disappearing.
Shahzad’s work will be featured at the upcoming Light Upon Light art exhibit at the Tarbiya Institute in Roseville from April 24-26.
LOS ANGELES (KABC) — California Attorney General Rob Bonta on Tuesday highlighted what he called historic progress in the state’s fight against gun violence.
“California has achieved something historic with the lowest rates of firearm deaths, suicides and homicides on record,” he said during a press conference.
According to Bonta, in 2024, California saw the lowest numbers of firearm-related deaths since 1968. That also drove the state’s overall homicide rate to its lowest level on record in Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data, Bonta’s office said.
However, Bonta warned lawmakers that those gains could be at risk without continued investment.
“This progress is fragile,” he said. “It was driven in part by significant investments that are now declining or disappearing, and without continued and increased investment, we risk losing it.”
Bonta urged policymakers to continue advancing gun violence prevention efforts and education initiatives.
To learn more, click here.
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California
California lawmaker introduces bill to protect wildlife from euthanasia, create coexistence program
A Southern California state senator has proposed a new law that would prevent euthanasia in the state’s wildlife just a month after a mother bear was put down for swiping at a woman in Monrovia, feet away from where her two cubs were located.
The legislation, SB 1135, which was introduced by Sen. Catherine Blakespear (D-Encinitas), calls for the establishment of a state program that promotes the coexistence with wildlife and codifies a wolf-livestock coexistence and compensation program. The move comes two years after funding for a similar wildlife coexistence program expired.
“We can and must responsibly support people and wild animals to exist in a California where we are all under growing pressures and cumulative threats like extreme heat, frequent drought and intense wildfires that animals respond to by moving in search of resources to survive,” Sen. Blakespear said in a statement. “That means investing in science-based, situation-specific, proactive strategies to minimize negative interactions and prevent escalation to conflicts that pose risks for people and animals. SB 1135 proposes a program to better protect people, wildlife and communities.”
The proposed coexistence program, which would be allocated nearly $50 million through the state’s 2026-27 budget, would build on the previous version, which deployed trained regional human-wildlife conflict staff around the state. The absence was noted by CDFW leaders during a state Assembly meeting in January, according to Blakespear.
“Over the last five years, wildlife incident reports logged by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) increased by 31 percent and calls, emails and field contacts rose by 58 percent,” Blakespear’s proposal says.
She noted the recent headline across the state, including “Blondie,” the Monrovia mother bear who was captured and put down by wildlife officials in March after it swiped at a woman near the home it was living under with its two cubs.
The home in question belongs to Richard Franco. He, along with many other Monrovia residents, has documented his encounters with bears over the years, even setting up a system of trail cameras to track the bears’ movements.
“Getting to know her, you could see what a devoted mother she was,” Franco said. “She was always building a nest.”
Read more: Orphaned bear cubs taken to San Diego for care after mom is euthanized for attacking people
Franco and many of his neighbors were angered upon learning that CDFW officials had euthanized Blondie after her capture, which they credited to the fact that she had swiped at the woman days earlier and another person in 2025.
“Forcing them out, and then euthanizing the mom was just traumatic for us,” said one Monrovia couple. “It was just tragic, and there was no need for it; it was completely unnecessary.”
Situations like this are what caught Blakespear’s attention, leading to her proposal last week.
“It is really my desire to make sure that wild places stay wild, and not be having to resort to lethal measures like killing bears or killing wolves,” Blakespear said, while speaking with CBS LA. “We need to have a program that is up and going so we can be educating people.”
The program calls for focus on public education, maintaining a statewide incident reporting system and deploying devices like barriers, noise and light machines and other technology that would deter predators from places where they shouldn’t be.
SB 1135 passed on a 5-1 vote and will now be considered by the Senate Appropriations Committee.
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