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.
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As the nation prepares for its 250th Independence Day celebration, a decades-long California Fourth of July fireworks tradition that has raised millions for local children’s programs is going dark this year after the California Coastal Commission rejected a final effort to keep it alive, citing environmental concerns to protect the bay.
“We’ve raised over the past 14 years $2 million for kids programs here in Long Beach,” event organizer John Morris told Fox News Digital, adding the July 3 event is fully funded by the local community.
“This community pays for everything — everything. City fees, and the city doesn’t give us a break. We pay $20,000 to the city for police and fire, which I’m fine with, because there’s 100,000 people enjoying the fireworks,” said Morris, a Long Beach resident and business owner.
Morris, who owns the Boathouse on the Bay restaurant, had planned a scaled-up fireworks display this year to mark America’s 250th Independence Day.
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Long Beach residents have enjoyed the fireworks organized by John Morris for over a decade. (Scott Varley/MediaNews Group/Torrance Daily Breeze via Getty Images)
In January, Coastal Commission staff rejected the proposal, and last week commissioners unanimously upheld that decision despite an appeal backed by local, state and federal officials.
Regulators warned Morris last year that 2025 would likely be the final year for fireworks at the event, as they continue pushing organizers to switch to drone shows they say are more environmentally friendly.
The decision stands in contrast to other approvals by the commission, including a permit granted to SeaWorld allowing up to 40 nights of fireworks.
“They get 40 nights in Mission Bay. All I’m asking for is 20 minutes — it doesn’t make any sense,” Morris said.
Morris, 78, also pushed back on the environmental concerns cited by the commission, pointing to years of testing around the event.
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Due to the lack of fireworks, Morris has decided to cancel the July 3rd celebration.
“We’ve had 10 years of environmental studies,” Morris said. “We test the water before and after the fireworks and send a robotic camera into the bay to check for debris — there’s never been any. It’s been spotless.
“We’ve also had eight years of bird reports to make sure we’re not harming wildlife. We’ve never had an issue. We’ve never been written up one time. So what is it really about?”
Joshua Smith, a spokesman for the California Coastal Commission, told Fox News Digital that permits are determined on a case-by-case basis, citing environmental concerns to “protect the bay.”
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Organizer John Morris said environmental studies are regularly conducted to measure the impact of the fireworks show on the bay. (Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
Smith said Morris was approved for a permit to hold a drone show in lieu of fireworks. Morris told Fox News Digital such a show would cost about $200,000 — roughly four times more than traditional fireworks.
Smith confirmed that SeaWorld received a permit allowing 40 nights of fireworks. When pressed on the discrepancy, he reiterated that decisions are made individually and declined to provide further details.
Morris said the loss of the fireworks show will be felt across the community, from local businesses to families who have made the event an annual tradition.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — In the wide-open race for California governor, billionaire Tom Steyer is on a spending binge.
The hedge fund manager-turned-liberal activist is using his personal fortune to saturate TV screens and mobile phones with advertising, while his competitors accuse him of trying to use his vast wealth to buy the state’s most powerful job.
Steyer’s ads — in which he promises to bring down household costs or rails against federal immigration raids — appear inescapable at times in heavily Democratic Los Angeles, the state’s largest media market. Data compiled by advertising tracker AdImpact show Steyer has spent or booked over $115 million in ads for broadcast TV, cable and radio — nearly 30 times the amount of his nearest Democratic rival.
If he makes it through the June 2 primary election, Steyer could easily eclipse the 2010 record set by Republican Meg Whitman, who spent $178.5 million in a losing bid for governor, much of it her own money. At the time, it was the costliest campaign for statewide office in the nation’s history.
Even when ad buys from all his major competitors are combined, along with ad purchases by independent committees supporting candidates, Steyer is outspending the field by tens of millions of dollars.
“Billionaire money is flooding our state in an attempt to buy this election,” former U.S. Rep. Katie Porter, one of Steyer’s chief rivals, warned her supporters this month.
Mail-in ballots are set to go out to voters next month. Steyer is among a crowd of candidates hoping to seize a spotlight after former Democratic U.S. Rep. Eric Swalwell’s dramatic departure from the race following sexual assault allegations that he denies.
But while Steyer has ticked up in polling amid his spending splurge, he has not broken away from the field, leaving some wondering if he’s getting value for his dollars.
“If your first round of ads doesn’t move you dramatically (in the polls), the third, fourth, fifth, six, seventh and eighth rounds won’t either,” said veteran Democratic strategist Bill Carrick, who for years advised the late Democratic U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein. “There is something inherently holding Steyer back.”
In recent prior campaigns for governor, at this stage a leading candidate was taking control of the race. This year, voters appear to be shrugging at a contest that lacks a star candidate among seven leading Democrats and two Republicans.
“Somehow the campaign is frozen,” Carrick added.
History shows that money doesn’t always translate into votes.
Billionaire developer Rick Caruso spent over $100 million in 2022 in his bid to become Los Angeles mayor, much of it his own money, but he was handily defeated by Mayor Karen Bass, who spent a fraction of Caruso’s total. Billionaire former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg spent more than $1 billion of his own money on his 2020 presidential bid before dropping out. And Steyer’s money was unable to lift him into contention in the 2020 presidential contest, when he dropped out early in the year after a poor finish in the South Carolina primary.
Steyer has never held elected office.
In a 2019 interview with The Associated Press, Steyer was asked what he would say to people who think he’s trying to buy the presidency.
“I don’t think that’s possible,” Steyer said at the time, before adding, “I’m never going to apologize for succeeding in business. That’s America, right?”
His campaign did not respond directly when asked about similar criticism facing his run for governor.
“Tom now stands as the only Democrat with the grassroots energy, institutional backing and resources to advance to the general election,” spokesperson Kevin Liao said in a statement.
The governor’s race was recently reordered by two developments: Swalwell, a leading Democrat, abruptly withdrew from the race then resigned from Congress, following sexual assault allegations. Meanwhile, President Donald Trump endorsed conservative commentator Steve Hilton.
Still, there is no clear leader.
Polling in late March and early April by the nonpartisan Public Policy Institute of California found a cluster of candidates in close competition: Democrats Steyer and Porter, Republicans Hilton and Chad Bianco, and Swalwell. Other candidates were trailing. The polling was conducted before Swalwell withdrew.
Democrats have feared the party’s large number of candidates could lead to them getting shut out of the general election in November. That’s because California has a primary system in which only the top two vote-getters advance to the general election, regardless of party.
Leading Democrats are all claiming to have picked up support since Swalwell’s exit. Steyer nabbed one plum endorsement, when the influential California Teachers Association, which previously backed Swalwell, recommended him.
In his ads, Steyer promises to “abolish” U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which has been staging raids across California. In another, he laments the state’s punishing cost of housing, “Everybody needs an affordable place to live,” he says.
Rapper was stabbed 16 times by fellow inmate in May 2025 while 10-year sentence in Megan Thee Stallion shooting case
Tory Lanez has filed a $100 million lawsuit against the California Department of Corrections stemming from a May 2025 incident where the rapper was stabbed in prison.
Lanez — born Daystar Peterson and currently serving a 10-year sentence after being found guilty in the Megan Thee Stallion shooting case — also sued the warden and guards at the California Correctional Institute in Tehachapi, where the rapper was stabbed 16 times in an “unprovoked life-threatening attack” by another inmate, the lawsuit states.
Peterson was hospitalized following the May 2025 incident, suffering a collapsed lung among stab wounds to his back, torso, and head.
According to the Associated Press, the lawsuit criticized the Department of Corrections for housing Peterson with fellow inmate and alleged attacker Santino Casio, who was serving a life sentence for second-degree murder. “The choice to house Casio with Peterson was known or should have been a known danger,” the lawsuit said, adding that Tory Lanez’ “high-profile celebrity status” made him a target.
The lawsuit also said that prison guards were slow to respond to the shanking, and didn’t employ flash grenades or other measures to halt Casio’s attack.; Casio was not charged for stabbing Peterson, the Associated Press notes.
Lanez, who following his hospitalization was transferred to San Luis Obispo County’s California Men’s Colony, also alleges in the lawsuit that he never received his possessions from the California Correctional Institute in Tehachapi, including songbooks filled with lyrics to his unreleased music.
Lanez is serving a 10-year prison sentence for shooting Megan Thee Stallion in the foot during a confrontation in the summer of 2020. He was eventually convicted on several firearms charges, including assault with a firearm, in December 2022. In November 2025, his appeal was denied by a three-judge panel, and the 10-year sentence was upheld.
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