California
Will California lawmakers give AI innovators a chance?
California was the birthplace of the digital revolution and some of the world’s most innovative modern tech companies and products. The secret sauce powering that development was a policy framework rooted in light-touch regulation that gave entrepreneurs and investors a green light to try to become the next big thing – and many did just that to the envy of the rest of the world.
Unfortunately, like many other states today, California appears ready to reverse course with a new policy approach to artificial intelligence (AI) and advanced computation that could limit the next great technological revolution at a time when China and other nations are speeding ahead.
For example, one new bill (SB 892), would demand that private vendors of AI services abide by a wide variety of new rules for AI that will be enumerated by the California Department of Technology if those companies hope to do any business with the state. And plenty more red tape could be on the way. According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, about a dozen other bills have been floated in California recently.
Many of these measures would try to preemptively tackle a huge range of activities, including algorithmic processes used for automated hiring systems, social media systems, health care and more. And the state has already adopted a resolution that said California is committed to carrying out the vision outlined in President Joe Biden’s “Blueprint for an AI Bill of Rights,” although it remains unclear what that entails at this stage.
The good news is California and other states have not yet advanced crushing AI regulations that would wind back the clock on the digital revolution. They still have a chance to emulate the crucial tech policy decisions made in the early days of the internet and e-commerce. During the Clinton administration, both California and the federal government adopted a framework summarized by one important word: forbearance.
Start-ups could take a shot at building creative products without needing expensive permission slips from countless bureaucrats. Policy treated these innovators and their services as innocent until proven guilty. In other words, regulatory forbearance meant entrepreneurial freedom.
This policy approach was a resounding success for America. Eighteen of the world’s 25 biggest digital technology companies are U.S.-based firms, and most of them are headquartered in California. The freedom to innovate gave us more firms, jobs, and world-leading products – and attracted talented workers, companies and investors to our shores. A recent list from venture capital firm a16z of the 50 most promising AI companies in America revealed that most of these start-ups and growing firms are also based in California.
On the other hand, countries that have taken a more repressive approach to digital tech have shot themselves in the foot. It’s hard to name any digital market leaders based in Europe, for example, because heavy-handed mandates triumphed over the freedom to innovate. Experts have noted that Europe was “the biggest loser” in the global tech race, mostly due to their misguided regulatory policies.
Importantly, the American forbearance approach does not mean ‘anything-goes’ anarchy. Like every other state, California already has plenty of laws and regulations on the books that can address the harms potentially caused by AI or any other new technology. The state has consumer welfare statutes that address unfair and deceptive practices, regardless of how they occur. Civil rights laws already cover discrimination and bias. And with
For example, if AI-related harms develop in the context of finance, environment, employment, insurance or transportation, the state has powerful sectoral bureaucracies already well-staffed to handle such concerns. California should wait to see if those laws and agencies can handle AI-related issues before adding more red tape.
If America is going to win the AI race against rising global competition, California needs to give innovators a fighting chance. Fear-based policies that result in massive compliance burdens will cripple AI entrepreneurialism and prevent another great technological revolution from being birthed in the Golden State. Adam Thierer is a resident senior fellow on the R Street Institute’s technology and innovation team
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.
From one crackdown on hospice fraud to another.
A few weeks ago, the FBI arrested multiple people in Southern California that were accused of defrauding the government for millions of dollars.
In a more recent announcement last Thursday, California’s State Attorney General Rob Bonta held a press conference to announce a fraud bust of their own.
“Operation Skip Trace uncovered and ended a hospice fraud scheme that defrauded Medi-Cal of $267 million,” Bonta said. “So just to be clear, a quarter billion dollars over funds that are paid for by California taxpayers, funds that are meant to provide care to Californians in need. It is unacceptable. It is illegal and we will not stand for it.”
The operation saw a total of 21 suspects charged as a result and dismantled a major hospice fraud scheme, with two handguns and over $750 thousand in cash seized as well.
According to the state’s attorney general, this is just one of the many cases over the years the state has cracked down on.
“This is just the latest example of the California DOJ’s longstanding ongoing and successful efforts to combat hospice and medical fraud,” Bonta said. “We have been doing this work for years. We’ve been doing it successfully before certain people in this country decided to think about it for the first time. We will continue to do this work. Heads down, sleeves rolled up, important investigative work, prosecutorial work.”
He added to that by taking a shot at the Trump Administration’s latest fraud operations.
“While healthcare fraud might be President Trump’s shiny new political talking point, the California DOJ has been going after healthcare fraud since 1979,” Bonta said. “For decades, Trump is late to the party. Protecting taxpayer dollars and protecting programs sick and vulnerable Californians rely on have been our priority for nearly five decades.”
Governor Gavin Newsom also spoke out about this latest crackdown while taking a shot of his own at President Trump.
In a post to “X” the Governor’s Press Office wrote in part quote…
“California has been cracking down on hospice fraud long before Trump gutted oversight and pardoned the architect of the biggest health care fraud scheme in U.S. history.”
State Republicans have responded to this latest announcement from Attorney General Bonta, calling for a special session to demand accountability from the Governor on widespread fraud.
California
Xavier Becerra surges in poll after Eric Swalwell drops out of California governor’s race
A new poll shows a major shift in the California governor’s race after former Rep. Eric Swalwell, who was once a frontrunner, dropped out of the election following several allegations of sexual misconduct.
“This definitely throws this race into even more volatility, creates a huge vacuum,” Pomona College politics professor Sara Sadhwani said.
According to the new numbers, Xavier Becerra, the former state attorney general and Health and Human Services Secretary under President Biden, is surging in popularity.
In Emerson College’s Inside California Politics poll, Becerra is now polling at 10%, a seven-point jump since March.
Republican Steve Hilton remains in the lead with 17%, followed by Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco at 14%.
Among Democrats, billionaire Tom Steyer leads the pack with 14%, followed by Becerra and former Rep. Katie Porter at 10% each. San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan sits at 5%.
The poll showed that 23% of voters remain undecided.
“Xavier Becerra should be the happiest of them all because he’s the biggest move in this survey,” said Zev Yaroslavsky, director at UCLA’s Luskin School of Public Affairs.
Emerson College conducted the poll right after Swalwell dropped out of the race and President Trump endorsed Hilton.
“I believe over time, because Trump has endorsed Hilton for the governorship, that Hilton will continue to edge up and Bianco by definition will have to go down,” Yaroslavsky said.
Last weekend, the California GOP held its convention, and, similar to the Democrats, the party did not make an endorsement. However, Bianco received the most votes from the GOP delegates.
“We’re extremely happy with how it came out,” Bianco said. “There was a lot of effort put in by my opponent. Hundreds of thousands of dollars to try and win this election.
With the large number of undecided voters, Yaroslavky believes that the race is still in the air.
“It’s still early,” Yaroslavsky said. “It’s a little less than seven weeks before the election. The ballots go out at the beginning of next month. People, at least 30%, still haven’t made up their mind.”
In the state’s primary system, only the top two vote-getters in the June primary will advance to the November general election.
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