California Creates Third-Party AI Auditor Framework

California has established a formal structure for independent auditing of artificial intelligence systems, creating both the organizations that will conduct assessments and a registry to track qualified auditors.

Gov. Gavin Newsom signed two bills Wednesday that together build a compliance framework as AI becomes more prevalent in government operations and critical infrastructure. SB 813 authorizes independent verification organizations to evaluate AI systems and models, while AB 1405 creates a state registry for AI auditors with defined standards for independence, transparency and integrity.

Why it matters

As states deploy AI tools across government services—from citizen-facing assistants to internal decision-making systems—the absence of standardized evaluation creates regulatory gaps. California's framework provides a mechanism to verify compliance before problems emerge, particularly important given the state's own rapid AI adoption including the recently launched AskCA assistant and internal tools like Poppy.

Expanding state-level AI oversight

The legislation adds to California's growing body of AI regulation, which already includes disclosure requirements for frontier AI developers, incident reporting mandates, and rules governing AI-generated content and automated decision-making.

California follows Illinois, which enacted the Artificial Intelligence Safety Measures Act in July requiring annual independent third-party audits for major frontier AI developers. Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker framed the legislation as a state-level response to federal inaction, stating that states have "a responsibility to protect our people from the dangers of AI" when the federal government proves unwilling to act.

California's own AI deployment

The audit framework arrives as California agencies accelerate their use of AI technology. The state recently deployed AskCA to help residents navigate government services, provided agencies access to Anthropic's Claude tools, and tested the internally developed Poppy assistant with state employees.

California has also strengthened vendor oversight in recent months, requiring AI contractors seeking state business to address risks including algorithmic bias, civil rights violations and harmful content generation.

Call for federal action

In his statement, Newsom emphasized that state-level regulation alone cannot address the scope of AI's impact. He called for "robust, national regulations that match the urgency of this moment" while allowing responsible innovation to continue.

"California has taken nation-leading action to advance AI safety, transparency, accountability, and responsible innovation, but the scale and potential consequences of this technology demand sustained action from every level of government," Newsom said.

The details were first reported by StateScoop.