California creates a state AI auditor registry

Governor Gavin Newsom signed SB 813 and AB 1405 on September 9, calling them the nation's first state AI auditing law, per the governor's announcement.

The two bills decide who gets to certify that an AI company follows California's rules. Once the registry opens, only registered auditors can do that work.

SB 813, from Senator McNerney, creates the California Artificial Intelligence Standards and Safety Commission. It also opens a path for independent organizations to verify that companies comply with state AI rules.

AB 1405, from Assemblymember Bauer-Kahan, requires the Government Operations Agency to stand up an AI Auditor Registry by January 1, 2029. After that date, anyone not on the registry is barred from performing covered AI audits.

That date is a little over two years out. The gap gives consulting and compliance firms time to build AI audit practices before the registry opens, and to shape what the Government Operations Agency decides counts as qualified before the rules bind.

Any AI company operating in California will eventually need a registered auditor to sign off. Which firms make that list is still undecided, since neither the Commission nor the registry exists yet.