SACRAMENTO – Today, Senator Steve Padilla (D San Diego) issued the following statement after California Governor Gavin Newsom vetoed Senate Bill 903, a measure designed to ensure that mental health services are safe, ethical, and conducted by trained professionals, not artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms. The bill would have prohibited AI algorithms from providing or advertising “therapy” and set standards for professional’s use of AI to promote human-centered care.
Press Releases
SACRAMENTO – Today, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed into law Senate Bill 941. Authored by California State Senator Steve Padilla (D-San Diego), the bill would prohibit the excessive markup of products sold at private detention facilities in California.
SACRAMENTO – Yesterday, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed into law Senate Bill 420, authored by Senator Steve Padilla (D-San Diego). The new law ensures organizations tied to private immigration detention centers cannot claim charitable tax status solely because they are organized as nonprofits.
SACRAMENTO – Yesterday, Governor Gavin Newsom signed Senate Bill 876, the Disaster Recovery Reform Act, authored by Senate Insurance Committee Chair Steve Padilla (D-San Diego), a far-reaching set of consumer protections for homeowners and renters recovering from wildfires and other major disasters. The law was sponsored by Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara and responds directly to wildfire survivors’ complaints filed with the Department of Insurance by speeding up claim payments while doubling penalties for delays and runarounds by insurance companies.
SACRAMENTO – Recently, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed into law Senate Bill 58 by Senator Steve Padilla (D-San Diego), which will direct the California Air Resources Board to update California’s air quality standard for hydrogen sulfide (H2S), a gas that is found at high concentrations in the Tijuana River Valley and the Salton Sea region. California’s hydrogen sulfide standard has not been updated since 1969. Just last week, the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, for the first time found hydrogen sulfide in outdoor air near the Tijuana River reached levels that could harm people’s health.
SACRAMENTO – Today, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed into law Senate Bills 886 and 887, both authored by State Senator Steve Padilla (D-San Diego). This data center legislative package contains some of the strongest rate payer protections and environmental protections from data center costs in the country.
SACRAMENTO – Thousands of licensed mental health professionals have signed a letter (attached) urging Governor Gavin Newsom to sign Senate Bill (SB) 903, authored by Senator Steve Padilla. This bill would protect individuals seeking therapy or psychotherapy services by prohibiting the advertisement of AI chatbots as “therapy” and setting common sense guardrails for AI use in mental health treatment. SB 903 passed the Senate unanimously and the Assembly with bipartisan support by a vote of 71 to 4 and now awaits Governor Newsom’s signature into law.
SACRAMENTO – Last week, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed into law Senate Bill 867, authored by Senator Steve Padilla (D-San Diego). This first-in-the-nation legislation places a 4-year moratorium on the sale and manufacturing of toys with artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot capabilities for children under 16.