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Senator Wiener Expands AI Bill Into Landmark Transparency Measure Based on Recommendations of Governor’s Working Group
July 9, 2025
SACRAMENTO — Senator Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) announced amendments to expand Senate Bill (SB) 53 into a first-in-the-nation transparency requirement for the largest AI companies. The new provisions draw on the recommendations of a working group led by some of the world’s leading AI experts and convened by Governor Newsom.
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SB 53 retains provisions — called “CalCompute” — that advance a bold industrial strategy to boost AI development and democratize access to the most advanced AI models and tools. CalCompute will be a public cloud compute cluster housed at the University of California that provides free and low-cost access to compute for startups and academic researchers.
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Recent advances in AI have delivered breakthrough benefits across several industries, from accelerating drug discovery and medical diagnostics to improving climate modeling and wildfire prediction. AI systems are revolutionizing education, increasing agricultural productivity, and helping solve complex scientific challenges.
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In addition, SB 53 creates CalCompute, a research cluster to support startups and researchers developing large-scale AI, helping California secure its global leadership as states like New York establish their own AI research clusters.
SB 53 is sponsored by Encode AI, Economic Security Action California, and the Secure AI Project.
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“Including safety and transparency protections recommended by Gov. Newsom’s AI commission in SB 53 is an opportunity for California to be on the right side of history and advance commonsense AI regulations while our national leaders dither,” said Teri Olle, Director of Economic Security California Action, a co-sponsor of the bill. “In addition to making sure AI is safe, the bill would create a public option for cloud computing – the critical infrastructure necessary to fuel innovation and research. CalCompute would democratize access to this powerful resource that is currently enjoyed by a tiny handful of wealthy tech companies, and ensure that AI benefits the public. With inaction from the federal government – and on the heels of the defeat of the proposed 10-year moratorium on AI regulations – California should act now and get this done.”
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