California Governor Gavin Newsom acted on hundreds of pieces of legislation over the weekend ahead of today’s deadline for him to sign or veto bills that reached his desk. The Governor vetoed a highly controversial CalChamber-opposed bill—SB 1047 (Wiener; D-San Francisco)—which attempted to place unworkable restrictions on artificial intelligence (AI) development and signed a closely watched measure—AB 98 (J. Carrillo; D-Palmdale)—a compromise measure that will provide stability to the goods movement industry.
CalChamber’s press statements issued over the weekend on both measures appear below:
SB 1047: AI Regulation
“We are grateful to Governor Newsom for the veto of SB 1047. Regulatory efforts to promote AI safety are critical, but SB 1047 missed the mark in key ways. As a consequence, the bill would have stifled AI innovation, putting California’s place as the global hub of innovation at tremendous risk.
“CalChamber understands that work to properly regulate and harness the power of AI technology is in its infancy and next year more work will be underway to create new standards. As policy makers embark on these efforts in 2025, we urge them to remain centered on key principles that include creating laws and regulations that operate with clear and consistent definitions, and are informed by people with deep expertise in this emerging field. New policies should conform to national standards and be informed by computer scientists to ensure technological feasibility. In addition, there needs to be robust enforcement and monitoring of already-illegal uses of AI since many of the worst cases are already prohibited by law.
“CalChamber stands ready to partner with the Legislature and Governor in future efforts to ensure the safety and transparency of frontier AI models.”
AB 98: Goods Movement
The following AB 98 statement was jointly issued with the CalChamber, the California Retailers’ Association, the California Restaurant Association and the California Apartment Association:
“California’s goods movement industry employs more than 1 million Californians and supports billions of dollars of economic activity each year.
“Governor Newsom’s decision to sign AB 98 provides a sensible path forward, ensuring that businesses can operate and expand while continuing to protect citizens who live and work near necessary logistics facilities.
“AB 98 is a compromise that avoids the negative economic and environmental impacts that would arise from much more stringent and unworkable legislation while still addressing community concerns. While any bill of this magnitude is expected to have future clean up, the bill will help maintain California’s position as a leader in both economic innovation and environmental stewardship.”
