What happened
SB 574, authored by Sen. Thomas Umberg, cleared the Assembly 75-0 on August 31, 2026 and received final Senate concurrence, being sent to Gov. Newsom (reported Sept 1-2, 2026). This advances the bill from the 'active/pending' status previously reported (Aug 27) to full legislative passage. The final text prohibits attorneys and arbitrators from delegating the practice of law/decision-making to generative AI, requires attorneys to personally verify every AI-supplied citation in court filings, mandates disclosure of AI use to courts, and restricts entry of confidential/personally-identifying client information into generative AI systems unless access is properly restricted.
Why it matters
Would make California the first state with comprehensive statutory (not just bar-guidance) rules governing generative AI use in legal practice and arbitration, directly addressing the 'hallucinated citation' problem seen in court sanctions nationwide, and creating a enforceable framework other states are likely to model.
Action needed
Law firms and arbitration providers using generative AI in California proceedings should implement citation-verification protocols and confidentiality controls for AI tool inputs ahead of a possible signature; Newsom must act by Sept. 30, 2026.