California Governor Gavin Newsom signed executive order declaring AI a state priority; AI legislative package enacted including AB 1883 and biosecurity provisions
Following·New·first covered 30 Sep 2026·2 sources
California Enacts AI Laws as Federal Preemption Bill Takes Shape
The gist
A federal preemption bill targeting catastrophic-risk AI laws would nullify existing and future state-level safety legislation in that domain. California's newly enacted laws, including biosecurity provisions requiring gene synthesis companies to screen orders, sit in territory that could intersect with what such a preemption targets.
The full picture
California enacted a package of AI laws covering workplace surveillance, clinical decision-making, deepfakes, and biosecurity screening. Separately, federal legislators including Thune, Cruz, and Klobuchar are reportedly in talks on a bill that would preempt state-level AI laws related to catastrophic and existential risks, potentially during a lame duck session.
How it developed
Reports emerged that Thune, Cruz, and Klobuchar are in talks on a federal preemption bill targeting state AI laws on catastrophic and existential risks
Sources
Rohan Paul Twitter
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