California Enacts SB 1159, Excluding AI Agents From Public-Participation Rights

Senate Bill 1159 (Cabaldon) was approved by the Governor and filed with the Secretary of State on September 30, 2026 as Chapter 863, Statutes of 2026. It provides that "person," "member of the public," and similar terms in the California Public Records Act, the Bagley-Keene and Brown open-meeting acts, the Legislative Open Records Act, the Administrative Procedure Act, the Coastal Act, and CEQA do not include artificial intelligence systems, autonomous agents, or robots, and authorizes agencies to use a disclosure verification tool meeting Business and Professions Code Section 22757.2 to detect AI. New Government Code Section 8319 prohibits knowingly using AI to falsely represent that a natural person appeared before, submitted information to, or engaged with a governmental agency. It carries no urgency clause or special operative date, so it takes effect January 1, 2027 under California's default rule for statutes enacted in a regular session. Chaptered text retrieved 2026-10-12.

Source: leginfo.legislature.ca.gov