Dozens of bills making their way through California’s state Capitol reached the end of their road yesterday during the appropriations suspense file hearings. The twice yearly proceeding is known to be a somewhat opaque process where bills over a certain cost threshold can be held without significant public debate.
Amid a budget deficit, Senate Appropriations Committee Chair Senator Anna Caballero, a Democrat representing the Merced area, said the committee had to be careful to look at bills that are less expensive and provide cost-reducing amendments in many cases.
“It’s an inexact process, but that’s what we were trying to do,” Caballero said.
A group of artificial intelligence bills were among those that survived the committee clean-out.
SB 1047 by Senator Scott Wiener, a Democrat representing the San Francisco area, would impose guardrails on the development of AI in California, home to the global tech industry. The measure, which has received heavy industry opposition, will move forward this session.
“What a lot of us are trying to do is figure out a regulatory environment that allows for some of those guardrails to exist while not stifling innovation and the economic growth that comes with AI,” said Assembly member Buffy Wicks, a Democrat representing the Berkeley area, who chairs the Assembly Appropriations Committee
State Sen. Scott Wiener, D-San Francisco, watches as the Senate votes on a measure at the Capitol in Sacramento, Calif., Thursday, April 11, 2024. Wiener is the author of a bill aiming to regulate powerful generative AI systems.AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli,File
Bills that would prohibit the use of automated decision tools in employment processes, and maintain human jobs in automated retail trucks also passed the committee.
AB 1814 by Assembly member Phil Ting, a Democrat from San Francisco, would have prohibited law enforcement from using facial recognition technology as the basis for an arrest. It was held in committee.
Another that would regulate the use of self-checkout made it through, but is headed to the Rules Committee.
Several reparations bills from the California Legislative Black Caucus made it through, including SB 1331 that would establish a fund for reparations and reparative justice. Wicks said the committee made them a priority, despite some large price tags.
“This is obviously a huge issue for not just our state but our country,” Wicks said.
Assembly member Wicks’ own bill to require online platforms to compensate media outlets for content that runs on their sites will also advance.
Lawmakers have until August 31 to pass or kill the hundreds of bills remaining this legislative session.
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