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<ns0:ActionText>INTRODUCED</ns0:ActionText>
<ns0:ActionDate>2026-02-19</ns0:ActionDate>
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<ns0:AuthorText authorType="LEAD_AUTHOR">Introduced by Senator Cabaldon</ns0:AuthorText>
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<ns0:Name>Cabaldon</ns0:Name>
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<ns0:Title>An act to add Chapter 6 (commencing with Section 12898) to Part 2.5 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code, relating to automated decision systems.</ns0:Title>
<ns0:RelatingClause>automated decision systems</ns0:RelatingClause>
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<ns0:Subject>State agencies: automated decision systems.</ns0:Subject>
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<html:p>Existing law establishes the Government Operations Agency (GovOps), and establishes within the agency the Department of Technology. Existing law requires the Department of Technology to conduct, in coordination with other interagency bodies as it deems appropriate, a comprehensive inventory of all high-risk automated decision systems that have been proposed for use, development, or procurement by, or are being used, developed, or procured by, any state agency. Existing law defines, for these purposes, an “automated decision system” as, among other things, a computational process that is used to assist or replace human discretionary decisionmaking and materially impacts natural persons.</html:p>
<html:p>Existing law establishes various public assistance and social programs administered by state agencies, including the Department of Social Services and the
Employment Development Department. Existing law provides for the licensure and regulation of specified professions and vocations by boards and bureaus within the Department of Consumer Affairs.</html:p>
<html:p>This bill would impose certain restrictions on the use of an automated decision system by a state agency to confer services, defined as, among other things, the issuance of professional licenses and provision of public benefits. Among the restrictions, the bill would include a prohibition on using an output from the system as the sole basis for an adverse service determination affecting a natural person, except as specified. The bill would require the state agency to verify the accuracy of the system’s outputs and to promote nondiscrimination in its use, as specified. The bill would require the director or designee of a state agency to provide for quality control review of the outputs, as specified, to assure acceptable accuracy.</html:p>
<html:p>This bill would authorize GovOps to develop, adopt, and make publicly available guidance for a state agency’s use of automated decision systems. The bill would require GovOps to notify the Joint Legislative Budget Committee before issuing the guidance. The bill would require GovOps to provide technical assistance to state agencies upon request. The bill would define terms for purposes of its provisions and would make related findings and declarations.</html:p>
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<ns0:Preamble>The people of the State of California do enact as follows:</ns0:Preamble>
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<ns0:Num>SECTION 1.</ns0:Num>
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<html:p>The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:</html:p>
<html:p>
(a)
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California’s residents and businesses increasingly conduct transactions at unprecedented speeds, with private sector services such as loan approvals, insurance applications, and consumer purchases now processed in minutes or seconds through automated systems. Government services have not kept pace with these technological advances, creating a disconnect between public expectations and the reality of government service delivery.
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(b)
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Delays in processing professional license applications, credential verifications, and occupational certifications impose significant hardships on California residents. Nurses,
teachers, contractors, cosmetologists, and other professionals face prolonged delays in receiving licenses necessary to begin or continue working, which creates economic hardship and workforce shortages. Businesses cannot operate while waiting for required professional credentials, and California’s economy suffers when qualified individuals are prevented from contributing their skills due to administrative backlogs.
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(c)
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Automatic decisionmaking systems, when properly designed with appropriate safeguards, transparency measures, and human oversight mechanisms, have the potential to dramatically reduce processing times for routine governmental decisions while maintaining accuracy and fairness. These systems can enable state agencies to redirect limited staff resources from repetitive administrative tasks to complex cases requiring human judgment and to providing enhanced customer service.
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(d)
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The deployment of automated decisionmaking technology in government services must be accompanied by robust protections to ensure equity, prevent algorithmic bias, protect individual privacy, and preserve meaningful human review and appeal rights. The benefits of speed and efficiency must not come at the expense of due process, equal protection, or the fundamental principle that government remains accountable to the people it serves.
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(e)
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Authorizing state agencies to utilize automatic decisionmaking systems for professional licensing, occupational credentialing, and benefits determination in state-administered programs, subject to appropriate standards and oversight, will modernize California’s public service infrastructure, reduce administrative burdens on both government and residents, and ensure that government responsiveness reflects the technological capabilities and expectations of the twenty-first century.
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(f)
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California operates over 40 professional licensing boards, bureaus, and programs under the Department of Consumer Affairs, regulating more than 200 occupations and professions. These entities process hundreds of thousands of license applications, renewals, and verifications annually. Automatic decisionmaking systems provide state agencies the technological means to meet statutory processing timelines while ensuring consistent and fair application of licensing criteria and professional standards.
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<ns0:Num>SEC. 2.</ns0:Num>
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Chapter 6 (commencing with Section 12898) is added to Part 2.5 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the
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, to read:
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<ns0:Num>6.</ns0:Num>
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<ns0:LawHeadingText>Automated Decision Systems</ns0:LawHeadingText>
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<ns0:Num>12898.</ns0:Num>
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<html:p>For purposes of this chapter, the following definitions apply:</html:p>
<html:p>
(a)
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“Artificial intelligence” means an engineered or machine-based system that varies in its level of autonomy and that can, for explicit or implicit objectives, infer from the input it receives how to generate outputs that can influence physical or virtual environments.
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(b)
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“Automated decision system” means a computational process derived from machine learning, statistical modeling, data analytics, or artificial intelligence that issues simplified output, including a score, classification, or recommendation, that is used to assist or replace human discretionary decisionmaking and materially impacts natural persons. “Automated decision
system” does not include a spam email filter, firewall, antivirus software, identity and access management tools, calculator, database, dataset, or other compilation of data.
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<html:p>
(c)
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“Legally protected information” means information that a person is prohibited from disclosing under federal or state law, including provisions of the Evidence Code relating to privilege, or that would result in a violation of a legal duty of confidentiality.
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<html:p>
(d)
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“State agency” has the same meaning as in Section 11000.
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(e)
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“Personally identifiable information” means an individual’s residential address, telephone number, social security number, driver’s license number, state identification card number, passport number, license plate number, vehicle registration information for a motor vehicle owned or leased by the individual, and information
regarding an individual’s precise geolocation, as defined in Section 1798.140 of the Civil Code.
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(f)
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“Protected health information” has the same meaning as defined in Section 160.103 of Title 45 of the Code of Federal Regulations.
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(g)
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“Services” means both of the following:
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<html:p>
(1)
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Services, benefits, or assistance, whether provided in cash or in kind, that a state agency provides or administers, including, but not limited to, social services, linkages to programs administered by the federal Social Security Administration, vocational and education-related services, and employment assistance.
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<html:p>
(2)
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Issuance, renewal, denial, or suspension of a professional license or occupational credential.
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<ns0:Num>12898.1.</ns0:Num>
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<html:p>If a state agency uses an automated decision system for services, not including competitive determinations, the state agency shall comply with all of the following:</html:p>
<html:p>
(a)
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The state agency may use an automated decision system to inform its decisionmaking process. The state agency shall not substitute the outputs of an automated decision system for human judgment.
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(b)
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When an automated decision system is used to assist in a decisionmaking process, the system shall be only one of the factors a user considers in reaching a decision. The state agency may use an automated decision system to ascertain whether a services application or submission meets minimum eligibility thresholds as predetermined by the
state agency.
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<html:p>
(c)
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The state agency shall not use an output from an automated decision system as the sole basis for an adverse service determination affecting a natural person, such as denial of a benefit or license, except as expressly authorized by federal or state law.
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(d)
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The state agency shall require that any output of an automated decision system that suggests noneligibility or other adverse action be reviewed by a human before any adverse action is taken.
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(e)
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A state agency’s user shall not represent work generated solely by an automated decision system as the user’s own original work.
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<html:p>
(f)
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When the use of an automated decision system is material to a decision, the state agency shall provide a means, consistent with applicable law, to document or
disclose that the system was used in the decisionmaking process.
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<html:p>
(g)
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The state agency shall verify the accuracy of an automated decision system’s outputs, and shall promote nondiscrimination in its use of an automated decision system, by doing all of the following:
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<html:p>
(1)
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Ensure content, recommendations, or other outputs generated by an automated decision system that may materially affect service levels are reviewed and verified by an employee of the state agency, or by another authorized person, for accuracy before being relied upon.
</html:p>
<html:p>
(2)
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Monitor and periodically evaluate the use of automated decision systems to reduce the risk that outputs contain or perpetuate bias, including bias based on race, color, religion, sex, gender, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, marital status, national origin,
ancestry, age, disability, medical condition, genetic information, immigration or citizenship status, or any other characteristic protected by federal or state law.
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<html:p>
(3)
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Require that an application or submission contain all required fields, attachments, or information in the required format.
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(h)
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The state agency shall safeguard personally identifiable information, protected health information, or other legally protected information by prohibiting a user of the automated decisions system from inputting, uploading, or otherwise disclosing the information to an automated decision system, except where necessary for services administration or delivery, as authorized by law and subject to appropriate safeguards. For third-party systems, a state agency shall employ safeguards that may include access controls and appropriate security standards.
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<html:p>
(i)
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The state agency’s director or designee shall provide for an initial and subsequent periodic quality control review of the outputs of the automated decision system, or a statistically valid represented sample thereof to assure acceptable accuracy.
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<ns0:Num>12898.2</ns0:Num>
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<html:p>The Government Operations Agency, in collaboration with any other state entity the agency deems appropriate, may develop, adopt, and make publicly available guidance for a state agency’s use of automated decision systems consistent with this chapter. Before issuing the guidance, the agency shall notify the Joint Legislative Budget Committee of its decision to issue guidance.</html:p>
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<ns0:Num>12898.3</ns0:Num>
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<html:p>The Government Operations Agency may provide technical assistance to state agencies to comply with this chapter.</html:p>
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