Existing law establishes the Department of Technology within the Government Operations Agency. Existing law requires the department 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 “automated decision system” as 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. Existing law defines “artificial intelligence” as 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.

This bill would require the Government Operations Agency, by January 1, 2027, to establish a mechanism on the agency’s internet website allowing AI auditors to enroll with the agency and allowing natural persons to report misconduct by an enrolled AI auditor. The bill would require the agency, commencing January 1, 2027, to publish information provided by an enrolled AI auditor on the agency’s internet website, retain specified reports for as long as the auditor remains enrolled, plus 10 years, and share reports submitted by persons reporting misconduct with other state agencies as necessary for enforcement purposes.

This bill would, commencing January 1, 2027, require an AI auditor, prior to initially conducting a covered audit, as defined, to enroll with the agency. The bill would require an AI auditor that enrolls with the agency to pay an enrollment fee, to be fixed by the agency by January 1, 2027, and provide specified information. The bill would impose various requirements on an AI auditor that conducts a covered audit, including, among other things, providing the auditee with an audit report after the covered audit.

This bill would prohibit the AI auditor from accepting employment with an auditee within 12 months of completing a covered audit of the auditee, conducting a covered audit if the auditee had employed the auditor during the 12-month period preceding the audit, disclosing confidential information except under certain circumstances, and preventing an employee from engaging in, or retaliating against an employee who has engaged in, specified whistleblower activity.

This bill would create the AI Auditors’ Enrollment Fund within the State Treasury, to be administered by the agency, and would require that all moneys collected or received by the agency pursuant to the above-described provisions be deposited into the fund to be available, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to administer the above-described provisions.