In this section: California

Bill dossier · California 2025–26 session · session closed September 30, 2026
Current through · Last editorial review October 1, 2026 · Original snapshot September 18, 2026, 3:00 PM PT (archived below)

AB 1979: Health care services: artificial intelligence

SIGNED SEPTEMBER 30, 2026

Final status · recorded October 1, 2026

SIGNED SEPTEMBER 30, 2026AB 1979 was signed on September 30, 2026. Operative: Jan. 1, 2027†. It is law; the chaptered text is the controlling version. Source: California 2026 Final Legislative Ledger · Current analysis: California’s Health-AI Experiment Is Now Law.

Published
September 1, 2026
Originally verified through
September 18, 2026, 3:00 PM PT
Final-status update
October 1, 2026
Current through
October 1, 2026

Archived snapshot — originally current through September 18, 2026, 3:00 PM PTPreserved as originally published. Superseded by the final status above; lifecycle language, deadlines and “pending” states in this section describe the record as it stood on that date, not the current state. The dossier body below (what the bill does, legislative history, analysis and “what happens next”) is the September record.

Bill

AB 1979 (2025-2026)

Internal identity

CA|2025-2026|AB1979

Author

Bonta

Lifecycle

LEGISLATURE PASSED — PRESENTMENT NOT ESTABLISHED

Where it sits

Assembly — engrossing and enrolling

Last recorded action

August 27, 2026

Recorded vote

Senate third reading passed 26 August; Assembly concurrence 66–10, 27 August

Enrollment

ENGROSSING / ENROLLING

Governor

No action announced through 15 September 2026

Urgency

None recorded

Chapter

Not applicable

Verification

VERIFIED

Governor deadline

September 30, 2026

Verified

September 15, 2026

Latest recorded action

August 27, 2026. Assembly concurred in Senate amendments (66–10); to engrossing and enrolling. Senate third reading passed 26 August; Assembly concurrence 66–10, 27 August.

Concurrence. CONCURRED 27 AUGUST 2026 (66–10).

Legislative history

  • August 26, 2026. Senate third reading — passed.
  • August 27, 2026. Assembly concurrence in Senate amendments, 66–10; to engrossing and enrolling.

What the bill does

Health care services: artificial intelligence — Assembly-passed framework for AI used in health care services; operative duties attach only on enactment.

What it does not do

Legislative passage is complete; the bill is not enrolled to the Governor on the record read here, is not law, and is not operative. No provider or plan duty exists today.

KPSGILL position

No position taken. The subject sits inside the AI & medicine institute; analysis of operative duties waits for the chaptered text.

Open verification items

Named here rather than answered with an assumption.

  • Enrollment and presentment entries
  • Governor action by 30 September
  • Chaptered text and operative date

What happens next

Governor action deadline: September 30, 2026. That is the session-wide date this desk tracks, not a date computed from this bill’s own presentment: enrolment and presentment for this bill are not established on the record read here, and until they are, no per-bill clock can be stated. Every qualifying measure is tracked on the Governor’s Health Bill Desk; scheduled dates sit on the decision calendar.

Sources

Register: the record store · internal identity CA|2025-2026|AB1979 · verification state VERIFIED · tracker: California Legislature 2026.

Bill dossier · revised 18 September 2026, 3:00 PM PT.

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