AB 539: Prior authorization: duration of approval

Latest recorded action

August 26, 2026. Assembly concurred in Senate amendments (64–4); to engrossing and enrolling. Senate passage 25 August; Assembly concurrence 64–4, 26 August.

Concurrence. CONCURRED 26 AUGUST 2026 (64–4).

Legislative history

• August 25, 2026. Senate third reading — passed.
• August 26, 2026. Assembly concurrence in Senate amendments, 64–4; to engrossing and enrolling.

What the bill does

Would require a health plan's or insurer's prior authorization for a service to remain valid for at least one year.

What it does not do

Legislative passage is complete; no payer obligation exists until enactment and the operative date. Not yet an operative prior-authorization requirement.

KPSGILL position

No support-or-oppose position is registered. The KPSGILL model payer standard, drafted independently, recommends the same twelve-month duration floor, alongside provisions this bill does not reach — transition continuity, a named accountable clinician and automation disclosure. Legislator Brief.

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

• LegiScan — AB 539 action history

Register: the record store · internal identity CA|2025-2026|AB539 · verification state VERIFIED · tracker: California Legislature 2026.