SB 903: Artificial intelligence: mental health and the practice of therapy

Latest recorded action

August 31, 2026. Senate concurred in Assembly amendments, 40–0; ordered to engrossing and enrolling. Senate concurrence 40–0, 31 August.

Concurrence. CONCURRED 31 AUGUST 2026 (40–0).

What the bill does

Would bar an artificial-intelligence system from providing or advertising psychotherapy or "therapy," and would set standards for licensed professionals’ use of AI in mental-health practice.

What it does not do

Legislative passage is complete; not law. No prohibition on AI systems providing or advertising therapy is operative today, and the operative definitions will be those of the enrolled text.

KPSGILL position

No position taken. The bill raises the boundary question the AI institute tracks: at what point does an AI tool begin performing a regulated healing-art function? The answer determines whether this is professional-practice regulation or product regulation.

Open verification items

Named here rather than answered with an assumption.

• Enrollment and presentment entries
• Governor action by 30 September

What happens next

Governor action deadline: September 30, 2026, computed from this bill’s own presentment rather than applied mechanically. Every qualifying measure is tracked on the Governor’s Health Bill Desk; scheduled dates sit on the decision calendar.

Primary sources

• California Senate — author’s release on SB 903 passage, 31 August 2026
• LegiScan — SB 903 action history

Register: data/ca-bills.json · internal identity CA|2025-2026|SB903 · verification state VERIFIED · tracker: California Legislature 2026.