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The California Legislature is in its final days of its 2026 session and lawmakers still have dozens of consequential bills in front of them. Most must pass by the end of the day Monday to go before Gov. Gavin Newsom, who has a month to decide whether to accept or reject the measures.
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Many of the pending bills were the subject of forceful lobbying, extended negotiations and were amended several times to get to this point. And they involve some of the biggest companies and issues in the state.
Here are some of the key measure the Legislature is still waiting to act on.
Chatbots
Senate Bill 867, authored by state Sen. Steve Padilla, D-Chula Vista, would prohibit until Jan. 1, 2031 the sale of toys for children under 16 years old that have a companion chatbot. Violating the proposal would open up companies to lawsuits.
Senate Bill 1119, also authored by Padilla, would require companion chatbot operators to evaluate the design of their products for any potential harm on children and conduct safety audits. The attorney general and district attorneys could file lawsuits against companies that violate the measure.
Social media regulation
Assembly Bill 1709 would require social media companies to offer platforms to children under 16 that don’t include certain features meant to keep them using the site, such as a personalized feeds generated by algorithms and autoplaying videos. The measure, authored by Assemblymember Josh Lowenthal, D-Long Beach, would also create an e-safety advisory commission to help the attorney general implement and enforce the law.
Artificial intelligence
Assembly Bill 1018, by Assemblymember Rebecca Bauer-Kahan, D-Orinda, would regulate the use of certain artificial intelligence technology in employment, housing and healthcare decisions. It would require developers of the systems to provide instructions on how they should be deployed and users of the technology to disclose the role it played to make decisions to fire a person from their job, among other actions.
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Ticket sales
Assembly Bill 1349 would prohibit sellers from offering or marketing tickets to concerts and sporting events by a person that doesn’t actually possess the ticket. So-called speculative sales were an issue during this summer’s World Cup. The measure by Assemblymember Isaac Bryan, D-Jefferson Park, would also make it unlawful to use bots to evade an electronic waiting period to secure tickets or to get around purchase limits.
Wildfires
Senate Bill 492, by state Sen. Josh Becker, D-Menlo Park, would create a program to try and more quickly pay claims for damages after a utility-caused wildfires, deny short-term bonuses for utility CEOs for a year if the company starts a fire that kills at least one person and put requirements on attorneys seeking to represent victims of blazes.
The measure is the result of lengthy negotiations between Newsom and Democratic legislative leaders that led to a bill that did not fully reflect what the governor was hoping it would include. It also requires state officials to come up with a wildfire preparedness strategy.
The Legislature has to wait until Tuesday morning to vote on the measure because of a state rule that requires bills to be in print for 72 hours before they are acted on, which is a day later than the body was supposed to be working. It will require two-thirds support from both the Assembly and Senate because it is going beyond the original deadline.
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