AI Regulation · California

Transparency in Frontier AI Act

SB 53 - enacted in California.

Status
Enacted
Enacted
2025
States with ai regulation laws
6
California tracker score
100/100 Top 10%

The bottom line

Transparency in Frontier AI Act is an enacted law in California, part of a still-emerging ai regulation landscape.

Enacted
effective 2025-09-01
6
states have ai regulation laws
10/10
ai regulation laws enacted nationally
100/100
California tracker score

Data compiled 2026-03-18 from the official California legislative record linked below; laws can be amended or repealed after this date.

Category catalog share · regulations

How 10 tracked ai regulation records split by state

Exclusive California vs other-state counts in this category (sum to the category total). Orthogonal to the peer scatter below, which plots enacted volume against portal tracker score.

Regulatory Snapshot: Transparency in Frontier AI Act

Transparency in Frontier AI Act (SB 53) is an enacted law in California under the AI Regulation category. It was enacted on 2025-09-09 and becomes effective on 2025-09-01. California currently has 12 regulations tracked here, with 12 records marked enacted in this dataset. PlainRegWatch's tracker score is 100/100; it summarizes coverage within the five categories this site tracks and is not an official state rating. PlainRegWatch compiled this entry's data on 2026-03-18; consult the linked official source for the current, authoritative text.

Nationally, 10 ai regulation statutes have been enacted and 0 additional bills remain pending - 6 distinct jurisdictions have codified rules in this area so far. That places California within a still-emerging ai regulation landscape where compliance programs typically hinge on definitions in SB 53 itself.

Applicability under Transparency in Frontier AI Act: Frontier AI developers with $500M+ annual revenue. Penalty exposure is documented as: AG enforcement. Notable exemptions: Smaller companies. Non-frontier models. Academic research..

Summary

Frontier AI developers ($500M+ revenue) must publish safety reports.

Key Requirements

  • Annual transparency reports.
  • Safety evaluation disclosure.
  • Risk management frameworks.
  • Incident reporting.

Penalties

  • AG enforcement.

Applicability

  • Frontier AI developers with $500M+ annual revenue.

Exemptions

  • Smaller companies.
  • Non-frontier models.
  • Academic research.

Category context

How California sits among ai regulation peers

6 states have a tracked record in ai regulation ; California ranks #1 by portal tracker score among those peers. Each point is one state with at least one ai regulation regulation in this archive.

Fewer enacted, higher tracker scoreMore enacted, higher tracker scoreFewer enacted, lower tracker scoreMore enacted, lower tracker score0.9 enacted1.5 enacted2 enacted2.6 enacted3.1 enacted52.8/10064.6/10076.4/10088.2/100100/100Enacted laws in this categoryPortal tracker scoreCalifornia, Enacted laws in this category: 3 enacted · Portal tracker score: 100/100Colorado, Enacted laws in this category: 1 enacted · Portal tracker score: 76/100Illinois, Enacted laws in this category: 3 enacted · Portal tracker score: 62/100New York, Enacted laws in this category: 1 enacted · Portal tracker score: 62/100Texas, Enacted laws in this category: 1 enacted · Portal tracker score: 69/100Utah, Enacted laws in this category: 1 enacted · Portal tracker score: 55/100
AI Regulation peer states: enacted laws in this category versus portal tracker score (0–100)
Read the peer-state figures
  • California (this state): 3 enacted of 3 tracked ai regulation records, tracker score 100/100.
  • Colorado: 1 enacted of 1 tracked ai regulation record, tracker score 76/100.
  • Texas: 1 enacted of 1 tracked ai regulation record, tracker score 69/100.
  • Illinois: 3 enacted of 3 tracked ai regulation records, tracker score 62/100.
  • New York: 1 enacted of 1 tracked ai regulation record, tracker score 62/100.
  • Utah: 1 enacted of 1 tracked ai regulation record, tracker score 55/100.

Dashed lines mark the peer averages in this category. The tracker score summarizes enacted records across all five policy areas PlainRegWatch tracks; it is not enforcement strength or legal burden. Read how tracker scores are computed.

Tracker-score ranking on ai regulation

Top peer states by portal tracker score among jurisdictions with a ai regulation record in this archive.

#StateTracker score
1California (this state)100
2Colorado76
3Texas69
4Illinois62
5New York62
6Utah55

Read with Transparency in Frontier AI Act

Nearest ai regulation volume peers and same-state archive siblings for this ENACTED · MID row.

ENACTED MID

Disclaimer: This summary is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Regulation details may have changed since this data was compiled (2026-03-18). Always consult official sources and qualified legal counsel for compliance guidance.

More California Regulations

Data sourced from official state legislatures, IAPP, NCSL, and federal regulatory trackers. See our methodology for details. Retrieved and formatted by PlainRegWatch.

Verify with the official California source →

Every figure on PlainRegWatch is rendered from curated state legislative and Federal Register source data, no number is typed in by an editor. Status, dates, and source URL are this record's row in the curated archive, not a live legislature scrape. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of July 2026. Tracker scores and rule counts are curated records in five tracked categories - not enforcement strength, legal advice, a complete inventory of US law, or a live bill-status feed.