Newsom’s order, announced Monday afternoon, places a new onus on the California Department of General Services (DGS) and the California Department of Technology (CDT) to recommend changes to the procurement process that would allow AI companies to explain their policies and safeguards.
The areas of interest for these company disclosures include the exploitation and distribution of illegal content, the use of models that promote harmful bias, and the protection of civil rights. The departments have 120 days to make their recommendations.
“California’s always been the birthplace of innovation. But we also understand the flip side: in the wrong hands, innovation can be misused in ways that put people at risk,” Newsom said in the announcement.
As is standard political practice at this point, Newsom jabbed at the Trump administration and what he called “designing policy and creating contracts in the shadow of misuse.”
“California leads in AI, and we’re going to use every tool we have to ensure companies protect people’s rights, not exploit them or put them in harm’s way,” the governor continued.
The order also gave CDT — specifically its chief information security officer — the ability to evaluate federal designations of companies deemed supply chain risks and federal procurement changes.
“If the CISO concludes that the designation is improper, DGS and CDT will jointly issue guidance ensuring that departments and agencies can continue to easily procure from that company,” the order reads.
On the other side of that coin, the Government Operations Agency (GovOps) has been tasked with working with CDT and DGS to recommend reforms to contractor responsibility provisions to prevent the state from contracting with companies “judicially determined” to have “unlawfully undermined privacy or civil liberties.” Those recommendations would be required within 120 days.
In addition, GovOps, CDT, DGS, the Office of Data and Innovation and California Department of Human Resources will have 120 days to complete the following tasks:
- Facilitate access to vetted AI tools for state employees.
- Share best practices through the State Technology Council and the AI Community of Practice.
- Update the State Digital Strategy with an eye toward government transparency, accountability and accessibility.
- Create an application or website that uses generative AI to provide “streamlined and user-friendly access to government services.”
- Expand training through industry and nonprofit partners.
- Publish a data minimization toolkit for departments that collect sensitive data.
The full text of the executive order can be found here.
