Newsom Vetoes California's SB 1047 Frontier-AI Safety Bill
On 29 September 2024 Governor Gavin Newsom vetoed SB 1047, Senator Scott Wiener's Safe and Secure Innovation for Frontier Artificial Intelligence Models Act, which would have imposed safety testing, shutdown capability and incident-reporting duties on developers of very large AI models. In the causal graph this event neutralises Digital-Rights and Platform-Power Regulation, a driver that strengthens Alternative sources of information index — a worsening welfare path.
Read the full account
On 29 September 2024 Governor Gavin Newsom vetoed SB 1047, Senator Scott Wiener's Safe and Secure Innovation for Frontier Artificial Intelligence Models Act, which would have imposed safety testing, shutdown capability and incident-reporting duties on developers of very large AI models. Newsom argued the bill's thresholds were not grounded in an empirical analysis of AI capabilities and could miss smaller but dangerous models, while signalling openness to future regulation. The veto reshaped the US debate on state AI rules and set the stage for the narrower SB 53 the following year.
Who was responsible
Contribution type and responsibility level for each recorded actor — not sole-author shorthand.
Gavin Newsom
PersonDirect responsibility
verified
The veto blocked a proposed protective AI-safety regime; framed as procedurally cautious rather than clearly beneficial or harmful, so direction is recorded as neutral pending the contested debate.
What changed
Fact → Driver → Indicator. Relationship strength orders the paths; it is not the observed indicator movement.
- FactNewsom Vetoes California's SB 1047 Frontier-AI Safety Bill
- neutralisesDriverDigital-Rights and Platform-Power Regulation
- strengthensIndicators (4)Alternative sources of information index
impact weight 0.4 · Effect from 29 September 2024 · verified
Vetoing a proposed AI-safety statute temporarily paused the strengthening of digital-rights regulation in the largest US state, though a narrower law followed.
Strengthens · Relationship strength 0.21 (weight 0.4 × strength 0.52)
Observed
0.62 score from 0 to 1 · 0.23 below the normal line (2024)
Worse than normal125 readings, 1900–2024: rose from 0.35 score from 0 to 1 to 0.62 score from 0 to 1.
Above normal = better
Weakens · Relationship strength 0.18 (weight 0.4 × strength 0.45)
Observed
45 Score · 45 above the normal line (2024)
Worse than normal7 readings, 2018–2024: rose from 43.8 Score to 45 Score.
Normal is zero · any amount = worse
Strengthens · Relationship strength 0.16 (weight 0.4 × strength 0.4)
Above normal = better
All indicators on this path (4)
Strengthens · Relationship strength 0.14 (weight 0.4 × strength 0.35)
Observed
0.55 index score (0-1) · 0.26 below the normal line (2024)
Worse than normalAbove normal = better
Causal path
How this event connects to drivers and indicators in the graph.
- ActorGavin Newsom
- contributed toFactNewsom Vetoes California's SB 1047 Frontier-AI Safety Bill
- neutralisesDriverDigital-Rights and Platform-Power Regulation
- strengthensIndicatorAlternative sources of information index
Cite this page
Factrail. (2026). Newsom Vetoes California's SB 1047 Frontier-AI Safety Bill. Factrail. https://factrail.ai/facts/tech-fact-sb1047-ai-safety-veto-2024
https://factrail.ai/facts/tech-fact-sb1047-ai-safety-veto-2024
Accessed 15 October 2026.
By the Factrail desk · Method: how we source and score · Last reviewed
Dispute this factNamed here, or represent someone who is? Request a right of reply.