Artificial intelligence is reshaping the workforce, largely by shifting decision making processes into the hands of automated decision tools. The impact of this transformation has understandably drawn calls for robust regulation of the use of AI, but to date there is little to no government oversight on the development and deployment of automated decision tools.
But not for a lack of effort.
Several Bay Area lawmakers say they don’t support a bill that would temporarily raise tolls on seven state-owned bridges to give BART and other transit agencies more money to avoid service cuts.
That’s the main aim of Senate Bill 532 by San Francisco state Sen. Scott Wiener, unveiled June 23. The proposal, if passed by two-thirds of the Legislature and signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom, would increase bridge tolls by $1.50 — resulting in $9.50 tolls through 2028 — to raise $900 million for regional transit agencies struggling to recover riders after the pandemic.
California Democrats boast that their state is a haven for abortion seekers and providers. But in one big way, abortion rights supporters concede that they’ve failed in the year since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade.
In California, less than two-thirds of counties have an abortion clinic. But nearly 80% have at least one “crisis pregnancy center,” according to a database compiled by CalMatters.
Abortion rights advocates and lawmakers have long accused these centers — also known as anti-abortion centers — of coercing vulnerable people into remaining pregnant by misleading them about abortion procedures and contraceptive methods. In rural areas with acute primary care shortages, “crisis pregnancy centers” outnumber abortion clinics 11 to 2, a CalMatters analysis shows.
When ranchers violated an emergency order to stop pumping water from the drought-plagued Shasta River last year, state officials fined them $4,000, or roughly $50 each. Now California legislators are weighing a bill that would triple fines for such infractions — and could allow the penalty to climb higher than a million dollars.
Who gets California’s water, and how much, is a high-stakes affair, and it’s based on a system of water rights born long ago, when the West was wild — and often unfair.
Civil liberties groups told police in 71 California communities Thursday they must stop sharing automated license plate information with law enforcement agencies in other states that could use the data to track people seeking or providing abortions.
California lawmakers advanced a bill that would prohibit hedge funds and other institutional investors from buying and selling agricultural water resources for financial gain.
Under the measure, which passed the State Assembly by a 46 to 17 vote on Monday afternoon, speculation or profiteering by investment funds in the sale, transfer or lease of water rights on agricultural land would be considered a waste or unreasonable use of water.
California’s inability to prevent illegal and wasteful use of its water supply is more annoying than a leaky faucet. And far more costly.
When water is illegally diverted, it severely reduces the amount available to urban and agricultural users throughout the state. But the state Water Resources Control Board lacks the tools needed to enforce water rights and protect the limited supply.
Last week, California State Assemblymember Rebecca Bauer-Kahan introduced a bill to combat algorithmic discrimination in the use of automated tools that make consequential decisions. And California is not alone—a new wave of state legislation is taking on artificial intelligence (AI) regulation, raising key questions about how best to design and implement these laws.