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Assemblymember Bauer-Kahan Celebrates Productive Legislative Session with Fifteen Bills Signed into Law

Wins for Privacy, Reproductive Rights, and Environmental Protections as the 2024 Session Concludes

[Sacramento] – Assemblymember Rebecca Bauer-Kahan (D-Orinda) is proud to announce the successful passage of numerous key bills during the 2024 legislative session, addressing critical issues ranging from increasing water theft penalties to protecting reproductive rights, ensuring consumer privacy, and advancing AI regulations.

Governor Newsom Signs Crucial Legislation to Protect and Expand Access to Reproductive Health Services

California Advances Legal Protections for Reproductive Health Providers and Ensures Safe Access to Abortion Services Amid National Threats to Reproductive Rights

Sacramento — Yesterday, Governor Gavin Newsom signed into law two critical pieces of legislation aimed at enhancing access to reproductive health services and safeguarding the rights of patients and providers across California.

Governor Newsom Signs Three Bills Authored by Assemblymember Rebecca Bauer-Kahan

New Legislation Strengthens Water Rights Enforcement, Enhances Pesticide Transparency, and Protects Youth from Tobacco

SACRAMENTO – Governor Gavin Newsom has signed into law three bills authored by Assemblymember Rebecca Bauer-Kahan (D-Orinda), which address key public health, environmental, and resource management concerns for Californians.

Governor Newsom Signs AB 1836 to Protect Deceased Performers from AI Exploitation

New law protects the face, name, image, and likeness of deceased artists from unauthorized replication by generative AI.

Sacramento, CA – Assemblymember Bauer-Kahan (D-Orinda), Chair of the California State Assembly Privacy and Consumer Protection Committee, announced today that Governor Gavin Newsom has signed AB 1836 into law.

California lawmakers are trying to regulate AI before it’s too late. Here’s how

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For four years, Jacob Hilton worked for one of the most influential startups in the Bay Area — OpenAI. His research helped test and improve the truthfulness of AI models such as ChatGPT. He believes artificial intelligence can benefit society, but he also recognizes the serious risks if the technology is left unchecked.

Hilton was among 13 current and former OpenAI and Google employees who this month signed an open letter that called for more whistleblower protections, citing broad confidentiality agreements as problematic.

How California and the EU work together to regulate artificial intelligence

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While the federal government appears content to sit back and wait, more than 40 U.S. states are considering hundreds of AI regulation bills. 

California, with its status as a tech-forward state and huge economy, has a chance to lead the way. So much so, in fact, that the European Union is trying to coordinate with the state on AI laws. The EU opened an office in San Francisco in 2022 and dispatched a tech envoy, Gerard de Graaf, to better communicate about laws and regulations around AI. 

California could require age verification to visit porn sites

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Republican Assemblymember Juan Alanis, a former Stanislaus County sheriff’s sergeant, and San Ramon Democrat Rebecca Bauer-Kahan, a women’s rights advocate, may not have a lot in common. 

But last week they stood on the floor of the California Assembly and persuaded their colleagues to advance legislation that would have California join a handful of conservative states in passing laws requiring pornography sites to verify the ages of visitors to ensure they’re adults.