CA AB 1988
in committeeCompanion chatbots: crisis interruption pauses.
California · 2025-2026 Regular Session · lower
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Quick answers
Did CA AB 1988 pass?
Not yet. CA AB 1988 is in committee and has not come to a final vote. Latest recorded action (2026-06-26): In committee: Set, final hearing. Hearing canceled at the request of author.
What is CA AB 1988 about?
Existing law requires, among other things related to ensuring the safety of companion chatbots, an operator to prevent a companion chatbot on its companion chatbot platform from engaging with users unless the operator maintains a protocol for preventing the production of suicidal ideation, suicide, or self-harm content to the user, as specified. This bill, the Preventing AI User Self Endangerment (PAUSE) Act, would require an operator to adopt and make publicly available a policy governing its protocol for identifying and responding to credible crisis expressions and, for each companion chatbot an operator makes available to users in this state, implement a system for monitoring and detecting credible crisis expressions in user conversations with companion chatbots. The bill would require, if the monitoring system detects a credible crisis expression, the operator to take certain actions, including commence a crisis interruption pause, as specified. The bill would define "credible crisis expression" to mean a statement by a user of a companion chatbot that reasonably indicates, as determined through contextual analysis rather than keyword detection alone, intent to harm the user or others. This bill would require an operator of a companion chatbot to document certain information related to credible crisis expressions and crisis interruption pauses and, beginning January 1, 2028, annually report that information to the Office of Suicide Prevention. The bill would provide for its enforcement, as specified.
Who sponsors CA AB 1988?
Pellerin is the primary sponsor of CA AB 1988.
Description
Existing law requires, among other things related to ensuring the safety of companion chatbots, an operator to prevent a companion chatbot on its companion chatbot platform from engaging with users unless the operator maintains a protocol for preventing the production of suicidal ideation, suicide, or self-harm content to the user, as specified. This bill, the Preventing AI User Self Endangerment (PAUSE) Act, would require an operator to adopt and make publicly available a policy governing its protocol for identifying and responding to credible crisis expressions and, for each companion chatbot an operator makes available to users in this state, implement a system for monitoring and detecting credible crisis expressions in user conversations with companion chatbots. The bill would require, if the monitoring system detects a credible crisis expression, the operator to take certain actions, including commence a crisis interruption pause, as specified. The bill would define "credible crisis expression" to mean a statement by a user of a companion chatbot that reasonably indicates, as determined through contextual analysis rather than keyword detection alone, intent to harm the user or others. This bill would require an operator of a companion chatbot to document certain information related to credible crisis expressions and crisis interruption pauses and, beginning January 1, 2028, annually report that information to the Office of Suicide Prevention. The bill would provide for its enforcement, as specified.
- Introduced
- 2026-04-14
- Latest action
- 2026-06-26 — In committee: Set, final hearing. Hearing canceled at the request of author.
- Bill type
- bill
- Last updated
- —
Subjects
Sponsors
- Pellerinauthor
Committees
Not provided by source.
Action timeline
Newest first
2026-06-26
In committee: Set, final hearing. Hearing canceled at the request of author.
2026-06-22
In committee: Set, second hearing. Hearing canceled at the request of author.
2026-06-12
In committee: Set, first hearing. Hearing canceled at the request of author.
2026-06-03
Referred to Coms. on P., D.T., & C.P. and HEALTH.
referral-committee
2026-05-21
In Senate. Read first time. To Com. on RLS. for assignment.
reading-1,referral-committee
2026-05-21
Read third time. Passed. Ordered to the Senate. (Ayes 73. Noes 0. Page 5214.)
passage,reading-1,reading-3
2026-05-18
Read second time. Ordered to third reading.
reading-1,reading-2,reading-3
2026-05-14
From committee: Do pass. (Ayes 15. Noes 0.) (May 14).
committee-passage,committee-passage-favorable
2026-05-06
In committee: Set, first hearing. Referred to APPR. suspense file.
referral-committee
2026-04-22
From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. with recommendation: To Consent Calendar. (Ayes 16. Noes 0.) (April 21). Re-referred to Com. on APPR.
committee-passage,committee-passage-favorable,referral-committee
2026-04-16
From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on HEALTH. (Ayes 14. Noes 0.) (April 16). Re-referred to Com. on HEALTH.
committee-passage,committee-passage-favorable,referral-committee
2026-04-15
Re-referred to Com. on P. & C.P.
referral-committee
2026-04-14
From committee chair, with author's amendments: Amend, and re-refer to Com. on P. & C.P. Read second time and amended.
amendment-introduction,amendment-passage,committee-passage,reading-1,reading-2,referral-committee
2026-04-13
Assembly Rule 56 suspended. (Page 4580.)
2026-04-13
(Pending re-refer to Com. on HEALTH)
referral-committee
2026-03-09
Referred to Coms. on P. & C.P. and HEALTH.
referral-committee
2026-02-14
From printer. May be heard in committee March 16.
2026-02-13
Read first time. To print.
reading-1
Versions
Documents
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Votes
Do pass and be re-referred to the Committee on [Health]
2026-04-16 · pass · 14-0
Member-level votes (15)
- Macedo: yes
- Petrie-Norris: yes
- DeMaio: yes
- Aguiar-Curry: yes
- Bryan: yes
- Bauer-Kahan: yes
- Wicks: yes
- Ward: yes
- Ortega: yes
- Wilson: yes
- Lowenthal: yes
- Irwin: yes
- McKinnor: yes
- Hoover: yes
- Patterson: other
Do pass and be re-referred to the Committee on [Appropriations] with recommendation: To Consent Calendar
2026-04-21 · pass · 16-0
Member-level votes (16)
- Patel: yes
- Stefani: yes
- Schiavo: yes
- Ahrens: yes
- Mark González: yes
- Bonta: yes
- Chen: yes
- Rogers: yes
- Sanchez: yes
- Aguiar-Curry: yes
- Carrillo: yes
- Patterson: yes
- Caloza: yes
- Johnson: yes
- Addis: yes
- Sharp-Collins: yes
Do pass.
2026-05-14 · pass · 15-0
Member-level votes (15)
- Dixon: yes
- Krell: yes
- Sharp-Collins: yes
- Tangipa: yes
- Wicks: yes
- Pacheco: yes
- Caloza: yes
- Ta: yes
- Fong: yes
- Calderon: yes
- Hoover: yes
- Pellerin: yes
- Solache: yes
- Aguiar-Curry: yes
- Mark González: yes
AB 1988 Pellerin Assembly Third Reading
2026-05-21 · pass · 73-0
Member-level votes (80)
- Ta: yes
- Lowenthal: yes
- Stefani: yes
- Mark González: yes
- Soria: yes
- Dixon: yes
- Ortega: yes
- Sharp-Collins: yes
- Ávila Farías: yes
- Schultz: yes
- Berman: yes
- Schiavo: yes
- Rogers: yes
- Papan: yes
- Petrie-Norris: yes
- Caloza: yes
- Ahrens: yes
- Ellis: yes
- Haney: yes
- Solache: yes
- Nguyen: yes
- Patel: yes
- Tangipa: yes
- Bonta: yes
- Aguiar-Curry: yes
- Calderon: yes
- Patterson: yes
- Quirk-Silva: yes
- Kalra: yes
- Wicks: yes
- Davies: yes
- Lee: yes
- Wallis: yes
- Alanis: yes
- Michelle Rodriguez: yes
- Gabriel: yes
- Boerner: yes
- Krell: yes
- Ransom: yes
- Bryan: yes
- Castillo: yes
- Rivas: yes
- Wilson: yes
- Pacheco: yes
- Bains: yes
- Harabedian: yes
- Zbur: yes
- Valencia: yes
- Carrillo: yes
- Fong: yes
- Addis: yes
- Connolly: yes
- Gipson: yes
- Elhawary: yes
- Pellerin: yes
- Ward: yes
- Jeff Gonzalez: yes
- McKinnor: yes
- Hadwick: yes
- Bennett: yes
- Hart: yes
- DeMaio: yes
- Gallagher: yes
- Jackson: yes
- Johnson: yes
- Flora: yes
- Macedo: yes
- Muratsuchi: yes
- Blanca Rubio: yes
- Sanchez: yes
- Irwin: yes
- Alvarez: yes
- Bauer-Kahan: yes
- Celeste Rodriguez: other
- Ramos: other
- Garcia: other
- Lackey: other
- Arambula: other
- Hoover: other
- Chen: other
Related bills
No related bills recorded for this bill.
Official source
Attribution
Data from openstates_bulk_csv, retrieved 2026-07-24T01:34:27.960412Z
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