Legislators
Steve Padilla
State Senator, California Senate District 18
California State Senate · California (United States)
Role in AI policy
California state senator for the San Diego area. He authored SB 243 on companion chatbots, chaptered on 13 October 2025 (Chapter 677, Statutes of 2025): operators must tell users they are talking to an AI, keep a protocol for suicidal ideation and self-harm and report annually to the State, and injured people can sue. In 2026 his office reported his follow-up bill on chatbots and children, SB 1119, moved together with a paired Assembly bill; the Governor signed it on 10 September 2026. On 1 October 2026 his office issued a statement on the veto of a separate bill on AI therapy chatbots.
Related laws and policies on record
Public statements in the role
- First-in-the-Nation AI Chatbot Safeguards Signed into Law Office of Senator Steve Padilla
- Governor Newsom Allows Dangerous Chatbots to Provide Therapy Office of Senator Steve Padilla