California Governor Gavin Newsom has issued an executive order positioning the state to take the lead on AI safety regulation, including the potential to mandate a "kill switch" for frontier AI models. The order directs a group of experts to deliver recommendations within two months on how to strengthen AI safety measures in state law.
Specifically, Newsom wants the group to consider requiring AI companies to embed independent verification groups onsite for regular audits, making transparency reports and risk assessments subject to independent auditor standards, creating a "kill switch" that is routinely verified as effective, and requiring companies to report "loss-of-control incidents" as critical safety incidents.
The order also directs a state agency to accelerate implementation of two recent laws creating a framework for independent verifiers to assess AI safety, and a state registry of AI auditors.
Newsom is explicitly framing the order as a model for federal action, calling on Congress and President Trump "to review and adopt the state's framework, or use its nation-leading regulation as a floor, not a ceiling, for the benefit and safety of all Americans."
The move comes amid growing urgency around AI safety, following former Anthropic researcher Jacob Coxon's post warning of a greater than 10 percent chance that AI could "kill all humans" within a decade. With the House on recess until November and midterm elections making major legislation unlikely in the Senate, Newsom is betting that California can move faster than Washington.
