California Health Care Services: Artificial Intelligence Act (AB 1979, health care chatbots and professional judgment)

Properties

jurisdiction: US, California
level: state
domain: sectoral
status: enacted-pending
scope: Applies AI-specific rules to health facilities, clinics, physician offices, group practices and health care chatbot providers in California.
obligations: Health care chatbots are deemed providers of health care subject to the Confidentiality of Medical Information Act; health facilities must ensure licensed professionals retain independent professional judgment when using clinical decision support systems; AI tools may not independently perform clinical functions that require professional licensure; generative-AI patient communications require disclaimers with instructions for contacting a human provider.
enactedDate: 2026-09-30
appliesTo: health facilities, clinics, physician offices, group practices, and health care chatbot providers in California
officialUrl: https://www.gov.ca.gov/2026/09/30/californias-nation-leading-ai-framework-just-got-stronger-governor-newsom-signs-more-first-in-the-nation-worker-protections-and-more/
notes: Signed by Governor Newsom on September 30, 2026: the Governor's AI signing release lists AB 1979 (Mia Bonta, Healthcare services: artificial intelligence). Chapter 854, Statutes of 2026 and the provisions (health care chatbots deemed providers under the Confidentiality of Medical Information Act, professional judgment preserved, no independent clinical functions, generative-AI patient communication disclaimers) rest on the CalMatters Digital Democracy aggregator alone because leginfo returned 403 and bill text was not seen. Operative date not confirmed, so effectiveDate is null; penalties nulled because the CMIA misdemeanor and licensing-board enforcement description was unconfirmed. Distinct from ca-sb503-health-ai-bias and ca-ab489-health-ai-deceptive-terms.

Properties

jurisdiction

US, California

level

state

domain

sectoral

status

enacted-pending

scope

Applies AI-specific rules to health facilities, clinics, physician offices, group practices and health care chatbot providers in California.

obligations

Health care chatbots are deemed providers of health care subject to the Confidentiality of Medical Information Act; health facilities must ensure licensed professionals retain independent professional judgment when using clinical decision support systems; AI tools may not independently perform clinical functions that require professional licensure; generative-AI patient communications require disclaimers with instructions for contacting a human provider.

enactedDate

2026-09-30

appliesTo

health facilities, clinics, physician offices, group practices, and health care chatbot providers in California

officialUrl

https://www.gov.ca.gov/2026/09/30/californias-nation-leading-ai-framework-just-got-stronger-governor-newsom-signs-more-first-in-the-nation-worker-protections-and-more/

notes

Signed by Governor Newsom on September 30, 2026: the Governor's AI signing release lists AB 1979 (Mia Bonta, Healthcare services: artificial intelligence). Chapter 854, Statutes of 2026 and the provisions (health care chatbots deemed providers under the Confidentiality of Medical Information Act, professional judgment preserved, no independent clinical functions, generative-AI patient communication disclaimers) rest on the CalMatters Digital Democracy aggregator alone because leginfo returned 403 and bill text was not seen. Operative date not confirmed, so effectiveDate is null; penalties nulled because the CMIA misdemeanor and licensing-board enforcement description was unconfirmed. Distinct from ca-sb503-health-ai-bias and ca-ab489-health-ai-deceptive-terms.