California Attorneys, Arbitrators and Judicial Officers: Generative AI Act (SB 574)

Properties

jurisdiction: US, California
level: state
domain: sectoral
status: enacted-pending
scope: Restricts the use of generative AI by attorneys and arbitrators and directs the State Bar and Judicial Council on AI-related ethics and standards.
obligations: An attorney may not delegate the practice of law to generative AI, must avoid entering confidential or personal information into such systems, must take reasonable steps to verify the accuracy of AI outputs, and may not cite sources not personally verified. Arbitrators may not delegate decisionmaking to generative AI or rely on AI-generated information outside the record without prior disclosure to the parties. The State Bar must adopt procedures for complaints against certified alternative resolution providers, and the Judicial Council must revisit standards of judicial administration for generative AI.
enactedDate: 2026-09-30
appliesTo: California attorneys, arbitrators, judicial officers and certified alternative dispute resolution providers using generative AI
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 SB 574 (Thomas Umberg, Attorneys, arbitrators, judicial officers, and alternative resolution providers). Chapter 858, Statutes of 2026 and the obligations come from the CalMatters Digital Democracy aggregator only (leginfo returned 403; bill text not seen). Operative date not confirmed, so effectiveDate is null. Distinct from ca-ab1651-state-bar-ai-disclosure: SB 574 governs lawyers and arbitrators' own use of generative AI.

Properties

jurisdiction

US, California

level

state

domain

sectoral

status

enacted-pending

scope

Restricts the use of generative AI by attorneys and arbitrators and directs the State Bar and Judicial Council on AI-related ethics and standards.

obligations

An attorney may not delegate the practice of law to generative AI, must avoid entering confidential or personal information into such systems, must take reasonable steps to verify the accuracy of AI outputs, and may not cite sources not personally verified. Arbitrators may not delegate decisionmaking to generative AI or rely on AI-generated information outside the record without prior disclosure to the parties. The State Bar must adopt procedures for complaints against certified alternative resolution providers, and the Judicial Council must revisit standards of judicial administration for generative AI.

enactedDate

2026-09-30

appliesTo

California attorneys, arbitrators, judicial officers and certified alternative dispute resolution providers using generative AI

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 SB 574 (Thomas Umberg, Attorneys, arbitrators, judicial officers, and alternative resolution providers). Chapter 858, Statutes of 2026 and the obligations come from the CalMatters Digital Democracy aggregator only (leginfo returned 403; bill text not seen). Operative date not confirmed, so effectiveDate is null. Distinct from ca-ab1651-state-bar-ai-disclosure: SB 574 governs lawyers and arbitrators' own use of generative AI.