Bauer-Kahan Advances 13 Bills to the Senate

A sweeping package of 13 bills authored by Assemblymember Rebecca Bauer-Kahan has cleared the Assembly and is headed to the Senate, pending referral. The advancing legislation spans child safety, data privacy, women's rights, and energy accountability: reinforcing California's position at the forefront of technology policy and public protection. The package reflects a broad, bipartisan consensus, with many bills earning strong cross-party support and four, AB 1705, AB 2007, AB 2212, and AB 2724, passing without a single vote in opposition.

AB 2023 – Companion Chatbots; Children’s Safety

In response to growing evidence of harms caused by AI companion chatbots, AB 2023 establishes a comprehensive regulatory framework to protect children from the risks of prolonged chatbot interactions. The bill creates protocols to address suicidal ideation, sycophancy, and social isolation, while mandating default safety settings for minors, parental controls, and crisis response protocols. To further safeguard children's privacy, the bill prohibits advertising targeting minors and bans the sale, sharing, or misuse of children's personal data. Robust enforcement tools (including public incident reporting, third-party audits, and auditing standards developed by the California Attorney General) ensure accountability. The bill passed with a staggering majority of 66-8.

AB 1577 – Data Center Energy Accountability Act

As data centers place growing demands on California's power grid, AB 1577 brings statewide transparency to energy usage and efficiency. The bill requires data centers to report energy consumption and efficiency metrics to the California Energy Commission on a monthly basis, and mandates that proposed data centers provide estimated energy usage to local agencies as part of the permitting process — improving grid reliability and empowering communities to plan accordingly. Without transparency, the explosive growth of data centers risks driving up energy costs for everyday Californians. AB 1577 ensures that ratepayers aren't left footing the bill. The bill passed 57-16.

AB 2007 – Youth Programs; Protecting Minors' Identifying Information

AB 2007 protects California's youth by prohibiting youth-serving programs from making participation contingent on the organization’s use of a minor's image or likeness for marketing or promotional purposes. The bill passed with overwhelming bipartisan support, 72-0.

AB 1705 – The RECLAIM Act

The RECLAIM Act gives women and girls a powerful legal tool to hold platforms accountable for allowing non-consensual sexually explicit material depicting them to be uploaded and distributed online. The bill passed with overwhelming bipartisan support, 72-0.

Additional bills advancing to the Senate include AB 2084, AB 2093, AB 2164, AB 2504, AB 2631, AB 2664, AB 2047, AB 2212, and AB 2724. View the full bill list at bauer-kahan.asmdc.org/2026-legislation.

"These bills are a testament to what's possible when we stay focused on the challenges that matter most to California families," said Assemblymember Bauer-Kahan. "From shielding our children from AI harms and protecting women's dignity online, to focusing on making rates more affordable, this package reflects our values and our responsibility to lead. I look forward to getting these bills through the Senate and to the governor’s desk."