California lawmakers have approved Senate Bill 1159, aimed at addressing the rising use of artificial intelligence (AI) in public engagement with government agencies. Sponsored by Sen. Christopher Cabaldon (D-West Sacramento), the legislation seeks to prevent the flood of AI-generated public comments, records requests, and other forms of civic participation that can overwhelm government offices and potentially distort the democratic process.
The bill prohibits individuals from knowingly using AI to falsely present that a real person has engaged with a government agency. It also clarifies that government agencies are not required to treat AI-generated communications as if they were submitted by humans, meaning authorities may limit responses to such inputs in terms of public comment time or public records request processing. For example, agencies would not be compelled to allocate the same response time or consideration to AI submissions as they do for genuine human participation.
The legislation was inspired in part by recent incidents involving environmental regulatory bodies in California. In early 2024, the South Coast Air Quality Management District (AQMD) faced an influx of tens of thousands of public comments opposing new rules on gas-powered furnaces and water heaters across the South Coast region. The campaign, which contributed to the board’s rejection of the proposed regulations, was linked to a public affairs consultant using an AI-powered advocacy platform called CiviClick. While company officials denied using AI for that specific campaign, they acknowledged employing AI tools in other advocacy efforts. Details about how the comments were generated and how constituents were identified remain undisclosed.
Similar concerns arose at the Bay Area AQMD, where reports indicated that many public comments were forged or AI-generated without the authorization of the individuals whose names appeared on the submissions. These developments have prompted worries among public officials about the integrity of civic participation and the administrative burden placed on government agencies. Vacaville Vice Mayor Michael Silva noted that his city has been encountering AI-generated public records requests that slow down responses to legitimate inquiries.
Advocates like Dylan Plummer, deputy director of the Sierra Club’s Clean Heat Campaign, have argued that such AI-facilitated campaigns have been used to benefit fossil fuel interests and threaten public involvement in democratic processes. Plummer praised the legislation as an important step to clarify the law and discourage misuse of technology but emphasized the need for further efforts to uncover the full extent of these practices and hold violators accountable.
The law permits government agencies to deploy disclosure and verification technologies to determine whether a communication is AI-generated. For instance, the Bay Area AQMD has considered replacing email submissions with a website-based comment system to better manage input authenticity. However, the bill does not prevent individuals from using AI as a tool to improve the quality of their own genuine public comments, provided the volume and frequency remain consistent with typical human participation.
Senators and observers acknowledge that managing AI’s impact on civic engagement is an evolving challenge. Sen. Roger Niello (R-Fair Oaks) remarked on the rapid pace of technological change compared to regulatory responses, noting the new complexities faced by public institutions in managing such technologies.
After passing the California Legislature in August 2024, Senate Bill 1159 now awaits Gov. Gavin Newsom’s signature, which is expected in September. The bill’s passage marks an initial effort to address AI’s growing role in public discourse and government processes, signaling a broader national and international conversation about the governance of emerging digital technologies in democratic systems.