Assembly Public Safety Committee advances package of bills on AI, drugs, school threats and worker safety

The Assembly Public Safety Committee met in a hearing that covered a broad set of public-safety measures, advancing several bills to the next committee while holding others for further work. Lawmakers, law enforcement representatives, civil-rights groups, public-health advocates and industry witnesses testified across debates that ranged from criminal penalties to emerging technology and drug-supply harms.

Lawmakers said the session was intended to balance public safety, civil liberties and implementation concerns. Committee members repeatedly urged additional negotiations to narrow language and preserve existing legal protections while creating new enforcement tools or transparency requirements.

The most contested items included a proposal to list xylazine as a Schedule III controlled substance (SB 6), a bill to require visible notices and remedies related to AI-generated nongconsensual images (SB 11), a measure to require agencies to mark police reports generated in whole or in part by AI and to retain drafts (SB 524), a bill targeting litigation that uses an old wiretapping statute against routine website tracking (SB 690), and proposals addressing threats to schools and places of worship (SB 19) and enhanced penalties for assaults on utility workers (SB 431). Committee members recommended that several measures move forward while directing authors to continue discussions with stakeholders.

SB 6 — scheduling xylazine

Senator Ashby told the committee SB 6 would place xylazine, an animal sedative increasingly found mixed with fentanyl in the illicit supply, into Schedule III to restrict public access while preserving veterinary use. Dr. Grant Miller, a practicing equine veterinarian, told members the drug is an important veterinary sedative but "is an extremely powerful drug and really meant to be used in livestock, in horses." Marica Cole, who identified herself as the mother of a person who died after exposure to a large‑animal tranquilizer in the illicit supply, urged the committee to limit public access, saying: "By scheduling this, it gives law enforcement the tools to stop the drug trafficking." Opponents including the Drug Policy Alliance and the ACLU said criminalization risks expanding the harms of the war on drugs and could impede research and harm people with substance use disorder. Committee members voted to pass SB 6 to the Appropriations Committee with a recommendation of aye and directed continued engagement with opposition stakeholders.

SB 11 — AI Abuse Protection Act (deep fakes and nonconsensual images)

Senator Ashby also presented SB 11 to extend the statutory definition of likeness to cover AI-generated images and to require consumer warnings and certain remedies for victims of nonconsensual AI images. Tech experts and civil‑liberties and survivors’ advocates supported the bill as a tool to protect people — especially women and girls — from sexually explicit AI content. Industry groups including the California Chamber of Commerce and TechNet raised technical and scope concerns and proposed narrowing amendments (for example, distinguishing consumer‑facing replica tools from general‑purpose AI). The author and advocates said they will continue to negotiate language in the coming weeks; the committee voted to pass SB 11 to the next committee with an aye recommendation.

SB 524 — police reports and AI transparency

SB 524 would require law enforcement agencies that use AI in drafting reports to adopt policies that disclose when a report was created in whole or in part by AI, and to preserve drafts so auditors, defense counsel, and prosecutors can see what the tool produced and how the officer edited it. Supporters including the California Public Defenders Association and the Prosecutors Alliance said transparency and an audit trail are needed where AI could alter wording or attribution of statements used in charging decisions. Some law‑enforcement representatives said greater precision is needed so operational use is not hindered and that an officer’s attestation remain the official record; the author accepted amendments narrowing retention obligations and clarifying that drafts were not themselves the officer’s official statement. The committee voted to pass the bill to the next committee and encouraged continued stakeholder work.

SB 690 (CIPA litigation / website tracking)

Senator Caballero described an influx of private lawsuits using the 1967 California Invasion of Privacy Act (CIPA) to claim routine web practices—IP addresses, ad trackers, analytics—constitute unlawful interception. Newspaper and business witnesses said plaintiffs use ambiguous CIPA theories to extract settlements and that the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) is the contemporary privacy regime. Civil‑rights and consumer advocates warned changes could weaken privacy protections for survivors, immigrants and other vulnerable groups and urged caution. The author said she would make SB 690 a two‑year vehicle to continue negotiations; the committee advanced the bill to the next committee with the author’s commitment to further work.

SB 19 — threats to schools and houses of worship

Senator Rubio presented SB 19 to create a distinct crime for credible threats against schools or places of worship that name a location or institution but not an individual. Supporters, including the California Police Chiefs Association and Jewish community groups, said generalized threats cause mass disruption, force evacuations and drain resources and that prosecutors currently lack a clear statutory tool in every case. Civil‑rights and youth‑justice groups opposed, arguing existing criminal‑threat statutes already cover such conduct and that expanding criminalization risks deepening the school‑to‑prison pipeline for children. The committee advanced SB 19 to the Appropriations Committee with an aye recommendation while urging continued dialogue on protections for youth.

SB 431 — protections for utility workers

SB 431 would add water, gas and electrical workers to a penal code provision that enhances penalties for assault or threats committed while the worker is performing duties. Union representatives described robberies, assaults and threats encountered while crews work on power and gas lines and said the measure would give stronger deterrence and parity with protections already provided to other frontline workers. The ACLU and other civil‑liberties groups asked for narrower language and cautioned against automatically escalating penalties without evidence that increased punishment deters crime. The committee voted to advance SB 431 (as amended) to the Appropriations Committee and asked parties to continue negotiations.

Other bills and next steps

The committee also heard and advanced bills on automatic record‑clearance implementation (SB 834), post‑release community supervision hearings for repeat violators (SB 759), and an education requirement to be sent during firearm waiting periods for new gun purchasers (SB 248), among others. Several measures were advanced to subsequent committees with committee chairs recommending aye votes while noting outstanding stakeholder concerns.

Votes at a glance (committee action on June 17) - SB 6 (Ashby): Schedule xylazine as Schedule III (author: Ashby). Committee action: passed to the Appropriations Committee (committee recommended aye); stakeholders to continue negotiating implementation details. - SB 11 (Ashby): AI Abuse Protection Act (deep‑fake/nonconsensual AI images). Committee action: passed to the Committee on Consumer and Bridal Protection (recommended aye); author to work with industry on labeling scope. - SB 524 (Arguin): Require policies and drafts retention when law enforcement uses AI to prepare reports. Committee action: passed to the next committee (recommended aye); author accepted narrowing amendments and to continue stakeholder talks. - SB 690 (Caballero): Clarify interplay between CIPA and CCPA to curb abusive litigation. Committee action: passed out with a commitment from the author to continue negotiations and treat as a two‑year bill in the consumer committee. - SB 19 (Rubio): Create crime for credible threats to schools/places of worship. Committee action: passed to Appropriations Committee (recommended aye); opposition emphasized youth impacts. - SB 431 (Arguin): Add water, gas, electrical workers to penalties for assaults on workers performing duties. Committee action: passed to Appropriations Committee (recommended aye); author accepted narrowing amendments. - SB 834 (Durazo), SB 248 (Rubio), SB 759 (Archuleta) and other items: moved forward; authors and chairs asked to continue stakeholder discussions prior to floor action.

What’s next

Most of the bills advanced by the committee were referred to appropriations or consumer‑policy committees for fiscal and technical review, and authors were encouraged to continue negotiating with opposition groups. Committee chairs repeatedly asked parties to work through outstanding implementation language rather than expecting final resolution in a single hearing.

Ending

Committee members said several of the measures reflect the difficulty of balancing public‑safety objectives with civil‑liberties and implementation questions in areas that are evolving rapidly — such as AI and the illicit drug supply — and urged continued engagement before final floor votes.