An AI-drafted resolution + New CARB appointees + Bonta defends false advertising law

Good morning and welcome to the A.M. Alert!

LAWMAKER USES AI TO DRAFT SENATE RESOLUTION, PRESS RELEASE

In a statement introducing Senate Concurrent Resolution 17, Sen. Bill Dodd, D-Napa, is quoted saying the following:

“The introduction of this resolution is a significant step forward in ensuring that California is at the forefront of responsible AI deployment and use. The principles outlined in this resolution will help protect the rights of the public while leveraging the benefits of AI, and I look forward to working with my colleagues in the Legislature to make them a reality.”

A decent quote, as far as canned statements go. But there’s just one problem.

“It’s not my quote. I never said it, I never wrote it,” Dodd said in an interview with The Bee.

In fact, the quote, the press release and the entire text of the resolution were written by an AI known as ChatGPT.

That makes it the first legislative resolution in the nation to be generated by an AI.

Dodd said he used AI to highlight both its benefits and potential dangers.

“It’s not even close to perfect,” Dodd said.

The senator said that AI can potentially be used to discriminate against people, and that there’s data privacy issues also at stake.

“We’ve got here the good, the bad, and potentially the ugly,” he said.

The resolution affirms the Legislature’s intent to examine and implement President Joe Biden’s vision for a safe AI.

Author’s note: An AI did not write this newsletter. All mistakes belong, unfortunately, to the author, who is a flesh-and-blood human being.

GUERRA, QUIRK NAMED TO CARB

Sacramento Vice Mayor Eric Guerra may have fallen short in his bid for an Assembly seat last fall, losing to Stephanie Nguyen. But California Gov. Gavin Newsom has offered him a consolation prize: A seat on the California Air Resources Board.

Newsom named Guerra, a Democrat who has been on the Sacramento City Council since 2015, to the board tasked with monitoring and regulating California’s air quality.

Former Assemblyman Bill Quirk, D-Union City, also was named to the board. Quirk served in the Assembly from 2012 to 2022.

Others who were either appointed or re-appointed include John Eisenhut, V. Manuel Perez, Susan Shaheen and Diane Takvorian. All are Democrats.

BONTA FILES BRIEF IN DEFENSE OF CALIFORNIA FALSE ADVERTISING LAW

The fate of the California law intended to protect consumers from false and misleading advertising is in the hands of the federal Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, in the case of Souter v. Edgewell Personal Care Co.

Edgewell alleged that its Wet Ones Antibacterial Hand Sanitizing Wipes “kill 99.99% of germs,” while the plaintiff in the case says that the wipes are in fact ineffective against many common viruses and bacteria.

On Tuesday, California Attorney General Rob Bonta defended the law in an amicus brief. He argued that the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California erred in dismissing the plaintiff’s claims prior to receiving evidence and that the judge failed to properly consider consumer behavior.

“It is challenging enough for consumers to make healthy, well-informed purchasing decisions without worrying that advertisers might be making deceptive claims about their products,” Bonta said in a statement. “When companies make claims about their products, they have a responsibility to ensure those claims are fully accurate, and when consumers raise plausible allegations that advertising is misleading, they have a right to their day in court.”

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“My class and I ushered in a new era of 12-year term limits. People who could be here for more than a decade. And we really did a good job of taking back the reins of power, particularly from the third house (lobbyists) and certainly from staff.”

- Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon, discussing his proudest accomplishment as speaker in an interview with CapRadio News.

Best of The Bee:

• A Folsom assemblyman violated campaign finance rules when he failed to disclose income he earned working for his former boss, U.S. Rep. Kevin Kiley, according to a California Fair Political Practices Commission warning letter, via Lindsey Holden.

• Investigations into sexual abuse and assault claims at California’s largest prison for women are continuing, and the acting warden who oversaw a probe that identified at least 22 potential victims has been moved out of the prison, via Sam Stanton.

• Polling showed crime was top of mind for many Californians heading into November’s election. And Republicans in the state Assembly are introducing a slate of bills they argue will help make the state safer, via Stephen Hobbs.

• Three state office buildings in downtown Sacramento are being made available to turn into affordable housing, via Ryan Lillis.