California sets AI audit deadlines and orders a study of frontier-model kill switches
California ordered its Government Operations Agency to post application rules for independent AI verification groups by May 1, 2027. Separate work on an AI auditor registry must begin by December 1, 2027.
Executive Order N-9-26 also gives the agency until November 16 to recommend whether state law should require onsite reviewers at large frontier labs, independent checks of safety filings, a verified kill switch and broader incident reporting.
The switch is not yet a mandate. The order asks for recommendations on its technical feasibility and potential efficacy. Any change to existing law would come later.
The document: California Executive Order N-9-26, September 18, 2026.

