Enforcing U.S. State-Level AI Regulation

California's SB 53 (The Transparency in Frontier Artificial Intelligence Act) requires that frontier model developers report "critical safety incidents" to the state government. The Office of Emergency Services (OES) is responsible for enforcing these requirements, yet has historically managed physical disasters (wildfires, seismic events) rather than digital catastrophic risks. The goal of this project is to identify enforcement and implementation bottlenecks in SB 53 and recommend administrative policies to address them.

SB 53 is the first frontier AI regulation in the nation. The success of the law will depend on its teeth: whether the California state government can effectively enforce and implement its transparency requirements. This project's relevance extends beyond SB 53 specifically, recommendations from your analysis would likely inform future state-level and federal policy.

Mentees will function as lead researchers or co-authors. They will be responsible for mapping implementation issues to the specific requirements of SB 53. Mentees will contribute the bulk of the work by drafting specific sections of the final deliverable, while I will provide strategic direction on the overall policy narrative and regulatory fit.

Policy coursework, ideally having completed at least one upper-level undergraduate or graduate course in legislation, public-policy process, or state/local government Research ability to locate, read, and summarize statutes, regulations, and agency guidance Working knowledge of how a bill becomes law at the state level and how state agencies issue and enforce regulations. Clear policy writing Prior experience with U.S. state policy should be highlighted

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