California Governor Gavin Newsom signed an executive order mandating the evaluation of a range of regulatory measures for artificial intelligence systems, including an "emergency kill switch" for frontier AI models and the introduction of independent evaluation bodies for third-party verification. This move aims to position California at the forefront of AI governance in the United States and accelerate the implementation of two previous AI laws. Newsom's office simultaneously criticized the Trump administration and Congress for being "asleep at the wheel" on AI regulation, stating that California would fill the federal regulatory void.