Public workers would get 45 days’ notice before AI changes jobs

In California, AB 2656 is not trying to ban artificial intelligence from public offices. It is trying to stop workers from finding out, too late, that software has started doing part of their job.

The bill, carried by Assemblymember Cottie Petrie-Norris, would add Section 3558.10 to the Government Code and require certain state and local public employers to give a recognized employee organization 45 days’ written notice before they develop, buy, implement or use generative AI, or GenAI, for work that falls within the scope of a represented job classification.

A 45-day heads-up

The practical change is simple: before a public agency turns to GenAI for a task that used to sit inside a bargaining unit’s work, the workers’ representative gets notice. That does not stop the technology from being used, but it gives employees a chance to see the shift coming instead of learning about it after a new system is already in place.

The bill is aimed at transparency, especially where AI may quietly change duties, expectations or staffing without a blunt announcement that anyone’s job has been redefined.

Built on California’s existing AI rules

California already has a GenAI reporting-and-consultation framework. Executive Order No. N-12-23 told state agencies to study the most promising uses of GenAI and spell out the risks to individuals, communities, government workers and the state itself.

The 2024 Generative Artificial Intelligence Accountability Act added a requirement to update that work and consult with worker representatives. AB 2656 would layer on a direct notice rule, giving employee organizations a formal warning before agencies use AI inside their members’ job duties.

A clearer line for public jobs

If the bill becomes law, the effect would be less about stopping AI than about making its entry into public work visible. For state employees, local public employees and the organizations that represent them, that visibility can matter as much as the technology itself.

Recorded votes show the bill cleared a floor vote.