2026 United States AI Compliance: State Laws Take Effect Amid Federal Uncertainty Joe Cahill Multiple significant state AI laws became effective January 1, 2026. California's Transparency in Frontier AI Act (SB 53), signed September 29, 2025, requires developers of large AI models trained using greater than 10²⁶ FLOPS to publish risk frameworks, report critical safety incidents within 15 days, and implement whistleblower protections, with penalties up to $1 million per violation.