Illinois passes America's strongest AI safety law requiring independent audits of frontier models

Illinois Passes Nation's Strongest AI Safety Bill

Illinois lawmakers unanimously passed SB 315 on Wednesday, establishing the nation's most comprehensive AI safety bill that requires frontier AI developers to undergo independent third-party safety audits 1

1

2

2

. The Illinois AI law passed 110-0 in the House after clearing the Senate 52-5, demonstrating rare bipartisan consensus on AI regulation 3

3

4

4

. Governor JB Pritzker confirmed on social media that he intends to sign the landmark legislation, declaring that "Illinois is leading the nation in holding Big Tech accountable" 5

5

.

Mandatory Third-Party Safety Audits Set New Standard

The Illinois AI law goes beyond existing state-level AI regulation in California and New York by mandating annual third-party safety audits of AI companies, a requirement not included in any other U.S. legislation 4

4

. Under SB 315, the largest AI firms must submit public safety plans and annual reports summarizing results from independent testing of their frontier models 1

1

. Scott Wisor, policy director at Secure AI Project, explained that "we're in a situation where the AI companies grade their own homework," and the new law addresses this by requiring independent verification 2

2

.

Illinois is expected to rely on the Big Four accounting and auditing firms—Deloitte, EY, KPMG, and PwC—to audit safety practices, though AI labs could also tap members of the AI Evaluator Forum, including organizations like METR, Transluce, and AVERI 2

2

. The AI safety bill targets companies meeting specific thresholds: $500 million in revenue and massive computing measurements 3

3

.

Transparency Frameworks and Incident Reporting Requirements

SB 315 establishes robust AI accountability measures that require developers to create and publish transparency frameworks explaining how they apply industry standards, measure model capabilities, assess catastrophic risks, and respond to critical safety incidents 3

3

. Companies must report any critical safety incidents to the state within 72 hours, or within 24 hours if there's potentially "an imminent risk of death or serious physical harm" 1

1

.

The legislation also creates whistleblower protections for employees who report emerging safety risks that companies may be tempted to downplay, with protections provided by the state's whistleblower laws 1

1

4

4

. The Illinois attorney general would have exclusive authority to enforce civil penalties up to $3 million per violation, though the bill stipulates there is no private right of action 1

1

3

3

.

Major AI Companies Support Legislation

Both OpenAI and Anthropic, whose models would be vetted under the new requirements, publicly supported SB 315 1

1

4

4

. OpenAI's chief of global affairs Chris Lehane told reporters the AI firm is pushing to pass similar laws in other states, seemingly to avoid compliance with a patchwork of starkly different state laws 1

1

2

2

.

Cesar Fernandez, Anthropic's head of state and local government relations, described the law's requirements as mirroring safety testing protocols that leading AI firms already voluntarily conduct, but emphasized the landmark law establishes "a baseline that every leading AI developer is expected to meet" 1

1

. OpenAI's vice president of global policy Ann O'Leary stated that "as AI systems become more powerful, clear rules around safety, transparency, incident reporting, and accountability are increasingly important" 4

4

.

States Fill Vacuum Left by Federal Inaction

Democratic Rep. Daniel Didech, who sponsored the AI safety bill in the Illinois House, made clear he never would have introduced the legislation if the federal government hadn't delayed implementing meaningful protections 1

1

. "The states shouldn't be doing this," Didech explained. "The best way to regulate these types of catastrophic risks would be a federal approach." But "the reality is that Congress has not taken up this issue yet, and the technology is developing at such a rapid pace that states have had no choice but to step in" 1

1

.

The passage of SB 315 comes days after President Donald Trump abruptly canceled a plan that would have given the federal government power to vet frontier AI models over fears it might hobble innovation 1

1

. Didech told reporters that state legislatures are playing an important role by shaping America's AI policy and acting as a testing ground for any federal laws that might emerge in the future 2

2

.

Industry Concerns Over AI Oversight Implementation

While major AI developers supported the legislation, some industry groups raised concerns about the third-party auditing requirement. Adam Kovacevich, CEO of Chamber of Progress—a trade group counting Google and Apple among its members that opposed SB 315—warned the law "would force companies to expose sensitive systems to untested auditors in a regulatory regime that's all liability and no standards" 1

1

. TechNet representative Ninia Linero expressed concern that Illinois would "effectively be requiring private actors to make highly subjective determinations requiring AI safety compliance without established national standards, certifications, or clear regulatory guardrails" 3

3

.

Once JB Pritzker signs the law, AI firms will be subject to its provisions starting January 1, 2027 1

1

4

4

. Later amendments addressed concerns by clarifying third-party qualifications, audit requirements, and protocols for protecting proprietary information 3

3

. The law also requires large frontier developers to file disclosure statements and pay proportional fees to cover administrative expenses 3

3

.