Governor Newsom signed AB1864 on October 1, requiring California gene synthesis providers to screen orders and verify customers, converting previously voluntary OSTP biosecurity guidance into enforceable law.
Dean Ball described the prior system as a 'trust me, bro' self-attestation with no enforcement mechanism, and argued the standard should extend to the federal and international level. Ball also framed the law as necessary given 'the impending era of agents that accelerate synthetic biology the way AI has already accelerated math'.