Illinois Legislature passes SB 315, a bill requiring annual independent third-party safety audits of leading AI companies; OpenAI and Anthropic backed the bill
The measure, SB 315, goes beyond legislation from California and New York regulating America's largest AI companies.
NBC NewsJared Perlo
Context & Ripple Effects
Illinois’s bill moves the safety-policy discussion from company disclosures toward recurring independent review. It follows California’s SB 53, which requires companies to disclose their safety-testing regimes, and New York’s passage of frontier-model safety and transparency requirements.
The backing from OpenAI and Anthropic is consequential because the firms most directly affected did not oppose the audit framework, potentially making Illinois’s approach a more practical reference point for other states.
First-order effects
Leading AI companies covered by SB 315 would need to prepare their safety plans and supporting processes for annual review by an independent third party once the measure becomes law.
Illinois becomes a state-level testing ground for a more prescriptive oversight model than disclosure-focused AI safety rules.
Second-order effects
Other frontier-model developers may face pressure to build audit-ready safety governance even outside Illinois, particularly if customers, partners, or policymakers begin treating independent review as a baseline signal.
Safety auditors, model-evaluation providers, and compliance teams gain a clearer role in the AI supply chain as companies need external validation rather than solely internal testing accounts.
Third-order effects
If Illinois’s model is adopted elsewhere, AI safety regulation could converge on recurring assurance requirements, not just publication of policies or incident disclosures.
The central policy question would shift toward what counts as an independent, credible audit and whether state-by-state requirements can remain interoperable for companies operating nationally.
The trend: Frontier-AI oversight is progressing from transparency obligations toward externally verified, ongoing safety assurance.
BREAKING: Illinois legislature passes first-of-its-kind bill requiring leading AI companies to undergo third-party audits for safety issues. SB315 goes beyond existing legislation from CA and NY and will head to gov's desk. I spoke with sponsor Rep. Didech to hear more (below).
While the White House debates the future of an executive order on AI — states are moving ahead with real laws. The tech industry never wants a patchwork of regulation... and it always ends up with a patchwork of regulation.
This is big news. Illinois SB 315 is going to be the strongest AI safety bill in any state—it goes a step beyond what SB 315 and the RAISE Act require because it also includes third party auditing requirements.
Thank you @GovPritzker, @DanielDidech_IL, @SenEdlyAllen, and the many other legislators who helped make this happen. SB 315 will become the first law in the US to require independent audits of management of catastrophic risk by frontier AI developers.
With bipartisan support, Illinois is on track to become the first state to require independent, 3rd party audits of large frontier AI developers' safety practices. I was proud to testify for @AnthropicAI in support of these important safety requirements. https://www.nbcnews.com/.…
SB 315 passes the House with no opposition. It'd require large AI developers like Meta, OpenAI and Anthropic to adopt a transparency framework, employ third-party auditors and report a model's catastrophic risk capabilities. It heads to Gov. Pritzker's desk. #twill
Illinois is set to become the first state to require that third parties verify that frontier AI developers are *actually* implementing what they say they are on management of catastrophic risk. Incredible stuff. California should take note and follow suit.
SB 315 is still a very light touch bill; labs are mostly grading their own homework on the auditing front. An ideal auditing regime would add minimum standards for audits and government certification/oversight of auditors, but having grown up in Illinois I can't in good conscien…
👀 Illinois is about to pass a new state law that would build on the transparency seen in CA and NY state law, but also require annual audits that companies are following their safety frameworks.
NEWS: Illinois AI safety bill SB315 just passed the House and is expected to be signed into law by Gov. Pritzker. It would make Illinois the first state in the country with mandatory third party audits and goes farther than New York's RAISE Act and California's SB53.
Illinois is leading the nation in holding Big Tech accountable. As AI systems impact people's lives, we need safeguards in place. I look forward to signing SB 315 and working with the legislature so that AI, when used, is used responsibly.
Credit where its due - OpenAI's endorsement and support for SB 315 (alongside Anthropic) really helped show that third party audits on safety practices are feasible and needed. I've criticized OpenAI's policy engagement many times when I believe it undermines their mission of