Key point: Hawaii enacts a companion chatbot bill while New Jersey enacts a pricing surveillance law directed at grocery stores.

This is the 27th update on the status of proposed state privacy and AI legislation in 2026.

What’s New

We skipped last week’s update because of the lack of developments to report. We are back this week with a short update on two new laws. We expect legislative activity to pick back up once the California legislature returns from its summer recess on August 3. The last day for fiscal committees to report bills is August 14, and the legislature closes for the year on August 31. We are tracking around 30 pending privacy and AI bills in the legislature.

Turning to the updates, Hawaii Governor Josh Green signed the state’s companion chatbot bill (SB 3001) into law on July 14, and it went into effect immediately. The law requires AI companion operators to disclose when individuals are interacting with AI, provide crisis resources, and implement additional safeguards for minors. It also prohibits AI companions from posing as licensed mental health professionals or encouraging harmful behavior. The state’s consumer protection laws govern violations. Find links and more information on all chatbot bills here.

In New Jersey, Governor Sherrill signed the Fair Price Protection Act (A 4085) into law. According to the governor’s press release, the law prohibits grocery stores “from using personal information—such as online activity, location, purchasing history, or other collected data—to charge different prices for identical products based on what an algorithm predicts a shopper is willing or able to pay.” New Jersey follows Maryland and Connecticut, which enacted pricing-related AI bills this year. Find links to those laws here.