AI law comparison · Data verified 2026-08-22
California AB 2013 vs Colorado AI Act
California AB 2013 and Colorado AI Act are two of the 169 AI and data regulations Aegis Firma tracks. They have different scopes, effective dates, and penalties — and many businesses fall under both. Here is the side-by-side, drawn directly from the regulatory registry.
Find which laws apply to my businessSide by side
Summary of publicly available regulatory text. Verify against current official sources before relying on this for compliance decisions. Not legal advice.
The key difference
California AB 2013 takes effect first, so it is usually the more urgent of the two. California AB 2013 tracks 3 compliance requirements and Colorado AI Act tracks 6. They are not interchangeable — meeting one does not discharge the other. The practical question is not which law is “stricter,” but which of them — or both — actually applies to your business.
California AB 2013 — Generative AI Training Data Transparency Act
California AB 2013 requires any person or company that designs, codes, produces, or substantially modifies a generative AI system made available to California residents (since January 1, 2022) to publicly post a high-level summary of the training datasets used. This applies to businesses that build their own AI models or substantially customize foundation models — not just those using off-the-shelf AI APIs. If your p…
Full California AB 2013 requirementsColorado AI / ADMT Law — SB 24-205 repealed & replaced by SB 26-189 (operative Jan 1, 2027)
CURRENT LAW: Colorado SB 26-189 — signed by Governor Polis on 14 May 2026 — REPEALED AND REENACTED part 17 of the Colorado Consumer Protection Act (C.R.S. §§ 6-1-1701 to 6-1-1709), replacing the original Colorado AI Act (SB 24-205, 2024) in its entirety. It takes effect 1 January 2027 and applies to consequential decisions made on or after that date. The replacement narrows the regime: it regulates "automated decisio…
Full Colorado AI Act requirementsCommon questions
Could both California AB 2013 and Colorado AI Act apply to my business?
Yes. California AB 2013 and Colorado AI Act are separate regulations with separate scopes — a business can fall under both at once. California AB 2013 covers Applies to any person or entity that "designs, codes, produces, or substantially modifies" a generative AI system and makes it available to California residents… Colorado AI Act covers CURRENT (SB 26-189, C.R.S. If your operations meet both scopes, you must comply with both. Aegis Firma's free scan checks all 169 tracked regulations against your business profile so you do not have to read each law to find out.
Which has the higher maximum penalty — California AB 2013 or Colorado AI Act?
California AB 2013: No statutory penalty — AB 2013 specifies NO monetary penalty amount and names NO enforcer (the statute is silent on enforcement). There is no private right of action. Non-compliance would most likely be pursued by the California Attorney General (or district/city attorneys) under the Unfair Competition Law (Bus. & Prof. Code §17200 et seq.); any monetary exposure derives from that general theory, not from AB 2013 itself. The prior "$5,000 per violation" figure was not in the statute. legal_review_pending. Colorado AI Act: Civil penalty up to $20,000 per violation — each consumer or transaction involved is a separate violation — and up to $50,000 per violation committed against an elderly person (C.R.S. § 6-1-112(1)(a), (1)(c), via §§ 6-1-1706(1)-(2) and 6-1-105(1)(uuuu)). AG-exclusive enforcement; 60-day cure notice where the AG deems cure possible, waived for knowing or repeated violations (§ 6-1-1706(3)); no private right of action (§ 6-1-1709). Penalty structures differ by regulator and violation type — read each law's full page for the cure periods and per-violation detail.
When does each law take effect?
California AB 2013 — effective 2026-01-01. Colorado AI Act — effective 2027-01-01. Dates last verified against official sources on 2026-08-22 and 2026-08-22 respectively.
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