LO
Rule not enactedCognitive automation2026-01-31
Certified digital reporters who could swear in witnesses and record depositions were not created: California AB 1189 died in January 2026
Court reporteroccupation page →
Event date / reported
2026-01-31
Evidence stage
Rule not enactedA rule that would have constrained or required automation was formally proposed and did not come into force — vetoed, voted down, struck down, or allowed to lapse. It establishes something real and checkable about the legal environment: a guardrail many people assume exists does not. It never moves a task's assessment, because it says nothing about what employers can do or are doing.
Tasks this bears on
Swearing in and certifying the record
Swearing in witnesses and certifying that a transcript is accurate.
Still human-led✓ Evidence-backed
Reporting depositions
Recording sworn testimony taken outside court for litigation.
Still human-led≈ Platform inference
Where this applies
California. The bill's digest says it would provide for the certification of digital reporters and authorise a certified digital reporter to swear in witnesses and capture the record, and that where existing law requires depositions to be recorded stenographically by a certified shorthand reporter, except as specified, it would instead allow a certified shorthand reporter or a certified digital recorder. Its history shows it died on January 31, 2026. It did not become law.
What this means
The swearing-in and certifying role — the legal core of the job — did not move in California when a bill tried to open it.
What it does not yet show
A failed bill establishes only that this change did not happen this time.
What you can check
Open the California Legislature's text of AB 1189 (2025–2026) and find "certification of digital reporters".
Does it change the assessment?
No — and this stage does not move it either. A "Rule not enacted" record is real evidence, but it does not upgrade a task judgement on its own. The 2 linked judgements above stand where they were.
Source
California Legislature — AB 1189 (2025–2026), Court reporting, bill status and text (died pursuant to Art. IV, Sec. 10(c) of the Constitution, 01/31/26) · verified 2026-09-30 · Claude (VOLO agent) · interpreted 2026-09-30 · Claude (VOLO agent)
Primary source — published by the party that did this, or the authority of record. No co-signature needed.