February 2025 bar exam: audit.

Header changed from enrolled bill format (with Senate and Assembly passage dates and clerk signatures) to chaptered law format with 'STATE OF CALIFORNIA AUTHENTICATED ELECTRONIC LEGAL MATERIAL' header, Chapter 209 designation, and Governor approval date of October 1, 2025.

Page numbers changed from page 95 (enrolled) to page 94 (chaptered), and running headers updated from 'SB 47' to 'Ch. 209' throughout the document.

New audit subsection (D) requires the California State Auditor to investigate the decision to use artificial intelligence to create multiple choice questions for the February 2025 bar exam, including when and by whom the decision was made, the rationale, when executive leadership learned of AI use, what quality controls were applied, and what oversight deficiencies existed and how they were remedied.

New audit subsection (E) requires the auditor to itemize all State Bar costs from administering the February 2025 bar exam (contracts, legal fees, remedies to test-takers, anticipated future costs) and compare those total costs against the savings the State Bar claimed it would achieve with the new exam format.

New item (B)(iv) specifically asks why Kaplan, Inc. provided only 100 multiple choice questions for the February 2025 bar exam instead of the expected 200.

The vote requirement was changed from a simple majority to a two-thirds majority in both houses, making passage more difficult but also signaling greater legislative consensus on the matter.

A new Section 2 declares the bill an urgency statute that takes effect immediately upon approval, rather than waiting until January 1 of the following year. The stated justification is to allow the California State Auditor to commence the bar exam audit as soon as possible.

The entire amendment to Evidence Code Section 452 (judicial notice) was removed from the bill. The bill title was updated to reflect that it now only amends Section 6145 of the Business and Professions Code.

The original audit mandate was a general instruction to evaluate 'the administration of the February 2025 bar exam and how the problems with the exam occurred.' It was replaced with a structured list of specific areas the audit must cover, making the scope far more prescriptive.

New detailed audit requirements were added for the February 2025 bar exam audit. The auditor must now evaluate: (A) the bidding and contracting process with Proctor U/Meazure Learning, including compliance with laws and policies, evaluation criteria used, contract change approvals, and conflict of interest protections; (B) the bidding and contracting process with Kaplan, Inc. for multiple choice question development, including oversight and monitoring of question accuracy and fairness; and (C) the State Bar's pre-exam decision-making, including when problems were identified, how remote testing differed from pandemic-era processes, the makeup exam decision timeline, and equipment determination processes.

Removed the duplicate word 'exam' in the legislative counsel's digest ('bar exam exam' corrected to 'bar exam').

Removed the amendment history header lines, the bill introduction attribution (Senator Umberg, Assembly Member Pacheco), and the vote/appropriation/fiscal committee summary lines, all of which are standard omissions in an enrolled bill.

Added standard enrolled bill elements: Senate passage date (September 11, 2025), Assembly passage date (September 10, 2025), and the Governor's approval signature block.

The bill now amends Section 6145 of the Business and Professions Code (State Bar Act) in addition to the Evidence Code, fundamentally changing its subject matter from a technical evidence fix to bar exam accountability.

New subdivision (d) requires the California State Auditor to conduct an audit of the February 2025 bar exam specifically to evaluate its administration and determine how the problems with the exam occurred.

The bar exam audit must be submitted 'as soon as possible' to the board of trustees, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, and the Assembly and Senate Committees on Judiciary, pursuant to Section 9795 of the Government Code.

The costs of the February 2025 bar exam audit are explicitly excluded from the State Audit Fund. The State Bar must use its existing resources to provide the California State Auditor with the funding necessary to cover the audit costs, overriding Section 8544.5 of the Government Code.