Audit of troubled California Bar Exam nears governor's desk

A bill calling for an audit of the February 2025 California Bar Exam is now one step from Gov. Gavin Newsom's desk.

SB 47 passed the full Assembly 70-0 on Wednesday afternoon. It will return to the Senate, which must vote to approve Assembly amendments.

The only substantive amendment came Sept. 2, when SB 47 was made an urgent measure. That change means the California State Auditor could begin work as soon as Newsom signs the bill, rather than wait until January. Because urgency bills require a two-thirds vote, the Assembly needed 54 votes but cleared the threshold easily.

The measure would authorize the auditor to examine the wide-ranging problems that plagued the first--and so far, only--administration of the State Bar's new California-specific bar exam. The audit could cover the bar's spending on the exam, its contracts with online test proctor Meazure Learning, and potential conflicts of interest. It would also allow the auditor to hire third-party support, including an accounting firm.

Assembly Judiciary Committee Chair Ash Kalra, D-San Jose, presented the bill on behalf of his Senate counterpart, Sen. Tom Umberg, D-Santa Ana. Kalra called the exam's problems--ranging from dropped internet connections to misleading questions generated by artificial intelligence--"unprecedented and unacceptable."

"It is vital that the Legislature and the public understand what went wrong with the February 2025 bar exam to ensure that nothing like this ever happens again," Kalra said.