The California Senate Appropriations Committee released a report Friday outlining the potential fiscal impact of AB 1018, a high-risk artificial intelligence bill moving through the state legislature which could cost state and local agencies millions of dollars. Known as the Automated Decisions Safety Act, or AB 1018, the legislation would set new rules for how artificial intelligence and other automated-decision systems are used in situations that significantly affect people’s lives, such as in the domains of housing, jobs, health care, credit, education and law. … The California State Water Resources Control Board, which offered information on the potential fiscal impact of the legislation, said in the report that the bill is “vague, ambiguous, and could encompass many current tools used, like excel workbooks.” “These tools are used broadly across Water Boards programs, and many are used to inform actions that could be considered consequential actions under the bill,” the report read. “To meet the bill’s AB 1018 provision, the State Water Board estimates significant cost pressures, likely in the millions of dollars per year.”