07:57 PM EDT, 08/13/2026 (MT Newswires) -- A California bill that would broaden the state's antitrust enforcement powers advanced in the legislature Thursday, despite opposition from business groups and some government officials, Bloomberg reported Thursday.

The state Senate Appropriations Committee sent AB 1776 to the full chamber, where it must pass before reaching Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom. The measure would make it easier for the state attorney general to pursue monopolization cases against companies including Apple, Alphabet and Nvidia, Bloomberg said.

The bill would expand the Cartwright Act to cover anticompetitive conduct by individual companies, rather than only conduct involving two or more companies. The latest version limits enforcement to public prosecutions, removing an earlier provision that would have allowed private lawsuits, according to Bloomberg.