California COMPETE Act Codifies Single-Firm Antitrust Law, Public Enforcement Only
Effective January 1, 2027, California's COMPETE Act makes single-firm monopolization and monopsony unlawful under the Cartwright Act, enforceable only by the Attorney General and district attorneys.
On September 30, 2026, Governor Newsom signed AB 1776, the COMPETE Act, adding Business and Professions Code §§ 16730-16732 and, for the first time, extending California's Cartwright Act to single-firm monopolization and monopsony; it takes effect January 1, 2027. The enacted text is much narrower than the California Law Revision Commission's proposal: no private right of action, no Unfair Competition Law predicate, federal precedent is merely "at most instructive," and the Cipro analytical framework plus the "superior product, business acumen, or historic accident" defense now appear in the statute itself. Enforcement is limited to the Attorney General and district attorneys, who may seek civil penalties of up to $1 million per violation and mandatory injunctions.
Why it matters: exposure runs to California AG and district attorney investigation rather than private suits, and the express monopsony language points at single-employer labor-market conduct, alongside California's premerger notification rules and new pricing-algorithm restrictions. Watch for the first enforcement complaints and how courts adapt Cipro to unilateral conduct.