California’s new government partnership with Anthropic is raising questions about data security and taxpayer costs as state agencies begin using its tools. Gov. Gavin Newsom announced the partnership June 29, allowing state agencies, cities and counties to purchase and use Anthropic’s chatbot Claude at a 50% discount, with free workforce training and technical support. The governor’s office said the tools aim to improve government efficiency by helping draft and summarize documents and analyze information. More than two months later, KCRA 3 struggled to get California government leaders to give an on-record interview, and the California Department of Technology would only respond on the record via email. Assemblymember Rebecca Bauer-Kahan and State Sen. Chris Cabaldon were unwilling to talk, and Anthropic did not respond to a request for comment. The Department of Technology said several state agencies have used the partnership, including the California Department of General Services on behalf of Government Operations Agency, the Fair Political Practices Commission, the Public Entity Risk Management Authority, and FICal. Local users include the city of Gilroy, Southern California Regional Rail Authority, city of Corona, city of Agoura Hills, city of Union City, County of Santa Cruz and Kaweah Health. The Department of Technology said 60 other state departments or local agencies expressed interest but would not say which. The agreement is a “zero-dollar contract,” with each agency, city or county negotiating and paying individually, so total taxpayer costs are unclear. A spokesman said the