Posted on 05/10/2005 6:47:46 AM PDT by ZGuy
California officials conceded Monday that a legal challenge has severely hampered the ability of the state's stem cell agency to borrow even a penny of the $3 billion in research money it had hoped to raise over the next 10 years.
Attorney General Bill Lockyer and Treasurer Phil Angelides said their offices are aggressively fighting the lawsuit while pursuing alternative ways for the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine to borrow money to fund medical research.
"But we have a hard road to go here," Angelides said in Sacramento during a teleconference with reporters.
Angelides is a member of a special finance committee created by Proposition 71, which also created the institute and authorized it to dole out an average of $300 million in research grants annually.
The committee met for the first time Monday and authorized the state to borrow $3 billion in bonds for the stem cell agency. But because of a lawsuit questioning the legality of the stem cell institute, the state is unable to sell long-term bonds while the challenges are pending.
Potential lenders are reluctant to invest in long-term bonds that are threatened with litigation because they fear the lawsuits could make their investments worthless.
Angelides said the committee is looking into other financing plans, including borrowing $200 million from short-term lenders, who may charge a higher interest rate than long-term lenders.
The lawsuit alleges that the state agency's finances are not properly overseen by government officials in Sacramento. It was filed in Alameda County Superior Court by lawyers at the Life Legal Defense Foundation, which opposes abortion and unsuccessfully fought in court earlier this year to keep a severely brain-damaged Florida woman alive in a high-profile right-to-die case.
"It is a narrow set of anti-choice activists who have an idealized zeal to stop stem cell research," Angelides said.
Dana Cody, a foundation attorney, said other groups with no involvement in abortion politics are taking part in the lawsuit such as the National Tax Limitation Committee.
"Mr. Angelides did not do his homework," Cody said, explaining that the lawsuit was filed to ensure that taxpayer money is handled properly.
Well, it is such a promising technology....where's all the private funding?
After all, a cure for Alzheimers has to be worth, what a GAZILLION DOLLARS?
You're being logical. Won't sell in California. Too mean-spirited.
(steely)
Moral Absolutes ping.
There are so many reasons why this stem cell crap is what it is.
1. It is pro-death.
2. Anything which promotes death opens the door for other pro-death issues.
3. The possibility of cures with embryonic stem cells is sketchy, and adult stem cells look promising. If there was no pro-death agenda, why not go for them instead?
4. Even if it was all hunkey dorey, TAX PAYER MONEY SHOULD NOT BE USED.
5. The idiots who want their money to be used can donate it.
Final straw is this: The gov't spends way way way too much (heavily deleted) money. START by trimming spending 50%, and then take it down from there.
Let me know if you want on/off this pinglist.
This is just a big waste of tax payers money.
What's particularly disgusting is that so many idiots voted in favor of it.
It's a multi-layered insanity.
Good Point.
BTTT!
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