Posted on 06/05/2005 4:03:57 PM PDT by calcowgirl
SAN FRANCISCO – California's effort to become a world leader in human embryonic stem cell research has long been supported by a coterie of well-heeled patient advocates who found their champion in an obscure state senator from Sacramento.
Now a battle for control of the $3 billion in research money voters approved last year has unraveled the alliance and threatens to cripple the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine even before it awards its first grant, agency officials say.
The state Senate is expected to vote this week on a proposed constitutional amendment that would tighten perceived loopholes in how the agency is governed. Among other provisions, the amendment would require institute officials to sell off – or place into a blind trust – any investments related to stem cell research.
The amendment also would require any drugs developed with agency money to be made available, at cost, to California's poor, and any drug profits would have to be shared with the state.
Supporters of the institute say the changes would cripple their effort, driving away top talent and corporate involvement just when other states and nations are competing for stem cell research projects.
If the amendment is approved by at least 27 of the 40 senators, the Assembly will have until June 30 to find its own two-thirds majority willing to place it on an expected state ballot in November.
The proposed amendment was written by state Sen. Deborah Ortiz, a Sacramento Democrat who was an early backer of California's Proposition 71, which created the stem cell agency when 59 percent of state voters passed it in November.
The California initiative was prompted by the federal funding restrictions President Bush has placed on the work, which is opposed by many social conservatives because days-old embryos are destroyed during research. Other states have quickly moved to pass similar funding efforts, fearing the loss of gifted scientists and biotechnology businesses.
Ortiz said she remains a supporter of the agency and of human embryonic stem cell research. But she's become concerned since November that the language of Proposition 71 doesn't ensure California will share in potential profits or that poor residents will benefit from the taxpayer-supported research. She's also concerned about some of the fine print, which allows for key agency committees to conduct much of their work behind closed doors.
And she says the dramatic step of going back to the voters is necessary because Proposition 71 prohibits the Legislature from amending the initiative for three years. The proposition vested all decision-making power with a 29-member board, appointed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and other elected officials.
The new agency's first chairman, Bob Klein, said Ortiz's legislation is unnecessary and obstructionist. The agency already faces a legal challenge over its constitutionality, which prevents it from borrowing money to fund the research grants. Klein worries that going back to the voters with an amendment could open the institute to even more legal challenges.
"Sen. Ortiz may have many of the same goals that we do, but it is the language itself that is crippling or potentially crippling to the institute," Klein said during a May 23 meeting of the agency's oversight committee, which voted unanimously to oppose Ortiz's legislation.
Ortiz agreed to tone down some of the language after meeting with Klein on May 27 and said she still intends to qualify a proposed amendment for the ballot. But it's not clear whether she's got enough support from her fellow lawmakers, who are getting lobbied by patient advocacy groups. The University of California, Stanford University, the California Institute of Technology and the University of Southern California also have formally expressed concern.
"I have a very tough time ahead of me," Ortiz said. "I'm not convinced I can get two-thirds vote and the timelines are incredible. It's a huge challenge."
Hollywood producers and directors Janet and Jerry Zucker are among the former allies disappointed with Ortiz. Proposition 71 was born during a dinner attended by Ortiz at the Zuckers' Brentwood home three years ago, and Ortiz campaigned heavily for Proposition 71's passage. The Zuckers helped raise the more than $30 million spent in support of the campaign.
"Jerry and I feel a great debt of gratitude for the support she has shown stem cell research in California," said Janet Zucker, who produced the 2001 comedy "Rat Race" and whose teenage daughter suffers from diabetes. "But we are perplexed and feel there is a better forum to work out these issues."
Dr. Francisco Prieto, who made small campaign contributions to Ortiz before his appointment to the 29 member committee that oversees the stem cell agency, said the fight has been needlessly antagonistic. He hopes a compromise can be reached between his committee and Ortiz before the proposed amendment goes any further.
"I think the approach we have taken as a board has been more confrontational than it needs to be," Prieto said. "Sen. Ortiz, in my opinion, has been and continues to be a strong supporter of stem cell research."
Didn't she read the dang thing before she supported it? This was a fraud from the gitgo.
The amendment also would require any drugs developed with agency money to be made available, at cost, to California's poor, and any drug profits would have to be shared with the state.
Supporters of the institute say the changes would cripple their effort, driving away top talent and corporate involvement just when other states and nations are competing for stem cell research projects.
If the amendment is approved by at least 27 of the 40 senators, the Assembly will have until June 30 to find its own two-thirds majority willing to place it on an expected state ballot in November.
The proposed amendment was written by state Sen. Deborah Ortiz, a Sacramento Democrat who was an early backer of California's Proposition 71, which created the stem cell agency when 59 percent of state voters passed it in November.
So much irony, so little time...
I hope all the R's vote for this measure!
Compare what the D's require of private businesses, especially the drug companies. Talk about shooting yourself in the foot!!
The bonds are not selling. You can fool some of the people some of the time but you cant fool all the people all the time.
Check out californiastemcellreport.blogspot.com for more on the lively matters at the stem cell agency.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.