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| Robert Klein, sponsor of Proposition 14 California Stem Cell Report photo |
California voters have bailed out the "nearly broke" state stem cell agency by approving $5.5 billion more for the 16-year-old program, The Associated Press has declared.
The AP yesterday called the election on Proposition 14 with 51 percent approval of the measure. This morning, state election officials said the figure still stood at 51 percent (8,025,624) with 49 percent against (7,700,870). An estimated 1,054,820 ballots remain to be counted.
AP reporter John Rodgers described the agency as "nearly broke." He wrote that the approval was the narrowest margin of any proposition on the ballot. The result was also a far cry from the 59 percent vote for creation of the agency in 2004.
At the time, the stem cell program was provided with $3 billion, but the money was nearly gone by this year. The agency was scheduled to begin closing its doors this winter without additional funding.
The campaign of 2004 raised high expectations among voters that miraculous stem cell cures were just around the corner. However, the agency has yet to help finance a stem cell treatment that is widely available to the general public, although it is helping to finance 64 clinical trials.
CIRM Chairman Jonathan Thomas said in a statement (full text below) that the agency was "thrilled" by the election result which he said showed that the people of California "recognized our historic achievements."
The official sponsor of Proposition 14 is Robert Klein, a Palo Alto real estate developer. He directed the writing of the 17,000-word proposal as well as directing the campaign and contributing millions of dollars to the effort. Klein served an identical role in 2004 and became the first chairman of the agency as a result of language that he wrote into the 2004 proposition.
It is unclear what role, if any, Klein will have at the agency in the next several years. Thomas' term is not set to expire until Dec. 13, 2022.
In a statement, Klein said,
"The success of Propositon 14 sends a clear message from California voters that one of the most important investments our state can make is in the future health of our families." (full text below)
Ironically, while Proposition 14 provided for $5 billion-plus in "new," borrowed money (state bonds), it does not provide any funding beyond that amount for the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM), as the agency is formally known. That means that CIRM will need another bond measure in 10 to 15 years unless it can devise a plan for financial sustainability, a task that it has failed at over the last 16 years.
Proposition 14 also significantly expands the scope of the research that CIRM can support and increases the much-criticized size of its governing board from 29 to 35. And it provides a mechanism to hire substantially more employees.
CIRM's staffing peaked at about 56 and stood at 33 at last report. It will need to begin hiring more soon if it is to ramp up its award program to levels of previous years.
The CIRM board is scheduled to meet next month when it may take up revisions in its strategic plan and other forward-looking matters.
Here is the full statement from Thomas, chairman of the CIRM governing board:
“We are thrilled to see Proposition 14 approved by the voters of California. We are proud of what we have achieved so far - the cures and therapies we helped develop, the billions we brought into the state in additional investments, and the tens of thousands of jobs we created – and we look forward to continuing that work.
"We are honored by the trust the people of California have placed in us, and by the support of our extraordinary patient advocate community and by the many Chambers of Commerce around California who have all recognized our historic achievements.
"We are already working on ways to repay that trust and bring stem cell and regenerative therapies to all the people of this great state, particularly for communities that have traditionally been overlooked or underserved.”
Here is Klein's statement from the campaign website:
“The success of Prop. 14 sends a clear message from California voters that one of the most important investments our state can make is in the future health of our families. Over the past decade, California has made incredibly thoughtful and impactful investments in developing stem cell therapies and cures for diseases and conditions like diabetes, cancer, blindness, Parkinson’s, paralysis and many more; now we know this progress and work to mitigate human suffering, restore health and improve the human condition will continue,” said Robert and Danielle Klein, Chairs of Californians for Stem Cell Research, Treatments and Cures.
“A special thank you to California’s voters and our supporters in passing this critical measure. Today would not have been possible without our historically unprecedented coalition of patient advocate organizations and individuals – the heart and soul of this campaign – who worked tirelessly to overcome all obstacles and help secure a victory for patients and their families, and deliver hope to those searching for a cure for generations to come.”
“YES on Proposition 14 was outspent by a majority of the other measures on the ballot, but from day one, our mission has been too important to give up. Patients and their families looking for cures and treatments for their loved ones do not understand the meaning of impossible, and neither did the YES on Prop. 14 campaign. This measure would not have overcome these challenges without the patient advocacy community that refused to take no for an answer and continued to fight for their loved ones; patient advocates, along with the empathy, foresight and continuing commitment of California voters, have delivered a victory for YES on Proposition 14 and secured funding to improve or save the lives of millions.”
