Fresh Comment

John M. Simpson of Consumer Watchdog and longtime observer of the California stem cell agency has posted a comment on the “Tea Leaves” item. Among other things, he says that he understands that the terms “of the vice chair's employment -- salary and whether it's a full-time job -- will be discussed in closed executive session” on Thursday. Our comment: That's an interesting way to fill a position that is supposed to be publicly elected. But it will certainly permit candor and may provide a challenge to lawyers seeking to keep the subcommittee from violating the state's open meeting laws.

Overseeing Top CIRM Execs: A Reading of the Tea Leaves

Next Thursday, a key panel of the directors of the world's largest source of funding for human embryonic stem cell research will consider a matter that could give some indication of its future direction,

Nominally, the issue seems less than controversial. The agenda says it involves “consideration of policy/procedure for performance evaluation” of the chairman, vice chairman and president of the $3 billion stem cell agency.

But lying behind that bland language are such matters as the political and lobbying efforts of CIRM, its connections to industry and the election of a vice chairman to assist in those endeavors. Will the agency continue pushing hard to become a global powerhouse for stem cell research, pleading for billions from Congress for industry? Will it embrace the biomedical industry ever more closely, funding its efforts to bring products to markets? Or both, for that matter?

The agency could get to those issues through more closely defining the position of the vice chairman, which is now vacant, and discussion of related matters. The two contenders for the post come from radically different backgrounds. One is Art Torres, now the head of the California State Democratic Party and a former state lawmaker with good connections in the nation's capital. The other is Duane Roth, an executive with biomedical industry ties and head of Connect business development organization in La Jolla, Ca.

Roth was nominated by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, a Republican. Torres was nominated by Democratic state Treasurer Bill Lockyer, whose good offices are especially important to CIRM as it attempts to market state bonds privately. The treasurer is the ultimate arbiter on state bond deals. On the other hand, the governor loaned CIRM $150 million in state funds a couple of years ago when it had another period of financial difficulty. The loan has been paid back, but CIRM has had to seek his support on other matters, such as his veto of legislation that the agency opposed,

Also entering into the mix is the salary for the vice chairman. The job carries pay that could run as much as $332,000. Torres says he needs a salary, but has not indicated a figure. Roth says he will not accept a salary. In December, CIRM directors awarded CIRM Chairman Robert Klein a $150,000 salary and defined his job as halftime. Klein, a millionaire real estate investment banker, previously declined a salary.

Sadly, the public is pretty much out of the loop in advance of the meeting on the policy/evaluation agenda item, which first came up Dec. 22 last year. The proposal discussed at that meeting was only described orally and never publicly disclosed in written form in its entirety. The only access to what it contains is the transcript of the meeting. Given CIRM's past performance, do not expect to see any written material ahead of the upcoming meeting.

Also missing from next week's meeting are proposed changes in CIRM's internal governance policies, which are closely tied to the responsibilities of the chairman, vice chairman and president. The proposal came up at the Dec. 22 meeting, and directors said it would come up again at the next governance meeting (the one that is next week). However, it is not on the agenda, although it could be discussed.

Next week's meeting will be available to the public to hear and participate in via teleconference locations in La Jolla (Roth's office), Duarte, Sacramento, Irvine and San Francisco. But don't expect a “full and frank” discussion, The board generally deals obliquely with these sorts of issues, It could also sidestep them entirely.

The specific location for the teleconference sessions can be found on the agenda.

CIRM Panel to Consider Hoover Questions

California stem cell Chairman Robert Klein is seeking some help this Friday from members of the agency's board of directors in connection with the Little Hoover Commission's inquiry into the $3 billion research effort.

Members of the public will also have a chance to comment at several teleconference locations throughout California. The forum is a meeting of the directors' Legislative Subcommittee. The agenda item reads: "Consideration of request from Little Hoover Commission for additional information regarding CIRM governance, board appointment structure, and other policies."

We have been told that the Little Hoover Commission, a bipartisan state agency devoted to improving the performance of government, posed questions on which Klein is seeking board input.

The current teleconference locations are in San Francisco, Sacramento, Healdsburg, Irvine, Elk Grove and Palo Alto. More may be added before the day of the meeting or even on the day of the meeting. The current listing and specific addresses can be found on the agenda.

The Bee Assails the CIRM 'Club'

The Sacramento Bee said today that the board of directors of the $3 billion California stem cell agency is "is rife with potential conflicts," "overly large and unwieldy" and "awards multimillion-dollar grants in a manner that favors secrecy over accountability."

The comment came in an editorial on last week's hearing by the state's good-government agency, the Little Hoover Commission, into the stem cell research program.

The editorial said,

"The most striking testimony came from Kenneth Taymor(see photo), executive director of the UC Berkeley Center for Law, Business and the Economy.

"Taymor, who has been watching the institute's operations for three years, noted that nearly everyone on the institute's governing board – medical school deans, university officials – has some sort of financial interest in the grants being awarded.

"Even with officials recusing themselves, the board's deliberations, he said, have the feel of 'a club that was allocating money among themselves' based on preordained decisions."

According to The Bee,

"The hearing revealed, once again, that this institute's 29-member governing board is rife with potential conflicts; that it is overly large and unwieldy; and that it awards multimillion-dollar grants in a manner that favors secrecy over accountability."

The Bee concluded:

"This is troublesome stuff, yet it doesn't appear the Little Hoover Commission will recommend sweeping structural changes, even though the institute still has more than $2 billion left to spend.

"Downsizing its governing board, eliminating conflicts and stripping the institute's chair of operational authority would require a constitutional amendment to Prop. 71. Based on their discussion Thursday, members of the Little Hoover Commission don't want to go that far.

"That's too bad. Without real reforms, Klein and his board will continue to operate like a club, spending taxpayer dollars without the normal safeguards of other public agencies."

Minimal Coverage of Hoover-CIRM Inquiry

News coverage of last week's state Capitol hearing into the affairs of the California stem cell agency was quite light, with only one newspaper writing about the session -- at least based on an Internet search.

Reporter Terri Somers of the San Diego Union-Tribune pulled together the single story on the inquiry by California's Little Hoover Commission, reflecting the importance of the biotech and stem cell industry in her area. The Sacramento Bee did not cover the event, but its Capitol Alert Internet service linked to Somers' piece.

The meager coverage was to be expected. Other matters are consuming news organizations, which also are suffering from heavily cut-back staffs.

Somers led with a statement by CIRM Chairman Robert Klein concerning the possibility of another bond measure to continue the work of the agency, which has only a 10-year funding capability. Another bond proposal could be placed on the ballot if the legislature approves or if it qualifies via the initiative process.

Somers described Klein's "unflinching confidence" in the research enterprise and reiterated his familiar pitch that CIRM has been overseen to a fare-thee-well.

Somers wrote,

"But what was perhaps most revealing were the areas of questioning by the commission members. They asked about the size of the institute's governing board, the transparency of its spending decisions, the ability of biotechnology companies to benefit from stem cell grants and the power and job responsibilities of Klein and (CIRM President Alan) Trounson.

"'I'm concerned that there is an arrogance in how the funding is handled and the institute is structured,' said commission vice chairman Eugene “Mitch” Mitchell(see photo), a vice president of San Diego's Sempra Energy. 'I find it baffling that it is a state agency, but there are so many rules it doesn't have to adhere to.'"

She continued,

"Ken Taymor, a UC Berkeley law professor who has attended many of the institute's board meetings, said the public continues to be frustrated that funding decisions are still made behind closed doors. He also urged the commission to look at how power is divided between Klein and Trounson.

"The board's size, at 29 members, makes it inefficient, said several observers. And it is unusual that it has no members whose sole interest is that of the taxpayers, said Michael Klausner, a Stanford Law School expert on nonprofit governance."

Somers wrote,

"John Simpson of Consumer Watchdog, a Santa Monica advocacy group, suggested trimming the board's membership to 15 people with no conflicts of interest."

(Simpson put out a press release that was distributed widely.)

Somers additionally reported that Trounson indicated that California businesses will do better on the next round of grants. He predicted that probably one-third of the tools-and-technology grant round will go to the private sector. Only one business has won a grant and that was for only $50,000.

We will have more on the hearing over the next few days, but if you can't wait and want to wade through the testimony, it is all available here on the Little Hoover Commission website. An archived video of the entire session should be available soon via the same link.

Sunday Afternoon with CIRM: A Personnel Matter

The Governance Subcommittee of the $3 billion California stem cell agency has an interesting little meeting scheduled for this weekend.

Interesting in the sense that the meeting of the group of CIRM directors poses more questions than answers.

Only one substantive item is on the agenda, a closed-door personnel session. Both the narrow scope of the meeting and the unusual Sunday afternoon timing made us wonder what exactly was going on.

We asked Don Gibbons, chief communications officer for CIRM, to illuminate the subject matter further and explain the Sunday timing. His one-sentence response:

"It is because of the chair of the subcommittee’s busy schedule."

The chair is Sherry Lansing(see photo), a former Hollywood studio head (think "Titanic"and "Forrest Gump")and now head of the charitable foundation bearing her name. She is indeed a busy woman and has her fingers in several major pies, including the board of regents of the University of California.

The responsibilities of the eight-member, directors' governance committee include such things as CIRM internal controls, ethics, outside contracting as well as monitoring management goals. One could speculate that the meeting's timing reflects a certain urgency and importance, although its recommendations generally must be approved by the full board of directors. That 29-member group meets on Monday.

Closed-door personnel sessions are permitted under state law. If the committee takes any action, it must be reported following the private session. However, the public will have a chance to speak out during the meeting at six different locations in California, if they choose to do so. The teleconference sites include San Francisco, Los Angeles, La Jolla, Palo Alto, Sacramento and Laguna Beach. The street addresses can be found on the agenda.

Tracking the Little Hoover Commission and CIRM

The Little Hoover Commission, which is looking into the governance of the California stem cell agency, has posted some material concerning its inquiry, accessibility and schedule.

The first meeting will be held Nov. 20 in Sacramento with the second Jan. 22, also in Sacramento. The agenda says,

"As part of its study, the commission will explore the transparency and accountability of the existing governance structure."

The agenda also says that more information can be had by contacting project manager Eric Stern. To be notified of events concerning the CIRM inquiry, send a message to littlehoover@lhc.ca.gov. The phone number for the commission is 916-445-2125.