Juggling California Stem Cell Scenarios: Rebirth or RIP?

Directors of the $3 billion, California stem cell agency on Friday will be engaged in a curious mix of end-of-life planning plus a serious look at the possible rebirth of the 15-year-old program, which is unprecedented in state history.

On the meeting's agenda is a proposed budget for the 12 months beginning in July, which amounts to a wind-down plan if voters reject a $5.5 billion bond measure this fall that would refinance the agency. The agency has run through nearly all of the $3 billion provided by voters in 2004.  The spending plan would wrap up ongoing multi-year grants, archive records and help to assure that the state receives any royalties for stem products that it has helped to finance. 

On a positive note, the 29 directors will discuss the $5.5 billion ballot initiative and almost certainly endorse it.  The measure is more than money. The initiative would not only provide cash via the issuance of state bonds but charge the agency with more specific responsibilities, such as spending at least $1.5 billion on "diseases and conditions of the brain and central nervous system, including but not limited to Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, stroke, dementia, epilepsy, schizophrenia, depression, traumatic brain injury, brain cancer, and autism." 

The measure is also aimed at ensuring accessibility to any new stem cell therapies, whose prices could run to $1 million or more. The agency, however, has yet to participate in funding a stem cell therapy that is widely available to the public.

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A campaign organization called Californians for Stem Cell Research, Treatments and Cures has already been created. It has a website and is soliciting contributions for what could be a $50 million campaign. Interested persons can also sign up for its mailing list. No opposition campaign group has surfaced, although the Center for Genetics and Society in Berkeley has raised serious questions and reservations.

The ballot initiative has not yet qualified for the November ballot. However, short of an extraordinary event, it seems all but certain to be placed before voters. 

The California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM), as the agency is formally known, was created in 2004 by voters through the use of the state's ballot initiative process, a "direct democracy" tool that permits those who can gather hundreds of thousands of signatures to take their proposals directly to voters.  Initiatives bypass the legislature and the governor.  CIRM also operates effectively outside of the control of the governor or lawmakers under the terms of the initiative that created it.

A scientific research state agency funded with billions of dollars has never existed in California history. It is the largest such state stem cell effort in the nation. At one point it was the single largest source in the world for funding human embryonic stem cell research. 

Friday's online meeting, which begins at 9 a.m. PDT, is open to members of the public who can comment on any issue. Full directions for the online access are on the agenda.  If you haven't logged into a meeting of the agency previously, it would be helpful to review the instructions on the agenda 15 minutes in advance. 

California's $5.5 Billion Stem Cell Countdown: Critical Qualification Numbers Drop on Friday with No Explanation

The effort to qualify a $5.5 billion stem cell bond measure for the November ballot unexpectedly lost ground this week in an unexplained drop in the critical count of the number of voter signatures that have been verified on initiative petitions supporting the proposal.

Whether the drop will endanger the qualification of the measure is unclear. State election officials did not respond to queries late Friday nor did the campaign. 

Here is what happened to the number of valid signatures this past week. On  Wednesday June 17, the California Secretary of State, which is the state's top election office, reported 635,298 valid signatures of registered voters on the petitions seeking to place the bond measure on the ballot. It needs 685,534 at this point to be on the ballot. 

Yesterday (Friday June 19), the secretary of state, however, reported a total of only 618,362 valid signatures with no elaboration on why the number had dropped.  The listing of all of 58 California counties showed, however, that the count by Fresno election officials had changed in a major way. On Wednesday, Fresno was reported as having 23,175 valid signatures. On Friday, that number been zeroed out and removed.   

A minor change was reported in Contra Costa county, whose valid signature count increased by 21 between Wednesday and Friday. San Mateo and Inyo counties also reported their verified counts for the first time, respectively 5,699 and 520.

Counties are responsible for verifying the number of valid signatures on the petitions to place initiatives on the ballot. They report to the state, which ultimately determines whether the proposal will come before voters. The state reports daily online on the number of valid signatures, usually around 5 p.m., when it closes its  public operations, but sometimes later. 

The process currently underway relies on both an actual count and random samples. 

The disappearance of the Fresno count could be simply a clerical error or something of that sort.  But that will not be known until Monday when government offices open for normal business.  Two other initiatives currently pending also show no valid signatures being reported from Fresno. 

The state has set next Wednesday as the deadline for counties to complete their tally. The state's deadline for itself is next Thursday.

Look for the next update on the count Monday evening or early Tuesday on the California Stem Cell Report, your only independent source of information and news about the stem cell agency for the last 15 years.

California's $5.5 Billion Stem Cell Countdown: No Fresh Numbers, Still Short of Qualifying

State elections officials reported this morning that there is no change in the figures concerning the qualification of a $5.5 billion stem cell bond measure for the November ballot. 

The measure remains 50,236 signatures short of being placed on the ballot with six counties outstanding. San Diego has the largest number of raw signatures, 99,899 unverified.

The proposed ballot measure, which appears all but certain to qualify, is aimed at financially saving the state stem cell agency, which is running out of cash. It will begin closing its doors in the fall without more funds. 

The state has set next Wednesday as the deadline for counties to complete their tally. The state's deadline for itself is one week from today.

Look for the next update on the count this evening or early Saturday on the California Stem Cell Report, your only independent source of information and news about the stem cell agency for the last 15 years.

Ballot Initiative Advisory

As of 8:43 p.m. today state election officials had not posted fresh figures on the count that will determine whether a $5.5 billion stem cell bond measure will qualify for the November ballot. The California Stem Cell Report will be monitoring the situation this evening and will post an item on any new figures if and when they become available.

Stem Cell Contingency Planning in California: Winding Down a $3 Billion Operation

The $3 billion California stem cell agency has put together a "wind down" budget for its coming fiscal year -- a spending plan that takes into account the possibility that voters will not refinance the effort with more billions this fall. 

The budget was approved by the agency's governing board finance committee last week. It proposes spending $12.3 million for the 12 months that begin July 1. Should voters reject a $5.5 billion refinancing of the agency in November, the plan anticipates a 42 percent staff reduction at the end of this year. 

The agency is now down to 33 employees, who have numbered more than 50 in past years. 

Maria Millan, CEO of the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM), as the agency is formally known, said that details of the plan will be fleshed out as the year progresses.  It will also be discussed at a governing board meeting on June 26.

She said that CIRM has $854 million in awards under current management. They would be phased out over the next several years. Millan said that $47 million is available currently for research awards. Decisions on the use of the money will come before the board, also on June 26. 

If the ballot measure is approved, the agency's budget will require substantial modification and hiring to deal with the increased funding and new activities provided for in the ballot measure. 

During the public comment period, David Jensen, publisher of the California Stem Cell Report noted the  significance of CIRM both as an historic state enterprise and for its scientific impact on the stem cell field. He said, 

"Preserving the CIRM story digitally in a readable and accessible format should not be all that costly. And it would be a significant contribution to helping those who come after us learn about how this $3 billion effort came about and navigated with considerable success through the early days of what some may ultimately call the stem cell revolution. It would be a sad day if the complete record of the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine is not preserved for posterity." 

Several CIRM board members expressed enthusiasm for the suggestion. Millan said that archiving the data and information that CIRM has gathered is part of the wind down proposal under its public communication component. 

*This item has been brought to you by The California Stem Cell Report: The only independent source of information and news devoted solely to the stem cell agency for the last 15 years.*