California Stem Cell Research Institute Bond Initiative (2020)

The California Stem Cell Research Institute Bond Initiative (#19-0022) may appear on the ballot in California as an initiated state statute on November 3, 2020.

The ballot initiative would issue $5.5 billion in general obligation bonds for the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM), which was created to fund stem cell research. The ballot initiative would require CIRM to spend no more than 7.5 percent of the bond funds on operation costs. The remaining bond funds would be spent on grants to entities that conduct research, trials, and programs related to stem cells, as well as start-up costs for facilities.[1]

The official ballot title is as follows:[2]

Authorizes Bonds to Continue Funding Stem Cell and Other Medical Research. Initiative Statute.[3]

The summary provided for inclusion on signature petition sheets is as follows:[2]

Authorizes $5.5 billion in state general obligation bonds to fund grants from the California Institute of Regenerative Medicine to educational, non-profit, and private entities for: (1) stem cell and other medical research, therapy development, and therapy delivery; (2) medical training; and (3) construction of research facilities. Dedicates $1.5 billion to fund research and therapy for Alzheimers, Parkinsons, stroke, epilepsy, and other brain and central nervous system diseases and conditions. Limits bond issuance to $540 million annually. Appropriates money from General Fund to repay bond debt, but postpones repayment for first five years.[3]

The fiscal impact statement is as follows:[2]

State costs of $7.8 billion to pay off principal ($5.5 billion) and interest ($2.3 billion) on the bonds. Associated average annual debt payments of about $310 million for 25 years. The costs could be higher or lower than these estimates depending on factors such as the interest rate and the period of time over which the bonds are repaid. The state General Fund would pay most of the costs, with a relatively small amount of interest repaid by bond proceeds.[3]

The full text of the ballot measure is available here.

Californians for Stem Cell Research, Treatments & Cures is leading the campaign in support of the ballot initiative.[4]

Ballotpedia has not identified individuals and entities opposing the ballot initiative. If you are aware of published opposition to the ballot initiative, you may send a reference link to editor@ballotpedia.org.

The Californians for Stem Cell Research, Treatments & Cures PAC was registered to support the ballot initiative. The committee had raised $6.06 million. Robert N. Klein II and Klein Financial Corporation provided $4.63 million to the PAC. The committee had expended $8.72 million (expenditures exceeded contributions due to accrued expenses).[6]

There were no PACs registered to oppose the ballot initiative.[6]

The following table includes contribution and expenditure totals for the committee in support of the ballot initiative.[6]

The following was the top donors to the support committee.[6]

In 2004, voters approved Proposition 71, which was a ballot initiative designed to establish a state constitutional right to conduct stem cell research, create the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM), and issue $3.00 billion in general obligation bonds to fund CIRM.[7]

As of October 2019, CIRM had spent $2.91 billion of the $3.00 billion bond issue.[8]

In California, the number of signatures required for an initiated state statute is equal to 5 percent of the votes cast in the preceding gubernatorial election. Petitions are allowed to circulate for 180 days from the date the attorney general prepares the petition language. Signatures need to be certified at least 131 days before the general election. As the verification process can take multiple months, the secretary of state provides suggested deadlines for ballot initiatives.

The requirements to get initiated state statutes certified for the 2020 ballot:

Signatures are first filed with local election officials, who determine the total number of signatures submitted. If the total number is equal to at least 100 percent of the required signatures, then local election officials perform a random check of signatures submitted in their counties. If the random sample estimates that more than 110 percent of the required number of signatures are valid, the initiative is eligible for the ballot. If the random sample estimates that between 95 and 110 percent of the required number of signatures are valid, a full check of signatures is done to determine the total number of valid signatures. If less than 95 percent are estimated to be valid, the initiative does not make the ballot.

On October 10, 2019, Robert N. Klein filed the ballot initiative.[1] Attorney General Xavier Becerra (D) released ballot language for the initiative on December 17, 2019, which allowed proponents to begin collecting signatures. The deadline to file signatures is June 15, 2020.

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On February 13, 2020, proponents announced that the number of collected signatures surpassed the 25-percent threshold (155,803 signatures) to require legislative hearings on the ballot initiative.[9] In 2014, Senate Bill 1253 was enacted into law, which required the legislature to assign ballot initiatives that meet the 25-percent threshold to committees to hold joint public hearings on the initiatives not later than 131 days before the election.

On March 21, 2020, Sarah Melbostad, a spokeswoman for Californians for Stem Cell Research, Treatments, and Cures, reported that the campaign's signature drive was suspended due to the coronavirus pandemic. Melbostad said, "In keeping with the governors statewide order for non-essential businesses to close and residents to remain at home, weve suspended all signature gathering for the time being. ... Were confident that we still have time to qualify and plan to proceed accordingly."[10]

On May 5, 2020, the campaign reported submitting about 925,000 signatures for the ballot initiative.[11] At least 623,212 of the signatures need to be valid. The recommended deadline to file signatures for the election on November 3, 2020, was April 21, 2020. Counties need to validate the signatures before June 25, 2020, for the ballot initiative to appear on the ballot in 2020. Otherwise, the ballot initiative would appear on the ballot on November 8, 2022.

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California Stem Cell Research Institute Bond Initiative (2020)