BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    




                   Senate Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary
                           Senator Christine Kehoe, Chair

                                           1931 (Torrico)
          
          Hearing Date:  8/12/2010        Amended: 6/24/2010
          Consultant: Katie Johnson       Policy Vote: Health 8-0
          _________________________________________________________________ 
          ____
          BILL SUMMARY: AB 1931 would eliminate the January 1, 2011,  
          sunset date on the Roman Reed Spinal Cord Injury Research Act  
          and make specified changes.
          _________________________________________________________________ 
          ____
                            Fiscal Impact (in thousands)

           Major Provisions         2010-11      2011-12       2012-13     Fund
                                                                  
          Research grants                 $1 million - $2 million  
          annuallyGeneral
                                   total funds in cost pressure to 
                                   continue funding at historical levels
          _________________________________________________________________ 
          ____

          STAFF COMMENTS: SUSPENSE FILE. AS PROPOSED TO BE AMENDED.

          This bill would eliminate the January 1, 2011, sunset date on  
          the Roman Reed Spinal Cord Injury Research Act of 1999 (Roman  
          Reed Program).

          This bill would also extend the Spinal Cord Injury Research  
          Fund, which is continuously appropriated and would consist of  
          private donations and local and federal funds after January 1,  
          2011. This bill would require that any state moneys transferred  
          to the fund prior to January 1, 2011, would remain available in  
          the fund for expenditure.

          Since this program is intended to be funded in part by private  
          funds, there would be General Fund pressure in the hundreds of  
          thousands to millions of dollars to continue the provision of  
          those funds in the event they cease to be available. 

          Moneys in the fund would be required to be used solely for  
          spinal cord injury research programs, but could be expended for  
          peer review and grant administration. This bill would delete the  










          requirement that these provisions would be implemented only to  
          the extent that funding for its purposes was appropriated to the  
          Regents of the University of California (UC) in the annual  
          Budget Act or another statute.

          This bill would additionally permit the UC to establish and  
          administer an additional fund, independent of the State  
          Treasury, to accept public and private funds for the purpose of  
          implementing this program. Since this additional fund could use  
          state funds appropriated to the UC, there would be $1 million -  
          $2 million in General Fund cost pressure to the extent that the  
          UC continues to put funds from its budget toward this program.

          Since 2000, the Roman Reed Program has provided approximately $3  
          million annually in spinal cord research funding in state,  
          federal, and private funds. If the program sunset were to be  
          eliminated and the program were to exist in perpetuity, there  
          would be cost 
          Page 2
          AB 1931 (Torrico)

          pressure of about $3 million annually in state, federal, and  
          private funds to maintain the historical level of research  
          funding the program has provided. Over the years, these $13.9  
          million in funds have been matched by $60 million in federal  
          funds and an additional $7.4 million in non-state funds are  
          pending.

          Due to an oversight, the Spinal Cord Injury Research Fund  
          currently does not exist in the State Treasury. Therefore, no  
          funds have ever been placed into it, nor have any funds been  
          expended from it. Instead, the UC collects state, federal, and  
          private funds in the Roman Reed Spinal Cord Injury Research  
          account. Until FY 2008-2009, the state provided a separate  
          budget item of approximately $1.5 million General Fund annually  
          within the UC's funding allocation for the operation of the  
          Roman Reed Program. In FY 2009-2010, UC received the $1.2  
          million within its budget, but the state no longer earmarked it  
          for the Roman Reed Program. However, UC chose to continue  
          funding the program with the same amount of funds that were  
          historically allocated.

          Since the special fund structure in statute has never been  
          implemented as intended, but the UC has created and maintained  
          the program through a separate fund, a practice that this bill  
          would now codify, staff recommends that the bill be amended to  










          maintain the program, but to clean-up the funding source to  
          reflect the way the program currently works as follows:

          SECTION 1.  Section 104336 of the Health and Safety Code is  
          amended to read:


          104336.  (a) There is hereby established a Spinal Cord Injury  
          Research Fund. Notwithstanding Section 13340 of the Government  
          Code, the fund is continuously appropriated to the University of  
          California for the purposes of this chapter. 


          (b) The fund shall consist of money accepted by the University  
          of California from grants and donations from private entities,  
          as well as local and federal moneys transferred to the fund. Any  
          public state moneys transferred to the fund prior to January 1,  
          2011, shall remain available in the fund for expenditures  
          pursuant to this chapter.


          (c) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, money remaining  
          in the fund at the end of a fiscal year shall not revert to the  
          General Fund.


           (a)  (d)   Nothing in this section shall preclude  The  the   
          University of California  from establishing and administering  may  
          establish a Spinal Cord Injury Research Fund  an additional fund  ,  
          independent of the State Treasury, to accept public and private  
          funds for the purpose of implementing this chapter.


          SEC. 2.  Section 104337 of the Health and Safety Code is amended  
          to` read:


          104337. Moneys in the fund established pursuant to Section  
          104336 may be expended by the University of California solely  
          for spinal cord injury research programs and grants, and may be  
          expended for, but not limited to, costs for peer review and  
          grant administration.


          The proposed author's amendments are the staff recommendation  
          above.