BILL ANALYSIS �
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 714
Author: Wieckowski (D)
Amended: 6/24/13 in Senate
Vote: 27
SENATE HEALTH COMMITTEE : 9-0, 7/3/13
AYES: Hernandez, Anderson, Beall, De Le�n, DeSaulnier, Monning,
Nielsen, Pavley, Wolk
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : 7-0, 8/30/13
AYES: De Le�n, Walters, Gaines, Hill, Lara, Padilla, Steinberg
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 68-3, 5/29/13 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : Roman Reed Spinal Cord Injury Research Fund
SOURCE : Californians for Cures
DIGEST : This bill appropriates $1 million from the General
Fund (GF) to the Spinal Cord Injury Research Fund (Fund)
authorized pursuant to the Roman Reed Spinal Cord Injury
Research Act of 1999 (Roman Reed Act).
ANALYSIS : Existing law establishes the Roman Reed Act,
pursuant to AB 750 (Dutra, Chapter 777, Statutes of 2000) and
authorizes the University of California (UC) to establish a
Spinal Cord Injury Research Fund independent of the state
Treasurer's Office, to accept public and private funds for the
purpose of injury research programs and grants.
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This bill appropriates $1 million from the GF to the Fund
authorized pursuant to the Roman Reed Act.
Background
Roman Reed Act . According to a 2012 report by the Roman Reed
Spinal Cord Injury Research Program, it was estimated that care
for quadriplegic individuals, as a result of a cervical spinal
cord injury (SCI), cost the state of California $340 million
annually in the late 1990s. AB 750 established the Roman Reed
Act to support scientific research related to SCIs. The
original five-year program was renewed for an additional five
years through AB 1794 (Dutra, Chapter 414, Statutes of 2004).
The Fund provided approximately $1.5 million per year for 10
years for SCI research in California. The Roman Reed Act funds
were allocated to UC, and administered by the Reeve-Irvine
Research Center at UC Irvine. According to the author's office,
between 2000 and 2009, over 300 scientists, technical staff, and
students participated in 129 Roman Reed Research projects and
$15.1 million in state contributions to the Roman Reed Fund
leveraged $84 million in non-state funds, such as from National
Institutes of Health.
The Roman Reed Program has three components: (1) research
grants to promote innovative, high-impact research projects
focusing on SCI or nerve cell regeneration. Principal
Investigators must be from institutions within California; (2)
the Roman Reed Core Laboratory which provides a means for
investigators who are new to the field of SCI research to launch
novel research projects and obtain training in SCI research
techniques. The main purpose of the Core Laboratory is to
support experiments by scientists with novel ideas, but who are
not yet directly engaged in SCI research in their own labs; and,
(3) an annual meeting fostering collaboration and communication
throughout California, both for scientists and the lay public.
Prior Legislation
AB 1657 (Wieckowski, 2012) would have added an additional
penalty assessment of $1 to every fine, penalty, or forfeiture
deposit imposed by any court on violations of specified Vehicle
Code sections or local ordinance adopted pursuant to the Vehicle
Code. The bill was vetoed by Governor Brown. In his veto
message, the Governor stated that SCI research is certainly
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worthwhile, but the funding method chosen is not. Loading more
and more costs on traffic tickets has been too easy a source of
new revenue. Fines should be based on what is reasonable
punishment, not on paying for more GF activities.
AB 190 (Wieckowski, 2011) proposed an additional $3 penalty
assessment for every violation of the vehicle code, except
parking violations, to provide support to the SCI research
program at UC. The bill was held in the Assembly Appropriations
Committee.
AB 1931 (Torrico, Chapter 457, Statutes of 2010) eliminated the
sunset date for the Roman Reed Act and specified that the Fund
be located at UC, rather than the Treasurer's Office.
AB 1794 (Dutra, Chapter 414, Statutes of 2004) extended the
sunset date for the Roman Reed Act to January 1, 2011, and the
sunset date for the Traumatic Brain Injury pilot project from
July 1, 2007 to July 1, 2012.
AB 750 (Dutra, Chapter 777, Statutes of 2000) established the
Roman Reed Act and created the Fund.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: Yes Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: No
According to the Senate Appropriations Committee, one-time $1
million GF appropriation.
SUPPORT : (Verified 8/30/13)
Californians for Cures (source)
Americans for Cures Foundation
BayBio
California Healthcare Institute
California Hepatitis C Task Force
Californians 4 Cures
Connect
Fremont Chamber of Commerce
Gwendolyn Strong Foundation
Missouri Cures
Neural Stem Cell Institute
Standard University Medical Center
StemCells, Inc.
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University of California, Irvine
Winner and Mandabach Campaigns
OPPOSITION : (Verified 8/30/13)
California Catholic Conference
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : The California Healthcare Institute
(CHI), the statewide public policy association representing the
life sciences sector, writes that since the inception of the
Roman Reed Act, 68 graduate students have been funded as Roman
Reed Fellows, 175 peer-reviewed articles have been published,
and millions of California dollars have been federally matched
bringing additional research and development dollars back into
the state. Few investments made by the state of California can
boast a nearly five-to-one return ratio matching funds from
federal and other grant programs. CHI believes that during this
time of economic difficulty in the state, the opportunity to
continue important neurological research to end producing viable
treatments for SCIs, while attracting well-playing biomedical
research and funding, is a rare win-win for the legislature.
BayBio writes that the critical research funded by this bill
will go a long way to improve the quality of life for more than
650,000 Californians living with paralysis due to a SCI.
ARGUMENTS IN OPPOSITION : The California Catholic Conference
(CCC) writes that this bill indicates that stem cell research
for SCIs is now a compelling state interest worthy of a state
budget expense. According to CCC, if this is the case, it would
follow that state funds should only provide for the most
efficacious stem cell research, that of non-embryonic, which has
both reportable results and the support of private venture
capital. This bill, according to the CCC, mirrors the
unfortunate policy of spending public funds on speculative
research, when in fact no "cures" have occurred as a result of
embryonic stem cell research under the auspices of the
California Institute of Regenerative Medicine (CIRM), set-up by
Proposition 71. The CCC believes that at a time in which the
state of California struggles to find basic health care funds
for its people, particularly those most in need, it is highly
inappropriate to divert public funds to researchers who have
access to private investments and the CIRM funding.
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ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 68-3, 5/29/13
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Allen, Ammiano, Atkins, Bloom,
Blumenfield, Bocanegra, Bonilla, Bonta, Bradford, Brown,
Buchanan, Ian Calderon, Campos, Chau, Ch�vez, Chesbro, Cooley,
Dahle, Daly, Dickinson, Eggman, Fong, Fox, Frazier, Garcia,
Gatto, Gomez, Gonzalez, Gordon, Gorell, Gray, Grove, Hagman,
Hall, Harkey, Roger Hern�ndez, Jones-Sawyer, Levine, Logue,
Lowenthal, Maienschein, Medina, Mitchell, Morrell, Mullin,
Muratsuchi, Nazarian, Nestande, Olsen, Pan, Perea, V. Manuel
P�rez, Quirk, Quirk-Silva, Rendon, Salas, Skinner, Stone,
Ting, Wagner, Waldron, Weber, Wieckowski, Williams, Yamada,
John A. P�rez
NOES: Donnelly, Jones, Melendez
NO VOTE RECORDED: Bigelow, Conway, Beth Gaines, Holden, Linder,
Mansoor, Patterson, Wilk, Vacancy
JL:k 8/31/13 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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