BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 714
Page 1
GOVERNOR'S VETO
AB 714 (Wieckowski)
As Amended June 24, 2013
2/3 vote
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|ASSEMBLY: |68-3 |(May 29, 2013) |SENATE: |39-0 |(September 9, |
| | | | | |2013) |
-----------------------------------------------------------------
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|ASSEMBLY: |75-1 |(September 10, | | | |
| | |2013) | | | |
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Original Committee Reference: HEALTH
SUMMARY : Appropriates $1 million from the General Fund (GF) to
the spinal cord injury (SCI) research fund authorized by the
Roman Reed Spinal Cord Injury Research Act of 1999 (Roman Reed
Act).
The Senate amendments are technical and nonsubstantive.
EXISTING LAW establishes the Roman Reed Act and authorizes the
University of California (UC) to establish a SCI research fund
to accept public and private funds for the purpose of injury
research programs and grants.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Senate Appropriations
Committee, one-time $1 million GF appropriation.
COMMENTS : According to the author, California is home to
approximately 650,000 people living with paralysis, and this
number is increasing steadily. The author states nationally,
someone suffers a traumatic SCI every 41 minutes, adding
anywhere from 12,000 to 20,000 new SCI patients annually.
According to a report prepared for AB 1657 (Wieckowski), a
similar bill from 2012, a study commissioned by the Christopher
AB 714
Page 2
and Dana Reeve Foundation and the federal Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention, approximately 5.6 million Americans are
afflicted by some form of paralysis, and almost 1.3 million
individuals are living with a catastrophic SCI. The report
states this is five times higher than earlier estimates of the
prevalence of SCI in the United States. The author maintains
that the disability, loss of earning power, and loss of personal
freedom resulting from SCI is devastating for the injured
individual and creates a huge financial burden for the state.
The author asserts that associated health care costs and lost
income potential associated with spinal injuries cost the state
upwards of $1 billion per year. The author claims that
promising research-driven therapies currently underway could
greatly improve the quality of life and functionality of
individuals with spinal cord injuries and offset a significant
portion of these state costs. The author indicates that the
funds have resulted in remarkable research projects and at least
175 peer-reviewed publications and that discoveries financed by
the fund are in the pipeline toward clinical translation. The
author indicates that state funding for the Roman Reed Fund has
been eliminated, jeopardizing research this program undertakes
in SCI and paralysis. The author argues that by investing new
funds in this research, California can ensure the continued
success of this impressive program and remain a world leader in
neural sciences. This bill, the author maintains, will provide
the critical funding needed to make this program viable. The
author points out that in vetoing AB 1657 in 2012 the Governor
indicated that this type of valuable research should be
supported through GF activities, rather than penalty assessments
on vehicle offenses as was provided in AB 1657.
AB 750 (Dutra), Chapter 777, Statutes of 2000, established the
Roman Reed Act to support scientific research related to spinal
cord injuries for five-years and was renewed for an additional
five years through AB 1794 (Dutra), Chapter 414, Statutes of
2004. 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 the State of
California; 2) the Roman Reed Core Laboratory which provides a
means for investigators who are new to the field of SCI research
AB 714
Page 3
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. According to Dr. Oswald Steward, the Roman Reed
Project Director, there have been no grants funded by the Roman
Reed Spinal Cord Injury Research Act since 2010 (in other words,
no funding from the Legislature). UC provided funding to
continue the grants program in a modified form for one
additional year and it continues to be called the "Roman Reed
Program" for continuity. These funds were distributed in 2012.
A panel of experts from the SCI field assembled to provide
outside peer review of Roman Reed Grant applications. Submitted
grants were evaluated for scientific merit and the top 10 were
funded. A total of $749,311 in grants was awarded.
Baybio, the California Healthcare Institute, and others write in
support that California is a leader in neurological and SCI
research. Baybio further states in support that if we are to
maintain our prominence in this field of research, additional
funding for SCI research to replace GF contributions must be
found or we risk losing the matching funds and other grants that
we successfully attracted in the recent past. According to
supporters, many discoveries supported by the Roman Reed Fund
are in the pipeline toward clinical translation including: 1)
the world's first clinical trial for stem cells for SCI; 2) a
treatment initially developed for SCI in clinical trials for
inflammatory bowel disease; and, 3) new surgical techniques
developed to treat people with nerve injuries.
The California Catholic Conference writes in opposition that
although recent amendments have shifted the funding from traffic
fines to the GF, this bill continues the unfortunate policy of
spending money on speculative research. This opposition points
out that at a time in which we have cut funding for our state's
safety net-upon which our poor and vulnerable Californians
rely-it is highly inappropriate to divert money to University
researchers.
AB 714
Page 4
GOVERNOR'S VETO MESSAGE :
While the measure strives to do only good - namely
advance research and cures for spinal cord injury -
appropriating yet more state General Fund dollars to
University of California for a select purpose is not
the answer.
After several years of painful cuts, last January, I
proposed substantial budget increases for University
of California ($511 million over four years) with
maximum flexibility for their funding, so long as they
did not increase tuition. The 2013 Budget Act
provided the first portion of that increased
investment.
Research is a core mission of the University of
California. As such, it is entirely within the
university system's discretion to fund the Spinal Cord
Research Program, or any other project it deems of
value. For that reason, I have consistently chosen
not to support special earmarks in the University of
California's budget and leave it to the university -
as deeply steeped in innovation and research as it is
- to make funding decisions like this.
Analysis Prepared by : Marjorie Swartz / HEALTH / (916)
319-2097
FN: 0002887