(1) Existing law establishes various grant and loan programs for research, including, among others, the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine, California Firefighter Cancer Prevention and Research Program, and the Public Interest Research, Development, and Demonstration Program.

This bill would establish the California Foundation for Science and Health Research within the Government Operations Agency. The bill would require the Secretary of Government Operations to oversee the process of appointing the director of the foundation, and would authorize the Secretary of Government Operations to delegate the task of hiring and determining the salaries, bonuses, and benefits of additional personnel to the director, as specified. The bill would require the director and personnel of the foundation to be responsible for implementing the strategic objectives of the California Foundation for Science and Health Research Council, as described below, administering grants and loans awarded by the council, and all other duties as deemed necessary for the operation of the foundation.

This bill would create the California Foundation for Science and Health Research Fund, upon appropriation by the Legislature, and require the moneys in the fund to be used by the foundation to award grants and make loans to public or private research companies, universities, institutes, and organizations for scientific research and development, in specific areas of research, including, but not limited to, biomedical, behavioral health, and climate research.

This bill would create the California Foundation for Science and Health Research Council, as specified. The bill would require the council to, among other things, develop the strategic objectives and priorities of the foundation and determine the research projects that will be funded by the California Foundation for Science and Health Research Fund, as specified. The bill would provide that a majority of the members of the council constitutes a quorum for the transaction of any business, for the performance of any duty, or for the exercise of any power of the council, except as otherwise provided. The bill would authorize the council to establish one or more scientific peer review panels consisting of experts in specified fields of research for the purposes of reviewing and prioritizing proposals on the basis of the scientific merit of the proposal, the potential benefit to the health and well-being of the population, natural resources, and environment of the state, and the demonstrated background, training, and expertise of the researchers and investigators to conduct the proposed work.

This bill would require all research and development funded by the California Foundation for Science and Health Research Fund to be conducted under established standards of open scientific exchange, peer review, and public oversight. The bill would require the funds to be awarded on the basis of the research priorities established for the foundation by the council and the scientific merit of the proposed research, as determined by an open, competitive, scientific peer review process that ensures objectivity, consistency, and high quality.

This bill would enact the California Science and Health Research Bond Act, which, if approved by the voters, would authorize the issuance of bonds in the amount of $23,000,000,000, pursuant to the State General Obligation Bond Law, to finance grants and loans to fund research and construct, operate, and maintain facilities for research.

The bill would provide for the submission of the bond act to the voters at the next statewide general election.

(2) Existing law establishes prohibitions and penalties with respect to ethical obligations and conflicts of interest for public officials, including a prohibition on engaging in activities that are incompatible with their official duties and a prohibition on being financially interested in a contract made by them in their official capacity or the board of which they are a part.

This bill would authorize a council member to participate in a decision to approve or award a grant or loan for the purpose of research into a disease in which the member or their immediate family member has a personal interest, as specified. The bill would provide that service with specified educational institutions and organizations is not incompatible with a council member’s duties. The bill would provide that the prohibition on being financially interested in a contract, as specified, does not apply if the council member recuses themself from a decision to award or approve a grant or loan that would otherwise be subject to the prohibition.

(3) Existing law, the Bagley-Keene Open Meeting Act, requires that all meetings of a state body be open and public and all persons be permitted to attend any meeting of a state body, with specified exceptions for authorized closed sessions.

This bill would require the Bagley-Keene Open Meeting Act to apply to all meetings of the council and scientific peer review panels, except as specified for when the council or scientific peer review panels meet to consider or discuss specified matters in closed sessions, including matters involving information relating to patients or medical or scientific research subjects, the disclosure of which would constitute an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy.

Existing constitutional provisions require that a statute that limits the right of access to the meetings of public bodies or the writings of public officials and agencies be adopted with findings demonstrating the interest protected by the limitation and the need for protecting that interest.

This bill would make legislative findings to that effect.