California Science and Health Research Bond Act.

Senator Wiener, with Assembly Member Solache as a principal coauthor, advances a framework that would create the California Foundation for Science and Health Research within the Government Operations Agency and authorize a voter-approved bond program to finance grants, loans, and facilities for biomedical, health, behavioral, climate, and related research. The proposal would establish a dedicated Foundation Fund and empower the foundation to award grants and make loans to public and private researchers and institutions located in California, including in-state facilities, with explicit permission for collaborative work with out-of-state partners when appropriate.

Governance would center a Council within the Foundation to establish strategic priorities and manage funding decisions, while a separate Finance Committee would oversee the bond program and capital financing. Proposals would be reviewed through an open, competitive peer-review process that weighs track record, scientific merit, and potential public benefits. Grants, loans, and contracts would be awarded in public meetings under open-government rules, with limited closed sessions permitted for privacy, intellectual property, and other narrowly defined matters. The Foundation would require annual reporting, independent audits, and ongoing transparency about activities, recipients, and alignment with stated strategic goals, while ensuring compliance with institutional review board requirements for funded research.

Financing would authorize bonds totaling up to twenty-three billion dollars, with bond proceeds deposited into the Foundation Fund to support grants, facilities construction or maintenance, and related administrative costs. The act contemplates continuing appropriations for the fund and establishes mechanisms to manage debt service, including the possibility of interim debt and debt issuance under the state’s general obligation bond framework. Provisions address payments of principal and interest, potential use of premiums or accrued interest, refunds, tax-exemption considerations where applicable, and rules to maintain the bonds’ tax status. In addition, the measure envisions various coordination arrangements with state fiscal authorities, including a designated committee to authorize issuances and a structure that links fund disbursement to the foundation’s priorities and peer-reviewed merit.

Implementation would require statewide voter approval, after which the program would operate within a five-year window that may begin with an interest-only floating-rate debt structure intended to reduce near-term General Fund debt service, with authority for the Treasury or finance officials to adjust financing plans as warranted. The proposal embeds annual reporting, public oversight, and audits to accompany ongoing governance, and it situates the Foundation to respond to fluctuations in federal research funding, while maintaining in-state focus for grantmaking and facility support and permitting selective cross-border collaboration when aligned with the foundation’s priorities.