On Monday, Governor Schwarzenegger vetoed SB 1565 (Kuehl/Runner) with the following message to the legislature:
To the Members of the California State Senate:
I am returning Senate Bill 1565 without my signature.
This bill undermines the express intent of Proposition 71 in two ways: it eliminates the priority for funding human embryonic stem cell research and it places an unnecessary restriction on the Independent Citizens Oversight Committee authority to adopt intellectual property regulations that balance patient need and essential medical research.
More than seven million voters were very clear when they passed Proposition 71 in 2004. They wanted to fund embryonic stem cell research that the federal government wouldn't. They also wanted to make sure that California receives a return for its historic investment in medical research. Both of those important goals are already being accomplished.
This bill does nothing to advance the will of over seven million voters. For this reason, I am unable to sign this bill.
Sincerely,
Arnold Schwarzenegger
This was a tremendous victory. It kept California's preference for embryonic stem cell research intact - preventing the opposition from claiming that California had turned away from this promising research. It kept the flexibility necessary to engage private industry in our quest for cures.
Thanks to all of you who gave your time and effort, once again, to protect and advance this science. SB 1565 was a subtle and dangerous bill and you helped us defeat it. The California Institute of Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) will now be able to attend to the task at hand: finding cures and therapies for devastating diseases.
Please join us in thanking the Governor for protecting all forms of stem cell research in California. Send him an email thank ing him for vetoing SB 1565 using the online form at http://gov.ca.gov/interact.
As you may recall, one of the pieces of SB 1565 would have required the Little Hoover Commission to study the structure of CIRM and its Board - the Independent Citizens Oversight Committee (ICOC) - and make recommendations to the legislature.
Even though the bill did not become law, the Little Hoover Commission will proceed with this study. This Commission has the power to draft legislation that could change the structure of the CIRM and ICOC. We are hopeful that the study will determine that the structure is an exemplary model that brings together the expertise that is needed to advance stem cell research.
The Commission has hearings scheduled for November 20, 2008 and January 22, 2009 (both in Sacramento).
To the Members of the California State Senate:
I am returning Senate Bill 1565 without my signature.
This bill undermines the express intent of Proposition 71 in two ways: it eliminates the priority for funding human embryonic stem cell research and it places an unnecessary restriction on the Independent Citizens Oversight Committee authority to adopt intellectual property regulations that balance patient need and essential medical research.
More than seven million voters were very clear when they passed Proposition 71 in 2004. They wanted to fund embryonic stem cell research that the federal government wouldn't. They also wanted to make sure that California receives a return for its historic investment in medical research. Both of those important goals are already being accomplished.
This bill does nothing to advance the will of over seven million voters. For this reason, I am unable to sign this bill.
Sincerely,
Arnold Schwarzenegger
This was a tremendous victory. It kept California's preference for embryonic stem cell research intact - preventing the opposition from claiming that California had turned away from this promising research. It kept the flexibility necessary to engage private industry in our quest for cures.
Thanks to all of you who gave your time and effort, once again, to protect and advance this science. SB 1565 was a subtle and dangerous bill and you helped us defeat it. The California Institute of Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) will now be able to attend to the task at hand: finding cures and therapies for devastating diseases.
Please join us in thanking the Governor for protecting all forms of stem cell research in California. Send him an email thank ing him for vetoing SB 1565 using the online form at http://gov.ca.gov/interact.
As you may recall, one of the pieces of SB 1565 would have required the Little Hoover Commission to study the structure of CIRM and its Board - the Independent Citizens Oversight Committee (ICOC) - and make recommendations to the legislature.
Even though the bill did not become law, the Little Hoover Commission will proceed with this study. This Commission has the power to draft legislation that could change the structure of the CIRM and ICOC. We are hopeful that the study will determine that the structure is an exemplary model that brings together the expertise that is needed to advance stem cell research.
The Commission has hearings scheduled for November 20, 2008 and January 22, 2009 (both in Sacramento).