Proposition 38
Borrow $8.4 billion for immunology research
Proposition 38 would create an $8.4 billion bond largely to fund research into fighting cancer, heart disease and Alzheimer’s, plus other diseases that can be treated through immunotherapies. Half the money would go to a research institute affiliated with the University of California. The other half would be distributed to select public universities and nonprofits. Drugs created through this research would have to be discounted at 20% for Californians and 10% of any revenue from the drugs would go back to the state general fund. Philanthropist and medical inventor Gary Michelson put this measure on the ballot.
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Summary
Support
Supporters say the potential for cures through immunotherapies is huge because most diseases involve the immune system. They say the funding is needed because the Trump administration has tried to cut funding for federal health science research.
Oppose
Critics fault the measure for focusing on just one subset of biomedical research rather than a wider array of health research. They also question whether the research that might emerge from this fund can produce commercial drugs, given how hard it is to get a drug approved and bring it to market. They also question why just one nonprofit stands to receive half the money and note that it will add $500 million to $600 million a year in debt payments for 20 years.
Endorsements
Support
- American Association of Immunologists
- California Democratic Party
- City of Hope
- Michelson Center for Public Policy
Oppose
- Robert Kaplan, senior scholar at Stanford
- No on 38, led by California Health Policy Strategies
- League of Women Voters
- Orange County Register Editorial Board
Media endorsements
Support
- No current media supporters
Campaign finance
Proposition committees raise money to support or oppose propositions. Outside groups can also raise and spend money independently to influence outcomes.
- Proposition committees
- Outside spending
- Difference to other side
Support
Oppose
Proposition committees
These committees are primarily formed to campaign for or against a proposition. They must identify contributors who give $100 or more, or loan a committee money. There are no limits on how much contributors can give or loan. Contributors who had their loans repaid or forgiven are still included. We exclude contributors who gave less than $100 in total. Contributors who made loans as part or all of their total are identified with an asterisk (*).
For funding by industry, we used existing sources, traditional machine learning and large language models to help categorize contributors who gave $5,000 or more in total, with CalMatters journalists reviewing the results. We also categorized the donors of political action committees that contributed to a campaign and used the results to calculate which industries should be applied. Major donors include individuals who self-identified as retired, self-employed, unemployed, a homemaker or a student.
Support
Oppose
Outside spending
Separate from proposition committees, outside groups can pay for ads, mailers and other efforts to influence voters. They can’t coordinate that spending with proposition committees. There is no limit on how much they can spend.
Support
Oppose
Video
Ballot text
AUTHORIZES BONDS FOR IMMUNOLOGY MEDICAL RESEARCH. INITIATIVE STATUTE. Authorizes $8.4 billion in general obligation bonds for immunology and immunotherapy research, half to a single University of California-affiliated nonprofit medical research institute, half to research grants. Fiscal Impact: Increased state cost of $500 million to $600 million annually for about 20 years to repay the research bond, with some or all of the cost offset if the funded research generates revenue.
Source: California Secretary of State
