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Governor Rell is calling for as much as $20 million in state-sponsored stem cell research...Rell says she wants to set aside some money from this year's budget surplus to fund the measure...
Like California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, Rell is breaking ranks with the Republican party to support funding the research.
Rell's administration says a final decision hasn't been made on how much to set aside... She says she wants to fund the research, even though the state can't come close to California's three billion commitment.
Jim Amann, expected to be the next House Speaker, says he $10 to $20 million is a drop in the bucket and says Connecticut should be thinking bolder.
$20 million is not peanuts. It can go a long way. A typical university lab has a research budget of $100-200,000/yr. The biggest labs may spend $500,000/yr.
One of my mentors voted against the California stem cell initiative. He, a Professor of Biochemistry, is all for stem cell research but the amount of money proposed -$250 million/yr - is ridiculous.
He says $25 - 35 million/yr would be sufficient at the state level. They are scratching their heads wondering what to do with 250 million dollars. He is afraid it will result in a lot of bad, wasteful spending (like the situation with space programs). Which is unconscionable, considering that California does not have the money to spend and social programs are under the axe.
Did whoever came up with the idea consult any scientists? My mentor is certain they never did.