California voters to weigh $8.4 billion bond for medical research
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Updated: 8:25 AM PDT Aug 30, 2026Editorial Standards ⓘ
Gulstan Dart
Anchor/Reporter
California voters to weigh $8.4 billion bond for medical research
Updated: 8:25 AM PDT Aug 30, 2026Editorial Standards ⓘ
Gulstan Dart
Anchor/Reporter
Voters are being asked to decide if public money should fund research into medical challenges that touch many California families
Prop 38 would direct the state to issue $8.4 billion in bonds for immunology and immunotherapy research
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Robin Swanson, with support group ‘Yes on 38’ says, “It created a whole plethora of ways to get research on <a href="https://healthylife7.com/common-supplements-rival-antibiotics-for-severe-gum-disease/” title=”Common supplements rival antibiotics for severe gum disease”>diseases that impact all of us. I think all of us know somebody or love somebody who has had cancer, or Parkinson’s, or ALS, or MS.”
The proposition would direct a little more than half that 8.4 billion dollars to California non-profits that focus on immunology and immunotherapy research
The other $4 billion would all go to one institute that has not yet been officially named. Swanson did confirm to KCRA 3 it’s an organization affiliated with UCLA
The California institute for Immunology and Immunotherapy is the likely recipient. It’s an independent medical research organization, and its co-founder, Gary K. Michelsen, is a major supporter of Prop 38
Critics like Susan Shelley with Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association say taxpayers should not be paying for any of this ,saying when there’s no money in the budget for certain priorities, advocates resort to what she calls ballot box budgeting
“Bonds sound really good,” Shelley said. “They sound like free money, but they’re not free money.”
As for paying back that money, it will cost about 500 million for 20 years, totaling 12 and a half billion dollars, paid for from the state’s general fund
It is possible the state could recoup some of the costs if the research leads to discoveries that generate profit, but there’s no guarantee it will. Proponents like Swanson say those billions are money well spent
“So we’re talking about real lives,” Swanson said. “We’re talking about our friends, our relatives, people who we know and love. And I feel like that is exactly where we need to be researching and investing right now. “
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