AP Newsbreak: $450 million stem cell research referendum planned

New Jersey voters will be asked in November to approve borrowing $450 million to fund stem cell research in the state for 10 years under an agreement reached between top legislators and Gov. Jon S. Corzine, a leading stem cell research advocate said Tuesday.

Assemblyman Neil Cohen told The Associated Press that the plan, if approved, would make New Jersey a global leader in stem cell research, hailed by scientists as key to therapies that could help people who are paralyzed or have illnesses ranging from diabetes to Parkinson's disease.

"It's an exciting thing," said Cohen, D-Union, who has been pushing New Jersey to invest heavily in stem cell research for years.

The agreement on the referendum comes the same day as approval of the first funding to build a state stem cell research facility touted by Gov. Jon S. Corzine as key to combating federal restrictions on embryonic stem cell work.

The New Jersey Economic Development Authority approved $9.2 million in preconstruction costs for the Stem Cell Institute of New Jersey in New Brunswick. The money will pay for design, engineering and other preliminary work. Major construction is expected to begin in 2008, with completion set for spring 2011.

The Senate last year approved asking voters to borrow $230 million for stem cell research, but that proposal never advanced. Cohen has pushed for asking voters to invest $500 million.

He said the plan will not only lead to cures, but will boost New Jersey's economy and attract leading scientists and major research companies to the state.

"It's an all-around benefit," Cohen said.

He said he expects lawmakers would move to adopt legislation authorizing the referendum by the end of this month.

Corzine spokesman Anthony Coley said the governor has long sought a robust stem cell investment plan.

"The administration has been working cooperatively with the Legislature to stay at the cutting edge of stem cell research and this new bonding capacity will allow us to do so in a fiscally responsible way," Coley said.

If approved by voters, grants would go to institutions that could include colleges and universities, state and local government agencies and entities that do scientific and medical research on both adult and embryonic stem cells and umbilical cord blood, Cohen said.

Corzine, a Democrat, deemed Tuesday's earlier announcement of funding for the stem cell institute "an important first step in our growing partnership with private industry to fund this promising and potentially lifesaving science."

"At a time when the Bush administration is pursuing a misguided policy on stem cells, I am proud that New Jersey is leading the way in promoting this lifesaving research," the governor said.

Scientists hope they can someday use embryonic stem cells, which are created in the first days after conception, to replace diseased tissue. But many social conservatives, including President Bush, oppose such work because embryos are destroyed during research.

In 2001, Bush imposed strict guidelines on embryonic stem cell work that scientists contend hinder research. In response, several states, including New Jersey, are paying for it themselves to skirt the federal restrictions.

California voters have approved spending $3 billion on stem cell research in the next 10 years; Connecticut has a $100 million stem cell research program; Illinois spent $10 million last year, and Maryland recently awarded $15 million in grants.

Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick has proposed spending $1 billion in the biotechnology industry, including stem cell research.

The Stem Cell Institute of New Jersey will be built in downtown New Brunswick, adjacent to Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital and across the street from the Cancer Institute of New Jersey. It will feature facilities for research and outpatient treatment, and be a collaborative effort between The University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey and Rutgers University.

The state is currently looking for a director to run the $150 million institute, which will be paid for with bonds issued by the Economic Development Authority.

The state also plans to spend $50 million to build stem cell research facilities at the New Jersey Institute of Technology in Newark; $50 million on a biomedical research center in Camden; $10 million to support research at the Garden State Cancer Center and $10 million to do the same at the Eli Katz Umbilical Cord Blood Program in Allendale.

Marie Tasy, executive director of New Jersey Right to Life, which opposes embryonic stem cell research, expressed dismay at the plans.

"The taxpayers should be outraged," Tasy said.