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BILL NUMBER: AB 750      CHAPTERED

       BILL TEXT

       CHAPTER   777

       FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE   SEPTEMBER 27, 2000

       APPROVED BY GOVERNOR   SEPTEMBER 27, 2000

       PASSED THE ASSEMBLY   AUGUST 29, 2000

       PASSED THE SENATE   AUGUST 28, 2000

       AMENDED IN SENATE   AUGUST 8, 2000

       AMENDED IN SENATE   AUGUST 17, 1999

       AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY   JUNE 2, 1999

       AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY   MAY 28, 1999

       AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY   APRIL 5, 1999

INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Dutra

   (Coauthors:  Assembly Members Aanestad, Cunneen, and Kuehl)

   (Coauthors:  Senators Burton and Figueroa)

                        FEBRUARY 24, 1999

   An act to add and repeal Chapter 2 (commencing with Section

104335) of Part 2 of Division 103 of the Health and Safety Code,

relating to spinal cord injury, and declaring the urgency thereof, to

take effect immediately.

       LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST

   AB 750, Dutra.  Spinal cord injury.

   Existing law establishes various health research grant programs.

   This bill would establish the Spinal Cord Injury Research Fund for

the award of grants to conduct basic neurological research into the

cure for spinal cord injuries and their effects.  This bill would

continuously appropriate the fund to the University of California to

administer the grants.  This program would be operative until January

1, 2006.   This bill would be implemented only to the extent that

funds are appropriated for its purposes.

   This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as

an urgency statute.

THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  SECTION 1.  The Legislature finds and declares all of the

following:

   (a) (1) There are approximately 35,000 spinal cord injured persons

residing in this state.  Spinal cord injury is a condition that

leaves individuals paralyzed and afflicts 250,000 Americans.

   (2) The care of the 17,000 chronic spinal cord injured

quadriplegics alone costs the State of California three hundred forty

million dollars ($340,000,000) annually.

   (3) Spinal cord injury has serious physical, emotional, financial,

and social consequences for its victims and their families.

   (4) There is no established treatment that can cure spinal cord

injury.

   (5) If cures are found for spinal cord injuries the incidence of

quadriplegia will be greatly reduced.

   (6) Cures for spinal cord injuries are on the threshold of being

discovered.

   (b) (1) Research is the primary hope for victims and their

families.

   (2) Research in spinal cord injury has produced experimental

results that are of potential value in facilitating or effecting a

restoration of function in damaged spinal cords.

   (c) Despite the need to make progress toward treatments or cures

for spinal cord injury, there is a lack of sufficient resources in

California's postsecondary educational institutions to sustain recent

scientific progress with respect to this condition.  It is the

intent of the Legislature to encourage and support research that has

as one of its goals the discovery of methods to restore spinal cord

function in humans with spinal cord injury.

   (d) (1) The care and rehabilitation of acute, or newly injured,

spinal cord injury victims cost the State of California sixty million

dollars ($60,000,000) annually.

   (2) Experimental treatments or techniques are currently under

investigation, and these treatments may be of potential value in

facilitating or effecting a restoration of function in damaged spinal

cords if applied to humans within the first few hours after injury.

   (3) Progress has been made in chronic spinal cord injury research

including the discovery of molecules that promote the growth of

chronically injured spinal cord cells involved in movement and

sensation.  Genes that control regeneration of chronically damaged

spinal nerves and chemicals for activating those genes have been

discovered.  Substances that inhibit growth in the spinal cord have

been discovered and antibodies to those inhibitors have been

developed.  These discoveries may pave the way for significant

regeneration of the spinal cord.

  SEC. 2.  Chapter 2 (commencing with Section 104335) is added to

Part 2 of Division 103 of the Health and Safety Code, to read:

      CHAPTER 2.  ROMAN REED SPINAL CORD INJURY RESEARCH ACT OF 1999

   104335.  This chapter shall be known and may be cited as the Roman

Reed Spinal Cord Injury Research Act of 1999.

   104336.  (a) There is hereby established a Spinal Cord Injury

Research Fund.  Notwithstanding Section 13340 of the Government Code,

the fund is continuously appropriated to the University of

California for the purposes of this chapter.

   (b) The fund shall consist of money accepted by the University of

California from grants and donations from private entities as well as

public moneys transferred to the fund.

   (c) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, money remaining in

the fund at the end of a fiscal year shall not revert to the General

Fund.

   104337.  The fund established pursuant to Section 104336 may be

expended by the University of California for the award of grants to

perform spinal cord injury research projects.

   104338.  (a) There is hereby created within the University of

California the Spinal Cord Injury Research Program.

   (b) The program shall promote spinal cord injury research in

California as described in Section 104337.

   (c) The University of California may establish scientific

guidelines and rules and regulations as necessary for implementation

of this chapter.

   104339.  This chapter shall not apply to the University of

California unless the Regents of the University of California, by

appropriate resolution, make these provisions applicable.

   104339.5.  This chapter shall be implemented only to the extent

that funding for its purposes is appropriated to the Regents of the

University of California in the annual Budget Act or another statute.

   104339.6.  This chapter shall remain in effect only until January

1, 2006, and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted

statute, that is enacted before January 1, 2006, deletes or extends

that date.

  SEC. 3.  This act is an urgency statute necessary for the immediate

preservation of the public peace, health, or safety within the

meaning of Article IV of the Constitution and shall go into immediate

effect.  The facts constituting the necessity are:

   In order to implement the programs for spinal cord injury

research, and thus to reduce pain and suffering and address a

pressing health need at the earliest possible time, it is necessary

that this act take effect immediately.