State Sen. Scott Wiener announced the creation of Senate Bill 895, a $23 billion bond that would finance grants and loans to fund scientific research, supported by union United Auto Workers Region 6, in his Jan. 16 press conference.
SB 895 seeks to create the California Foundation for Science and Health Research Fund. The foundation will award both public and private funds based on research priorities established by a council.
A third of the state legislature co-authored SB 895 in hopes of making it a ballot measure in the 2026 November election cycle. The bill, formerly named SB 607, was introduced by Wiener, Sen. Sasha Renée Pérez, and Sen. Aisha Wahab.
At the press conference, Wiener criticized the Trump administration’s reduction and elimination of scientific research grants.
“Scientific research is sometimes one of the underrecognized secrets of California’s greatness and one of the key reasons why we are the fourth largest economy in the world,” Wiener said.
“Our state produces more patents, has produced more Nobel laureates, and more investments than anywhere else in the world. The UC alone has played a massive role in everything from gene editing, to high yield rice, to the creation of the internet. It is a massive part of what makes California so great.”
The California Foundation for Science and Health Research Council would be mostly composed of scientists appointed by the secretary of government operations. One section of the proposed bill stipulates that the council may also include members designated by the president of the University of California, the chancellor of the California State University system, and the president of the Association of Independent California Colleges and Universities.
The foundation’s research priorities include biomedical research, climate and ocean research, addiction and disease prevention, emerging technologies, behavioral research, and drug efficacy.
Mike Miller, director of UAW Region 6, spoke at the press conference about how executive orders from the Trump administration have threatened these areas of research.
“In August, [Trump] directed his antiscience agenda squarely at the state of California, freezing hundreds of millions of dollars in research funding, and shuttering labs working on cures, treatments, and preventions for the most devastating diseases we face,” Miller said. “These attacks jeopardize medical progress in areas like cancer, viral pandemics, heart disease, wildfire prevention, and much much more, while threatening the jobs of researchers and educators across the state.”
Through the foundation, funding would be distributed to the UC and CSU systems and other California universities for research projects. Public and private companies engaged in critical science and health research may also receive funding.
Pharmaceutical drugs developed with funding provided by the foundation will be available for California residents at a discounted price. Discounted pharmaceuticals developed through this bond may also be manufactured through the state’s CalRx program, which provides Californians with low-cost insulin and naloxone.
According to the bill, the foundation will collect royalties and licensing fees on products created using bond-funded research.
The state bond intends to support California universities, which have been severely affected by federal funding cuts. At UC San Diego, Donald Trump’s executive orders have limited funding for critical research. These cuts have especially impacted research into conditions that disproportionately impact marginalized populations and jeopardized academic doctoral research at UCSD.
Gabriel Edwards, UAW member and researcher at UCLA, spoke at the press conference about how federal funding cuts have affected his research on HIV.
“As an HIV researcher, I’ve been supported in the past by the California HIV/AIDS Research program, or CHRP, which is housed within the University of California,” Edwards said.“CHRP cannot cover the full breadth of research in California that Trump has targeted and the work will continue to be targeted as long as he or people like him are in power. A dedicated source of state funding would ensure that more researchers like me are able to do our work without interruption and protect community partners that serve Californians.”
Wiener emphasized the need for California to respond to the Trump administration’s cuts.
“[The Trump administration is] trying to destroy all of the federal science agencies, withholding billions of dollars of science research money from universities in California and across the country, and is revoking research funding for projects to try to cure cancer, Alzheimer’s, and HIV,” Wiener said. “It is really despicable. We have to fight back, and we’re going to do it in a way that lowers health costs for Californians and that benefits California taxpayers.”
If SB 895 is approved to go on the ballot, California voters should expect to vote on the bill in the November 2026 election cycle.
