Democratic lawmakers in California have proposed a $23 billion state bond to replace federal research funding that was cut by the Trump administration, The New York Times reported Nov. 12.
The proposal would create a state-run program — similar to the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation — to award grant funding to universities, healthcare organizations and research institutions. It was co-authored by State Sen. Scott Wiener and Assemblyman José Luis Solache Jr.
If approved by state lawmakers and passed by voters as a 2026 ballot measure, the initiative would mark the largest state effort of its kind to replace federal research funding.
The legislation follows moves by the White House to withhold or rescind hundreds of millions of dollars in research grants from universities across the country, citing directives from the Trump administration’s Joint Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism.
Oakland-based University of California, which includes six academic medical centers, is the largest recipient of NIH funding in the U.S., receiving more than $2.6 billion annually. At the University of California, Los Angeles, the White House has moved to freeze nearly $584 million in research grants this year alone.
