CGS-authored

LOS ANGELES - The stem cell oversight committee, meeting for the first time today in San Francisco, already is embroiled in controversy over the "coronation" of its chairman, new members' potential conflicts of interest, and the manner in which the public was told about its first gathering.
The 27 members of the Independent Citizens Oversight Committee who will monitor the state's new $3 billion stem cell research program are set to take their oaths of office today.



They are then scheduled to vote for a chair and vice chair.

Critics of the stem cell research initiative that voters approved Nov. 2 are urging the committee to delay its vote on Proposition 71 campaign Chairman Robert Klein II, the only candidate nominated for the chairman's job.

They're also calling for postponing the selection of a vice chair from among three nominees.

A public watchdog group, the Foundation for Taxpayer & Consumer Rights, plans to tell the committee today that it will be monitoring the new panel because of its members' connections to pharmaceutical and biotech firms that could profit from state-funded...