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State auditors have criticized California's Proposition 71 stem cell agency for loose contracting procedures and generous travel and meal allowances, but the program's chairman said Wednesday that changes have been made to fix any concerns.
A 97-page report delivered Tuesday by State Auditor Elaine Howell raised questions about expense controls and other management issues at the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine, created in 2004 to oversee $3 billion in research grants.
In response, stem cell officials said that many of the institute's procedures already had been tightened or clarified before the audit was released, and said no tax money was wasted on lavish spending.
Robert Klein, chairman of the agency's governing board, said that while some expense limits were exceeded on occasion, the circumstances were justified and reimbursements made from private donations rather than tax funds.
The audit report uncovered no specific examples of serious missteps, much less deliberate fraud, but did underscore the potential waste of millions of dollars in taxpayer-backed bond proceeds if grants aren't closely monitored in the years ahead.
On that score, the stem cell agency...