Stem Cell Research Now On Fast Track

With the clock already ticking for those suffering from debilitating diseases, supporters of the $3 billion stem cell bond measure California voters approved Tuesday have little time for celebrating.

Proposition 71, which won 59 percent of the vote, puts the search for cures on the fast track.

"It's imperative that we make certain the money really does (go) to this research as soon as possible," said Robert Klein II, the Proposition 71 campaign's chairman. "Every day that we can advance critical science is important to the families whose members have chronic diseases."

The initiative requires chancellors at five University of California campuses, including UC Davis, the governor and other constitutional officers to name their appointees to the 29-member Independent Citizens Oversight Committee within 40 days.

The committee must meet within 45 days to choose its top two officers. It must then name the president, or chief executive, of a new state agency, the Institute for Regenerative Medicine.

The institute is to employ up to 50 state workers to carry out the wishes of the citizens committee and oversee the $3...