Stem cell tiff figures in budget

Stem cell tiff figures in budget
Life sciences funds dropped in House.

Published Saturday, April 1, 2006

JEFFERSON CITY (AP) - Embryonic stem cell research opponents have persuaded budget writers not to fund $38.5 million for life sciences research.

The House did not include funding for the research when it passed its version of the state budget two weeks ago. Now, the Senate Appropriations Committee has approved that portion of the state budget without including any funding for the research.

The money would have gone to the Life Sciences Research Trust Fund, which lawmakers created in 2003 to spend 25 percent of the state tobacco settlement for research in conjunction with other governmental and not-for-profit entities.

Rep. Jim Lembke recommended that funding not be included in the state budget given uncertainty about the impact of a proposed stem cell amendment.

Supporters of the research are gathering signatures in hopes of placing on the November ballot an amendment to guarantee that any stem cell research allowed under federal law is legal in Missouri.

Lembke, R-St. Louis, and many other lawmakers say they are concerned that state money funneled into life science research would be forced to go to embryonic stem cell research if the constitutional amendment is approved.

The 2003 law creating the trust fund bans the money from being used for "abortion services, cloning or prohibited human research."

Donn Rubin, chairman of the group backing the proposed amendment, told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that the state needs to move quickly and fund important research to compete with other states in attracting scientists. "We hope that the budget is such that next year, finally, these important investments can be made in our state’s future," he said.

Gov. Matt Blunt has endorsed the proposed constitutional amendment, in contrast to many of his fellow Republicans.

Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Chuck Gross, R-St. Charles, said Thursday that the panel won’t revisit the decision. While the full Senate must approve the budget, the appropriations committee’s recommendations carry a lot of weight.