79R4519 JTS-F

By:  Thompson                                                   H.J.R. No. 71 



A JOINT RESOLUTION

proposing a constitutional amendment establishing the Texas 
Institute for Regenerative Medicine, authorizing the issuance of 
bonds for the purposes of the institute, and prohibiting the 
legislature from prohibiting stem cell research.
	BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:                       
	SECTION 1.  Article XVI, Texas Constitution, is amended by 
adding Sections 73 and 74 to read as follows:
	Sec. 73.  (a)  The legislature shall establish the Texas 
Institute for Regenerative Medicine to:
		(1)  make grants and loans to institutions of higher 
education and advanced medical research facilities in this state 
for:
			(A)  stem cell research;                                              
			(B)  facilities for stem cell research; and                           
			(C)  other vital research opportunities to 
develop therapies, protocols, or medical procedures that will 
result in, as speedily as possible, the cure for, or substantial 
mitigation of, major diseases, injuries, and orphan diseases;
		(2)  support institutions of higher education and 
advanced medical research facilities in this state in all stages of 
the process of developing cures using regenerative medicine, from 
laboratory research through successful clinical trials; and
		(3)  establish the appropriate regulatory standards 
and oversight bodies for regenerative medicine research and 
facilities development.
	(b)  Money authorized for, or made available to, the 
institute may not be used for research involving human reproductive 
cloning.
	(c)  The Texas Public Finance Authority shall issue and sell 
general obligation bonds of the State of Texas in an aggregate 
amount of $900 million over a six-year period.  The Texas Public 
Finance Authority shall issue bonds in the amount of $112.5 million 
per year in the first three years and $187.5 million per year in the 
subsequent three years.
	(d)  The proceeds from the sale of the bonds shall be 
deposited in the stem cell research account in the state treasury or 
its successor account to be used by the Texas Institute for 
Regenerative Medicine without further appropriation for the 
purposes of this section.
	(e)  The expenses incurred in connection with the issuance of 
the bonds and the costs of administering this section may be paid 
from money in the stem cell research account.
	(f)  Bonds authorized under this section are a general 
obligation of the state.  While any of the bonds or interest on the 
bonds is outstanding and unpaid, there is appropriated out of the 
first money coming into the treasury in each fiscal year, not 
otherwise appropriated by this constitution, the amount sufficient 
to pay the principal of and interest on the bonds that mature or 
become due during the fiscal year, less any amounts in the interest 
and sinking accounts at the close of the preceding fiscal year that 
are pledged to payment of the bonds or interest.
	(g)  Notwithstanding any other provision of this 
constitution, the institute, which is established in state 
government, may use money from the bonds issued under Subsection 
(c) and federal or private grants to fund the institute's:
		(1)  operations;                                                       
		(2)  medical and scientific research, including 
therapy development through clinical trials; and
		(3)  facilities.                                                       
	Sec. 74.  (a)  In this section:                                         
		(1)  "Pluripotent stem cells" means cells that are 
capable of self-renewal and have broad potential to differentiate 
into multiple adult cell types.
		(2)  "Progenitor cells" are multipotent or precursor 
cells that are partially differentiated but retain the ability to 
divide and give rise to differentiated cells.
	(b)  The legislature may not prohibit the performance of stem 
cell research, including research involving:
		(1)  adult stem cells;                                                 
		(2)  cord blood stem cells;                                            
		(3)  pluripotent stem cells derived from:                              
			(A)  somatic cell nuclear transfer; or                                
			(B)  surplus products of in vitro fertilization 
treatments, if the products are donated under appropriate informed 
consent procedures; and
		(4)  progenitor cells.                                                 
	SECTION 2.  This proposed constitutional amendment shall be 
submitted to the voters at an election to be held November 8, 2005.  
The ballot shall be printed to permit voting for or against the 
proposition:  "The constitutional amendment establishing the Texas 
Institute for Regenerative Medicine, authorizing the issuance of 
bonds for the purposes of the institute, and prohibiting the 
legislature from banning stem cell research."