The California Assembly Appropriations Committee voted Thursday to advance a UC-sponsored bond measure that would fund scientific research across the state.

The California Science and Health Research Bond Act – or Senate Bill 895 – would create the California Foundation for Science and Health Research to award $5 billion in grants and loans to public and private research institutions, including UC campuses. The foundation would prioritize projects affected by federal funding cuts and support research in fields including biomedicine, public health, climate science and wildfire prevention.

The committee approved the measure 12-1 after lawmakers amended it to reduce the bond from $12 billion. Eleven Democrats and one Republican voted in favor of the measure, while one Republican voted against it. Two members did not vote, according to the roll call.

The Legislature has until Aug. 31 to vote on the measure, or the bill would need to be reintroduced next year. If approved by two-thirds of the Assembly, the amended bill will be sent to the Senate for approval and will require Gov. Gavin Newsom’s signature. 

Sen. Scott Wiener, who proposed the bill in January, and the UC Office of the President did not immediately respond in time to a request for comment. 

Lawmakers proposed the measure amid federal disruptions to scientific research. The Trump administration froze $584 million in UCLA’s research grants in July 2025, alleging that UCLA allowed affirmative action, antisemitism and “men to participate in women’s sports.” 

A federal judge restored most of the grants in August and September 2025. The same judge ruled separately in November that the federal government could not freeze or threaten to freeze the university’s grants. 

[Related: Federal government suspends research funding to UCLA]

Negotiations among the Assembly, Senate and Gov. Gavin Newsom over the bond’s final amount will continue ahead of an Assembly floor vote, said Rafael Jaime – president of United Auto Workers Local 4811, a union representing more than 60,000 academic workers across the University – in a Thursday email to union members.

State Sens. Scott Wiener, Sasha Renée Pérez and Aisha Wahab initially proposed a $23 billion bond in January to appear before voters in the November election. The Senate reduced it to $12 billion before passing the bill 29-9 in May. 

SB 895 previously missed the deadline to appear on the November ballot. The measure will likely go before California voters in 2028 if approved, Jaime said in the email.

[Related: $12 billion UC-sponsored research bond misses deadline to appear on ballot]

“Today’s update is a major step forward for the campaign and it was only possible because UAW members fought for it,” Jaime said. “Let’s keep fighting to get the bond over the finish line.”