This post was updated Aug. 31 at 9:20 p.m.

The California State Assembly passed a UC-backed multibillion-dollar bond measure Monday that, if approved by voters, would fund scientific research throughout the state. 

Senate Bill 895 – or the California Science and Health Research Bond Act – would create the California Foundation for Science and Health Research, which would award $7.5 billion in grants and loans to private and public research institutions, including the UC. The foundation would focus on funding projects affected by federal funding cuts and research related to fields including biomedicine, public health and wildfire prevention. 

The State Assembly approved the bill with a 60-6 vote. The measure now awaits Gov. Gavin Newsom’s signature. If Newsom approves the bill, Californians will vote on the bond in the 2028 primary election.

[Related: $5 billion science research bond clears California Assembly committee]

“When funding cuts threaten this research, we not only threaten every sector of our economy,  but we threaten the very foundations of public health,” Assemblymember Darshana Patel said at the vote.

Sen. Scott Wiener, who did not immediately respond to a request for comment, proposed the bond in January amid federal research funding uncertainties. The Trump administration froze $584 million in UCLA’s federal research grants in July 2025, alleging that the university allowed affirmative action, antisemitism and “men to participate in women’s sports.” Chancellor Julio Frenk has denied those allegations.

[Related: Federal government suspends research funding to UCLA]

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

[Related: One year after $584 million federal funding freeze, UCLA research still recovering]

Research generates $226 billion in California annually, Patel said at the vote. 

“SB 895 represents an important investment in the research infrastructure that will allow California to continue advancing scientific breakthroughs, improving lives, and driving innovation and growth for generations,” said Jennifer Doudna, a UC Berkeley biochemist and Nobel laureate, in a Friday press release from the UC Office of the President.

State Sens. Wiener, Sasha Renée Perez and Aisha Wahab initially proposed a $23 billion bond in January that would have appeared on the ballot in November. The State Senate amended the bill to reduce the bond to $12 billion before it passed the measure in May. 

SB 895, though, missed the June 25 deadline to appear on the November ballot. The California Assembly Appropriations Committee then further reduced the bond to $5 billion before advancing it Aug. 13. 

The State Assembly raised the bond amount to $7.5 billion before passing it.

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

“Research in California has directly saved millions of lives, made foundational contributions to the invention of major technologies such as the internet. Government funded research is essential for our medical system,” Assemblymember José Solache Jr. said at the vote. “The state will take risk on funding research that private industry will not or which non-profits can’t afford.”

Contributing reports by Julian Duaybis, metro editor.