Focus Report, Volume 86, Number 3, August 2019 Page: 15
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* Proposition 6: Increasing CPRIT's bond
authority from $3 billion to $6 billion
HJR 12 by Zerwas (Nelson)Supporters say
Texas voters in 2007 established by constitutional
amendment the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute
of Texas (CPRIT). CPRIT provides grants to support
institutions of learning, advanced medical research
facilities, and other entities in finding the causes of all
types of human cancer and developing cures from lab
research and clinical trials. CPRIT also supports programs
to address challenges associated with access to advanced
cancer treatment and to establish standards to ensure
proper use of funds authorized for cancer research and
prevention programs.
The 2007 constitutional amendment allowed the
Legislature to authorize the Texas Public Finance Authority
to provide for, issue, and sell up to $3 billion in general
obligation bonds on behalf of CPRIT. Texas law limits the
issuance of such authorized bonds to $300 million each
fiscal year.
Under Health and Safety Code sec. 102.254, CPRIT's
authority to grant awards expires after August 31, 2022. As
of February 2019, CPRIT had awarded about 1,300 grants
totaling $2.2 billion to about 100 academic institutions,
nonprofits, and public companies.
Digest
Proposition 6 would amend Texas Constitution Art.
3, sec. 67(c) to increase from $3 billion to $6 billion the
maximum amount of general obligation bonds the Texas
Public Finance Authority could provide for, issue, and sell
on behalf of the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute
of Texas.
The ballot proposal reads: "The constitutional
amendment authorizing the legislature to increase by $3
billion the maximum bond amount authorized for the
Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas."Reauthorizing funding and continuing taxpayer
support of the Cancer Research and Prevention Institute
of Texas (CPRIT) under Proposition 6 is important
to maintain the agency's current level of activity and
continue Texas' national leadership in cancer research and
prevention. Since the creation of CPRIT, Texas has become
the second-largest public founder of cancer research in the
country, behind only the federal National Cancer Institute.
CPRIT's support of cancer research has accelerated the
development of potential cures and prevention strategies.
Although CPRIT has statutory authority to continue
awarding grants through August 31, 2022, without
additional funds it could issue its last awards by the
end of fiscal year 2021. The 86th Legislature this year
appropriated the remaining voter-approved funds for
CPRIT to the institute for fiscal 2020-21, so its funding
beyond 2021 is not guaranteed. The sustained funding
proposed by Proposition 6 is necessary to plan and
complete research and report on prevention successes and
failures.
Funding CPRIT is an investment in the state
economy. Annual grant funding under CPRIT has
supported world-renowned scholars, including a 2018
Nobel Prize recipient, and has helped make Texas a
biomedical center. The multiplier effects of CPRIT's
programs have created thousands of jobs, generated
billions of dollars in economic activity, and encouraged
biotech companies to expand or relocate to the state.
By approving the original bond program in 2007,
voters agreed that cancer research was worthy of public
investment. CPRIT's efforts have been shown to reduce
cancer costs and enhance patients' quality of life,
productivity, and lifespans. The substantial benefits to
the state's economy and to the health of Texans from the
sustainable funding for CPRIT's programs in Proposition
6 would far outweigh the direct commitment of taxpayer
resources and state debt.Background
House Research Organization
Page 15
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Texas. Legislature. House of Representatives. Research Organization. Focus Report, Volume 86, Number 3, August 2019, periodical, August 27, 2019; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1364417/m1/15/?q=%22~1~1%22~1: accessed July 16, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.