38$8.4B bond for immunology research (half to one institute)

#Key findings

• About $4.2B is written for one unnamed nonprofit. UCLA confirms the only group that meets the criteria is CIII, which Michelson chairs and has given at least $120M since 2022. ^[1]
• As of Sept 2026, CIII had 3 employees (about 51 hires planned). Its building isn't due until at least late 2028 and is ~$100M short. ^[2]
• California's last research bonds (stem cells, $8.5B over Props 71 and 14) have funded 116 clinical trials in 20 years. CIRM's 2025 report names no FDA-approved therapy it funded. ^[3][4]
• A National Academy of Medicine review (2011) found the stem-cell board "cannot exert independent oversight" because members' own institutions got the grants. The top 5 recipients took $1.8B. ^[5]
• Repaying it would cost $500M to $600M a year for about 20 years. ^[6]

#Track record

Single-target measures have passed before. Prop 34 (2024), written to hit one AIDS nonprofit, passed with 50.9%. ^[1]

#Money and conflicts

• Yes $71.3M (one committee funded by Michelson; co-founder Meyer Luskin gave at least $5M). No: just over $9,900, from small donors (as of Oct 26). ^[7][8][1]
• The measure's criteria (a UC medical center with 3.5M+ outpatient visits, 200,000+ sq ft, $250M+ in donations, UC officials on the board) fit UCLA and CIII. UCSF is second at 3.4M visits, just under the bar. ^[1]
• Two $50M Michelson gifts to CIII programs (vaccines, microbiome) are described in near-identical terms in the measure. ^[1]

#Does it solve a lasting problem?

• Federal research cuts are real, and immunotherapy is promising. But this sends ~$4.2B of public debt to a three-employee institute chaired by the measure's funder, with transparency exemptions. The stem-cell precedent shows decades-long payback, if any.

#If you vote yes: accountability

Bottom line: About $4.2B would go to a private institute that the measure exempts from the Public Records Act, open-meetings laws and the Political Reform Act. ^[2] The institute must publish an annual report and get an independent audit ^[6], but unlike the stem-cell agency it has no citizen oversight committee led by the Controller. ^[9]

#Who decides, and who answers for it

• The Department of Public Health (CDPH) picks the institute and makes the final award decision. ^[6][2] Its director is Dr. Erica Pan (since Feb 2025). ^[10]
• The California Institute for Immunology and Immunotherapy (CIII), the only institute that qualifies, had 3 employees in Sept 2026. Four senior UCLA officials sit on its board, including UCLA Health CEO John Mazziotta. ^[2]
• The grant council, made up of 7 UC campuses and 10–15 other research institutions, picks grant winners from among its own members. ^[6] The National Academy of Medicine criticized the same setup at the stem-cell agency. ^[5]
• The UC Regents. Even they aren't sure which institute records are public, because UCLA officials sit on its board. Regent Michael Cohen asked for an answer at the November meeting. ^[2]

#Who to press, and what to ask for

1. Your Assemblymember and state Senator: put the institute under the Public Records Act and open-meetings laws for any state money it gets, and give the State Controller the same role it plays at the stem-cell agency, where it chairs a six-member financial oversight committee. ^[9]
2. CDPH: publish the institute's annual reports and audits, and each funding release. Senior state officials must approve each release. ^[2]
3. UC Regents (each meeting takes public comment): publish UCLA's agreements with the institute.
4. Ask for results, not activity: trials started, therapies approved, and revenue returned to the state. The state gets 10% of revenue, and treatments sold in California must be discounted 20%. ^[6]

#Public records to request (CPRA)

Anyone can file a California Public Records Act request (the state's version of FOIA), with no reason required. Agencies must respond within 10 days, or 24 in unusual cases. ^[11] The institute is exempt, but UC and CDPH aren't.

To the University of California (UCLA): Under the California Public Records Act (Gov. Code § 7920.000 et seq.), I request UCLA's August 2024 affiliation agreement with the California Institute for Immunology and Immunotherapy and any amendments, the institute's budgets and progress reports provided to UCLA or the UC Regents since 2024, and any lease for its space at the UCLA research park.

To CDPH: All communications since Jan 1, 2025 between CDPH and the institute, its funder, or the Prop 38 campaign about the institute's eligibility or the measure's award criteria.