Aggregated News

To: The Independent Citizens' Oversight Committee of the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine

CC: Sen. Deborah Ortiz
Sen. George Runner
Charles Halpern
Dr. Philip Lee

April 6, 2005

Dear Members of the Independent Citizens' Oversight Committee:

We are writing in advance of your April 7 meeting to express concern regarding the response to the petition filed by Dr. Philip Lee and Mr. Charles Halpern, which we supported in a public statement. We applaud the decision, expressed in an amended resolution approved at your March 1 meeting, to hold public hearings on the requested regulations in the petition.

However, the written response received later does not seem to reflect the spirit and perhaps the letter of the amended resolution. Specifically, it preempts a true dialogue by rejecting the requested regulations, and it schedules the petition's points for discussion at future ICOC meetings - a format much unlike public hearings. We ask that you engage in further discussion, and renew your commitment to holding public hearings.

On February 16, Dr. Lee and Mr. Halpern sent a formal petition to your board. It...