Ortiz wants audit of stem-cell institute

State Sen. Deborah Ortiz and 10 other California legislators have asked for an audit of the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine.

CIRM, which oversees stem-cell research money in the state, was created by Proposition 71, which voters approved in 2004.

Ortiz, a Sacramento Democrat, wrote SB 18, a stem-cell oversight bill vetoed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, with Sen. George Runner, a Republican from Lancaster. In his veto message, Schwarzenegger called the bill's proposed changes to the law that created the stem-cell institute illegal, and urged legislators to pursue an audit through the Joint Legislative Audit Committee.

Ortiz's letter to the audit committee asks for an audit by Sept. 30, 2006 of CIRM and the Independent Citizens' Oversight Committee that governs it.

Ortiz and the others intended to present their request to the committee on Wednesday in Sacramento, but the hearing was postponed, possibly until March 8, according to Ortiz's office.