State Controller Calls for Audit Of Stem Cell Institute's Expenditures

California Controller John Chiang (D) Nov. 28 called for an audit of all proceeds of the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM), the voter-created office overseeing $3 billion in bonds sold to fund stem cell research.

Chiang announced the audit while chairing the annual meeting of the Citizens Financial Accountability Oversight Committee with results due in time for the committee's meeting next spring.

The controller, noting that $250 million in bonds already were sold, directed his staff to audit grant management, financial risk, expenditures, and procedures for avoiding conflicts of interest.

Chiang also asked the state Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC) for a full review of whether Independent Citizens' Oversight Committee member John Reed violated conflict-of-interest rules. Reed wrote a letter asking why CIRM denied a grant to a scientist who works for him at the Burnham Institute for Medical Research in La Jolla, Calif.

The ICOC is CIRM's governing board. Members are required to refrain from participating in or influencing decisions involving their employers. No changes resulted from Reed's letter, interim CIRM President Richard Murphy said.

Chiang said it...