HOUSE BILL NO. 2256 Offered January 10, 2007 Prefiled January 9, 2007 A BILL to amend and reenact § 23-286.1 of the Code of Virginia, relating to human embryonic stem cell research. ---------- Patron-- Waddell ---------- Committee Referral Pending ----------

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:

1.  That § 23-286.1 of the Code of Virginia is amended and reenacted as follows:

§ 23-286.1. Christopher Reeve Stem Cell Research Fund.

A. From such funds as may be appropriated by the General Assembly and any gifts, grants, or donations from public or private sources, there is hereby created in the state treasury a special, nonreverting, revolving and permanent fund, to be known as the Christopher Reeve Stem Cell Research Fund (the Fund). The Fund shall be established in the books of the State Comptroller and shall be administered by the Commonwealth Health Research Board, the independent body created in Chapter 22 (§ 23-277 et seq.). Interest earned on moneys in the Fund shall remain in the Fund and be credited to it. Any moneys remaining in the Fund at the end of each fiscal year, including interest thereon, shall not revert to the general fund but shall remain in the Fund. Expenditures and disbursements from the Fund, which may consist of grants, donations, or other assistance, shall be made by the State Treasurer on warrants issued by the Comptroller upon written request bearing the signature of the chairman or the vice-chairman of the Commonwealth Health Research Board.

B. Moneys in the Fund shall be used solely to support medical and biomedical stem cell research conducted in Virginia institutions of higher education that relates to the causes and cures of disease, including, but not limited to, paralysis caused by spinal cord injury, diabetes, cancer, heart disease, and neurological disorders, such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (Lou Gehrig's disease) and multiple sclerosis.

C. The grants, donations, or other assistance provided hereunder shall be awarded in accordance with the Commonwealth Health Research Board's specific criteria and procedures, requirements for submission of research proposals, and evaluation mechanisms established pursuant to Chapter 22 (§ 23-277 et seq.). However, no requirement for matching funds shall apply to the grants, donations, or other assistance awarded pursuant to the Christopher Reeve Stem Cell Research Fund and the leveraging of funds shall be incidental to the support provided under this section. The grants, donations, or other assistance provided hereunder may be awarded to support stem cell research that is not eligible for federal research funds through the National Institutes of Health. No moneys from the Fund may be provided to any entity that conducts human stem cell research from stem cells obtained from human embryos, or for conducting such research; however, research conducted using stem cells other than embryonic stem cells may be funded.