State's Good Government Agency Calls for Reforms at Stem Cell Agency

Key 'Little Hoover' Recommendations Follow Consumer Watchdog's Proposals

SANTA MONICA, Calif., June 26 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- California's good
government agency, The Little Hoover Commission, today called for management
and structural reforms at the state stem cell agency after an eight-month
study. Key Commission recommendations follow many proposals made by Consumer
Watchdog in testimony to the panel last November.

The Commission said the oversight board for the California Institute for
Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) should be restructured around "principles of
efficiency and transparency." It recommended reducing the Independent
Citizens Oversight Committee (ICOC) from 29 members to 15 and clarifying the
roles of the chairman and president.

"This is a thoughtful and thorough analysis from a bipartisan group with no ax
to grind. CIRM's management and board should listen to its advice," said John
M. Simpson, Consumer Watchdog's Stem Cell Project Director. "Once again, the
agency is circling the wagons in defense and wasting taxpayer money. Instead
of worrying about the Little Hoover Commission Report, the ICOC should be
asking why the chief science officer, Dr. Marie Csete, is resigning after a
little more than a year on the job."

The Commission said two of the reduced board's members should be independent
business leaders and two should be independent scientists with no ties to
CIRM-funded institutions. Five would be patient advocates; two would come from
the University of California; one from a non-UC university; two from
biotechnology companies and one from a California research institution. It
would simply call the oversight body the Board of Directors.

"The ICOC is too large and cumbersome, has had difficulty in mustering a
quorum and suffers from built-in conflicts," said Simpson. "The Commission's
recommendations go along way toward fixing that."

The commission urged that the roles of the chairman and president be realigned
"to eliminate overlapping authority and to enhance clarity and
accountability." The president would manage all day-to-day operations.

The Commission said CIRM should improve efficiency and transparency for
distributing grants and loans. It urged the stem cell agency to explore
options for greater disclosure of the scientific peer review process. One
suggestion was to poll CIRM's reviewers about their willingness to participate
if their financial disclosure statements were made public.

The commission said that the Citizens' Financial Accountability Oversight
Committee should conduct performance audits of CIRM and that members of the
stem cell agency's board members should hold themselves more accountable by
adopting removal provisions in the board's bylaws.

Finally, the Commission said the board should plan for CIRM's future through
an open process.

"CIRM's staff has been working on a revised strategic plan since last fall,"
said Simpson. "It's urgent that it is completed and presented to the board.
Frankly, I don't understand how CIRM presented the 2009-2010 budget without a
revised strategic plan."

Read The Little Hoover Commission Report here:
http://www.lhc.ca.gov/studies/198/report198.html

Read Consumer Watchdog's testimony to the Commission here:
http://www.consumerwatchdog.org/resources/Simpsontestimony.pdf

The Little Hoover Commission is an independent state oversight agency created
in 1962. Its mission is to investigate state government operations and --
through reports, recommendations and legislative proposals -- promote
efficiency, economy and improved service. The Commission is a balanced
bipartisan board composed of five citizen members appointed by the Governor,
four citizen members appointed by the Legislature, two Senators and two
Assembly members.

Consumer Watchdog's Stem Cell Oversight and Accountability Project is working
to ensure that California's landmark stem cell research program offers
accessible and affordable cures and treatments to the taxpayers who have
funded it. The program will sell $3 billion in bonds over a decade to fund
stem cell research. Financing charges mean the project, the largest source of
stem cell research funding in the world, will cost California taxpayers $6
billion.

Consumer Watchdog, formerly the Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights is
a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization with offices in Washington, DC and Santa
Monica, Ca. Our website is www.consumerwatchdog.org.

SOURCE Consumer Watchdog

John M. Simpson of Consumer Watchdog, +1-310-392-0522 ext. 317,
+1-310-292-1902 (cell)