C&EN: "University of California backs plan for $23 billion research bond"

From C&EN's Krystal Vasquez, this news: 

The University of California (UC) system announced March 5 that it’s sponsoring a bipartisan state senate bill that proposes a $23 billion bond to fund research across California, which would be the largest state-level investment in scientific research in US history.

S.B. 895, introduced by California senator Scott Wiener (D) in January, would also establish the California Foundation for Science and Health Research, which would use the money to provide grants and loans to public and private universities, research companies, and health-care organizations across the state.

The bill comes after a year of major turmoil over federal funding in support of the US scientific community. Although fiscal year (FY) 2025 budgets for federal science-funding agencies weren’t too different from FY 2024 levels, federally funded research at more than 600 colleges and universities still saw significant disruptions after the Donald J. Trump administration terminated or froze thousands of research grants last year.

I am sad that it has come to this, but from a broad perspective, it seems like a good move to support scientists in the current system. We can't do this forever.