$3 billion more for Texas cancer fund? Voters will decide
Texas voters will go to the polls this fall to decide if the state should continue spending billions of taxpayer dollars on cancer research and prevention, after state senators on Friday endorsed a measure that calls for a referendum on the issue.
House Joint Resolution 12 sets a Nov. 5 statewide vote to amend the Texas constitution to authorize another $3 billion in general obligation bonds to pay for grants issued by the state’s cancer-fighting agency. The measure was approved 31-0 by the Senate after previously passing the House 130-15. No action is required by Gov. Greg Abbott on joint resolutions.
The Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas, commonly known as CPRIT, was created in the wake of a statewide referendum in 2007, when Texas voters initially approved $3 billion in bonds, in increments of up to $300 million a year, to fund cancer research.
“We are producing research (in Texas) that could be game-changers to find treatments and cures for this disease,” state Sen. Jane Nelson, R-Flower Mound, said on the Senate floor Friday, while urging that the initiative be continued. “We are making a difference with CPRIT in this state. And this isn’t a partisan issue -- cancer doesn’t care what political party you’re in, it doesn’t care about your income level, where you live or your race, your creed or anything else.”
Read more: https://www.statesman.com/news/20190510/3-billion-more-for-texas-cancer-fund-voters-will-decide
