CIRM's Mystery 'Updates' Challenge its Adherence to Openness and Transparency

'Mystery' changes in major documents continued even today

California’s stem cell and gene therapy research program will tackle difficult issues tomorrow morning, including its billion-dollar spending priorities and a proposal that all its late-stage clinical awards include “a strategy that enables access and affordability by all California patients.”

But CIRM has also created a bit of a mystery about what it is doing and why. Two key documents were modified yesterday (Aug. 5) by CIRM with no explanation of what has changed or the rationale for the alteration. Following its usual practice, CIRM simply noted on the agenda -- but not on the documents -- that they were “updated.” 

CIRM did not follow the usual state government and legal practice of indicating in official documents where changes have been made by striking through the altered language and showing the new language in color. 

To find the changes in CIRM’s currently available documents,