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Board endorses SB 895, backing state research bond proposal amid mixed public reaction
Summary
San Diego supervisors unanimously directed the CEO to express county support for SB 895, a state bill proposing up to $23 billion in bonds to fund research; UC San Diego and other researchers urged the endorsement while some members of the public questioned the fiscal prudence of new state debt.
The San Diego County Board of Supervisors voted May 19 to direct the chief executive to express county support for SB 895, a state legislative measure that would authorize up to $23 billion in general obligation bonds (subject to voter approval) to fund biomedical, environmental, agricultural and clean-energy research.
County staff and supporters argued the measure would help shore up research funding at a moment of federal grant contraction and preserve San Diego's life-science cluster. University and research lab speakers told the board that federal awards have declined and that state-level support could sustain translational science and local jobs. Dr. Sylvia Woodkin of UC San Diego Health noted the county received $877 million in federal research awards in FY2025 but warned of a tightening funding landscape.
Opponents at the public hearing raised concerns about state-level debt, the bond size, and whether San Diego voters would prioritize the measure. The board recorded unanimous support among supervisors present and asked the CEO to communicate the county endorsement to the author and state leaders.
The endorsement is nonbinding; final project allocations would be subject to state legislative and voter approval.
