The Golden State’s taxpayers could fund a $23 billion bond to replace federal grants that once supercharged scientific research in California under a proposal making its way through the statehouse.

That’s the idea behind a new bill, Senate Bill 895, which would create a state-level taxpayer-funded institute similar to the National Institutes of Health and National Science Foundation, amid more than $500 million in cuts to public and private research funding by the Trump administration.

The bill was introduced by state Sen. Scott Wiener, who represents San Francisco, earlier this year and would the bond measure on the November ballot.

If voters support the proposition, they would also authorize the creation of the California Foundation for Science and Health Research, which would hand out the cash in the form of research grants, loans and payments to modernized facilities. Public or private research companies, universities, institutes and organizations that conduct scientific research and development could apply for the grants.

Most of California’s share of federal research funding has gone to public universities. The University of California, which backs the Wiener bill, could gain the most under the measure, as the university system’s largest source of federal funding typically comes from the NIH, according to university officials.

The University of California announced Thursday it is co-sponsoring the bill. The legislation is also endorsed by United Auto Workers Region 6 and Union of American Physicians and Dentists, unions that represent thousands of researchers across the state.

“University research has been under sustained attack over the past year,” University of California President James B. Milliken said in a statement Thursday. “This bill aims to protect the remarkable advances benefiting millions of Californians now and in the future. We are proud to cosponsor this bill and will always stand up for science.”

Wiener said in a statement Thursday that he’s proud to partner with the University of California, which has been at the center of scientific leadership for decades, in the “fight to take back control” of California’s research funding.

“As the federal government upends science funding, California must stand up to defend science and to double down on our state’s global science leadership,” Wiener said.

In the last year, the Trump administration has slashed more than $3 billion in research funding to colleges and universities, according to an estimate by the Center for American Progress, a public policy and research and advocacy organization.

The administration has cited antisemitism on campuses, failures to end diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives and university policies that allow transgender student athletes to participate in sports as just some of the reasons for the funding cuts to hundreds of higher education institutions across the country.

In California, the National Institutes of Health has canceled more than $55.9 million in grants to Bay Area universities, targeting research on health equity, transgender youth, anti-racism and discrimination, vaccines, and aging.

The University of California typically receives more than $5 billion annually in federal funds for research and other programs, officials said.

Last March, the system estimated it had lost at least $37 million in funding. And in July, the federal government froze $584 million in research funding to University of California, Los Angeles, alleging that the university allowed antisemitism, continued affirmative action programs and transgender athletes to participate in sports. The Trump administration demanded the university pay a $1 billion fine in exchange for restoration of the funds, but dropped its demands for the fine last month.

UC President Milliken said in a September letter to the university community that the federal government’s threats to cut funding “represent one of the gravest threats to the University of California” in its 157-year history.

“Losses of significant research and other federal funding would devastate UC and inflict real, long-term harm on our students, our faculty and staff, our patients, and all Californians,” Milliken said. “It would also end life-saving research from which all Americans benefit.”

He said the loss of funding would mean fewer classes and student services, reduced access to health care, tens of thousands of jobs lost across the state, and “an exodus of world-class faculty and researchers to other states or countries.” Milliken said many campuses have already experienced layoffs because of cuts to federal research funding and other financial pressures. The university imposed a system-wide hiring freeze last year in response to potential funding cuts.

The bill also includes requirements to make health care more accessible by ensuring Californians get discounts for pharmaceuticals developed through bond-funded research. The bill would allow the state to recoup a portion of licensing and royalty fees from inventions and technologies developed with research dollars.

The bill is jointly authored by Sen. Sasha Pérez of Pasadena and Aisha Wahab of Fremont. More than 30 legislators have co-authored SB 895, including two Republicans — Assemblymember Josh Hoover, who represents Folsom, and Assemblymember Greg Wallis, who represents Rancho Mirage.

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