New Jersey bond issue for stem cell research is on hold

Tucked away on page 29 of the May 25, 2006 issue of the Newark Star-Ledger is an article "Codey says budget concerns to delay stem cell bond issue," which announces that both the $325 million package to fund scientific studies on stem cells AND the $250 million to build stem cell research centers (in New Brunswick, Newark, and Camden) will not appear on the ballot until November 2007 at the earliest. Ironically, Senate President Codey's announcement on May 24, 2006 (at the W.M. Keck Center for Collaborative Neuroscience in Piscataway) came while Governor Jon Corzine was in Asia, pitching New Jersey as a center for stem cell research.

Neither funding package ever passed the New Jersey Assembly. Reports to the contrary in several media outlets are incorrect.

The Star-Ledger article is authored by Stuart Margolin.