Newshot 
Students, researchers and others at the University of California, Los Angeles, have protested over cuts to science funding made by the administration of US President Donald Trump during the past two years.Credit: Robyn Beck/AFP via Getty
Voters in California have approved US$8.4 billion in funding for immunology research — the largest ever infusion of cash for science authorized by a public vote in US history.
The funding proposal, known as Proposition 38, appeared on the ballot for voters in California in last week’s US mid-term elections, but it has taken nearly a week for officials to count enough ballots to declare it a success. The state government will pay for the research — which aims to find treatments that harness or re-engineer the body’s immune system to fight illnesses such as cancer and Alzheimer’s disease — by selling state government bonds. (This is unusual for science funding. Bonds are typically reserved to pay for infrastructure projects such as road construction and require the state to pay back its debt with interest.)
‘Historic change’: what the 2026 US mid-term election results mean for science
Supporters of the proposal say that the funding will provide stability for researchers in California, who have been affected by political turmoil. The administration of US President Donald Trump has pushed for massive cuts to science funding; put political appointees in charge of grant decisions at federal science agencies such as the US National Institutes of Health; and forced policy change at US universities that receive federal funding, including those in California.
The $8.4 billion “is an advantage to California that is unprecedented”, says Antoni Ribas, a cancer researcher and physician at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), who supported Proposition 38. It will make the state “even more of a global hub for immunology research”.
But the proposal has sparked debate. That’s because it calls for about half of the funding to be given directly to research institutes — and the only institute that matches the criteria called for in the proposal is one co-founded by Gary Michelson, a billionaire medical-device inventor. He wrote the proposition and donated about $45 million of his own funds to get it placed on the ballot and to campaign for its passage.
“I feel like the voters have been taken advantage of,” says Sarah Hill, a political scientist at California State University in Fullerton, who tracks the state’s ballot measures. Michelson did not respond to Nature’s request for comment before this story was published, but has said elsewhere that he will not personally profit from the bond revenue.
State funding
In California, citizens can place proposed laws directly on the election ballot by collecting hundreds of thousands of voter signatures.
The state has funded scientific research through this process before. In 2004, after then president George W. Bush restricted federal funding for human embryonic stem-cell research, voters in California approved a $3-billion bond to establish the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine, which they then voted to replenish with another $5.5 billion in 2020.
A campaign mailer encouraging California voters to support Proposition 38.Credit: Smith Collection/Gado/Getty
“The model works,” Ribas says. Immunologists have been making great strides with medicines such as personalized treatments called CAR-T therapies, which are revolutionizing care, he says. There has also been a flurry of research into developing vaccines, including the mRNA shots that have been the target of funding cuts by the Trump administration. Proposition 38 will ensure that such research can continue regardless of the political headwinds, Ribas adds.
Around $4 billion from Proposition 38 will fund grants for researchers at select public universities and non-profit institutes in California through a competitive review process. According to the proposal, any commercialized therapies developed through funded research must be sold at a 20% discount to people in California, with 10% of drug royalties returning to the state’s general fund.
Enjoying our latest content? Log in or create an account to continue
- Access the most recent journalism from Nature's award-winning team
- Explore the latest features & opinion covering groundbreaking research
doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-026-03635-6
Reprints and permissions
Related Articles
- Will US science survive Trump 2.0?
- If you’re a US researcher, now is the time to establish a plan B
- US science is under threat ― now scientists are fighting back
- Trump one year on: How six US researchers plan to protect science amid chaos and cuts
Subjects
- Scientific community
Latest on:
- How I balance my life as a professional surfer and a university researcher Career Column 11 NOV 26
How I balance my life as a professional surfer and a university researcher
Career Column 11 NOV 26
- Can green technologies deliver energy security in an unstable world? Spotlight 11 NOV 26
Can green technologies deliver energy security in an unstable world?
Spotlight 11 NOV 26
- Chile’s postdoc rules risk driving talent away Correspondence 10 NOV 26
Chile’s postdoc rules risk driving talent away
Correspondence 10 NOV 26
- COP31 kicks off as planet faces imminent overshoot of 1.5 °C climate target News 09 NOV 26
COP31 kicks off as planet faces imminent overshoot of 1.5 °C climate target
News 09 NOV 26
- How academic freedom is changing around the world — by the numbers News 09 NOV 26
How academic freedom is changing around the world — by the numbers
News 09 NOV 26
- ‘Historic change’: what the 2026 US mid-term election results mean for science News 04 NOV 26
‘Historic change’: what the 2026 US mid-term election results mean for science
News 04 NOV 26
- Bureaucratic incentives shaped effectiveness of the one-child policy in China Article 11 NOV 26
Bureaucratic incentives shaped effectiveness of the one-child policy in China
Article 11 NOV 26
- ‘Historic change’: what the 2026 US mid-term election results mean for science News 04 NOV 26
‘Historic change’: what the 2026 US mid-term election results mean for science
News 04 NOV 26
- How democracy depends on science — and must protect it Comment 03 NOV 26
How democracy depends on science — and must protect it
Comment 03 NOV 26
Jobs
- Bioinformatician – Long-Read Genomics, Pangenomics and Precision Medicine Talented bioinformatician with expertise in the analysis of long-read genomic and multi-omics sequencing data, genome assembly, and pangenomics. Doha (QA) Sidra Medicine Qatar
Bioinformatician – Long-Read Genomics, Pangenomics and Precision Medicine
Talented bioinformatician with expertise in the analysis of long-read genomic and multi-omics sequencing data, genome assembly, and pangenomics.
Sidra Medicine Qatar
- Associate or Senior Editor, Communications AI & Computing Job Title: Associate or Senior Editor, Communications AI & Computing Locations: Shanghai, Beijing, Pune, New Delhi, Berlin or Madrid (hybrid) Appli... Shanghai, Beijing, Pune, New Delhi, Berlin or Madrid (hybrid) Springer Nature Ltd
Associate or Senior Editor, Communications AI & Computing
Job Title: Associate or Senior Editor, Communications AI & Computing Locations: Shanghai, Beijing, Pune, New Delhi, Berlin or Madrid (hybrid) Appli...
Shanghai, Beijing, Pune, New Delhi, Berlin or Madrid (hybrid)
Springer Nature Ltd
- Postdoctoral Fellow Postdoctoral Fellow focus on ferroic smart materials: shape-memory alloys, piezoelectric ceramics, and magnetostrictive materials, etc Ningbo, Zhejiang (CN) Center for Advanced Smart Materials (CASM), Yongjiang Laboratory (Y-Lab)
Postdoctoral Fellow
Postdoctoral Fellow focus on ferroic smart materials: shape-memory alloys, piezoelectric ceramics, and magnetostrictive materials, etc
Ningbo, Zhejiang (CN)
Center for Advanced Smart Materials (CASM), Yongjiang Laboratory (Y-Lab)
- Principal Investigator/ Associate Professor PI & Associate Professor class focus on innovative research about ferroic smart materials or technology transfer Ningbo, Zhejiang (CN) Center for Advanced Smart Materials (CASM), Yongjiang Laboratory (Y-Lab)
Principal Investigator/ Associate Professor
PI & Associate Professor class focus on innovative research about ferroic smart materials or technology transfer
Ningbo, Zhejiang (CN)
Center for Advanced Smart Materials (CASM), Yongjiang Laboratory (Y-Lab)
- Open-Rank Faculty Position in Basic Biomedical Research WashU Medicine’s Dept of Anesthesiology seeks applicants for a tenure-track or tenured faculty position in the Division of Basic Research. Saint Louis, Missouri WashU Medicine - Anesthesiology
Open-Rank Faculty Position in Basic Biomedical Research
WashU Medicine’s Dept of Anesthesiology seeks applicants for a tenure-track or tenured faculty position in the Division of Basic Research.
Saint Louis, Missouri
WashU Medicine - Anesthesiology