ICOC Membership; Appointments; Terms of Office

(a) ICOC Membership

The ICOC shall have 35 members, appointed as follows:

(1) The Chancellors of the University of California at San Francisco, Davis, San Diego, Los Angeles, Irvine, and Riverside shall each appoint an executive officer from his or her campus. In addition, the Chancellor of the University of California at San Francisco (UCSF) shall also appoint a faculty member, physician/scientist, researcher, or executive officer from the UCSF Fresno/Clovis campus to promote geographic diversity and access.

(2) The Governor, the Lieutenant Governor, the Treasurer, and the Controller shall each appoint an executive officer from the following three categories:

(A) A California university, excluding the seven campuses of the University of California described in paragraph (1), that has demonstrated success and leadership in stem cell research, other vital research opportunities, therapy development, or therapy delivery, and that has:

(i) A nationally ranked research hospital and medical school; this criteria will apply to only two of the four appointments.

(ii) A recent proven history of administering scientific and/or medical research grants and contracts in an average annual range exceeding one hundred million dollars ($100,000,000).

(iii) A ranking, within the past five years, in the top 10 United States universities with the highest number of life science patents or that has research or clinical faculty who are members of the National Academy of Sciences.

(iv) For purposes of this category, the Governor may appoint an executive officer from the California State University system who has an advanced degree in biological sciences.

(B) A California nonprofit academic and research institution that is not a part of the University of California, that has demonstrated success and leadership in stem cell research, other vital research opportunities, therapy development, or therapy delivery and that has:

(i) A nationally ranked research hospital or that has research or clinical faculty who are members of the National Academy of Sciences.

(ii) A proven history in the last five years of managing a research budget in the life sciences exceeding twenty million dollars ($20,000,000) annually.

(C) A California life science commercial entity that is not actively engaged in researching or developing therapies or therapy delivery with pluripotent or progenitor stem cells or genetic medical treatments that has a background in implementing or developing experimental medical therapies, including conducting human clinical trials, and that has not been awarded, or applied for, funding by the institute at the time of appointment. A board member of that entity who generally meets the same qualifications may be appointed in lieu of an executive officer.

(D) Only one member shall be appointed from a single university, institution, or entity for the purposes of paragraph (2). The executive officer of a California university, a nonprofit research institution or life science commercial entity who is appointed as a member, may from time to time delegate those duties to an executive officer of the entity or to the dean of the medical school, if applicable.

(3) The Governor, the Lieutenant Governor, the Treasurer, and the Controller shall appoint members from among California representatives of California regional, state, or national disease advocacy groups, as follows:

(A) The Governor shall appoint three members, one from each of the following disease advocacy groups: spinal cord injury; Alzheimer’s disease; and mental health conditions.

(B) The Lieutenant Governor shall appoint three members, one from each of the following disease advocacy groups: type II diabetes; multiple sclerosis or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis; and mental health conditions.

(C) The Treasurer shall appoint two members, one from each of the following disease groups: type I diabetes and heart disease.

(D) The Controller shall appoint two members, one from each of the following disease groups: cancer and Parkinson’s disease.

(4) The Speaker of the Assembly shall appoint a member from among California representatives of a California regional, state, or national mental health disease or mental health conditions advocacy group.

(5) The President pro Tempore of the Senate shall appoint a member from among California representatives of a California regional, state, or national HIV/AIDS disease advocacy group.

(6) The Treasurer and Controller shall each appoint a nurse with experience in clinical trial management or stem cell or genetic therapy delivery.

(7) A chairperson and vice chairperson who shall be elected by the ICOC members. Each constitutional officer shall nominate a candidate for chairperson and another candidate for vice chairperson. The chairperson and vice chairperson shall each be elected for a term of six years. The chairperson and vice chairperson of ICOC shall be full- or part-time employees of the institute and shall meet the following criteria:

(A) Mandatory Chairperson Criteria

(i) Documented history in successful stem cell research or other vital research opportunity in therapy development or therapy delivery advocacy.

(ii) Experience with state and federal legislative processes that must include some experience with medical legislative approvals of standards and/or funding.

(iii) Qualified for appointment pursuant to paragraph (3), (4), or (5) of subdivision (a).

(iv) Cannot be concurrently employed by or on leave from any prospective grant or loan recipient institutions in California.

(B) Additional Criteria for Consideration:

(i) Experience with governmental agencies or institutions (either executive or board position).

(ii) Experience with the process of establishing government standards and procedures.

(iii) Legal experience with the legal review of proper governmental authority for the exercise of government agency or government institutional powers.

(iv) Direct knowledge and experience in bond financing.

The vice chairperson shall satisfy clauses (i), (iii), and (iv) of subparagraph (A). The vice chairperson shall be selected from among individuals who have attributes and experience complementary to those of the chairperson, preferably covering the criteria not represented by the chairperson’s credentials and experience.

(b) Appointment of ICOC Members

(1) All appointments shall be made within 40 days of the effective date of this act. In the event that any of the appointments are not completed within the permitted timeframe, the ICOC shall proceed to operate with the appointments that are in place, provided that at least 60 percent of the appointments have been made.

(2) Forty-five days after the effective date of this act, the Controller and the Treasurer, or if only one is available within 45 days, the other shall convene a meeting of the appointed members of the ICOC to elect a chairperson and vice chairperson from among the individuals nominated by the constitutional officers pursuant to paragraph (7) of subdivision (a).

(c) ICOC Member Terms of Office

(1) The members appointed pursuant to paragraphs (1), (3), (4), (5), and (6) of subdivision (a) shall serve eight-year terms, and all other members shall serve six-year terms. Members shall serve a maximum of two terms, unless earlier removed pursuant to paragraph (5).

(2) If a vacancy occurs within a term, the appointing authority shall appoint a replacement member within 90 days to serve the remainder of the term.

(3) When a term expires, the appointing authority shall appoint a member within 90 days. ICOC members shall continue to serve until their replacements are appointed.

(4) Notwithstanding paragraph (1), the appointing authority may replace a member, other than the chairperson or vice chairperson, who has served, as of the effective date of the act adding this paragraph, at least half of the member’s current term, by appointing a new member, who shall be eligible to serve a full term. These appointments shall be made within 90 days of the effective date of the initiative adding this paragraph.

(5) The ICOC may, by a vote of 60 percent of a quorum, recommend the removal of a member by the member’s appointing authority, or in the case of the chairperson and the vice chairperson, the nominating authority or nominating authorities, if more than one constitutional officer nominated the chairperson or vice chairperson. The appointing authority or nominating authority or authorities in the case of the chairperson and vice chairperson, shall have the authority to remove the member, chairperson, or vice chairperson, respectively, upon receipt of the ICOC’s recommendation. If more than one constitutional officer nominated the chairperson or vice chairperson, each of them must agree in order to remove the chairperson or vice chairperson.

(Amended November 3, 2020, by initiative Proposition 14, Sec. 9. Effective December 16, 2020. Note: This section was added on Nov. 2, 2004, by initiative Prop. 71.)