United Spinal Association continues to advocate passage in the Congress of the Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act, and to push for, and track, bills in various states nationwide that authorize and fund state stem cell research initiatives. Researchers believe that embryonic stem cells could be used to generate new cells and tissues for medical therapies, possibly including spinal cord disabilities, that impact approximately 700,000 Americans.
Last year, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act, but the Senate never considered it.
As the year 2005 came to an end, history repeated itself on stem cell research twice-in New York and New Jersey. In the Empire state, the Assembly passed a stem cell measure, but the Senate never brought it to a floor vote. The opposite occurred in the Garden state: the Senate adopted a bill, but the New Jersey Assembly failed to do so. A major $350 million stem cell bond initiative was the victim of the Jersey stalemate.
Elsewhere, there was little other good news on stem cell research bills. The California state stem cell research program has been sidetracked by several lawsuits, while in the Missouri and Nebraska state legislatures, both pro- and anti-stem cell research proposals have been introduced.
It looks like Florida will not join the ranks of states using public funds to support stem cell research. A bill that would have provided $150 million over 10 years for stem cell research has stalled in a House committee, with lawmakers saying it is doubtful the measure will pass this year. The committee voted to take no action on the bill, which was a severe blow to stem cell research supporters.
In Maryland, Governor Robert Ehrlich has included $20 million in his budget for stem cell research, but stem cell research advocates are not pleased by the announcement, which was made just before state legislators returned to work from their holiday hiatus in January. Governor Ehrlich has said he would leave it to a state-created technology corporation to determine whether the money should be spent on embryonic stem cell work or just on adult stem cells.
Proponents of embryonic stem cell research argue that adult stem cells, because they are less versatile, offer less promise than embryonic stem cells. “That money he’s talking about can go into all sorts of research that can already be funded at the federal level,” Sen. Paula C. Hollinger (D-Baltimore County), the lead Senate sponsor of an embryonic stem-cell research funding bill that Republicans filibustered to death last year.
In related, less controversial news, the Governor also proposed spending $12 million on a biotech research facility in Baltimore, Maryland.
As long as Congress fails to act on a stem cell research initiative, attempts to fill this void in the states will probably continue.
Housing Developments
On December 12, 2005, New Jersey Governor Richard Codey signed a law that requires all new low and moderate income housing built with state funding to comply with standards making it accessible for people with disabilities. The design features that must be met include:
• An accessible entrance
• An accessible full service bathroom on the first floor
• An accessible kitchen on the first floor
• An accessible interior route of travel
• An accessible room with a door or a casing where a door can be installed which may be used as a bedroom on the first floor
DRIE Program
In July of 2005, New York State passed a law that provides an exemption from future rent increases to tenants with disabilities who meet certain eligibility criteria. In order to be eligible for the New York State Disability Rent Increase Exemption (DRIE) exemption, one must:
• Rent an apartment defined as eligible by law
• Be named on the lease, or otherwise be entitled to tenancy by law
• Receive eligible state or federal disability related financial assistance
• Meet the program’s income eligibility requirement
• Pay more than a third of your household’s aggregate disposable income for rent
An apartment is eligible if it is rent-controlled, rent-stabilized, or in a Mitchell Lama Development.
For more information on the DRIE program contact the New York City’s Department of Finance at www.nyc.gov/finance, or by calling 311. The New York City Mayor’s Office for Persons with Disabilities also provides assistance with the DRIE program, and can be reached by phone at 212-788-2830.
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