University Of California, Santa Barbara

California Research Bond for UCSB and UC System Fails to Qualify for November Ballot Amid Federal Funding Crisis

- A proposed $12 billion California Science and Health Research Bond Act (SB 895) missed the legislative deadline to qualify for the November 2026 ballot. - The bond aimed to counter federal research funding cuts by the Trump Administration, which has proposed approximately $32 billion in reductions to science agencies including the NSF. - UC Santa Barbara Chancellor Dennis Assanis warned that sustained federal funding losses undermine California's capacity in biomedical science, climate resilience, and public health. - A separate $8.4 million bond measure supporting Alzheimer's, cancer, and heart disease immunotherapy research did qualify for the ballot.