What’s Inside: Mail-In Ballots Out for Primary Election; Biocom California Committee Meeting with USPTO’s Silicon Valley Director; State Considers Public Right to Know Act
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Ballots are Out for the June Primary
County election officials across California started sending out vote-by-mail ballots to registered voters in early May. Every registered voter will receive a mail ballot because of new state legislation, AB 37, passed last year. Voters are sent ballots that can be returned by mail, at a secure drop box, or in person. Voters can track their vote-by-mail ballot by signing up at WheresMyBallot.sos.ca.gov to receive status alerts. Of course, you’re still welcome to vote in person on June 7.
Follow these links for primary guides in your area:
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Biocom California’s Federal Policy Priorities
Biocom California is advocating before Congress and federal agencies on behalf of our members. Our 2022 top priorities include supporting advanced manufacturing and funding for COVID-19 products, increasing funding for the NIH and reauthorizing the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Programs, reauthorizing the FDA user fee agreements, encouraging the development of novel antibiotics, opposing international reference pricing and drug importation, lowering patient out-of-pocket costs, guaranteeing intellectual property protections, protecting the orphan drug tax credit, and supporting our agricultural and biobased economy, among others. View the
full list of priorities here.
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Biocom California Weighs in on Appropriation Requests
On May 4, Biocom California submitted letters to the House and Senate Appropriations Committees asking for funding increases for the FDA and its Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research (CBER), the NIH and its National Center for Advancing Translation Science (NCATS), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the National Pharmacogenomics Program (NPP). Biocom California will continue to engage with Congress as the government funding process continues.
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Health Committee Approves User Fee Reauthorization
On May 18, the Energy and Commerce Committee approved the Food and Drug Amendments, the FDA user fee agreement reauthorization legislation, following its Health Subcommittee’s markup on May 11. The bill includes many provisions such as clinical trial diversity, supply chain improvements, cybersecurity of medical devices, supporting real-world evidence, and program changes to the Accelerated Approval Pathway. As amended, the bill is an improvement over what was initially offered
but Biocom California continues to work on improving the bill as it moves through the legislative process.
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Biocom California Sends March-In Rights Letter to HHS Secretary
On May 17, Biocom California sent a letter to Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Xavier Becerra discouraging the use of march-in rights to address the cost of a drug. In the letter, Biocom California notes that the use of march-in rights in this situation would go against the scope and intention of the Bayh-Dole Act. To date, no Administration has granted a march-in petition on the basis of cost and we encourage this administration to maintain that precedent. The use of march-in for this purpose would likely chill the innovation pipeline from federal research to private sector commercialization. Click here to view the letter.
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Biocom California Creates Sustainability Award
Rep. Scott Peters (D-CA52) is slated to be Biocom California’s first “Sustainability Champion Award” recipient. The award recognizes elected officials for their support of policies protecting and advancing the environmental, economic, and social conditions that improve productivity and the stewardship of natural resources to accommodate the needs of present and future generations. Thank you to Genomatica for hosting our first ceremony on Monday, May 23, at 1 p.m. If you’d like to participate, please RSVP to Laure Clark by 12 p.m. on May 20.
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Biocom California Advocates for SBIR/STTR Reauthorization
On May 9, Biocom California joined the Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO), AdvaMed, and many other state associations in sending a letter to Congress urging them to reauthorize the SBIR and STTR Programs as part of reconciliation of the U.S. Innovation and Competition Act (USICA) and the America COMPETES Act (COMPETES). The successful programs provide grants to small companies to carry out research projects and expire at the end of September 2022.
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Judge Rules California Law Requiring Women on Corporate Boards is Unconstitutional
A Los Angeles judge ruled that California’s law mandating public companies have up to three board seats filled by women by this year is unconstitutional. Superior Court Judge Maureen Duffy-Lewis ruled that the law violated the right to equal treatment. SB 826 was signed into law in 2018 by then Gov. Jerry Brown.
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Confidentiality At Risk: California Legislature Considers Public Right to Know Act
California lawmakers are considering a bill that would limit confidentiality involving defective products or allegations of environmental damage by banning protective orders and privacy terms in settlement agreements. The Public Right to Know Act ( SB 1149) attempts to limit the ability of parties to enter agreements in product liability and environmental matters and was introduced this spring by California State Senator Connie Leva.
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Biocom California Testifies at San Diego City Council Budget Hearing
On May 9, San Diego City Councilmembers held a series of public hearings on department budget proposals, with each department head outlining their budget needs. Biocom California Senior Director of Regional Policy and Government Affairs, Melanie Cohn, spoke in support of the Development Services Department’s proposal to fund additional staff both through outsourcing and permanent hires. Biocom California continues to work with the department, the city’s construction permitting entity, to address permit delays and initiatives to keep up with industry growth —including a
workshop with DSD Director Elyse Lowe on May 19.
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Citizens’ Initiative Aims to Raise Sales Tax
May 11 was the deadline for supporters to submit 116,000 signatures to place a citizens’ initiative on the November ballot that would raise sales taxes to fund transit, road, and highway projects in the San Diego region. A similar measure to fund SANDAG failed in 2016, but backers of the new measure tout a broader coalition of support and the 51 percent approval-to-pass threshold as reasons to expect passage of this year’s measure. The initiative asks voters to approve half-cent sales tax increases in 2022, 2024, and 2028.
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San Diego County Releases Recommended Budget
The County’s $7.15 billion recommended budget was released on May 5. It includes funding for initiatives addressing mental health and substance use, homelessness and housing, justice reform, sustainability, and more. The Board of Supervisors will hear the budget overview in mid-May, and budget hearings will be held June 13 and 16. The next Regional Decarbonization Framework public meetings will take place on June 28 and July 26. The county’s revised Transportation Study Guide (TSG) for vehicle miles traveled (VMT) will be available for public review beginning May 12 until June 13. Staff will be conducting outreach to stakeholders and a public meeting will be held on May 24.
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San Francisco Mayor London Breed Appoints Matt Dorsey to the Board of Supervisors
On May 9, Mayor Breed appointed Dorsey to serve as District 6 Supervisor, covering Mission Bay and Treasure Island. The seat was left vacant by Matt Haney after he won a State Assembly race. Dorsey has been the strategic communications director for the San Francisco Police Department since May 2020. Before that, he worked as the press secretary for former City Attorney Dennis Herrera for 14 years. He is the first self-identified member of the substance use disorder recovery community to serve on the board in a generation.
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Water Restrictions and Possible Fines Approved for Customers in the East Bay
The East Bay Municipal Utility District has mandated a ten percent water use reduction districtwide. The vote declares a stage two drought emergency, which reinstates an excessive use penalty ordinance and updates restrictions on outdoor water use. The agency will also impose an eight percent drought surcharge on water flow, beginning July 1st, 2022.
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San Mateo Exploring Further Restrictions on Natural Gas
San Mateo’s Infrastructure and Sustainability Commission expressed interest last month in pursuing new codes to require that all new construction is all-electric. It is currently required that specific building types be all-electric, including new residential construction and new office buildings. Opinions among commissioners were mixed, with some supporting a city staff recommendation that all new construction be electric to reach a city Climate Action Plan goal to limit carbon emissions. Others expressed worry about the burden of increased costs of switching to electric. This fall, the city will adopt new codes lasting three years, which start January 1, 2023.
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LA & San Diego Lab-to-Office Conversions Outpace Other Markets
The conversion of office space to lab space is a rapidly growing trend for real estate developers across the country as demand for lab space continues to increase. San Diego has the second-highest growth nationwide with 1.6 million square feet of office-to-lab conversions in progress in Q1 of 2022 (behind Boston). Los Angeles could be called the “busiest” market based on the percent increase in projects with 667,000 square feet of conversions in Q1 in 2022, growing by 339 percent from Q1 2021.
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Thursday, May 19
Virtual
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Join Biocom California for a workshop to share challenges and opportunities that the life science industry is experiencing with the City of San Diego’s Development Services Department (DSD). Our agenda will include: industry challenges, perceived and actual impediments in the building permit process, common submittal and inspection mistakes, and department updates.
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IP Committee Meeting with UPSTO Official Steve Koziol
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Thursday, June 2
Virtual
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We will be hosting an Intellectual Property Committee meeting featuring Steve Koziol, Acting Director of the United States Patents and Trademarks Office’s (USPTO) Silicon Valley Regional Office. Director Koziol will discuss the USPTO’s strategic priorities following the confirmation of Kathi Vidal as the new USPTO Director last month, as well as the regional office’s role and services.
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Emily Cassel
Govt. Affairs Events & Project Manager
San Diego
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Laure Clark
Sr. Director, Federal Policy & Govt. Affairs
Washington, D.C.
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Melanie Cohn
Sr. Director, Regional Policy & Govt. Affairs
San Diego
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Jimmy Jackson
Senior Vice President & Chief Policy Officer
San Diego
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Richard White
Associate Manager of Federal Advocacy
Washington, D.C.
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Biocom California Advocacy
Biocom California is the largest, most experienced leader and advocate for California’s life science sector. Our public policy staff is strategically located in the Bay Area, Los Angeles, San Diego, Sacramento and Washington, D.C. We work with all levels of federal, state, and local governments to collectively pursue outcomes that benefit regional life science growth and contribute to a more innovation-friendly state. With over 27 years of experience, Biocom California works on behalf of more than 1,600 member companies statewide.
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