RESEARCH Ohio bills would ban the use of state funds

Legislation would block Third Frontier money from being used for stem cell research.
By JEFF ORTEGA
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
COLUMBUS -- The Ohio House and Senate are poised this week to approve separate bills that would restrict state money's going to embryonic stem-cell research.
The House Judiciary Committee could vote today on a bill that would ban state funds from being used on research that results in the destruction of a human embryo, majority Republicans say.
"The idea behind it is to promote a culture of life in Ohio," said state Rep. Mike Gilb, a Findlay Republican and the House bill's sponsor. Gilb said Monday he thinks he has a majority in the 99-member House to secure the bill's passage.
If approved by the committee, the measure could be before the full Ohio House on Wednesday, said Karen Tabor, a spokeswoman for House Speaker Jon A. Husted, R-Kettering.
Meanwhile, the Senate Finance & amp; Financial Institutions Committee could approve a bill today that would prevent the Third Frontier Commission, the body that distributes funds for the Third Frontier Project, from awarding loans or grants for research activities that involve embryonic stem-cell research.
High-technology program
The Third Frontier Project is Republican Gov. Bob Taft's signature program to help beef up high-technology employment in the Buckeye State.
Last week voters approved a $2 billion "jobs" bond issue -- $500 million of which is earmarked in support of the Third Frontier Project.
Majority Senate Republicans say the proposal would ensure the Third Frontier program is in line with guidelines set by President Bush, which say embryonic stem-cell research can be conducted only on existing stem-cell lines. Taft has signed an executive order mirroring the president's language that would expire when Taft's term ends in January 2007.
The Senate measure, sponsored by state Sen. Jim Jordan, R-Urbana, and co-sponsored by Lynn R. Wachtmann, R-Napoleon, could be taken up by the full 33-member Senate later today if passed by the finance committee, said Senate President Bill M. Harris.
Harris, an Ashland Republican, said there could be some minor changes to the Senate measure.
"We've got an amendment that just clarifies the bill that will be introduced in committee," Harris said.