Cancer research endowment

AN ACT Relating to the administration of the Andy Hill cancer 1
research endowment; amending RCW 43.348.020, 43.348.040, 43.348.060, 2
and 43.348.080; and reenacting and amending RCW 43.348.010.3
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:4
Sec. 1. RCW 43.348.010 and 2018 c 4 s 1 are each reenacted and 5
amended to read as follows: 6
The definitions in this section apply throughout this chapter 7
unless the context clearly requires otherwise. 8
(1) "Board" means the governing board of the endowment.9
(2) "Cancer" means a group of diseases involving unregulated cell 10
growth. 11
(3) "Cancer patient advocacy organizations" means groups with 12
offices in the state that promote cancer prevention and advocate on 13
behalf of cancer patients. 14
(4) "Cancer research" means advanced and applied research and 15
development relating to the causes, prevention, and diagnosis of 16
cancer and care of cancer patients including the development of 17
tests, genetic analysis, medications, processes, services, and 18
technologies to optimize cancer therapies and their manufacture and 19
commercialization and includes the costs of recruiting scientists and 20
establishing and equipping research facilities. 21
S-0637.1
SENATE BILL 5455
State of Washington 69th Legislature 2025 Regular Session
By Senators Harris, Cleveland, Braun, and Muzzall
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(5) "Clinical trial" means cancer clinical trial.1
(6) "Commercial entity" means a for-profit entity located in the 2
state that develops, manufactures, or sells goods or services 3
relating to cancer prevention or care. 4
(((6))) (7) "Committee" means an independent expert scientific 5
review and advisory committee established under RCW 43.348.050.6
(((7))) (8) "Contribution agreement" means any agreement 7
authorized under this chapter in which a private entity or a public 8
entity other than the state agrees to provide to the endowment 9
contributions for the purpose of cancer research, prevention, or 10
care. 11
(((8))) (9) "Costs" means the costs and expenses associated with 12
the conduct of research, prevention, and care including, but not 13
limited to, the cost of recruiting and compensating personnel, 14
securing and financing facilities and equipment, and conducting 15
clinical trials. 16
(((9))) (10) "Department" means the department of commerce.17
(((10))) (11) "Endowment" means the Andy Hill cancer research 18
endowment. 19
(((11))) (12) "Fund" means the Andy Hill cancer research fund 20
created in RCW 43.348.060(1)(b). 21
(((12))) (13) "Health care delivery system" means hospitals and 22
clinics providing care to patients in the state. 23
(((13))) (14) "Life sciences research" means advanced and applied 24
research and development intended to improve human health, including 25
scientific study of the developing brain and human learning and 26
development, and other areas of scientific research and development 27
vital to the state's economy. 28
(((14))) (15) "Prevention" means measures to prevent the 29
development and progression of cancer, including education, 30
vaccinations, and screening processes and technologies, and to reduce 31
the risk of cancer. 32
(((15))) (16) "Program" means the Andy Hill cancer research 33
endowment program created in RCW 43.348.040. 34
(((16))) (17) "Program administrator" means ((a)) one or more 35
private nonprofit corporation s registered under Title 24 RCW 36
qualified as a tax-exempt entity under 26 U.S.C. Sec. 501 (c)(3) of 37
the federal internal revenue code ((, with expertise in conducting or 38
managing research granting activities, funds, or organizations)).39
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Sec. 2. RCW 43.348.020 and 2018 c 4 s 2 are each amended to read 1
as follows: 2
(1) The Andy Hill cancer research endowment is created. The 3
powers of the endowment are vested in and must be exercised by a 4
board. The board consists of thirteen members appointed by the 5
governor: 6
(a) Two members must be appointed from nominations submitted by 7
the presidents of the University of Washington and Washington State 8
University; 9
(b) Two members must be appointed from nominations submitted by 10
the Fred Hutchinson cancer ((research)) center((, Seattle cancer care 11
alliance,)) and the Seattle children's research institute;12
(c) Two members must be appointed from nominations submitted by 13
patient advocacy organizations; 14
(d) Two members must be appointed from nominations submitted by 15
representatives of businesses or industries engaged in the 16
commercialization of life sciences research or cancer research;17
(e) One member must be appointed from a list of at least three 18
nominated by the speaker of the house of representatives;19
(f) One member must be appointed from a list of at least three 20
nominated by the president of the senate; 21
(g) One member must be appointed from nominations submitted by 22
entities or systems that provide health care delivery services;23
(h) One member must be appointed from nominations provided by 24
private sector donors to the fund. However, the governor may reject 25
all nominations and request a new list from which the governor must 26
select the member; and 27
(i) The remaining member must be a member of the public.28
(2) In soliciting nominations and appointing members, the 29
governor must seek to identify individuals from throughout the state 30
having relevant knowledge, experience, and expertise with regard to 31
(a) cancer research, prevention, and care; (b) health care consumer 32
issues; (c) government finance and budget; and (d) the 33
commercialization of life sciences or cancer research. In soliciting 34
nominations and appointing members, the governor must seek 35
individuals who will contribute to the geographic diversity of the 36
board, with the goal that at least five board members be from 37
counties with a population less than one million persons. 38
Appointments must be made on or before July 1, 2016.39
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(3) The term of a member is four years from the date of their 1
appointment except the initial term of the members in subsection 2
(1)(d) through (i) of this section must be two years to create a 3
staggered appointment process. A member may be appointed to not more 4
than two full consecutive terms. A member appointed by the governor 5
may be removed by the governor for cause under RCW 43.06.070 and 6
43.06.080. The members may not be compensated but may be reimbursed, 7
solely from the fund, for expenses incurred in the discharge of their 8
duties under this chapter. 9
(4) Seven members of the board constitute a quorum.10
(5) The members must elect a chair, treasurer, and secretary 11
annually, and other officers as the members determine necessary, and 12
may adopt bylaws or rules for their own government.13
(6) Meetings of the board must be held in accordance with the 14
open public meetings act, chapter 42.30 RCW, and at the call of the 15
chair or when a majority of the members so requests. Meetings of the 16
board may be held at any location within or out of the state, and 17
members may participate in a meeting of the board by means of a 18
conference telephone or similar communication equipment under RCW 19
23B.08.200. 20
(7) The board must be staffed by one or more program 21
administrators selected by and under contract with the board. The 22
board may cause one or more tax-exempt nonprofit corporations to be 23
created, organized, and operated exclusively to perform some or all 24
of the program administrator duties. The board may select and 25
contract directly with any program administrator. The program 26
administrator must be paid an administrative fee as determined by the 27
board and paid mutually agreed-upon operating costs which may vary 28
depending on the endowment's activities.29
Sec. 3. RCW 43.348.040 and 2023 c 426 s 5 are each amended to 30
read as follows: 31
(1) The Andy Hill cancer research endowment program is created. 32
The purpose of the program is to make grants to public and private 33
entities, including commercial entities, to fund or reimburse the 34
entities pursuant to agreement for the promotion of cancer research 35
to be conducted in the state. The endowment is to oversee and guide 36
the program, including the solicitation, selection, and award of 37
grants. 38
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(2) The board must develop a plan for the allocation of projected 1
amounts in the fund, which it must update annually, following at 2
least one annual public hearing. The plan must provide for 3
appropriate funding continuity and take into account the projected 4
speed at which revenues will be available and amounts that can be 5
spent during the plan period. 6
(3) The endowment must solicit requests for grant funding and 7
evaluate the requests by reference to factors such as: (a) The 8
quality of the proposed research or program; (b) its potential to 9
improve health outcomes of persons with cancer, with particular 10
attention to the likelihood that it will also lower health care 11
costs, substitute for a more costly diagnostic or treatment modality, 12
or offer a breakthrough treatment for a particular cancer or cancer-13
related condition or disease; (c) its potential for leveraging 14
additional funding; (d) its potential to provide additional health 15
care benefits or benefit other human diseases or conditions; (e) its 16
potential to stimulate life science, health care, and biomedical 17
employment in the state; (f) the geographic diversity of the grantees 18
within Washington; (g) evidence of potential royalty, sales, or 19
licensing revenue, or other commercialization-related revenue and 20
contractual means to recapture such income for purposes of this 21
chapter; (h) evidence of public and private collaboration; (i) the 22
ability to offer trial participants information in a language other 23
than English; (j) the ability to provide culturally specific 24
recruitment materials alongside general enrollment materials; (k) the 25
ability to provide electronic consent when not prohibited by other 26
granting entities or federal regulations; and (l) other evidence of 27
outreach and engagement to increase participation of underrepresented 28
communities in clinical trials of drugs and medical devices.29
(4) The endowment may not award a grant for a proposal that was 30
not recommended by an independent expert scientific review and 31
advisory committee under RCW 43.348.050. 32
(5) The endowment must issue an annual report to the public that 33
sets forth its activities with respect to the fund, including grants 34
awarded, grant-funded work in progress, research accomplishments, 35
prevention, and care activities, and future program directions with 36
respect to cancer research, prevention, and care. Each annual report 37
regarding activities of the program and fund must include, but not be 38
limited to, the following: The number and dollar amounts of grants; 39
the grantees for the prior year; the endowment's administrative 40
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expenses; an assessment of the availability of funding for cancer 1
research, prevention, and care from sources other than the endowment; 2
a summary of research, prevention, and care-related findings, 3
including promising new areas for investment; and a report on the 4
benefits to Washington of its programs to date. 5
(6) The endowment's first annual report must include a proposed 6
operating plan for the design, implementation, and administration of 7
an endowment program supporting the purposes of the endowment and 8
program. 9
(7) The endowment must adopt policies to ensure that all 10
potential conflicts have been disclosed and that all conflicts have 11
been eliminated or mitigated. 12
(8) The endowment must establish standards to ensure that 13
recipients of grants for cancer research, prevention, or care 14
purchase goods and services from Washington suppliers to the extent 15
reasonably possible. 16
(9) Soliciting requests for grant funding, evaluating, and 17
awarding grants for the purposes of implementing RCW 43.348.090 are 18
not subject to the requirements of subsections (3) and (4) of this 19
section and RCW 43.348.050.20
Sec. 4. RCW 43.348.060 and 2018 c 4 s 6 are each amended to read 21
as follows: 22
(1) The program administrator must provide services to the board 23
and has the following duties and responsibilities:24
(a) Jointly with the board, solicit and receive gifts, grants, 25
and bequests, and enter into contribution agreements with private 26
entities and public entities, including commercial entities, in order 27
to use those moneys to fund grants awarded by the endowment;28
(b) Establish an Andy Hill cancer research fund. The fund must be 29
a separate private account outside the state treasury into which 30
grants and contributions received from public and private sources as 31
well as ((state matching)) funds from the match transfer account must 32
be deposited, and from which funds for grants awarded by the 33
endowment must be disbursed. ((Once moneys in the Andy Hill cancer 34
research endowment fund match transfer account are subject to an 35
agreement under RCW 43.348.080(6) and are deposited in the fund under 36
this section, the )) The moneys in the fund are not considered state 37
money, common cash, or revenue to the state; 38
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(c) Manage the fund, its obligations, and investments as to 1
achieve the maximum possible rate of return on investment in the 2
fund; 3
(d) Establish policies and procedures to facilitate the orderly 4
process of grant application, review, selection, and notification; 5
and 6
(e) Distribute funds to selected entities through grant 7
agreements. Grant agreements must set forth the terms and conditions 8
of the grant and must include, but not be limited to: (i) 9
Deliverables to be provided by the recipient pursuant to the grant; 10
(ii) the circumstances under which the grant amount would be required 11
to be repaid or the circumstances under which royalty, sales, or 12
licensing revenue, or other commercialization-related revenue would 13
be required to be shared; and (iii) indemnification, dispute 14
resolution, and any other terms and conditions as are customary for 15
grant agreements or are deemed reasonable by the board. The program 16
administrator may negotiate with any grantee the costs associated 17
with performing scientific activities funded by grants.18
(2) Periodically, but not less often than every three years, the 19
endowment and the department must conduct a request for proposals and 20
retain the services of an independent auditor with experience in 21
performance auditing of research granting entities similar to the 22
endowment. The independent auditor must review the endowment's 23
strategic plan, program, and program administrator and publish a 24
report assessing their performance and providing recommendations for 25
improvement. The endowment must hold at least one public hearing at 26
which the results of each audit are presented and discussed.27
Sec. 5. RCW 43.348.080 and 2022 c 297 s 961 are each amended to 28
read as follows: 29
(1) The Andy Hill cancer research endowment fund match transfer 30
account is created in the custody of the state treasury to be used 31
solely and exclusively for the program created in RCW 43.348.040. 32
Moneys in the account may be spent only after appropriation. The 33
purpose of the account is to provide state matching funds and other 34
state appropriations for the fund and administrative costs. 35
Expenditures to fund or reimburse the program administrator are not 36
subject to the requirements of subsection (((4))) (5) of this 37
section. 38
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(2) The legislature must appropriate a state match, up to a 1
maximum of ten million dollars annually, beginning July 1, 2016, and 2
each July 1st following the end of the fiscal year from tax 3
collections and penalties generated from enforcement of state taxes 4
on cigarettes and other tobacco products by the state liquor and 5
cannabis board or other federal, state or local law or tax 6
enforcement agency, as determined by the department of revenue. Tax 7
collections include any cigarette tax, other tobacco product tax, and 8
retail sales and use tax. Any amounts deposited into this account 9
from the tax imposed under RCW 82.25.010 in excess of the cap 10
provided in this subsection must be deposited into the foundational 11
public health services account created in RCW 82.25.015.12
(3) Revenues to the account must consist of deposits into the 13
account, taxes imposed on vapor products under RCW 82.25.010, 14
legislative appropriations, and any gifts, grants, or donations 15
received by the department for this purpose. 16
(4) Each fiscal biennium, the legislature must appropriate to the 17
department of commerce such amounts as estimated to be the balance of 18
the match transfer account to provide state matching funds.19
(5) Expenditures((, in the form of matching funds, )) from the 20
account may be made only upon receipt of proof from the program 21
administrator of committed nonstate or private contributions ((to the 22
fund for the program )) for cancer research, prevention, or care 23
supported by the match transfer account or advancement of the 24
program. Expenditures from the match transfer account , in the form of 25
matching funds, may not exceed the total amount of committed nonstate 26
or private contributions. 27
(6) The department and board must enter into an appropriate 28
agreement with the program administrator to demonstrate exchange of 29
consideration for the ((matching funds)) expenditures from the match 30
transfer account that are subject to subsection (5) of this section.31
(7) Moneys expended into the account in fiscal year 2023 pursuant 32
to section 706, chapter 297, Laws of 2022 are not subject to the 33
requirements of subsections (5) and (6) of this section.34
(8) Moneys expended into the match transfer account for the 35
purposes of implementing RCW 43.348.090 are not subject to the 36
requirements of subsections (5) and (6) of this section.37
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