The Texas legislature may not fund the embattled Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas unless it fixes how it gives out grants, ScienceInsider reports.
According to the Houston Chronicle, Jim Pitts, a Republican state representative, said in a press release that there shouldn't be any new CPRIT grants "until the agency can prove that the grant-award process is transparent and accountable to taxpayers."
Last year, a number of concerns arose regarding the agency's grant review and approval process, leading to a number of resignations, both among its peer reviewers and of its officers. Additionally, CPRIT is under investigation by the Texas attorney general.
"We have until May to show the legislature we will carry out its wishes the way they want them carried out," Wayne Roberts, the interim executive director, tells the Chronicle. "Those bills show the legislature's concern, their need for assurance that this agency has proper controls in place to ensure money is allocated appropriately."