Virginia Senate Bill SJR272

Virginia 2025 Regular Session

• Introduced: 1/14/25
• Engrossed: 1/16/25
• Enrolled: 1/20/25
• Passed: 1/20/25

Caption

Commending Anne Cochrane Pace.

Summary

SJR 272 is a simple commendatory joint resolution honoring Anne Cochrane Pace on the occasion of her retirement as administrator and sole employee of the Commonwealth Health Research Board. The resolution recites her long service since the board’s creation in 1997 and recognizes her role in administering the Commonwealth Health Research Fund, overseeing grant awards, coordinating board meetings, and ensuring accountability and reporting for funded research projects. The resolution highlights the broader accomplishments of the Commonwealth Health Research Board and Fund during Pace’s tenure, including more than $26 million in research awards to investigators at Virginia colleges and universities, more than $11 million in matching institutional funds, and more than $93 million in additional outside funding leveraged by supported researchers. It also notes that some research supported through the fund contributed to technology transfer and commercialization, with economic benefits to the Commonwealth.

Impact

This resolution does not change state law, create new programs, or appropriate funds. Its effect is ceremonial only: it formally expresses the General Assembly’s appreciation for Anne Cochrane Pace and directs the Clerk of the Senate to present her with a copy of the resolution. Indirectly, it also serves to recognize the Commonwealth Health Research Board and the Commonwealth Health Research Fund as existing state-supported mechanisms for biomedical research funding.

Sentiment

The sentiment around the resolution is strongly positive and unanimous in tone. The bill was agreed to by both chambers without recorded opposition in the provided history, and the text itself is highly laudatory, emphasizing Pace’s long tenure, administrative diligence, and contributions to biomedical research, accountability, and economic development in Virginia. There is no indication of controversy in the available materials.

Contention

There are no notable points of contention in the bill text, voting history, or committee materials provided. Because this is a commemorative resolution rather than substantive legislation, it does not appear to have generated policy debate, fiscal disagreement, or stakeholder opposition. The only substantive references are to the achievements of the Commonwealth Health Research Board and the administration of research grants, which are presented positively rather than as disputed issues.