House Bill 2739 creates the Washington Institute for Scientific Advancement within the Department of Commerce and establishes an 11‑member research council to set priorities, run a competitive peer‑review grant program, and approve final awards. The institute will fund specified fields of scientific research, require institutional review board approval for eligible projects, limit administrative costs to no more than five percent of the fund, treat intellectual property under state and federal law, and file annual reports beginning December 1, 2028. The Open Public Meetings Act applies to institute meetings, and final grant awards must be made by the full council with required proportional representation. The bill authorizes the State Finance Committee to issue up to $6,000,000,000 in general obligation bonds to advance scientific research, with an annual issuance cap of $1,000,000,000 in any calendar year beginning in 2027 (unused annual capacity may be carried forward). Bond proceeds must be deposited in newly created Washington Institute for Scientific Advancement accounts (including a separate taxable bond account if required by federal tax rules), may be spent only after legislative appropriation, and must be used exclusively for the purposes identified in section 403 and for bond sale and issuance expenses. Principal and interest are payable from the nondebt‑limit general fund bond retirement account; the State Finance Committee must certify annual bond retirement needs to the State Treasurer by June 30 each year. Bonds are general obligations pledging the full faith and credit of the state; bond authorization does not expire. The bill also adds a public‑records exemption making grant applications and materials used in their review confidential under chapter 42.56 RCW, expands or specifies permitted executive session topics (including certain matters concerning institute officers and employees) and requires the presiding officer to announce the purpose and end time before convening such sessions. It amends RCW 42.30.110, adds multiple new sections to chapters 43.100A and 43.330 RCW and a new section to chapter 42.56 RCW, and requires submission of sections 401–412 of the act to voters at the next general election with a specified ballot statement. Important implementation details are missing from the extracted text — notably the full text of sections 301–303, 401, 403, and parts of section 302 — so the precise allocation and uses of bond proceeds and some account rules are uncertain.

If enacted, the bill creates a Washington Institute for Scientific Advancement inside the Department of Commerce charged with running a competitive, peer‑review grant program and governing council to award research and R&D facility grants, and it authorizes the state to issue up to $6 billion in general obligation bonds (capped at $1 billion per year, starting 2027) to fund those grants. Washington research institutions and public universities would gain a new, sizable source of state grant funding subject to open‑science, IRB, and peer‑review requirements, a 5% cap on administrative spending, and council approval rules that could slow award timing if required membership isn’t in place; grant applications and review materials would also be treated as confidential from public disclosure under the act. On the fiscal side, the state would take on long‑term bonded indebtedness backed by the full faith and credit of Washington, with debt service paid from general revenues and annual certification and transfers managed by the state finance committee and treasurer; the Legislature must appropriate net bond proceeds before any bonds are sold, which gives lawmakers control but creates an ongoing general‑fund payment obligation and potential budget pressure. Important implementation details are missing from the provided text—most notably the specific allocation and eligible uses of proceeds referenced in section 403 and full rules for the taxable bond account—so the exact distribution of the $6 billion and some administrative mechanics remain unclear, and the provisions are also subject to a voter referendum before taking effect.