Massachusetts' $1 billion life sciences bill is inching closer to approval. A preliminary vote yesterday in the House of Representatives supported the measure, which is being debated further today, according to the House clerk's office.

The bill, which is expected to pass in both the House and the Senate, would provide $500 million toward building facilities and buying equipment, and $250 million would go towards creating tax benefits and incentives for life science research. Another $250 million is slated for research grants, fellowships, and training initiatives. Part of the funds would go toward creating the largest stem cell bank in the world at the University of Massachusetts Medical School in Worcester.

According to the Worcester Telegram & Gazette, one of the amendments to the bill discussed yesterday proposed a restriction on research using human embryonic stem cells. The amendment was rejected by a vote of 120-29, however.