Officials at Oregon Health & Science University are working to build support among state legislators for a $200 million bond offering that would be used to meet a $500 million challenge grant from Phil and Penny Knight, the Oregonian reports.

While the university's pitch has been received favorably by Gov. John Kitzhaber and Senate President Peter Courtney (D-Salem), some question whether any public funding should count toward the challenge. "I thought it was a philanthropic challenge," said Chuck Sheketoff, president of the Oregon Center for Public Policy. "It wasn't for them to come up with a new lobbying strategy at the legislature."

Others, including Jody Wiser of Tax Fairness Oregon, argue that OHSU should be responsible for paying back any bond floated for its benefit instead of putting the cost on taxpayers. The state legislature is scheduled to discuss the matter during its next session, in February.

OHSU president Joe Robertson told the Oregonian that some of the key points in the school’s proposal are getting lost and that the school still intends to raise $500 million for cancer research and treatment in addition to the $500 million pledge from the Knights. The funding from the state, said Robertson, would support buildings needed to house researchers and facilities for clinical trials. It’s a model, he added, the state has followed in the past, and it "will also be an economic stimulus much sooner if it is done that way."