CIRM was established via California Proposition 71 (2004) however, its implementation was delayed when out-of-state based opponents incorporated in California to file two lawsuits that challenged the proposition's constitutionality. Opponents argued that the initiative created a taxpayer-funded entity not under state control, that the Independent Citizen's Oversight Committee (ICOC) had a conflict of interest with representatives being eligible for grant money, and that the initiative violated the single-subject requirement of initiatives by funding areas beyond stem cell research. In May 2007, the Supreme Court of California declined to review the two lower court decisions, thereby upholding Proposition 71 as constitutional and permitting CIRM to fund stem cell research in California.