ST. LOUIS • In November, Gov. Jay Nixon appeared at the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center to ceremonially affix his signature to a bill that was supposed to create a fund to foster science start-ups.

While the effect was fleeting, the alliance has endured.

Nixon, a Democrat, will return to the Creve Coeur campus of the Danforth Center next month for a fundraiser hosted by prominent bio-tech advocates, even as the future of the legislation they championed is now in doubt.

On Monday, a judge tossed out the Missouri Science and Innovation Reinvestment Act (MOSIRA) after a lawsuit by advocates who worried state tax incentives would be used to promote human cloning.

The judge did not rule on that issue, but rather struck down the law because related legislation on tax credits failed to pass the General Assembly.

(This is the latest example of legislation that seems to crumble like shoddy home improvement work. Earlier this month, the state's highest court threw out a campaign finance law not because its tenets were unconstitutional, but because it was contained in the same bill that says who gets a key to the Capitol dome.)

While science advocates plan how they will revive MOSIRA in Jefferson City, they are also preparing to fete Nixon.

The March 13 campaign fundraiser will be at the Bio-Research & Development Growth Park, which is at the Danforth Center, but independent of the non-profit research institution so that organizers don't have to worry about running afoul of tax laws that restrict political activity.

The hosts of the fundraiser are Dr. Bill Danforth, brother of the late Donald; John McDonnell, former chairman of the McDonnell Douglas aerospace corporation; and Dr. Gordon Philpott, a retired surgeon who, like McDonnell and Bill Danforth, has strong ties to Washington University.

Nixon is "a strong advocate for the growth of the plant and life sciences in Missouri" the trio wrote in a letter with the fundraising invite.

Of course, now that MOSIRA is in jeopardy, the governor risks losing the signature piece of his science agenda. While supporters are raising money for Nixon, they may want to keep an eye on the General Assembly, where Republican leaders, especially those in the Senate, who could decide whether the science fund gets another chance.

Or, better yet, Attorney General Chris Koster, who on Wednesday announced he would appeal the MOSIRA ruling.