BILL ANALYSIS
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 211|
|Office of Senate Floor Analyses | |
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 211
Author: Jones (D), et al
Amended: 9/5/07 in Senate
Vote: 21
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : Not relevant
( AB 437 VOTE : SENATE HEALTH COMMITTEE: 7-3, 5/23/07
AYES: Kuehl, Alquist, Maldonado, Negrete McLeod,
Ridley-Thomas, Steinberg, Yee
NOES: Aanestad, Cox, Wyland
NO VOTE RECORDED: Cedillo)
SUBJECT : Budget Act of 2007
SOURCE : Health Officers Association of California
DIGEST : This bill permits local health officers to
provide assistance to cities and counties regarding public
health issues as they relate to local land use and
transportation planning processes, as specified.
Senate Floor Amendments of 9/5/07 delete the bill and now
permit local health officers to provide assistance to
cities and counties regarding public health issues as they
relate to local land use and transportation planning
processes, as specified.
NOTE: The language in the 9/5/07 amended version of this
bill was heard in the Senate Health Committee, in the
CONTINUED
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form of AB 437 (Jones), as noted in the vote
information above.
ANALYSIS : Existing law permits the establishment of
local health officers to perform various duties relating to
public health and permits local health officers to issue
orders to enforce various public health and safety
requirements.
This bill permits local health officers to provide
assistance to cities and counties regarding public health
issues as they relate to local land use and transportation
planning processes, including, but not limited to:
1. The prevention of obesity and chronic diseases such as
diabetes, some forms of cancer, arthritis and stroke in
relation to physical activity, and issues of ease of
walking and biking and vehicle miles traveled.
2. Respiratory disease and air quality.
3. Injury prevention and motor vehicle crashes.
4. Healthier eating opportunities and community design.
5. Drinking water quality.
6. Mental well-being and parks, trails, and open-space.
7. Social capital and sense of community.
8. Violence prevention and street safety.
Background
According to a 2003 article in the American Journal of
Public Health , current public health problems are more
often chronic diseases and not infectious diseases. The
article states that, since populations are more spread out
and there are greater separations between residential and
business areas, measures that were urged a hundred years
ago to improve health may now actually be contributing to
chronic health problems. The spread-out design of suburbs
increases reliance on the automobile, which contributes to
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air pollution, with its detrimental effects, including
chronic respiratory ailments, sedentary lifestyle, and
obesity. The article also states that, unlike situations
in the 19th and early 20th centuries, today's public health
advocates are largely absent from discussions about
planning or land-use decisions involving the "built
environment." Many cities and counties have large planning
departments that regulate land use and buildings, and
include urban planners, architects, lawyers, economists,
transportation engineers, environmental scientists, and
demographers, but rarely include public health officials.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: No
Local: No
SUPPORT : (Verified 9/5/07)
Health Officers Association of California (source)
Alameda County Board of Supervisors
American Federation of State, County and Municipal
Employees, AFL-CIO
Bay Area Bicycle Coalition of the San Francisco Bay Area
Bay Area Regional Health Inequities Initiative
California Association of Environmental Health
Administrators
California Center for Public Health Advocacy
California Medical Association
California Pan-Ethnic Health Network
Human Impact Partners
Latino Coalition for a Healthy California
Marin County Bicycle Coalition
Marin County Board of Supervisors
Oakland Berkeley Asthma Coalition
Prevention Institute
Public Health Law Program
Sacramento Area Bicycle Advocates
San Diego County Bicycle Coalition
Strategic Alliance for Healthy Food and Activity
Environments
Transportation and Land Use Coalition
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : The Health Officers Association of
California (HOAC) writes that the Institute of Medicine has
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called for new approaches to environmental health including
strategies to deal with waste, unhealthy buildings, urban
congestion, suburban sprawl, declining open space, poor
housing, poor nutrition, and environmental stressors. HOAC
states that this bill will give added momentum to greater
involvement by health officers in community planning.
Supporters write that for more than 50 years, communities
have been planned primarily to accommodate automobile
traffic, to the exclusion of other modes of travel,
resulting in streets limited to serving cars only.
Supporters contend that bringing health experts to the
transportation table will provide a more holistic view of
the challenges facing our communities.
CTW:mw 9/5/07 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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