BILL ANALYSIS �
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Date of Hearing: March 27, 2012
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON HEALTH
William W. Monning, Chair
SCR 47 (DeSaulnier) - As Introduced: June 11, 2011
SUBJECT : Health in All Policies.
SUMMARY : Requests that the Strategic Growth Council (SGC) and
the member agencies, departments, and offices of the Health in
All Policies (HiAP) Task Force provide leadership on
implementing the recommendations put forth in the HiAP Task
Force Report and encourages interdepartmental collaboration with
an emphasis on the complex environmental factors that contribute
to poor health and inequities when developing policies across
sectors. Specifically, this resolution resolves that the
Legislature:
a) Request that the SGC and the member agencies,
departments, and offices of the HiAP Task Force provide
leadership on implementing the recommendations put forth by
the HiAP Task Force Report;
b) Encourage interdepartmental collaboration with an
emphasis on the complex environmental factors that
contribute to poor health and inequities when developing
policies in a wide variety of areas, including, but not
limited to, housing, transportation, education, air
quality, parks, criminal justice, and employment;
c) Consider both short- and long-term health impacts,
costs, and benefits, where appropriate, when weighing the
merits of proposed legislation; and,
d) Encourage public officials in all sectors and levels of
government to recognize that health is influenced by
policies related to air and water quality, natural
resources and agricultural land, affordable housing,
infrastructure systems, public health, sustainable
communities, and climate change, and to consider health
when formulating policy.
EXISTING LAW establishes cabinet-level SGC aimed to improve
coordination across state agencies to: a) improve air and water
quality; b) protect natural resources and agricultural lands; c)
increase the availability of affordable housing; d) promote
public health; e) improve transportation; f) encourage greater
infill and compact development; g) revitalize community and
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urban centers; and, h) assist state and local entities in the
planning of sustainable communities and the California Global
Warming Solutions Act of 2006.
FISCAL EFFECT : This resolution has not yet been heard by a
fiscal committee.
COMMENTS :
1)THE PURPOSE OF THIS RESOLUTION . According to the author, this
resolution calls on state departments and agencies to work
together to address barriers to good health in California's
communities. The author states that according to the December
3, 2010, Health in All Policies Task Force Report to the
Strategic Growth Council (HiAP Task Force Report), "The health
of California's population is largely determined by the
social, physical, economic and service environments in which
people live, work, study and play. These environments shape
the choices that people make every day, as well as their
opportunities and resources for health." The author maintains
that this resolution encourages a collaborative effort in
addressing the barriers to good health in California's
communities with a focus on addressing the complex
environmental factors that contribute to poor health and
inequities when developing various policies. The author
argues that this resolution is a necessary step in
California's continuing struggle to combat preventable chronic
illnesses such as heart disease, stroke, obesity and diabetes.
2)BACKGROUND . According to the June 2011 report, National
Prevention Strategy: America's Plan for Better Health and
Wellness (The National Prevention Strategy report) many of the
strongest predictors of health and well-being fall outside of
the health care setting. Social, economic and environmental
factors all influence health. People with a quality
education, stable employment, safe homes and neighborhoods,
and access to high quality preventive services tend to be
healthier throughout their lives and live longer. The
National Prevention Strategy report explains that preventing
disease requires more than providing people with information
to make healthy choices. While this knowledge is critical,
communities must reinforce and support health, for example, by
making healthier choices easy and affordable. When sectors
such as housing, transportation, labor and education promote
prevention-oriented environments and policies, they all
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contribute to health.
According to the HiAP Task Force Report, HiAP is an integrated
approach that is being used internationally and in California
to achieve better health outcomes and greater sustainability
by incorporating a health aspect into policy development
across all government sectors. The HiAP approach uses health
as a linking factor in bringing people together from across
sectors to address major societal issues, focuses on
co-benefits and win-win strategies, and harnesses the power
that agencies and departments can bring through their areas of
individual expertise.
3)HiAP TASK FORCE . California's HiAP Task Force was established
by executive Order S-04-10 by Governor Schwarzenegger on
February 23, 2010, under the auspices of the SGC. The HiAP
Task Force is a multi-agency effort to improve state policy
and decision-making by encouraging collaborative work towards
health and sustainability goals by incorporating health
considerations into non-health policy areas. The HiAP Task
Force is comprised of staff from the following agencies,
departments, and offices: Air Resources Board; Business,
Transportation, and Housing Agency; Department of Community
Services and Development; Department of Education; Department
of Finance; Department of Food and Agriculture; Department of
Forestry and Fire Protection; Department of Housing and
Community Development; Department of Justice; Department of
Parks and Recreation; Department of Social Services;
Department of Transportation; Environmental Protection Agency;
Governor's Office of Planning and Research; Health and Human
Services Agency; Labor and Workforce Development Agency;
Office of Gang and Youth Violence Policy (funding was
abolished in the 2011-12 budget and the office closed December
31, 2011); and, Office of traffic safety. In addition, the
HiAP Task Force is staffed and facilitated by the California
Department of Public Health.
The HiAP Task Force was charged with identifying priority
actions and strategies for state agencies to improve community
health. Between April and November of 2010, representatives
from the 19 California agencies, departments, and offices
listed above came together in multiple individual and Task
Force meetings, participated in public workshops, and received
written comments from a diverse array of stakeholders. These
state leaders have developed a broad-ranging set of
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recommendations and were charged with developing
implementation plans. The HiAP Task Force narrowed the
recommendations to eleven priority recommendations for
near-term implementation at its June 1, 2011 meeting.
4)HiAP RECOMMENDATIONS . According to the HiAP Task Force
Report, the recommendations put forth are geared at improving
the efficiency, cost-effectiveness, and collaborative nature
of state government, while promoting both health and other
goals of the SGC and addressing the following two strategic
directions:
a) Building healthy and safe communities with opportunities
for active transportation; safe, healthy, affordable
housing; places to be active, including parks, greenspace,
and healthy tree canopy; the ability to be active without
fear of violence or crime; and access to healthy,
affordable foods; and,
b) Finding opportunities to add a health lens in public
policy and program development and increase collaboration
across agencies and with communities.
Following are the eleven priority recommendations of the HiAP
Task Force:
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| Topic | Priority Recommendation |
|---------------+------------------------------------------------|
|Active |Support active transportation through |
|Transportation |implementation of "Complete Streets." |
|---------------+------------------------------------------------|
| |Highlight the opportunities presented by SB 375 |
| |(Steinberg) Chapter 728, Statutes of 2008, to |
| |promote active transportation. |
|---------------+------------------------------------------------|
|Housing and |Promote sustainable development through smart |
|Indoor Spaces |housing siting; Develop recommended processes |
| |for balancing multiple public policy objectives |
| |affecting air quality and the permit processing |
| |and siting of transit-oriented development. |
|---------------+------------------------------------------------|
|Parks, Urban |Support urban greening and access to green |
|Greening & |spaces. |
|Places to be | |
|Active | |
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|---------------+------------------------------------------------|
|Community |Disseminate existing guidance on Crime |
|Safety through |Prevention through Environmental Design. |
|Violence | |
|Prevention | |
|---------------+------------------------------------------------|
| |Build violence prevention capacity statewide by |
| |supporting community-level efforts to engage |
| |and convene stakeholders to develop |
| |data-informed prevention actions, including |
| |through training to promote effective community |
| |engagement and joint action. |
|---------------+------------------------------------------------|
|Healthy Food |Encourage and expand the availability of |
| |affordable and locally grown produce through |
| |"farm-to-fork" policies and programs. |
| | |
|---------------+------------------------------------------------|
| |Leverage government spending to support healthy |
| |eating and sustainable local food systems. |
|---------------+------------------------------------------------|
|Healthy Public |Incorporate a health and health equity |
|Policy |perspective into state guidance, surveys, and |
| |technical assistance documents where feasible |
| |and appropriate. |
|---------------+------------------------------------------------|
| |Incorporate health and health equity criteria |
| |into state grant Requests for Applications, |
| |review criteria and scoring, technical |
| |assistance, and monitoring/performance |
| |measures, where feasible and appropriate. |
|---------------+------------------------------------------------|
| |Explore appropriate ways to integrate health |
| |analysis into existing state projects and |
| |plans. Design and conduct a feasibility study |
| |to explore possible methods or approaches for |
| |incorporating a health lens into analysis of a |
| |subset of legislation and Budget Change |
| |Proposals, to consider long-term health and |
| |state health-care expenditure consequences of |
| |short-term financial and policy decisions. |
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5)SUPPORT . According to the sponsors of this bill, the Health
Officers Association of California (HOAC), which represents
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the physician health officers of California's 61 city and
county jurisdictions, this resolution calls on state
departments and agencies to work together to address barriers
to good health in California's communities. The HOAC
maintains that a variety of state agencies and departments
need to work together to ensure good health for all
Californians and that it is important for health effects to be
considered when any new policy is being developed.
6)PREVIOUS LEGISLATION .
a) SB 732 (Steinberg), Chapter 729, Statutes of 2008,
establishes the SGC and appropriates $500,000 from the
funding provided by the initiative to the Natural Resources
Agency to support the SGC and its activities. Requires the
SGC to take certain actions with regard to coordinating
programs of members state agencies to improve air and water
quality, improve natural resource protection, increase the
availability of affordable housing, improve transportation,
meet the goals of the California Global Warming Solutions
Act of 2006, encourage sustainable land use planning, and
revitalize urban and community centers in a sustainable
manner. Requires the SGC to manage and award grants and
loans to support the planning and development of
sustainable communities, for preparing, adopting, and
implementing general plans, general plan elements, regional
plans, or other planning instruments, and for preparing,
planning and implementing urban greening plans. Requires
SGC, no later than July 1, 2010, and every year thereafter,
to provide a report to the Legislature with specified
information regarding the management of the grants and
loans.
b) SB 375 (Steinberg), Chapter 728, Statutes of 2008,
Sustainable Communities and Climate Protection Act of 2008
requires the California Air Resources Board (ARB) to
provide each region with greenhouse gas emission reduction
targets for passenger vehicles. Requires ARB to establish
targets for 2020 and 2035 for each region covered by one of
the state's 18 metropolitan planning organizations (MPOs).
Requires MPOs to prepare a sustainable communities strategy
(SCS) that demonstrates how the region will meet its
greenhouse gas reduction target through integrated land
use, housing and transportation planning. Requires the
MPO's adopted SCS to be incorporated into that region's
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federally enforceable regional transportation plan.
c) AB 32 (Nunez), Chapter 488, Statutes of 2006, California
Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 addresses climate
change by establishing comprehensive program to reduce
greenhouse gas emissions from all sources throughout the
state. Requires the California ARB to develop regulations
and market mechanisms to reduce California's greenhouse gas
emissions to 1990 levels by 2020.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
Health Officers Association of California
Opposition
None on file.
Analysis Prepared by : Tanya Robinson-Taylor / HEALTH / (916)
319-2097