BILL NUMBER: SCR 47 CHAPTERED BILL TEXT RESOLUTION CHAPTER 56 FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE JUNE 21, 2012 ADOPTED IN SENATE JUNE 18, 2012 ADOPTED IN ASSEMBLY JUNE 14, 2012 AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MAY 25, 2012 INTRODUCED BY Senator DeSaulnier JUNE 11, 2011 Relative to Health in All Policies. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST SCR 47, DeSaulnier. Health in All Policies. This measure would, among other things, request that the Strategic Growth Council and the member agencies, departments, and offices of the Health in All Policies Task Force, as established by Executive Order S-04-10, provide leadership on implementing the recommendations put forth in the Health in All Policies Task Force Report, and would encourage interdepartmental collaboration with an emphasis on the complex environmental factors that contribute to poor health and inequities when developing policies. WHEREAS, California and its residents face a growing burden of largely preventable chronic illnesses such as heart disease, stroke, obesity, and diabetes; and WHEREAS, People in disadvantaged communities often have fewer resources for health, which is reflected in significantly higher burdens of chronic illness, worse health outcomes, and shorter life expectancies; and WHEREAS, The health and well-being of all people is a critical element in supporting a healthy and prosperous California, including economic sustainability, increasing workforce participation and productivity, and slowing the ongoing rise in medical care expenditures; and WHEREAS, The physical, economic, and social environments in which people live, learn, work, and play influence the adoption of healthy lifestyles, by making it more or less difficult for individuals to choose behaviors that promote or diminish health; and WHEREAS, These environments are significantly influenced by policies developed by various state agencies and departments relating to housing, transportation, education, air quality, parks, criminal justice, employment, and other policy areas; and WHEREAS, Public health agencies alone cannot change these environments, but must work collaboratively with the many other governmental agencies, businesses, and community-based organizations that are best positioned to create healthy communities; and WHEREAS, Strategies to create healthy communities create cobenefits by simultaneously supporting state goals of improving air and water quality, protecting natural resources and agricultural lands, increasing the availability of affordable housing, improving infrastructure systems, planning sustainable communities, and addressing climate change; and WHEREAS, Health in All Policies 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; and WHEREAS, The Health in All Policies approach uses health as a linking factor in bringing people together from across sectors to address major societal issues, focuses on cobenefits and win-win strategies, and harnesses the power that agencies and departments can bring through their areas of individual expertise; and WHEREAS, California's Health in All Policies Task Force was established by Executive Order S-04-10 on February 23, 2010, under the auspices of the Strategic Growth Council; and WHEREAS, The Health in All Policies Task Force, which includes representatives from 19 state agencies, departments, and offices, developed a broad-ranging set of recommendations geared at improving the efficiency, cost effectiveness, and collaborative nature of state government, while promoting health and other goals of the Strategic Growth Council; now, therefore be it Resolved by the Senate of the State of California, the Assembly thereof concurring, That the Legislature requests that the Strategic Growth Council and the member agencies, departments, and offices of the Health in All Policies Task Force provide leadership on implementing the recommendations put forth in the Health in All Policies Task Force Report; and be it further Resolved, That the Legislature encourages 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; and be it further Resolved, That the Legislature encourages consideration of both short- and long-term health impacts, costs, and benefits, where appropriate, when weighing the merits of proposed legislation; and be it further Resolved, That the Legislature encourages 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; and be it further Resolved, That the Secretary of the Senate transmit copies of this resolution to the author for appropriate distribution.