HCR22 HD1.DOC

WHEREAS, obesity is a major health and economic concern for Hawaii and the nation, causing higher medical costs and lower quality of life; and

WHEREAS, in Hawaii, one in three children entering kindergarten is overweight or obese and one in two adults is overweight or obese; and

WHEREAS, obesity-related medical expenditures in Hawaii were calculated to be over $470 million in 2009, and are continuing to rise; and

WHEREAS, obesity is a complex and multifaceted issue requiring the collaboration of stakeholders in government, non-profit, private, and health care sectors to create systematic large-scale environmental changes; and

WHEREAS, in the past two decades, the environments that afford opportunities for physical activity have changed drastically, and thus obesity prevention initiatives need to focus on creating environments that provide opportunities for physical activity; and

WHEREAS, due to the significant effect of the built environment on health and the direct effect that transportation decisions have on land use and community design, Hawaii must work on transforming the current transportation and land use planning systems to achieve transportation and land use policies that promote health; and
WHEREAS, all levels of government (federal, state, and local) have important responsibilities in transportation and land use planning. From zoning regulations to the construction of transportation systems, government decisions regarding land use have a significant impact on public health; and

WHEREAS, public health practitioners play a critical role in achieving this transformation; and

WHEREAS, discussion between public health practitioners and all levels of government needs to take place to ensure coordination and collaboration between transportation and land use planning stakeholders; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-seventh Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2013, the Senate concurring, that the Department of Health is requested to establish a Healthy Community Design Task Force tasked with:

(1) Developing legislative recommendations that include improved health as a priority in land use planning and transportation decisions, including, but not limited to, creating policies and funding for bicycle and pedestrian facilities on all appropriate streets, roads, and highways statewide and adding health as a consideration in land use planning policies and decisions;

(2) Identifying agencies with funding or regulatory resources that can influence transportation and land use planning;

(3) Creating goals and performance metrics for outcomes including, but not limited to, health and obesity;

(4) Creating an action plan to achieve those metrics, which addresses changes needed in laws, policies, procedures, agency funding, and regulatory processes; and

(5) Identifying synergistic initiatives and organizations for successful implementation of the action plan, including, but not limited to, Aging in Place, reduction of Hawaii's dependence on imported fuel, mitigation of Hawaii's congestion problem particularly with respect to Honolulu, climate change, and safe routes to school; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that state agencies are encouraged to collaborate when developing policies that may impact the environment in a manner that contributes to poor health and inequities; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Healthy Community Design Task Force include, but not be limited to:

(1) One member of the Governor's staff, appointed by the Governor;

(2) One member to be appointed by the Governor from a list of two names submitted by the President of the Senate;

(3) One member to be appointed by the Governor from a list of two names submitted by the Speaker of the House of Representatives;

(4) The Director of Health or Director's designee;

(5) The Director of Transportation or Director's designee;

(6) The Chairperson of the Board of Land and Natural Resources or Chairperson's designee;

(7) The Superintendent of Education or Superintendent's designee;

(8) A representative from each county's Parks and Recreation Department;

(9) A representative from each county's Public Works Department;

(10) A representative from each county's Planning Department;

(11) A representative from each county's Transportation Department;

(12) A representative from the University of Hawaii's Department of Urban and Regional Planning or Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering;

(13) A representative from the Oahu Metropolitan Planning Organization;

(14) A representative from the Federal Highway Administration; and

(15) Three members having demonstrated interest in and having backgrounds beneficial to areas such as active transportation, land use planning, transportation, public health, and other related areas; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the task force is requested to submit a report of its findings and recommendations, including any proposed legislation, to the Legislature no later than 20 days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2015; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the members of the task force serve without compensation and receive no reimbursement for expenses; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Department of Health is requested to assist the task force by providing a facilitator; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the task force cease to exist on June 30, 2015; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Governor; the Director of Health; Director of Transportation; the Chairperson of the Board of Land and Natural Resources; the Superintendent of Education; each county's Parks and Recreation Department, Public Works Department, Transportation Department, and Planning Department; the Chancellor of the University of Hawaii at Manoa; the Oahu Metropolitan Planning Organization; and the Federal Highway Administration.
Report Title:

Collaboration Between State Agencies; Policies that Impact Environmental Factors that Contribute to Poor Health and Inequities

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.C.R. NO.	22
TWENTY-SEVENTH LEGISLATURE, 2013		H.D. 1
STATE OF HAWAII