SECTION 1.
The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:(a) Transportation planning has important implications for the maintenance and promotion of the health of all Californians.
(b) California faces critical problems that will shape the future of our state and its population, including, but not limited to, an aging population, climate change, and increasing health inequities. California and the nation are experiencing unprecedented levels of chronic disease, that now accounts for
over 75 percent of all deaths in California and 75 percent of health care expenditures in the United States. The health of California’s population is largely determined by the social, physical, and economic environments where people live, work, and are active, as well as their opportunities and resources for health.
(c) Local cities, counties, and some metropolitan planning organizations and regional transportation planning agencies, have adopted groundbreaking and innovative transportation plans, strategies, and goals that can serve as models for other cities and counties, as well as the state, in transportation planning and development that promotes the health and well-being of all residents.
(d) The Legislature intends that projects, programs, and practices that promote health and health equity in regional transportation plans that are employed by metropolitan planning
organizations be shared in the voluntary state guidance on regional transportation planning. The Legislature, however, acknowledges that projects, programs, or policies that have been feasible in one region may not be feasible in other regions.