Julia Kaplan, lead facilitator for the California Health and All Policies Task Force, briefed the commission on the task force’s mission and its Active Transportation Action Plan, and offered technical support and cross‑agency commitments to the commission’s active transportation work.

Kaplan said the task force — established by executive order and reaffirmed by the legislature — aims to embed health and equity principles into decision‑making across agencies rather than create new bureaucracy. She said members from Caltrans, the California Department of Public Health and other state entities committed to actions in the plan that can be implemented without new funding. Examples include integrating bicycle and pedestrian safety content into the DMV driver's manual, aligning school‑siting guidance to support safe routes to school, and coordinating data‑gap work relevant to active transportation and safe routes to school.

Kaplan told commissioners that traffic fatalities and injuries disproportionately affect pedestrians and bicyclists, particularly seniors, children and residents of low‑income communities and communities of color. The task force’s action plan identifies agency commitments and tools to measure health impacts and supports coordination with the Active Transportation Program (ATP) and regional transportation plan (RTP) guideline updates.

Kaplan said public health staff are reviewing Caltrans’ ATP benefit‑cost tool and are coordinating with the Office of Traffic Safety to ensure applicants know about multiple relevant funding streams. She recommended that RTP guidelines be updated to include examples of new best practices, tools for measuring health impacts and additional safety information to support regions as walking and biking increase.

Public commenters supported the task force and asked the commission to endorse or otherwise support the Active Transportation Action Plan. Commissioners and staff welcomed further collaboration; Kaplan offered to return for follow‑up when RTP guideline updates are available for public review.