Align state programs with state development principles and goals
Action
The Governor should task each state agency with aligning its programs with the state's development vision, principles, and goals (see Policies #2, Articulate a vision for how the state should grow; #3, Establish a set of state development principles; and #4, Establish a set of measurable state development goals in this section). In order to be successful, the state's development vision, principles, and goals must be institutionalized and implemented at every level within the state's agencies.
Process
The Governor should require each state agency to conduct an evaluation of all its programs to determine if they are consistent with the state's development vision, principles, and goals. The analysis should review and propose changes to all actions — administrative, organizational, regulatory, budgetary, or statutory — that are affected by or that can be used to support the state's growth agenda. The results of the inventory and analysis should be used by each agency to develop an implementation plan that should set forth actions, create a schedule for undertaking actions, and propose measures to gauge the agency's progress toward achieving its growth-related goals. Each agency should be required to align all investments and regulatory actions to support the overarching mission.
The implementation strategy could be released publicly or used for internal purposes only. This effort could be coordinated by the state planning agency, Office of Smart Growth, or development sub-cabinet.
Examples
- Livable Delaware
In 2001, Governor Ruth Ann Minner of Delaware signed an executive order directing all state agencies to inventory and evaluate programs and identify policy changes — including budget, legislative, and administrative changes — that would support the objectives of her Livable Delaware agenda. Each state agency was required to produce a Livable Delaware Implementation plan within seven months. The plans were then used to develop an integrated and comprehensive state smart growth strategy. In 2004, Governor Minner issued an executive order requiring each state agency to update its Livable Delaware Implementation plan.
— Livable Delaware - California's SB 375
In September 2008, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed SB 375. The bill requires the California Air Resources Board (CARB) to establish regional goals for reducing greenhouse gas emissions across all economic sectors, including land use and transportation. Each of the seventeen metropolitan planning areas in California will have specific emissions reduction targets for 2020 and 2035. The bill requires that funding decisions for regional transportation projects align with the regional planning agencies' plans to meet the emission goals.
— California's SB 375
