California Strategic Growth Council Passes Racial Equity Resolution

Sacramento, Calif. – At its public meeting on Wednesday, the members of the California Strategic Growth Council (“SGC” or “the Council”) voted unanimously to adopt a landmark resolution committing their agencies to taking action to advance racial equity in a variety of important ways both in the context of the Council and within their own agencies and organizations.  

“This resolution builds on the California Strategic Growth Council’s commitment to address and eradicate structural racism across California,” said Council Chair Kate Gordon, who is the Director of the Governor’s Office of Planning and Research and the Governor’s Senior Advisor on Climate. “All people in California deserve to live in healthy, thriving, and resilient communities regardless of race. They also deserve to have their State agencies put racial equity front and center within our operations, programs, policies, and practices. 

The California Strategic Growth Council, composed of seven cabinet members* and three public members, is a cabinet-level State body dedicated to healthy, thriving, and resilient communities for all. Racial equity is central to SGC’s mission and approach, and the Council’s adoption of the Racial Equity Resolution this week follows its 2019 adoption of a Racial Equity Action Plan. 

By adopting the Racial Equity Resolution, the Council deepens and expands its racial equity work by committing to use public Council meetings as a forum to share racial equity actions, milestones, and best practices, and to actively engage communities and stakeholders to gather public input on the topics. In addition, through the Resolution, the Council and each member agency commit to:

·      Integrating racial equity into their own agency operations and into Council leadership, operations, programs, policies, and practices;

·      Identifying and implementing concrete and measurable actions to achieve racial equity, and to reporting on the progress of the Council as a whole, as well as that of each member agency; and

·      Working with State Boards, Departments, and Offices to align and advance the Council’s commitment to racial equity. 

“The principles of racial equity, inclusion, and diversity are foundational to achieving our vision of a cleaner, safer, more accessible, and more connected transportation future for California,” said David Kim, Secretary of the California State Transportation Agency (CalSTA).

Secretary Kim issued a statement in June on racial equity, justice and inclusion in transportation. Less than two weeks ago, Caltrans, a department of CalSTA, officially established its Office of Race & Equity.

“CalSTA and our departments will be part of the solution, and we join with the Council in promoting policies and programs that reflect these principles and in identifying areas of improvement,” said Kim.

All of the agencies represented on the Council* are participating – either agency-wide or at the department level – in the Capitol Collaborative on Race and Equity (CCORE). In this ongoing program, teams of agency or department employees receive comprehensive training to learn about, plan for, and implement activities that embed racial equity approaches into institutional culture, policies, and practices. Each team works to create and implement a Racial Equity Action Plan.   

“The California Strategic Growth Council Racial Equity Resolution is a thoughtful statement about our shared desire to ensure a California for All,” said Karen Ross, Secretary of the California Department of Food & Agriculture (CDFA). “I am very excited to have the first CDFA cohort participating in the Capitol Collaborative on Race and Equity. This inaugural CDFA class will lead our efforts to engage our employees and stakeholders to develop a Racial Equity Action Plan to continually improve our programs, outreach, and support for California agriculture and the millions of consumers who depend upon it.” 

“California is a national leader in racial equity work, both at the State level and among local jurisdictions,” said Julia Caplan of the Public Health Institute, which hosts CCORE in partnership with SGC and the Government Alliance on Race and Equity. “Congratulations to the California Strategic Growth Council on adopting this resolution.”