Friday, 29 March 2024

Senators Dodd, McGuire to chair Select Committee on Wine

SACRAMENTO — Sen. Bill Dodd, D-Napa, and Sen. Mike McGuire, D-North Coast, have been appointed co-chairs of the Senate Select Committee on California’s Wine Industry for the 2023-24 legislative session. The duo has partnered as co-chairs since 2016.

“The wine industry is a major economic and tourism driver for our state and it is essential that the Legislature focus on issues that impact it,” Sen. Dodd said. “We’ve made big strides in achieving competitiveness in the global market and innovations in sustainability. I look forward to continuing that important work while taking on new challenges alongside my legislative partner, Sen. McGuire.”

“California’s wine industry contributes over $70 billion to the California economy and is a top economic driver here at home on the North Coast,” Sen. McGuire said. “I’m excited to once again team up with Sen. Dodd on this partnership with the Wine Select Committee. We’re ready to get to work on some of the top issues facing the industry and our wine growing communities including climate adaption, workforce housing, economic development and sustainable farming practices.”

The committee is made up of a bipartisan group of senators from around the state who are charged with overseeing the diverse issues affecting California’s wine industry.

California makes 90% of all the wine produced in the United States. The California wine industry has an annual economic impact of over $73 billion to the state and creates 422,000 jobs, according to a 2022 report from the California Association of Winegrape Growers and Wine Institute.

The wine industry is also an essential part of California tourism, bringing in upwards of 23 million tourists annually. Wineries in the senators’ districts are a particularly integral part of local tourism, accounting for more than half of all tourist spending on wine throughout all of California.

Sen. McGuire is a third-generation Northern Californian, whose family farmed prunes and grapes in the Alexander Valley for nearly a half century.

Sen. McGuire was elected to the state Senate in 2014, and is Chair of the Governance and Finance and Fisheries and Aquaculture Committees.

He also serves on the Budget and Fiscal Review Committee and the Budget Subcommittee on Resources, among other committees, and serves as Majority Leader.

Sen. Dodd came to the Senate in 2016 after serving in the Assembly for one term and on the Napa County Board of Supervisors for 14 years. He chairs the Governmental Organization committee, which oversees broader alcoholic beverage issues.

While in the Assembly, Sen. Dodd served as chair of the Assembly Select Committee on Wine. He has significant experience in advancing policies that preserve agriculture and open space and has served in leadership roles promoting California wines internationally.

Last year, Sen. Dodd co-authored a bill signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom that adds wine bottles to the state’s recycling program, building on improvements to sustainability.

Also serving are committee members Sens. Anna Caballero, Susan Talamantes Eggman, Steven Glazer, Melissa Hurtado, John Laird, Monique Limon, Dave Min, Kelly Seyarto and Scott Wilk.

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