Press Release

SACRAMENTO – A bill from Senator Bill Dodd, D-Napa, that will improve In-Home Supportive Services for those hit with natural disasters like the October wildfires was approved by the full Senate Thursday by unanimous vote.

“When disaster strikes, it is absolutely necessary that we continue to look after our elderly and disabled residents,” Sen. Dodd said. “We cannot neglect these vulnerable people. I applaud my fellow senators for supporting this legislation and for standing with the people across the state who will benefit from it.”

SACRAMENTO – A pair of bills from Senator Bill Dodd, D-Napa, that will bring much-needed relief to wildfire victims struggling to recover losses from insurance companies cleared a key Senate committee late Wednesday despite intense lobbying from the insurance industry.

“We can’t sit idly by and allow people who lost their homes to be victimized again by an uncaring insurance industry that’s happy to sweep its shortcomings under the rug,” an impassioned Sen. Dodd said. “I’m grateful to my Senate colleagues who stepped up to support victims and advance consumer protections.”

SACRAMENTO – Legislation from Senator Bill Dodd, D-Napa, that would protect financially strapped families from getting their water service disconnected cleared the Senate Judiciary committee late Tuesday.

“It is essential that we have an efficient, sustainable and equitable water system in California,” Sen. Dodd said. “This bill gets us closer to that goal by protecting families that have fallen on hard times and ensuring they have due process. I will continue pushing for smart water policy in Sacramento.”

SACRAMENTO -- Last October, the lives of tens of thousands of North Bay residents were changed forever, when the North Bay firestorm killed 40 people, destroyed more than 6,000 homes and caused billions of dollars in damage.

SACRAMENTO – A bill from Senator Bill Dodd, D-Napa, to bolster the state’s drunken driving prevention program won overwhelming bipartisan support Monday in the Senate.

“Drunken driving is taking a heavy toll on our state and we must do everything we can to prevent it,” Sen. Dodd said. “This bill will help reduce the number of people who drink before getting behind the wheel, saving lives and protecting everyone on the road. I applaud my fellow senators for supporting it and taking an important step toward addressing this vexing problem.”

SACRAMENTO – A pair of bills advanced Tuesday from Senator Bill Dodd, D-Napa, that will help protect people from power lines and utility systems that are damaged in extreme weather and could spark future wildfires like those that have ravaged California.

NAPA – Sen. Bill Dodd expressed strong support Friday for the extension of Gov. Jerry Brown’s emergency declaration covering Northern California counties ravaged by the October wildfires.

“As we recover, we have to make sure victims of this terrible tragedy are not taken advantage of,” Senator Dodd said. “Price-gouging in communities impacted by the wildfire is not acceptable. I’ve been working with the governor on fire recovery for the past six months and appreciate this step to ensure our communities are protected.”

SACRAMENTO – A proposal from Senator Bill Dodd, D-Napa, to provide universal preschool to 4-year-olds cleared the Senate Education Committee Wednesday.

The legislation builds on the state’s existing transitional kindergarten program, which is currently available to 4-year-olds who turn 5 shortly after the start of their first semester.

SACRAMENTO – Legislation from Senator Bill Dodd, D-Napa, that will strengthen In-Home Supportive Services in the event of natural disasters resulting in emergency declarations cleared a key Senate committee Tuesday.

The bill, which was approved by members of the Senate Human Services Committee, comes in the wake of last year’s devastating wildfires and mudslides that exposed systematic shortcomings faced by the state’s most vulnerable residents and the caregivers who assist them.

The state Senate passed a bipartisan resolution Monday by Senator Bill Dodd, D-Napa, recognizing the 50th anniversary of the creation of Napa County’s Agricultural Preserve, the landmark law to protect farmland that was the first of its kind in the nation.

Napa County supervisors adopted the preserve on April 6, 1968, in part to guard the region’s grape-growing heritage against unchecked development and urban sprawl happening elsewhere in the Bay Area. The measure was strengthened by voters in 2008, extending protections to 2058.