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 2021-22 legislative session. The pair will focus on mitigating the impacts of the coronavirus pandemic on the wine industry.

 “As we recover from the coronavirus pandemic, it is essential that California support the wine industry, which is a major economic and tourism driver for our state,” Sen. Dodd said. “Along with my partner, Sen. McGuire, the commission has made big strides in achieving competitiveness in a global market and innovations in sustainability. I look forward to taking on new challenges, building on our progress and helping to get the industry back on track.”

“These past twelve months have been among the most challenging for California’s wine industry. Through wildfires, weeks of smoke and now this pandemic, grape growers, farm workers and vintners are reeling. The work this committee does is more important than ever as the industry comes back stronger.  We couldn’t be more grateful to continue our partnership with Senator Dodd and the hardworking members of the committee,” Sen. McGuire said. 

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 percent of all the wine produced in the United States. The California wine industry has an annual economic impact of over $57 billion to the state and creates 325,000 jobs. 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 Assistant Majority Leader and Vice Chair of the Senate Democratic Caucus.

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.

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Sen. Mike McGuire represents the 2nd Senate District, which includes all or portions of Sonoma, Marin, Lake, Mendocino, Humboldt, Del Norte, and Trinity counties. You can learn more about the district and Senator McGuire at www.sen.ca.gov/mcguire. 

Sen. Bill Dodd represents the 3rd Senate District, which includes all or portions of Napa, Sonoma, Solano, Yolo, Contra Costa, and Sacramento counties. You can learn more about the district and Senator Dodd at www.sen.ca.gov/dodd.