Elected in 2016 to represent California’s 3rd Senate District, Sen. Bill Dodd is a fifth-generation Californian and lifelong resident of the district, where he grew up on a small family farm in Napa County. The district includes all of Napa and Solano counties and portions of Contra Costa, Sacramento, Sonoma and Yolo counties. Sen. Dodd serves as the chair of the Governmental Organization Committee and is a member of the Transportation Committee, the Energy, Utilities and Communications Committee and the Insurance Committee. He is co-chair of the Senate Select Committee on California’s Wine Industry and the Legislative Delta Caucus.

 

His work in the Senate has spanned many topics – from improving public education to protecting seniors and the environment. He is one of the Legislature's most prolific legislators, authoring 67 law in the last 5 years. As a senator representing wildfire-torn Napa and Sonoma counties, he co-chaired the 2018 conference committee on wildfire safety and prevention and authored numerous bills that were signed into law to protect Californians from future infernos and accompanying utility rate hikes.

 

Prior to his election to the Senate, Sen. Dodd represented the 4th Assembly District. In the Assembly, he worked to help small businesses, protect the environment, and support seniors and working families. He advanced a balanced, sustainable budget that invests in our education system from preschool through higher education. He helped establish the state’s Earned Income Tax Credit, promote career technical education, and create the Berryessa Snow Mountain National Monument – preserving over 330,000 acres of the California Coast Ranges in Napa, Yolo, Solano, Lake, Colusa, Glenn and Mendocino counties.

 

Before the Assembly, Sen. Dodd served on the Napa County Board of Supervisors for 14 years. His accomplishments include the completion of Napa’s flood control project, which protects thousands of properties from flooding, restored 900 acres of environmental wetlands and produced $1 billion of investment in local businesses.

 

Prior to his time in elected office, Sen. Dodd was a successful small business owner. He owned and operated one of the largest full-service Culligan Water operations in California, and served as president of the water quality industry’s state and national trade associations. Sen. Dodd is a graduate of California State University, Chico.

 

Sen. Dodd and his wife Mary live in Napa and have five grown children and ten grandchildren. The Napa Valley Chamber of Commerce recognized the Dodds' philanthropic efforts by awarding Sen. Dodd its 2014 “Citizen of the Year” for raising over $3 million for local charities.