SACRAMENTO – Last month, the Speaker of the State Assembly announced committee memberships for all standing committees of the Assembly. Assemblymember Jim Wood is proud to announce that he has been appointed to the following six committees: the Appropriations, Business and Professions, Health, Natural Resources, and the Rules Committee. He has also been named Vice Chair of the Joint Committee on Fisheries and Aquaculture. These committee assignments will allow Dr. Wood to have an immediate impact on legislation and important issues that the Legislature discusses this coming year.
As a practicing dentist for close to three decades, he is ready to engage in the discussion of bills dealing with the provision of health care and consumer protections, which will be the focus of the Assembly Health and Assembly Business and Professions Committees. An experienced business owner and now a member of the Appropriations committee, he is excited by the opportunity to assist his colleagues in the Legislature achieve meaningful policy change that is also fiscally responsible. Additionally, Dr. Wood has been a long time environmental champion dating back to his service as a councilmember and mayor of Healdsburg, and will bring that knowledge to debates as a member of the Assembly Natural Resources Committee. As Vice-Chair of the Joint Committee on Fisheries and Aquaculture, Dr. Wood can continue the work of protecting and restoring our fisheries and supporting the important role of aquaculture on the North Coast.
“I am extremely pleased with my committee assignments. They afford me the opportunity to utilize my previous experience and apply that knowledge to critical issue areas, including access to affordable health care and the responsible stewardship of the North Coast’s vast resources,” said Wood.
The powerful Appropriations Committee has jurisdiction over all bills that have a fiscal cost to the state. The Business and Professions Committee responsibilities are consumer protection; Department of Consumer Affairs (DCA) occupational licensing (medical and non-medical); creation and elimination of regulatory agencies, boards and commissions under DCA; Department of General Services, charitable solicitations; and product labeling. The Health Committee governs health care, health insurance, Medi-Cal and other public health care programs. The Natural Resources Committee jurisdiction includes air quality, climate change, energy efficiency, renewable energy, California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), coastal protection, forestry, land conservation, oil spills, solid waste and recycling. And finally, the Rules Committee governs matters related to the business of the Legislature.
Elected in 2014, Assemblymember Jim Wood (D- Healdsburg) represents the 2nd Assembly District, which includes all of Del Norte, Trinity, Humboldt and Mendocino counties, plus northern and coastal Sonoma County, including the northern half of Santa Rosa.
http://asmdc.org/members/a02/