NORTHERN CALIFORNIA – A bill by Assemblyman Bill Dodd (D-Napa) to provide assistance to the communities impacted by the South Napa Earthquake got one step closer to passage on Wednesday, when it cleared the Assembly Governmental Organization Committee with unanimous bipartisan support.

“When a natural disaster strikes, it is critical that we pull together as a state to help impacted communities,” Dodd said. “Our local families and businesses have done an amazing job coming together and recovering, but the impacts of the South Napa Earthquake are still being felt by many. It’s time for the state to come together to render additional relief.”

“The South Napa Earthquake, the strongest to hit the Bay Area since the 1989 earthquake, did significant damage to Napa, Solano, and Sonoma Counties. AB 18 provides these counties the necessary disaster relief assistance to defray the cost of repairs that are not covered by other federal and state disaster assistance, and allow these local communities to continue to rebuild,” said Sen. Lois Wolk.

Dodd and Wolk have teamed up to introduce two bills to help the communities and residents impacted by the South Napa Earthquake recover.

While the federal and state government have provided emergency relief to help local communities, there is still an estimated $5 million in losses on these local governments straining services to impacted residents.

This shortfall would be addressed by Dodd’s bill, AB 18. The other half of the earthquake relief effort is SB 35 – introduced by Wolk and co-authored by Dodd – which would allow impacted residents to amend their previous year’s return to claim those losses and generate a refund in the current year.

“Napa is open for business, but there is still work to be done,” Napa Mayor Jill Techel said. “Additional support from the state is essential for Napa and the other communities hit by the earthquake to continue to recover, and I would like to recognize Assemblymember Bill Dodd for his efforts.”

On Aug. 24, 2014, a 6.0-magnitude earthquake hit South Napa, causing significant damage. In Napa alone there was an estimated $300 million in damages to private commercial properties, and another $58 million in damages to public infrastructure.

Dodd represents the Fourth Assembly District of California, which includes all or portions of Napa, Solano, Yolo, Sonoma, Lake and Colusa counties. You can learn more about the district at www.asm.ca.gov/dodd .