Bill Monning

Bill Monning
Monning in 2014
Member of the California State Senate from the 17th district
Incumbent
Assumed office December 3, 2012
Preceded by	Sam Blakeslee (redistricted)
Member of the California State Assembly from the 27th district
In office December 1, 2008 – November 30, 2012
Preceded by	John Laird
Succeeded by	Nora Campos
Personal details
Born	(1951-04-02) April 2, 1951 Los Angeles, California
Nationality	American
Political party	Democratic
Spouse(s)	Dana T. Kent
Residence	Carmel, California
Alma mater	University of San Francisco University of California, Berkeley
Occupation	Attorney
Religion	Unitarian

William "Bill" Monning (born April 2, 1951) is an American educator, lawyer, and politician. He currently serves in the California State Senate representing the 17th district, encompassing the Central Coast. He previously served in the California State Assembly, representing the 27th district, which included portions of Monterey, Santa Cruz, and Santa Clara Counties.

Prior to his service in the state legislature, Monning was a professor at the Monterey College of Law and a professor of International Negotiation and Conflict Resolution at the Monterey Institute of International Studies. He is the former president and co-founder of Global Majority, Inc., an organization committed to education, training and advocacy in the field of non-violent conflict resolution.

Monning served as a Senior Fulbright Specialist, receiving Fulbright scholarships to teach and research in Peru and Chile. Additionally, he was a member of the Monterey County Court-directed mediation panel and served for four years as Executive Director of the Nobel Peace Prize winning organization, International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War.

Monning received a B.A. at the University of California at Berkeley and a law degree from the University of San Francisco, School of Law. He and his wife, Dana T. Kent, a family physician, reside in Carmel, California and have two daughters: Laura and Alexandra.

On February 22, 2013, he introduced SB 622, which would impose a 12 cent tax on each can of soda, as well as create the Children's Health Promotion Fund, which would direct the money the tax raised to childhood obesity-preventing measures such as improving the quality of school lunches. About three months later, the bill died in committee. Monning remains committed to it, however, as it can be reintroduced next year.