Government Organization, Subcommittee On Veterans Affairs, Revenue and Taxation, Joint Legislative Audit Committee, Public Employees Retirement, Seismic Safety Committee, Transportation, Agriculture, Housing, Rural Caucus and the Little Hoover Commission. He also chaired a Select Committee on Neighborhood Violence, a Select Committee on Childcare, and a Committee on Wine Production and Economy under which he held numerous hearings in various states and established the groundbreaking rule for reciprocal shipping. The work of that committee was recognized nationally by the National Conference of State Legislatures, and Cortese was asked to chair a counterpart committee on the national level. That committee brought legislators to Sacramento from all over the country and eventually held hearings across the entire country. In March 1993 the wine industry ask him to represent the United States at the international Vinelink General Assembly in Paris where he and his wife were also guest of Moet Hennessy in Champagne. For a number of years, a traditional, very popular, bi-partisan, open membership, Italian Caucus was chaired by Cortese and Senate Pro Tem David Roberti. It was often attended by the Counsel General of Italy. Legislation he carried for the Seismic Safety Commission included a long overdue update of the Uniform Building Code. An additional measure requiring a basic plumber's tape secured around water heaters has prevented what in the past lead to catastrophic earthquake gas and fire damage. Cortese carried a resolution creating the California Italian American Task Force, the membership of which was appointed by Governor Pete Wilson and included outstanding members of the Italian American community throughout the state. Inquiries were received from all over the country. During his legislative career Cortese was recognized as "Legislator of the Year" by a broad spectrum of statewide organizations some of which were cited in the August 5, 1996, Assembly House Resolution of Commendation, No. 79: the El Matador Fellowship Award which is the highest award bestowed by the California Contract Cities Association, the First Legislative Merit Award from the Association of California Water Agencies, the Commitment to Children Award from the Association for the Education of Young Children; in 1995, he received the Legislator of the Year Award from the California Park and Recreation Society, becoming the only legislator to have received the distinction twice and he was also a 1995 Honorary Member of the California Aquaculture Association. At a statewide conference of the League of California Cities, then San Francisco