Even if you aren’t particularly enamored of politics, chances are you’re aware of the massive shift that just took place in our nation’s capital: Republicans claimed a majority in the House of Representatives while Democrats barely held onto their own majority in the Senate. With several new faces and voices set to begin debating policies, it’s worth examining what might be in store for HR 5034.

Within the last Congress, HR 5034 found itself stymied in the House, particularly within the House Judiciary Committee and from the podium of Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Congressman John Conyers, who had chaired the Judiciary Committee, felt no great motivation to push the bill to a floor vote, and even if he had, Speaker Pelosi—who owns a winery in the Napa Valley—had vowed to never let the bill be given that vote. With the results of this week’s election, however, both Conyers and Pelosi’s power has declined substantially, and their successors, as it turns out, may be more apt to shepherd the bill through the House.

Lamar Smith (R-TX), as ranking minority member of the Judiciary Committee, is expected to ascend to chairman. Smith was also an original co-sponsor of the bill, so it’s safe to presume that he is more motivated than Conyers to move it out of committee. John Boehner (R-OH) will presumably be the next House Speaker, and counts among his financial backers a number of alcohol wholesalers and distributors who have an interest in seeing the bill passed.

On the other hand, there are a number of major problems still facing the nation that require more immediate attention, so the emergence of new allies for HR 5034 won’t necessarily make its passage either certain or speedy. Tom Wark of the Fermentation blog notes today that one major potential hurdle to the bill’s fate is that 40 of the bill’s 151 co-sponsors were voted out of office in this election cycle.

We’ll be keeping track of the bill’s progress – especially if it finds its way out of the judiciary committee – and keeping you informed.