Former Assembly Speaker Karen Bass gave 10 percent salary increases to 20 staff members working for the Assembly Democratic caucus just before she left the post.

The first openly gay lawmaker to lead either house of the California Legislature was sworn in Monday as speaker of the state Assembly, taking over at a time of fiscal turmoil and partisan divisions.

California Democratic lawmakers on Monday began tackling the state massive $20 billion deficit by passing a series of bills that would cut the problem by $5 billion, but they left the toughest bills for later.

California Assembly Speaker Karen Bass is running for a Los Angeles-area congressional seat. She quickly picked up an endorsement Wednesday from Rep. Diane Watson, the Democrat who holds the seat and will retire at year's end.

The California Assembly on Thursday rejected Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's pick for lieutenant governor, marking another failed attempt at bipartisanship for a Legislature that has become a symbol of dysfunction.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Democratic legislators said they're optimistic the federal government will help California bridge a projected $20 billion deficit, but it's far too soon to know how much.

In all, 38 current members of California's Assembly and Senate did not report lobbyist-provided meals, concerts, sporting events and other perks totaling thousands of dollars. The records document gifts received in 2008, the last year for which such information is available.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger proposed an austere budget plan Friday for the coming fiscal year that takes California back to its spending level of six years ago. Schwarzenegger proposed making cuts to health and human services, welfare, transportation and environmental programs.

Los Angeles Democrat John Perez has been elected the next leader of the California Assembly, becoming the first openly gay lawmaker to lead either house of the Legislature. He is a cousin of Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa.

The California Legislature on Wednesday sent Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger landmark education reforms designed to overhaul the state's worst schools and let parents send their children elsewhere.

Despite multiple attempts to balance California's budget, the state can still expect to confront shortfalls approaching $20 billion during each of the next five years, according to a long-range forecast released Wednesday.

Figuring out a way to update California's water system has vexed governors and lawmakers for decades, a record of inaction Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger hopes to reverse through a special legislative session this fall.

Mike Duvall, a pro-family values California lawmaker who resigned after being caught on tape boasting about his sexual conquests, denied Thursday that he had extramarital affairs, saying "my offense was engaging in inappropriate storytelling."

Mike Duvall, a Republican state lawmaker from Southern California, resigned Wednesday amid growing outrage over a videotape that caught him bragging in graphic detail about having sex with a female lobbyist and another woman.