California is an amazing place with some of the most phenomenal resources in the world. The California Assembly will be an amazing place, too – if its members work together to improve the quality of life in our state. When there is a natural disaster like an earthquake, fire or flood, leaders will put their ideologies aside and step up and say "people are suffering -- what can we do to alleviate the pain?" In the same way, we need to come together to respond to the state’s current economic crisis by tossing aside the boxes we put ourselves in and the labels we place on others to work in unison to get the job done. As we strive together to ease the suffering caused by this immediate budget situation, we must also re-examine the big picture of the California budget so we can prevent similar problems in the future.

     In the end, we as a society will be judged on how we treat our people—be they young children in the foster care system, students trying to get an education without excessive debt, or the elderly who just need a little help to stay independent in their own homes.

     As the Speaker of your California State Assembly, I hope to lead this group of legislators with diverse experiences and perspectives toward the common goal of building California into the just, responsible and prosperous state that its people deserve.

With hope for the future,


Karen Bass

May Revise Budget Hurts Californians

(Sacramento) – Following this week's release of the Governor's revised budget proposal for 2008-09, Assembly Speaker Karen Bass (D-Los Angeles) called for a more balanced, thoughtful approach to balancing the state's books. Speaker Bass, who was sworn in as the 67th Assembly Speaker the day before the Governor released his revised budget, went on to say the Governor's spending plan includes cuts that unfairly hurt struggling California families and solutions that may be no more than risky schemes. However, Speaker Bass added she does applaud the Governor for embracing her proposal for a budget commission that will study ways to bring the state's revenue collection into the 21st century. Assembly Budget Committee Chair John Laird (D-Santa Cruz) also criticized the governor's May Revise proposal, saying it's bad for our economy, lays off teachers and is based on risky assumptions. Here's more in this Assembly Web Report.

California's 67th Speaker Karen Bass is Sworn into office

(Sacramento) – History was made  on Tuesday May 13, 2008 under the dome of the California State Capitol when Karen Bass (D-Los Angeles) was sworn in as the first African-American female Speaker of the California Assembly.  She is the first African-American female to hold such a high legislative post anywhere in the United States. In her speech after the swearing in ceremony Speaker Bass said she’s ready to begin tackling the many challenges facing the state.

California's 67th Speaker Karen Bass Inaugural Speech