Speaker of the California State Assembly John A. Pérez

For the first time in a long time, the governor's May revision of the budget is not foreshadowed by questions about how much the deficit has grown, but instead how big the surplus will be.

That additional money gives lawmakers and the governor the opportunity to wrangle over restoring cuts to programs or making other major policy decisions that have been put off in previous years.

At the center of the debate will be Assembly Speaker John A. Pérez, D-Los Angeles, our guest speaker at the May 8th luncheon. Speaker Pérez laid out his framework for a budget in a power point presentation titled "Blueprint for a Responsible Budget". More photos and more information on the Speaker's presenation coming soon. Photos below courtesy of the Assembly Democratic Caucus.

The other highlight of the May 8th luncheon was the awarding of $34-thousand dollars in journalism scholarships. Congratulations to Matthew Blackburn, Brian Nguyen, Jennifer Chausee, Madeleine Thomas, Valerie Smith, Brittany Patterson and Julie Brown. Read more about them on our Scholarships page. More photos coming soon.