The records break down everything from staff salaries to
travel expenses for each Senator and Assembly member, as well as
the various committees, caucuses and leadership offices.
The pressure to release them started when Democratic
Assemblyman Anthony Portantino accused Speaker John Perez of
slashing his office expenses because Portantino didn't vote for the
state budget. The Speaker's office responded by saying
Portantino was overspending his office budget. Portantino
tried to get his spending records released to prove his point, but
was blocked by the leadership. Some newspapers tried to get
the same records, then sued after their request was blocked
too.