Portantino Accused of Overspending Office Budget

The state Democratic leadership is accusing Assemblyman Anthony Portantino, who represents part of Monrovia, of overspending his office budget, which is why it is being cut, not - they say - because he voted against the governor's budget. Portantino denies he has overspent his $550,000 a year budget. http://goo.gl/Joc3q

Opinion: I thought $550,000 a year was a lot until I read that the Assembly spends $146 million on its 80 members each year, or an average of $1.8 million per member per year.

- Brad Haugaard