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California Politics

Interest groups play major role in Democrats' campaign funds, analysis finds

When they needed political money -- to make donations urged by Speaker John A. Pérez and to pay for their 2012 campaigns -- Democrats in the California Assembly turned to interest groups with a big stake in state government decisions, a Center for Investigative Reporting analysis shows.

California speaker gives Assembly's juiciest jobs to biggest fundraisers

Exploiting loopholes in a law enacted to stanch the flow of big money in California politics, Assembly Democrats pumped $5.8 million into the campaigns Speaker John A. Pérez designated, a data analysis shows. The infusion of cash helped the Democrats win a supermajority in the Capitol, and the system paid off for the speaker's biggest fundraisers in the Assembly -- including Henry T. Perea of Fresno -- with key Assembly positions.