Assembly speaker got nearly $38,000 in gifts, travel last year
SACRAMENTO -- Assembly Speaker John A. Pérez (D-Los Angeles) received nearly $38,000 in gifts and travel payments last year, according to financial disclosures filed Monday.
Nearly half of that -- about $16,000 -- came from three trips paid for by the State Legislative Leaders Foundation, a nonprofit group that hosts policy conferences for top lawmakers.
Pérez sits on the foundation’s board and served as host for the group’s National Speakers Conference, a gathering of state speakers and their chiefs of staff, in Los Angeles last year.
A September trip to Armenia also brought in some swag. The National Assembly of the Republic of Armenia paid more than $9,600 for Pérez’s trip to the region; several other legislators also took part in the delegation.
He returned from the trip with a number of souvenirs, including $100 worth of books from Karekin II, the head of the Armenian Apostolic Church. Armenian President Serzh Sarkisian gave the speaker religious relics, worth $80, and Armenian brandy, valued at $94.99
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