Assembly Speaker Karen Bass

The new speaker of the California Assembly takes over at a challenging time, with a major budget shortfall and a state economy in jeopardy. She's also making history, as the first African American woman to actively lead a legislative body in U.S. history. This was her first visit to the Sacramento Press Club, and it came just 10 days before the constitutional deadline for the budget to be sent to the governor.

Photos by Brian Baer/Sacramento Bee and Adam Gottlieb.