Also missing in 2009 will be the trusted advice from outside the Capitol of two veterans of the nonpartisan Legislative Analyst's Office: Elizabeth Hill and one of her top former chief deputies, Hadley Johnson.
Much has been made of Hill's departure -- after 22 years on the job. She officially retires today.
In naming her replacement, a bipartisan team of lawmakers tapped another top deputy, Mac Taylor, attributing that to the strength of the office she helped build.
Sen. Dennis Hollingsworth, a Republican, said that "almost all of the top candidates" were either current or former LAO staff.
Indeed, at a departure ceremony on the Senate floor, lawmakers poured out praise for Hill.
"When Liz Hill speaks," Sen. Gloria Romero said. "We all listen."
The departure of Johnson will also be felt. He served in the LAO for 32 years -- making him one of the handful of veterans to have lived through the budgetary revolution of Proposition 13, which capped property taxes in the state.
Earlier this year, the National Conference of State Legislatures handed Johnson one of its 2008 "Staff Achievement Awards."
Only 19 such awards were given out nationally.
Sen. Denise Ducheny, the chair of the Senate Budget Committee, said the biggest loss is the institutional knowledge in the Capitol.
Lawmakers, she said, need people who "know which things have been tried and which things have worked and not worked...particularly in the years like this one."
Photo: Legislative Analyst Elizabeth Hill displays a copy of her office's analysis of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's revised 2008-2009 state budget during a news conference in Sacramento, Calif., Monday, May 19, 2008. Credit: Rich Pedroncelli/AP
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