Capitol Weekly’s Top 100: Mark McKenzie

37. Mark McKenzie

If a piece of legislation has a fiscal component it is going to end up at some point in one of the legislative appropriations committees. In the Senate, that means your bill is going to come into contact with Senate Appropriations Committee Staff Director Mark McKenzie. While the Assembly Appropriations Committee has seen some turnover in recent years, McKenzie has been in his job for a very long time and isn’t planning to go anywhere any time soon. That is a big deal as the already-outsized power and influence of these two committees has only grown by leaps and bounds in recent years, with the Committee chairs being considered by many to be the two most powerful non-leadership members in each house. McKenzie’s current boss, Sen. Anthony Portantino, has been particularly adept at using his committee to move major policy – or in some cases, to bury it – and McKenzie is the man who quarterbacks everything through the process. Get on his bad side at your