There was much talk in January about all these new, inexperienced senators.

Thirty-six of the 49 senators had two or fewer years of experience because of term limits.

But from the outside it looked like business as usual in the Unicameral.

Senators passed almost as many bills as in previous years, gave the state a method for executing murderers, approved a lean budget, and even finished three days early.

In fact, some new senators got tired of hearing about the good old days, the yearning of some for Omaha Sen. Ernie Chambers' filibustering ways that slowed the session, and for the insight of other veterans pushed out by term limits.

Excitement and passion over a subject do not exclude civility, said Omaha Sen. Pete Pirsch, who liked the nicer, more congenial way of doing business .

"We can achieve our objectives, but we don't have to resort to personal attacks. That's where the line should be drawn. In past years we have not done that," he said, likely referring to Chambers' sometimes bullying tactics.

Two newer senators, Danielle Nantkes of Lincoln and Brenda Council of Omaha, both smart, articulate lawyers, stepped up to offer the bulk of the opposition arguments on two of the most controversial issues - lethal injection and the abortion-related ultrasound measure.

But there was less debate overall.

In fact, the 2009 session may be remembered by insiders for the brevity of the budget debate - about half an hour on second round, followed by a voice vote.

Perhaps because of inexperience or perhaps because there was no extra money, senators made no changes to the Appropriations Committee's budget plan. And the governor made no line-item vetoes.

There were just two real filibusters - on state aid to schools and on dental assistants' duties. And state aid was one of the few issues in which major changes were made during Legislative debate, not in committee.

Sen. Abbie Cornett of Bellevue told senators that more debate is healthy, that working things out in the public arena has benefits.

"How is the public supposed to know how we stand? Where is the transparency of working things out under the balcony? Where is the legislative intent? Where is the record?"

Did Gov. Dave Heineman - a skillful veteran politician who also became heavily involved in a number of Legislative races - have more influence because of term limits?

Lobbyists say yes. Look at a budget so similar to his plan that it required no vetoes, they say.

Senators, for the most part, say no. They did override the single veto of the session.

From the inside, this was the year of committee power.

Following Speaker Mike Flood's advice, committee chairs worked hard to make sure bills were in good shape, with little opposition, before they went to the full Legislature for debate.

In the old days, there were bills interconnected by deals put together by the most powerful senators.

But in the last few years, you see more interconnections built through consensus, says lobbyist Walt Radcliffe.

"The difference is pretty subtle," he admits.

But the era of titans is over.

Former Sen. Don Wesely remembers the men who ran the show when he was a freshman - veterans, often colorful, sometimes conniving, who had accumulated knowledge and power, who were respected or feared, or both.

Jerome Warner, John DeCamp, Loran Schmidt, Dick Marvel, and later Wesley himself, David Landis, Kermit Brashear, Chris Beutler, DiAnna Schimek, Chambers.

This year it was much more of a level playing field, with one exception: Speaker Mike Flood.

Flood was the titan of this session, according to insiders, senators, lobbyists, staff.

SuperFlood - with his face superimposed on a Superman image - is on the invitation to this year's Sine Die party, where staff satirize the politicians.

Speaker Flood of Norfolk, in his fifth year as a senator, is a skillful, low-key manager who blushes at the SuperFlood title.

The freshman class, the 16 bright, earnest, if unseasoned men and women, are the last of the big classes for a few years.

In the 2010 election, just two senators - Arnie Stuthman of Platte Center and Mike Friend of Omaha - cannot run for another term.

Most of this year's legislature, known for its collegiality, will be together for five more years, time enough to establish new traditions in making law in the era of term limits.

Reach Nancy Hicks at 473-7250 or nhicks@journalstar.com.