Sen. Darrell Steinberg is set to assume control of the state Senate at the end of the month -- and with it the power to name the chairmanships of every committee in the upper house.
Speculation about who will wield which gavels is running rampant in the Senate.
A giant board listing all the committees and all the senators' names sits in Steinberg's fourth floor office as the Sacramento Democrat mulls his choices. The picks will set the political and policy landscape in the Senate for the next two years.
Steinberg has yet to publicly announce any committee appointments.
But in interviews with more than two dozen legislative veterans -- lobbyists and Capitol staff -- Capitol Alert has pieced together what the committee chairmanship picture is likely to look like.
Of course, until Steinberg makes an announcement -- expected in the next two weeks -- none of the appointments are set in stone. In fact, Capitol sources say, some chairmanships remain up for grabs.
With those caveats, here's our roundup of the chairmanship chatter:
Appropriations
This is the big kahuna of the available committee chairmanships. Current chairman, Sen. Tom Torlakson, an ally of outgoing Senate leader Don Perata, is headed to the state Assembly.
The appropriations panel is, by most accounts, one of the two most powerful committees in the Capitol, as every bill that spends taxpayer money must pass through it. That gives the chair life or death powers over nearly every major bill (with the pro tem's input, of course), as well as clout on the Capitol fundraising circuit.
Sen. Christine Kehoe, a San Diego Democrat who can serve in the upper house until 2012, appears set to assume this powerful chairmanship.
Dark horse: Sen. Alex Padilla, who was the runner-up to Steinberg in the leadership sweepstakes, continues to have his name in the mix, though the Kehoe decision is said to have been made.
Majority leader
OK, so majority leader isn't technically a chairmanship. But it is the No. 2 slot in the house, and talk is that Sen. Gloria Romero, D-Los Angeles, is on her way out of the plush third floor suite.
Sen. Dean Florez, D-Shafter, is said to have the inside track on the job.
Meanwhile, Sen. Jenny Oropeza is said to be on track to succeed outgoing Sen. Carole Migden as Democratic Caucus chair.
Budget
There are no signs that Steinberg intends to take the gavel of this key committee away from its current chair, Sen. Denise Ducheny of San Diego.
Transportation and Housing
Ditto for Sen. Alan Lowenthal, who is likely to keep the gavel for this coveted committee.
Health
Current chair Sen. Sheila Kuehl is termed out. The most likely scenario has Sen. Elaine Alquist, the current chair of the Human Services and budget health subcommittee, stepping up to chair the health panel. Alquist is currently a member of the Health Committee.
Education
This is probably the most intriguing choice Steinberg faces. This is said to be where Gloria Romero wants to land, given she is losing her spot as majority leader (she also is not expected to remain chair of Public Safety).
Romero, after all, is gearing up for a 2010 run for superintendent of public instruction, and the education panel is a plum place to rev up her campaign.
But her primary opponent in that race will be Tom Torlakson - a friend of Steinberg's -- setting up a tough pick for the pro tem. Romero remains the expected choice.
Dark horses: Sen. Joe Simitian's name has been bandied around. Incoming Sens. Loni Hancock and Carol Liu also put this panel atop their wish list.
Public Safety
Long the home of liberal chairs who don't fear thumbing down GOP tough-on-crime legislation, the public safety panel is expected to have a new chair in 2009-10.
Incoming Sen. Mark Leno, a San Francisco Democrat who chaired the panel in the Assembly, is the favorite to replace Romero.
Judiciary
Current chair Sen. Ellen Corbett is likely to keep this perch.
Energy, Utilities and Communications
Sen. Alex Padilla is rumored for just about everything in the upper house -- but this powerful panel is where he's expected to land. Padilla is currently a member of this committee.
Dark horse: Freshman Sen. Rod Wright, who chaired the equivalent committee in the Assembly during the energy crisis.
Governmental Organization
If Dean Florez ascends to the majority leader post, he likely won't get to keep the gavel of this influential panel overseeing liquor, gambling and tobacco, among other things. It is a position from Florez has used to regularly hold hearings and keep himself in the limelight as he plots a run for lieutenant governor in 2010.
Freshman Rod Wright, who represents Inglewood and the Hollywood Park racetrack, could land this so-called "juice" committee -- and all of its fundraising potential.
Natural Resources and Water
Steinberg currently chairs this committee, and he has a glut of potential candidates to replace him.
First, there's incoming Sen. Lois Wolk, who chairs the water committee in the Assembly. She also will represent the district neighboring Steinberg's Sacramento seat.
Then there's also soon-to-be Sen. Fran Pavley, who authored two of California's best-known environmental laws in the past decade (AB 32 and tailpipe emissions).
Add in dark-horse candidate Loni Hancock (who chairs Natural Resources in the Assembly), and Steinberg has got himself a difficult decision.
Edge to Pavley, who is beloved by the environmental community.
Environmental Quality
Sen. Joe Simitian is the current chair of this panel and could retain the gavel, though the odd-woman-out in the Natural Resources chairmanship contest could land here.
If Simitian stays, he might add the chairmanship of a budget subcommittee to sweeten his portfolio.
Rules
As is tradition, Steinberg will chair the Rules Committee. But which two Democrats will join him on the committee that has the power to confirm gubernatorial appointees?
The current Democratic members are Sens. Gil Cedillo and Alex Padilla. With Padilla likely headed to chair the energy panel, the most talked-about replacements are Sens. Jenny Oropeza and Leland Yee.
Banking, Finance and Insurance
Sen. Mike Machado is termed out as chair of this financial committee, just as America's banking and financial institutions have taken center stage. Moderate Democrats (Dean Florez, Lou Correa and Machado) held sway over this panel in 2007-08, and the chairmanship is expected to remain in the hands of a moderate during next session.
Sen. Ron Calderon, who does not currently sit on the panel, is expected to be next chairman, though Lou Correa, a current panel member, is also in the running.
Business, Professions and Economic Development
Chairman Sen. Mark Ridley-Thomas is on his way to joining the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, leaving this chairmanship vacant.
Like the banking committee, this panel is expected to be led by a political moderate, with Sen. Gloria Negrete-McLeod atop the list of possibilities, though she didn't sit on the panel last session.
Dark horses: Lou Correa and Leland Yee.
Elections, Reapportionment and Constitutional Amendments
With the likely passage of Proposition 11, the redistricting measure, this panel loses a bit of its Capitol 'juice.' With current chair Ron Calderon expected to move on, freshman senator and current Assemblywoman Loni Hancock -- who led the charge for public financing of campaigns -- could lead this panel.
The rest
Currently, Republicans chair two committees: Agriculture and Veterans Affairs. Odds are that Sen. Mark Wyland, R-Del Mar, will keep the gavel of the veterans panel, though Democrats will retain the majority of members. Sen. Abel Maldonado is the current chair of the ag panel.
That leaves Human Services, Labor and Industrial Relations, Local Government and the Revenue and Taxation panels up in the air.
Remaining Democratic senators potentially without a committee chairmanship, a spot on Rules or a leadership post in the above scenarios are Lou Correa, Lois Wolk or Fran Pavley (depending on Natural Resources), Mark DeSaulnier, Leland Yee (depending on Rules) and Carol Liu.
Also, Senate Democrats continue to cling to hope that Hannah-Beth Jackson will pull out a come-from-behind win in SD 19, where she still trails GOP leader Tony Strickland by more than 1,500 votes.
Photo: Sen. Darrell Steinberg at his office as an attorney in 2006. Credit: Manny Crisostomo/Sacramento Bee
Photo: Sen. Darrell Steinberg, D-Sacramento, speaking with Sen. Gloria Romero, D-Los Angeles, in February 2008. Credit: Sacramento Bee/ Brian Baer.
Los Angeles City Councilman, Alex Padilla, works in the city council chambers, Wednesday July 12, 2006. Padilla was voted into the Senate.
Sacramento Bee/ Brian Baer
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