Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger plans to name Board of Equalization member Bill Leonard as secretary of the State and Consumer Services Agency, spokesman Aaron McLear said.
Leonard replaces Fred Aguiar, who left to become a deputy chief of staff to the governor.
He takes charge of an agency that has seen its share of trouble in recent months, including a report in The Bee that Department of General Services officials spent $5.5 million on new vehicles that it left sitting idle for months.
After 36 years in elected office as a member of the minority party, including 24 in the Legislature and nearly eight on the board, Leonard said he is looking forward to an administrative job.
The fiscal conservative, one of the original "Prop. 13 babies" elected in 1978, said the position will give him a chance to crack down on spending in the bureaucracy, especially in recessionary times. "People are hurting," he said, "and (wasteful government spending) just galls me."
Leonard will resign his post on the Board of Equalization to take the $175,000-a-year job.
But Leonard isn't the only one getting a plum promotion with the appointment.
His chief deputy, Barbara Alby gets to step up to fill the remainder of her termed-out boss' term.
That's a boost for Alby, who now gets to run as an acting board member -- and list herself that way on the ballot -- in the race to succeed Leonard in the BOE seat. Leonard acknowledged that "it is an advantage for her (and) it was a piece of my decision-making process," but added that the ballot designation would probably only make "a marginal difference" for Alby.
Former Assemblyman Alan Nakanishi, who joined last year the staff of BOE District 3 Member Michelle Steel, and Republican Sen. George Runner are also vying for Leonard's BOE spot.
In other Capitol intrigue, a possible agreement to alter the ballot language for Proposition 14 appears to have fizzled.
California School Employees Association has filed a lawsuit against the Legislature, which placed the measure on the June ballot, seeking to strike language saying the measure "gives voters increased options" and "encourages increased participation."
But when word broke that CSEA had presented the Legislative Counsel with a draft settlement to agree to change the language, proponents of Proposition 14 cried foul.
Alleging that opponents and the Legislature were colluding to "transform the title and summary and ballot label into a campaign piece against Proposition 14," an attorney for the campaign said Prop 14 supporters would request to intervene and defend the current language if the Legislative Counsel wouldn't agree to do so itself.
But the Legislative Counsel issued a letter last night saying they were just doing their job to ensure the title and summary are accurate and fair and that they have no problem with proponents, namely Sen. Abel Maldonado and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, stepping in to defend the ballot language.
The proponents will ask Judge Allen Sumner at a 9 a.m. hearing to officially allow them to intervene, meaning any settlement to edit the language before Monday's Friday's deadline for changing measures set for the June ballot will likely need the consent of the Yes on 14 camp.
HEARINGS: The Senate Natural Resources and Water, Budget and Fiscal Review and Assembly Water, Parks and Wildlife and Assembly Budget Subcommittee hold a joint hearing at 9:30 a.m. to look at the funding and implementation of the massive water package approved by the Legislature last year.
Also in the Senate, the Educational Governance and Accountability Committee holds a 9:30 a.m. hearing on proposals for shutting the achievement gap in public schools and the Human Services Committee meets at 1:30 p.m. to talk strategy getting the most federal funds for programs.
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