How long has Sen. Tony Rand been thinking about leaving the state Senate for the state's parole board?

Civitas' Chris Hayes has dug up an interesting fact. In 2005, Rand, a Fayetteville Democrat, sponsored a bill that would have changed the structure of the Post-Release Supervision and Parole Commission. Rand's bill meant to change the panel from three full-time members to one full-time member and two part-time members.

The bill passed the Senate unanimously on April 13, 2005 and was later incorporated into the 2005 budget bill to be signed into law.

I guess the question becomes, is this just a coincidence or did Rand have this all planned out years ago?

On the other hand, Rand was a powerful force in the Senate and has his name attached to an overwhelming majority of bills that were adopted.

State Sen. Tony Rand, one of the most powerful political figures in the state, is leaving the Senate.

Rand, a Fayetteville Democrat, will become chairman of the state Parole Commission, Mark Johnson reports. He will resign before the end of the year.

"There comes a time when it's time to go," Rand said.

Rand has been in the Senate since 1981. He was appointed to his seat and later became rules chairman and the majority leader.

Rand, known for his wit and gravelly drawl, was the enforcer for Senate Leader Marc Basnight and made sure that the Senate's machinery ran smoothly. On the Senate floor, he is known for delivering pointed, but often entertaining allegories: "It's all chicken but the beak," he once told Dome.

Gov. Bev Perdue released a statement announcing her appointment of Rand to the Parole Board.

"North Carolina is fortunate that Senator Rand decided to take this position. He, like me, cares first and foremost about protecting the public but also understands the importance of giving people a fair shot at a second chance," said Perdue. "I don’t believe I could find a better candidate in the state or country to lead this commission."

Gov. Bev Perdue defended her decision to hire a convicted murderer to work in her office as lieutenant governor as part of a work release program.

"I have been a long believer and supporter of work release programs," Perdue told reporters Tuesday morning, Rob Christensen reports. "I believe prisoners can work to pay back restitution. I believe they must be supervised. I believe they must go back to their units. They must report in and report out. There is a whole set of rules by which they must operate."

She also said she supports parole if the offender receives community supervision. But Perdue said her support of work release and parole are different from her opposition to the proposed unsupervised release of 27 lifers convicted of rape, murder and other violent offenses.

"One has nothing to do with the other," Perdue said.

WRAL first reported Monday that Sally Holloman worked in Perdue's office when she was lieutenant governor. Holloman was convicted in 1981 of murdering her husband and a Selma businessman.

Perdue said it appropriate to release inmates who have gone through the parole process and are closely supervised. But she said that was not the case with the 27 people who were proposed to be released as a result of a court ruling that determined life sentences issued in the mid-1970s were defined as 80 years and could be further cut in half with good behavior credits.