Senate Majority Leader Tony Rand, one of North Carolina's most powerful and colorful politicians, said Wednesday he was leaving the Legislature by the end of the year to become chairman of the state parole commission.

Gov. Beverly Perdue announced the Cumberland County Democrat will head the Post-Release Supervision and Parole Commission by early next year.

"What happens with a bad prisoner? You actually try to be sure the parole board does their job," Perdue said. "I needed him -- the state needed him -- to [make] sure the people that we do release not only have proper supervision, but the right people are being released."

Rand, 70, began serving in the Senate in January 1982, left in 1988 after an unsuccessful bid for lieutenant governor, and returned to the chamber in 1995. He said it was time to try something different.

"You usually know when it's over," Rand said in a phone interview. "I've always said that I would know when it was time, and it's time."

Rand, who will make $100,035, will replace chairman Charles Mann, who is retiring to a part-time position, according to Perdue's office.

The three-member commission establishes conditions under which felons who complete their sentences are released or can be paroled under old sentencing rules. Prisoner releases have gained attention recently since a court ruling that could lead to the release of dozen of violent criminals serving life sentences.

"North Carolina is fortunate that Senator Rand decided to take this position," Perdue said in a release announcing the appointment. "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."

Rand shepherded legislation for Perdue this year that gives probation officers more tools to keep an offender from getting into more trouble. Perdue sought changes after problems surfaced following last year's slaying of University of North Carolina student president Eve Carson.

Rand said Perdue is "interested in making sure there's strong leadership" on the commission. "I'm delighted that I'll be able to help her."

Rand worked alongside Senate President Pro Tempore Marc Basnight for nearly all of the 16 years that Basnight has led the chamber. Rand directed the flow of legislation as chairman of the Senate Rules Committee and helped keep the chamber's Democratic majority united.

"Tony has been as good a friend as I've ever had. And all of North Carolina couldn't have had a better friend than Tony Rand," Basnight, D-Dare, said in a statement. "I am confident that I speak for the entire Senate when I say that his service and expertise in this institution are unmatched and unlikely to ever be."

Rand also has been one of the Senate's chief budget negotiators for years, championing funding for the University of North Carolina system. Rand was in the middle of nearly every important issue facing the General Assembly in the past decade, from the death penalty and health care to the lottery.

Rand was then-Gov. Mike Easley's most important ally in the Legislature, helping write the legislation that was narrowly approved in August 2005 to create what became the North Carolina Education Lottery.

Republicans, who haven't controlled the Senate in more than 100 years and were often impeded by Rand during Senate floor debate, still had respect for Rand.

Rand "maintained a deep respect for Senate traditions," said Senate Minority Leader Phil Berger, R-Rockingham. "While he and I have often disagreed on matters of policy, he was always someone who kept his word."

"Sen. Rand served the people of Cumberland County and the state with great distinction in the Senate and he will continue to do so as a member of the parole board," Speaker Joe Hackney said in a release. "He has dedicated many years of his life to making North Carolina better, most especially by working to provide quality and affordable higher education to all."

Rand, a former defense lawyer who later got into the health care field, often served as the voice of Senate Democrats: more than willing to speak with reporters on multiple topics and offering a crafty comment during debate on the Senate floor.

In 2005, as budget negotiations between Senate and House Democrats entered their second month, Rand said he was pleased to see they were finally making progress.

Democrats in Rand's 19th Senate District will chose someone to serve out the remainder of his term through 2010. Senate Democrats will be asked to choose a new majority leader.

For Rand, a Wake County native who served as a page at the Legislature in the 1950s when it still met in the old Capitol building, his departure marks the end of an era.

"I've been around the Legislature all my life," he said.