Democrat Pat Wiggins of Santa Rosa is out as chairman of the state Senate Local Government Committee, replaced by Republican Dave Cox of Fair Oaks.

The change was included in a committee list released Friday by state Senate President Darrell Steinberg.  An accompanying statement said Steinberg was scaling back the size of Senate committees in pursuit of efficiency but made no mention of Wiggins.

Wiggins’  eccentric comments, distracted behavior and close supervision by aides has prompted questions about her health.  She announced last fall that she would not seek re-election in 2010.

Wiggins remains a member of the local government committee.  She also is a member of the veterans affairs committee.

San Francisco Democrat Mark Leno, whose district includes southern Sonoma County, is chairman of the state Senate Public Safety Committee and a budget subcommittee responsible for health and human services.  He’s also a member of the appropriations, health, judiciary and labor committees.

— Jim Sweeney