| Post: | Lieutenant Governor |
| Body: | the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania |
| Insignia: | Flag of Pennsylvania.svg |
| Insigniacaption: | Flag of Pennsylvania |
| Incumbent: | Austin Davis |
| Incumbentsince: | January 17, 2023 |
| Residence: | State House |
| Termlength: | Four years, renewable once |
| Formation: | 1873 |
| Inaugural: | John Latta |
| Salary: | $157,765 (2014)[1] |
| Website: | ltgovernor.state.pa.us |
The lieutenant governor is a constitutional officer of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The lieutenant governor is elected for a four-year term in the same year as the governor. Each party picks a candidate for lieutenant governor independently of the gubernatorial primary. The winners of the party primaries are then teamed together as a single ticket for the fall general election.[2] The lieutenant governor presides in the Pennsylvania State Senate and is first in the line of succession to the governor; in the event the governor dies, resigns, or otherwise leaves office, the lieutenant governor becomes governor.[3] [4] The Lieutenant Governor casts tie breaking votes in the State Senate.
The office of lieutenant governor was created by the Constitution of 1873. As with the governor's position, the Constitution of 1968 made lieutenant governors eligible to succeed themselves for one additional four-year term.[5] The position's only official duties are serving as president of the state senate and chairing the Board of Pardons and the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Council. Lieutenant governors often work on additional projects and have a full schedule of community and speaking events.
Until 2019, Pennsylvania was the only state that provided an official residence, State House at Fort Indiantown Gap, for its lieutenant governor.[6] Constructed in 1940 and previously the governor's "summer residence", it became available for Pennsylvania's lieutenant governor in 1968 when the current governor's residence was completed in Harrisburg. It was transferred to the state Department of Military and Veterans Affairs after legislation to do so passed in 2019.[7] [8]
Austin Davis is the current lieutenant governor, having taken office on January 17, 2023.
From 1777 to 1790 the executive branch of Pennsylvania's state government was headed by a Supreme Executive Council consisting of a representative of each county and of the City of Philadelphia. The Vice President of the Council—also known as the Vice-President of Pennsylvania—held a position analogous to the modern office of lieutenant governor. Presidents and vice-presidents were elected to one-year terms and could serve up to three years—the full length of their regular term as Counsellor. Ten men served as Vice-President during the time of the Council's existence.