President pro tempore of the Pennsylvania Senate explained
The President pro tempore of the Pennsylvania Senate (also known more commonly as the "President pro-tem") is a constitutionally-created office in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The incumbent holder of the office is Republican Kim Ward.
Overview
The position of President pro tempore replaced the abolished position of Speaker of the Senate in the Constitution of 1874.[1]
The office is filled through election by the full Senate membership, though its holder typically comes from the majority party. The President pro tempore is designated as second in the gubernatorial succession, behind the Lieutenant Governor.[2] [3]
Duties
The President pro tempore presides over the Senate in the absence of the Lieutenant Governor and appoints committee chairpersons, votes on all bills, and is the leader of the Senate. In issues involving both chambers of the General Assembly, the President pro tempore confers with the Speaker of the House.
List of presidents pro tempore of the Pennsylvania Senate
| Name | Political party | County | Dates elected |
| George H. Cutler | Republican | Erie County | 1875 |
| Republican | Philadelphia County | 1875,76 |
| John Christopher Newmyer | Republican | Allegheny County | 1876,77 |
| Thomas Valentine Cooper | Republican | Delaware County | 1877,78 |
| Andrew Jackson Herr | Republican | Dauphin County | 1878,79 |
| John Lamon | Republican | Philadelphia County | 1879 |
| William Imlay Newell | Republican | Philadelphia County | 1881 |
| Hugh McNeil | Republican | Allegheny County | 1881 |
| John Edgar Reyburn | Republican | Philadelphia County | 1883 |
| Amos Herr Mylin | Republican | Lancaster County | 1883,85 |
| George Handy Smith | Republican | Philadelphia County | 1885,87 |
| John C. Grady | Republican | Philadelphia County | 1887,89 |
| Boies Penrose | Republican | Philadelphia County | 1889,91 |
| John Peter Shindel Gobin | Republican | Lebanon County | 1891,93 |
| Charles Wesley Thomas | Republican | Philadelphia County | 1893,95 |
| Samuel John Milton McCarrell | Republican | Dauphin County | 1895,97 |
| Daniel Spindler Walton | Republican | Greene County | 1897 |
| William Preston Snyder | Republican | Chester County | 1899, 1901 |
| John Morin Scott | Republican | Philadelphia County | 1901,03 |
| William Cameron Sproul | Republican | Delaware County | 1903,05 |
| Cyrus E. Woods | Republican | Westmoreland County | 1905,07 |
| Albert Everton Sisson | Republican | Erie County | 1907,09 |
| William E. Crow | Republican | Fayette County | 1911 |
| George M. Wertz | Republican | Cambria County | 1911 |
| Daniel P. Gerberich | Republican | Lebanon County | 1913 |
| Charles H. Kline | Republican | Allegheny County | 1913,15 |
| Edward E. Beidleman | Republican | Dauphin County | 1915,17 |
| Clarence Jay Buckman | Republican | Bucks County | 1917,19 |
| Frank E. Baldwin | Republican | Potter County | 1919,21 |
| Thomas Lawrence Eyre | Republican | Chester County | 1921,23 |
| John G. Homsher | Republican | Lancaster County | 1923,25 |
| Samuel W. Salus | Republican | Philadelphia County | 1923,25 |
| Horace W. Schantz | Republican | Lehigh County | 1927,29 |
| Augustus F. Daix Jr. | Republican | Philadelphia County | 1929,31 |
| James S. Boyd | Republican | Montgomery County | 1931,33 |
| Harry B. Scott | Republican | Centre County | 1933 |
| John G. Homsher | Republican | Lancaster County | 1935 |
| Harvey D. Huffman | Democratic | Monroe County | 1937 |
| John S. Rice | Democratic | Adams County | 1938 |
| Frederick T. Gelder | Republican | Susquehanna County | 1939 |
| Charles H. Ealy | Republican | Somerset County | 1941,43 |
| M. Harvey Taylor | Republican | Dauphin County | 1945,47,49,51,53,55,57,59 |
| Weldon Brinton Heyburn | Republican | Delaware County | 1947 |
| Anthony J. DiSilvestro | Democratic | Philadelphia County | 1961 |
| M. Harvey Taylor | Republican | Dauphin County | 1963 |
| James S. Berger | Republican | Potter County | 1964 (acting), 1965 |
| Stanley G. Stroup | Republican | Bedford County | 1966 (acting) |
| Robert D. Fleming | Republican | Allegheny County | 1967,69,70 |
| Martin L. Murray | Democratic | Luzerne County | 1971,72,73,74,75,76,77,78,79,80 |
| Henry G. Hager III | Republican | Lycoming County | 1981,82,83,84 |
| Robert C. Jubelirer | Republican | Blair County | 1984,85,86,87,88,89,90,91,92 |
| Robert J. Mellow | Democratic | Lackawanna County | 1992,93,94 |
| Robert C. Jubelirer | Republican | Blair County | 1994,95,96,97,97,99; 2000,01,02,03,04,05,06 |
| Joseph B. Scarnati III | Republican | Jefferson County | 2006,07,08,09,10,11,12,13,14,15,16,17,18,19 |
| Jacob Doyle Corman III | Republican | Centre County | 2020,21 |
| Kim Ward | Republican | Westmoreland County | 2022 (interim), 23 |
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See also
External links
Notes and References
- News: Senate of Pennsylvania. November 12, 2011. https://web.archive.org/web/20011004192948/http://www.legis.state.pa.us/WU01/VC/visitor_info/blue/senate.htm. October 4, 2001. dead.
- Web site: The Constitution of Pennsylvania: Article IV §13 — When Lieutenant Governor to act as Governor.. Pennsylvania General Assembly. August 23, 2019.
- Web site: The Constitution of Pennsylvania: Article IV §14 — Vacancy in office of Lieutenant Governor. Pennsylvania General Assembly. August 23, 2019.
