Today, Senator Vogel announced that he will be introducing legislation that will abolish the office of the Lieutenant Governor.
 
            “The past two administrations have seen vacancies in the Lieutenant Governor’s office and both have been filled by the sitting President Pro Tempore of the Senate.  To pretend that the office is so demanding that it requires us to spend more than $1.5 million dollars a year is an affront to the taxpayers of Pennsylvania.”
 
            The legislation amends the Pennsylvania Constitution to remove the references to the Lieutenant Governor’s office.  The President Pro Tempore of the Senate would preside over the Senate and would become governor in the event that the office is vacated.  Currently, the Lieutenant Governor is the Chairman of the Board of Pardons. The legislation would make the Attorney General the new Chair of the Board of Pardons. 
           
“We can no longer afford to continue to pay for positions, boards, and programs simply because that’s what we have always done.  We need to start practicing a little common sense, and that means we must either give the Lieutenant Governor duties to justify all that money or abolish the office.  It’s time that we put an end to ‘business as usual’,” Vogel added.