HARRISBURG – Legislation to restore constitutional integrity and transparency in executive branch appointments has been approved by the Senate State Government Committee, according to the measure’s sponsors Sens. Kristin Phillips-Hill (R-28) and Cris Dush (R-25). Senate Bill 472 aims to place clear limits on the use of “acting secretaries” who serve without Senate confirmation for extended periods of time.
Currently, Pennsylvania law allows the governor to appoint an acting secretary to run an agency or department when a vacancy occurs. This provision, intended to serve as a short-term solution while a nominee awaits Senate confirmation, has increasingly been used to bypass the constitutionally required confirmation process outlined in Article IV, Section 8 of the Pennsylvania Constitution. In practice, these “acting secretaries” carry out the full responsibilities of a cabinet secretary without legislative approval or oversight, sometimes for prolonged periods.
Under the Wolf Administration, 11 acting secretaries were never sent to the Senate for confirmation, while still serving with full power as a confirmed secretary without the Senate of Pennsylvania’s consent.
“The Senate has a critical and constitutional role to advise and consent to gubernatorial nominees to lead our state agencies,” Phillips-Hill said. “We have seen an erosion of this once common practice to ensure the two-thirds of the Senate agreed to the governor’s picks to lead our state government. This legislation upholds the intent of our state constitution and will bring greater accountability to both the executive and legislative branches of government in Pennsylvania.”
“Without constitutionally required Senate confirmation, these ‘acting secretaries’ lack legitimate constitutional authority to act,” confirmed Senate State Government Committee Chairman Dush. “Especially under Pennsylvania’s most recent governors, acting secretaries have operated departments without the constitutional checks and balances of Senate confirmation for indefinite, unchecked periods of time. This illegitimacy has also not hindered them from exercising full power or collecting the full paycheck with benefits of a ‘confirmed secretary.’ The passage of Senate Bill 472 will effectively conclude this executive branch undermining of the intent and purpose of Article IV, Section 8 of our state constitution.”
The reform measure addresses this loophole by limiting how long a person can serve as the head of a department without Senate confirmation. The bill clarifies that these individuals will be designated as “Deputy – Head of Department” and may only serve in that role once per gubernatorial term and must appear before the General Assembly during budget hearings. It also ensures that those serving in this temporary role do not receive additional compensation or elevated benefits beyond those of their peers.
Senate Bill 472 now moves to the full Senate for consideration.