HARRISBURG -- Voting largely along party lines, the state Senate yesterday approved a major change in the way a vacancy in the office of lieutenant governor is filled.

Currently, according to the state constitution, the Senate's top officer, the president pro tem, automatically becomes lieutenant governor if there is a vacancy.

That happened in October 2001, when Senate President Pro Tem Robert Jubelirer, R-Altoona, became lieutenant governor because Lt. Gov. Mark Schweiker had moved up to the governor's chair.

That was shortly after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, and President Bush asked then-Gov. Tom Ridge to move to Washington to become director of homeland security. Mr. Jubelirer remained lieutenant governor until January 2003, when Catherine Baker Knoll took office.

Sen. Jake Corman, R-Centre, who proposed the change that was approved yesterday, said Mr. Jubelirer was in an uncomfortable position in late 2001 and all of 2002. That's because he didn't give up his Senate seat and thus had major jobs in two different branches of state government, the executive and legislative, which are supposed to be separate.

Mr. Corman's proposed amendment says that if a lieutenant governor becomes governor, he or she would have the power to appoint the replacement lieutenant governor, rather than having the Senate president pro tem fill the vacancy.

Likewise, if a lieutenant governor died, the governor would pick his/her replacement. The choice of the No. 2 person would have to be confirmed by a simple majority of the Senate.

Sen. Jay Costa, D-Forest Hills, said that with a job as important as lieutenant governor -- "only a heartbeat away from becoming governor" -- a two-thirds majority of the Senate should be needed for confirmation. But his amendment was defeated on a 29-21 party-line vote, so most Democrats ended up voting against the Corman measure.

It was approved 33-17. Mr. Corman said a new governor should have flexibility in selecting his/her new lieutenant governor, and requiring a two-thirds Senate vote might make things difficult for him or her at a time of stress.

Mr. Corman's proposal, Senate Bill 822, requires an amendment to the state constitution, which is a time-consuming process.

The proposal now moves to the House, and must be approved by the House before the current session ends Nov. 30. If it is, then both chambers must approve it again in the 2009-10 session. If that happens, it must be approved by voters statewide, and the soonest that could happen is November 2009.