Pennsylvania senators debated Wednesday whether to remove from office the state's attorney general because her law license is suspended while she defends herself against criminal charges.
It was unclear whether the Republican majority would be able to attract enough Democratic votes to reach the supermajority required to remove Attorney General Kathleen Kane under a section of the state constitution that allows for removal of civil officers with a two-thirds vote. A committee sent the measure to the Senate floor on a 10-6 party-line vote.
Kane has been without an active law license since the Supreme Court put it on temporary, indefinite suspension in October. Kane, the first woman and first Democrat elected as the state's attorney general, faces perjury and other charges for allegedly leaking secret grand jury material and lying about it under oath.
The Removal of Civil Officers section of the constitution says all elected civil officers "shall be removed by the governor for reasonable cause, after due notice and full hearing, on the address of two-thirds of the Senate."
The constitutional provision at issue before the Senate, unlike impeachment, does not require any action in the House, although the House is considering whether to pursue that process separately.
Kane has called the maneuver unconstitutional but has not said what she will do if it passes.
The 50-member Senate has one vacant seat, so 33 "yes" votes will be required.
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Sen. John Gordner, R-Columbia, who led the special Senate committee that held several hearings about Kane's removal, said there was a long list of required duties that nonlawyers can't perform.
"We have an individual as attorney general who can't do any of the enumerated provisions of the Commonwealth Attorneys Act," Gordner said on the floor as debate began.
Kane's criminal trial in suburban Philadelphia is scheduled for August. She also is collecting signatures to get on the April 26 primary ballot for a second term.
