HARRISBURG — Rep. Ron Marsico will retire at the conclusion of the 2017-18 Pennsylvania legislative session, according to a release from the Dauphin County Republican’s office.
Rep. Marsico has represented the 105th Legislative District — which includes Lower Paxton, South Hanover and West Hanover townships — since 1988, when he was first elected to the House.
“It has been an honor to serve in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, and to represent the people in the 105th Legislative District, for almost three decades,” said Marsico. “This has not only been a job for me but a way of life. I thank the voters for giving me their support, the opportunity to serve and their trust.”
Throughout his legislative career, the State House Judiciary Committee chairman worked on laws relating to protecting children, victims of crime and public safety. The release states that Rep. Marsico improved the state’s sexual offender registration statute, commonly known as Megan’s Law, worked to deter cyberbullying, expanded anti-hazing laws in secondary schools and authored the Safe Haven Law, which allows parents to hand over newborns to hospitals without criminal charges.
Rep. Marsico’s laws also strengthened the punishments for heroin dealers and helped modernize Pennsylvania’s Wiretap Act.
In 2016, he authored the first comprehensive bill permitting the medicinal use of marijuana which is now law as part of the House’s Task Force on Medical Marijuana, the release states.
