HARRISBURG, Pa. — State Senator Bob Mensch (R-24) will be retiring at the end of his current term in 2023, the Republican senator announced Thursday.
Mensch, whose district covers parts of Berks, Bucks, and Montgomery counties, said he's "been in state government for 16 years, and now, at 76, I feel like I want to take a little time for myself, family and friends. Serving constituents has been a fantastic experience, but the 80-hour workweeks take their toll, so it's time to open the next chapter in my life."
Mensch said he announced his decision now to allow enough time for candidates to come forward to campaign and be vetted by voters.
"I hope to see the best and the brightest and the properly motivated person win the candidacy to continue the service in the 24th," he said.
Mensch was first elected to the Pennsylvania Senate in a special election in 2009 after serving three years as the State Representative to the 147th Legislative District.
He was a staunch supporter of permanent tax credits for volunteer emergency responders who previously served in several board positions for the Upper Perkiomen Valley Ambulance Association.
Mensch also served as a supervisor in Marlborough Township from 2003 to 2005, including a term as chairman of the board in 2005.
As a state representative, Mensch was selected and appointed by the Speaker of the House to the Children's Trust Fund Board, the Speaker's Task Force on Crime and Violence, the Commonwealth Debt Task Force, the Energy Task Force, and the Select Committee on Information Security.
In the Senate, Mensch was elected by his Republican colleagues to serve as Majority Caucus Chairman, a leadership position, for the 2020-2021 legislative session.
As chairman, he presides over Republican caucus meetings to discuss bills and amendments and to develop caucus strategy. He serves as Vice Chairman of the Health and Human Services Committee and sits on the influential Senate Appropriations Committee.
Also, Mensch serves on four additional committees: Communications and Technology; Community, Economic, and Recreational Development; Labor and Industry; and Legislative Budget and Finance. He co-chairs the bipartisan Senate Life Science Caucus, Economy, Business and Jobs Caucus, and the Community College Caucus.
While a member of the senate, Mensch led three efforts to improve insurance and mammography coverage in PA.
In 2017 Mensch's budget legislation designing Performance Based Budgeting, was signed into law. Pennsylvania is the first state to fully implement Performance Based Budgeting, a budgeting method that takes a closer look at every line item and tax credit in each department.
There are 26 departments/agencies that fall within the requirement of PBB, as well as 28 tax credit programs they administer.
In 2021, Mensch was able to have dynamic modeling included in the budgeting process, which now allows the Commonwealth to do multi-year cash flow analyses to determine the effect of budget line item increases.
