Judge Ronald S. Marsico

Representative Ronald S. Marsico represented the 105th Legislative District in Pennsylvania for 30 years.  He was first elected to the state House of Representatives in 1988 and retired in 2018.

He was dean of the 26-member, eight-county South Central Caucus.

He wrote 33 bills that have become law. Among them include the cracking down on unwanted invasions of privacy, creating safe havens for unwanted infants at Pennsylvania hospitals and increasing penalties for raping a child under the age of 13.  

Public safety, job creation and the improvement of transportation have been top priorities for Ron.

To make highways safer and reduce traffic congestion, Ron helped bring millions of dollars in new state funding for better roads and bridges. He also helped get funding for noise barriers to enhance the quality of life for people living along Interstate 81.

Ron has supported legislation addressing business tax reform and private sector infrastructure development. He worked to level the playing field for job creators, improve the business climate and encourage businesses to stay in Pennsylvania and create family-sustaining jobs.

Ron made it a priority to work on laws protecting children, crime victims and the vulnerable.  His legislation created the Task Force on Child Protection – which led to vast changes to the way that Pennsylvania protects children.  He also spearheaded legislation to improve Pennsylvania’s sexual offender registration statute, commonly known as Megan’s Law. 

His work has helped deter the cyberbullying of children, and expanded anti-hazing laws to protect children in secondary schools. He authored legislation, known as the Safe Haven Law, to allow parents to relinquish newborns to hospitals without criminal charges. Additionally, Ron created a new type of protective order specific to victims of sexual offenses.

Throughout his legislative career and 12 years as chairman of the Judiciary Committee, Ron has worked to improve public safety though laws that increased the number of cadets in the Pennsylvania State Police, toughened the death penalty, strengthened laws punishing heroin dealers and modernized Pennsylvania’s Wiretap Act.

Ron also played an instrumental role in the passage of the Medical Marijuana Act.  He authored the first comprehensive bill in the House of Representatives permitting the medicinal use of marijuana, which played an integral role in the development of the legislation which is now law. As part of the House’s Task Force on Medical Marijuana, he was the primary voice advocating for the law through the days of debate on the House floor in March and April 2016.

Ron’s most recent legislation to become law made the cyber bullying of a child a punishable offense. The punishable behavior would include the use of electronic communications to repeatedly make statements or offer opinions about a child’s sexuality or sexual activity or make statements about a child’s physical characteristics or mental health that are intended to cause serious emotional distress to a child.

Ron recently sponsored legislation to update the Adam Walsh Act, the law that provides for a national sex offender registry, and fought for the implementation of legislation that closed loopholes in Pennsylvania’s Megan’s Law. He also strengthened the law regarding sex offenders who pose a serious risk to public safety when they reenter the community by requiring the courts to impose a mandatory three-year probation period consecutive to any term of total confinement for a person convicted of a Tier III sex offense under Megan’s Law.

Among his other notable work, Ron conceived the concept for the development of Heroes Grove – an amphitheater honoring veterans, emergency responders, law enforcement personnel, educators and ordinary citizens who have demonstrated their dedication to our communities, the Commonwealth and to our nation. 

Previous to his election to the PA House of Representatives, Ron worked at the PA Office of Attorney General with the first elected PA Attorney General LeRoy S. Zimmerman and prior to that, Ron owned and operated Scarlet Woods Landscape and Garden Center.

Ron currently serves on the Board of Heroes Grove.

He is Chairman of Lower Paxton Community Foundation.

He serves on the Mr. Pa Football Foundation Board and Reclaim the Streets Ministries International, Inc. Board of Advisors.

Ron is Chairman of Marsico Sports Group.

He is a graduate of Bishop McDevitt High School and The Ohio State University.

He served in the United States Army Reserves.

He and his wife, Elaine, have two children, Kelly and Wayde, and nine grandchildren.