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Wolf To Sign Updated Sex Offender Bill

The General Assembly has passed a second version of a measure designed to fix a hole in Pennsylvania’s sex offender law.

The issue dates back to a state Supreme Court ruling last year.

Justices ruled the state couldn’t impose punishments on offenders whose crimes had happened before those penalties were enacted.

That had a potential side-effect of knocking more than 10 thousand offenders off the registry, according to state police.

Soon after, GOP Representative Ron Marsico, of Dauphin County, introduced a bill to make sure offenders whose original sentences hadn’t expired stayed on the registry.

But, feeling it wouldn’t take effect soon enough, lawmakers ultimately shoehorned that language into a separate probation bill.

It passed earlier this year.

The new measures is, functionally, the final version and includes a few minor drafting changes.

Governor Tom plans to sign it.