Wolf set to sign updated Pa. law on sex offenses

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

The issue dates back to a state Supreme Court ruling last year. Justices ruled the state couldn’t punish offenders who committed crimes before those penalties were enacted. That had a potential side effect of knocking more than 10,000 offenders off the registry, according to state police.

Soon after, state Rep. Ron Marsico, R-Dauphin, 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 measure is, functionally, the final version and includes a few minor drafting changes. Gov. Tom Wolf has said he plans to sign it.