Democratic state Rep. Bill Kortz to retire from 38th District seat
State Rep. Bill Kortz, a Democrat who has represented Pittsburgh’s southeastern suburbs for seven terms and who recently played an integral role in expanding Sunday hunting in Pennsylvania, announced his retirement on
Tuesday.
Mr. Kortz, the Democratic ranking member of the House Game and Fisheries Commission, will retire from his 38th District seat at the end of the current legislative session on Nov. 30.
Citing health issues as a result of a torn rotator cuff, Mr. Kortz, 65, said retirement wasn’t an easy decision to make.
“It’s strictly a matter of, I’ve got to get my health in order,” Mr. Kortz said Tuesday.
Having previously worked for three decades as an operations manager for U.S. Steel, Mr. Kortz was first elected to the state House in 2006 after Harrisburg was rocked by the legislative pay raise scandal. Mr. Kortz once cited the pay raises — given to lawmakers and public officials in the early morning hours — as a catalyst for his start in politics.
Since then, Mr. Kortz has noticed progress in Harrisburg. Over the past decade, Democrats and
Republicans have “slowly put the money back” into education, which took a hit during Tom Corbett’s gubernatorial administration, Mr. Kortz said.
In his retirement announcement, Mr. Kortz touted his committee’s leadership on the Sunday hunting law as one of his successes. Signed into law in October, the bill expanded hunting on three Sundays per year.
It was a long time coming for a lawmaker who once worked in the steel industry and worked six days a week, 12 hours a day.
“Many years, I couldn’t hunt,” he said. “I often thought, ‘if only we could hunt on that Sunday, at least I could get out one day.’”
Since Mr. Kortz will finish out the session, voters will choose his successor as normal in this year’s elections. West Mifflin Mayor Chris Kelly is pursuing the Democratic nomination and is seeking the county committee’s endorsement.
Mr. Kortz said he is “committed” to backing Mr. Kelly for the nomination.
In his remaining months, Mr. Kortz said he’ll be focused on advocating for House Bill 21, which would require licensure of home inspectors in Pennsylvania and set standards for home inspections.
The bill passed the House in October and awaits action in the Senate Consumer Protection & Professional Licensure Committee.