PRINTER'S NO. 1989
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
SENATE RESOLUTION
No.
372
Session of
2022
INTRODUCED BY COSTA, HAYWOOD, HUGHES, TARTAGLIONE, COLLETT,
FONTANA, STREET, BREWSTER, K. WARD, BROWNE, SCAVELLO, ARGALL,
VOGEL, MUTH, HUTCHINSON, CAPPELLETTI, KANE AND ROBINSON,
OCTOBER 21, 2022
REFERRED TO RULES AND EXECUTIVE NOMINATIONS, OCTOBER 21, 2022
A RESOLUTION
Honoring the life and achievements of former State Senator Jim
Ferlo.
WHEREAS, Senator James "Jim" Ferlo, passed away on May 15,
2022, at 70 years of age; and
WHEREAS, Mr. Ferlo was born in Rome, New York, on June 19,
1951, the son of the late Thomas Henry and Isabella Ferlo; and
WHEREAS, Mr. Ferlo was a passionate and outspoken community
activist who cared deeply about social justice and civil
liberties; and
WHEREAS, Mr. Ferlo served as a member of Pittsburgh City
Council, representing the 7th District for 15 years from 1988 to
2003, and as president of Pittsburgh City Council from 1994 to
1998; and
WHEREAS, Mr. Ferlo served as a member of the Pennsylvania
Senate in the 38th Senatorial District for 12 years from 2003
until 2015; and
WHEREAS, Mr. Ferlo served as the Democratic Chair of the
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Senate Law and Justice Committee for more than 10 years; and
WHEREAS, Mr. Ferlo championed legislation to preserve
Pennsylvania's natural environment, enshrine workers' rights,
ensure the right to housing, provide universal health care to
all and reenact Pennsylvania's hate crime statute for the LGBTQ
community; and
WHEREAS, Mr. Ferlo announced he was gay at a 2014 press
conference on increasing protections for the LGBTQ community
under Pennsylvania's hate crime statute, becoming the first
openly gay State Senator in Pennsylvania; and
WHEREAS, Mr. Ferlo served on the Board of Directors of the
American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania from 2015 to
2021, and he also served numerous organizations, including the
Urban Redevelopment Authority of Pittsburgh, the Allegheny River
Towns Enterprise Zone, the Port of Pittsburgh Commission,
Preservation Pennsylvania and the Pennsylvania Historical and
Museum Commission; and
WHEREAS, Mr. Ferlo is survived by his sisters, Lyn Ferlo,
Carol Ferlo and Patricia (Ferlo) Thron and her husband, Jim, and
by his brothers, Thomas Ferlo and his wife, Pat, and Leo Ferlo,
as well as numerous nieces, nephews, great-nieces, great-nephews
and friends whom he adopted into his family; therefore be it
RESOLVED, That the Senate honor the life and achievements of
former State Senator Jim Ferlo.
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