Meet Steve

Steve Santarsiero represents the 10th Senatorial District in the Pennsylvania Senate, where he is a leading advocate for the environment, economic development, education, and infrastructure investment. Steve serves as Democratic Chair of the State Government Committee and as a member of the Judiciary; Consumer Protection & Professional Licensure; Institutional Sustainability & Innovation; and Rules & Executive Nominations Committees. He also serves in Senate Democratic Leadership as Caucus Secretary.

In Harrisburg, Steve has built a reputation for pragmatic, problem-solving leadership. He led the effort to pass Kayden’s Law (Act 8 of 2024), a bipartisan measure that strengthens protections for children in contentious custody disputes. Steve believes good policy starts by listening to the community and working across the aisle to get results in a divided legislature.

Steve is also a strong supporter of economic development in Bucks County. He has championed the growth of the Pennsylvania Biotechnology Center in Buckingham Township and supports initiatives like PA Innovate to strengthen our region’s life sciences economy. Thrombolex, a biotechnology company started in Bucks County that received state funding with Steve’s support, has saved over 2,000 lives with their BASHIR Endovascular Catheter. He has also supported the redevelopment of the North Point Keystone Trade Center on the former U.S. Steel property in Falls Township, transforming an abandoned industrial site into a major logistics and commercial hub while addressing long-standing environmental concerns from old industrial pollution at the site.

Steve believes we do not have to choose between affordable energy, a strong economy, and protecting our natural resources in the 10th Senate District. He introduced the Pennsylvania Reliable Energy Sustainability Standard (PRESS) to modernize the state’s energy portfolio standards, promote clean energy technologies, support energy jobs, and strengthen grid reliability while reducing carbon emissions.

As a former teacher, education remains a core priority. Steve is the author of legislation to create bell-to-bell cell phone-free classrooms in Pennsylvania’s K–12 schools. The bill passed the Senate with overwhelming bipartisan support and aims to help students stay focused and engaged in learning.

Steve is a strong advocate for public safety and first responders. Steve is the author of a bill to ban assault weapons, which he has introduced every year that he has been in the Senate. He also introduced Bryan’s Law to provide post-traumatic stress injury (PTSI) death benefits to emergency and law enforcement personnel. The bill is named for Pennsylvania State Trooper and former Green Beret Bryan F. Gray from Lower Makefield Township, who died by suicide as a result of trauma related to his service.

Steve believes leadership means showing up both in moments of celebration and in times of crisis. He is a tireless advocate for state investments in the 10th Senate District, delivering essential grants for local infrastructure improvements, arts and cultural institutions, economic development, and our parks. Steve is proud to spotlight the outstanding work happening across the district and to ensure municipalities and community organizations have the resources they need to succeed.

Steve also works to ensure communities receive the support they need in moments of crisis. Following a jet fuel pipeline leak in the Mt. Eyre neighborhood in Upper Makefield Township in 2025, he worked with residents and the township to urge the polluter, Sunoco-Energy Transfer, to fully clean the spill and restore resident drinking wells. Through that process, Steve identified weaknesses in Pennsylvania’s law. With his friend State Representative Perry Warren, he introduced the Environmental Clean Up and Responsibility Act (ECRA). If passed, this legislation would empower the Department of Environmental Protection to begin cleanup immediately after residential spills and hold polluters financially accountable.

Before his election to the Senate, then Attorney General Josh Shapiro appointed Steve in 2017 as Pennsylvania’s first Chief Deputy Attorney General for Environmental Protection. In that role, he oversaw the prosecution of environmental crimes and led Pennsylvania’s efforts to challenge federal rollbacks of environmental protections.

From 2008 to 2016, Steve represented the Yardley-Newtown area in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, where he earned a reputation in Harrisburg as a reformer and leader on education, infrastructure investment, environmental protection, and gun violence prevention. Back home in Bucks County, Steve led efforts to improve the resiliency of PECO’s electric grid, and successfully advocated for the jobs of thousands of Bucks County residents who work in New Jersey when that state enacted a public-sector residency requirement.

Steve’s path to public service began locally. After helping lead a grassroots effort to stop a proposed big-box mall in Lower Makefield Township, he ran for township supervisor and was elected in 2003. As a supervisor, he worked across party lines to improve transparency, address traffic challenges, and preserve open space.

Steve considers public service a calling. After witnessing the September 11th attacks from his office in Newark, New Jersey, he decided to leave the practice of law to pursue a new career in teaching. He earned his teaching certification at night from Holy Family University and became a social studies teacher at Bensalem High School, helping students develop a strong understanding of history and civics.

Steve earned his B.A. from Tufts University, his J.D. from the University of Pennsylvania Law School, and his M.Ed. from Holy Family University.

Steve and his wife, Ronni, have lived in Lower Makefield for over 30 years and have three grown children: Nancy, Bill, and John.