Rep. Bob Godshall (R-Montgomery), Majority Chair of the House Consumer Affairs Committee, Thursday announced his 18th term, ending Nov. 30, 2018, will be his final one as a member of the House of Representatives.
“An incumbent is supposed to be able to run on his record, and that has been my motto for 18 elections,” Rep. Godshall said. “People want public officials who can make a difference, and I believe I have done that for my constituents throughout the years. My office staff and I pride ourselves on the quality of service that we’ve provided, the people we’ve helped and all the valuable experience we’ve gained working on the many issues facing our communities and state.”
As a testament of the service to his constituents and communities, Rep. Godshall received The Montgomery Media and The Reporter’s “Reader’s Choice Award” many times, including each of the last eight years. Helping more than 5,000 people each year, the residents of his northern Montgomery County district appreciate his service to constituents.
Throughout his career, Rep. Godshall has received numerous awards, citations and special recognition, but none more personally satisfying than the 2011 “American Hero Award” from the National Kidney Registry.
The recipient of a life-saving bone marrow transplant, Godshall’s groundbreaking legislation to provide tax breaks to employers who grant workers time off to donate an organ or bone marrow was intended to increase donations by living donors. His legislation is being used as a national model to encourage similar measures in other states.
Rep. Godshall received the first-ever Government Award from the Water Resources Association of the Delaware River Basin for his 20-year effort to bring a viable surface water supply to the drought-prone North Penn and Indian Valley areas. In fact, 85 percent to 90 percent of the water supply in this area is a result of this effort.
Since 2007, as chairman of the House Consumer Affairs Committee, he championed legislation to phase in electric rate increases when rate caps were lifted.
Previously, Rep. Godshall was the long-time chair of the House Tourism and Recreational Development Committee, when, working with former Gov. Tom Ridge, they took Pennsylvania from ranking in the lower half of the country to the top five in the nation promoting Commonwealth tourism, which is the second-leading industry in Pennsylvania.
The industry has an economic impact of nearly $33 billion annually, provides more than 433,000 travel- and tourism-related jobs and generates more than $3 billion in tax revenues.
Rep. Godshall was also chairman during the development of the National Constitution Center, of which he served on the board of directors for 12 years.
“I want to thank the people of northern Montgomery County for their support over the years; it really has been one of my life’s greatest honors to serve and represent friends and neighbors of the 53rd Legislative District for 36 years,” Rep. Godshall added.
He is also a longtime member of the Hatfield, Indian Valley and North Penn chambers of commerce; past president and former board member of the Perkiomen Valley Watershed Conservancy, where he worked on development of the Montgomery County park system along the Perkiomen Creek; and has served on the boards of trustees of the National Constitution Center, the Philadelphia Convention and Visitors Bureau, the Legislative Budget and Finance Committee, the Harleysville Senior Adult Activity Center and the American Red Cross (North Penn branch), and as a member of the Indian Valley Public Library Steering Committee.
Raised on the family farm in Franconia, Rep. Godshall later helped run the family’s poultry business.
Rep. Godshall, who took office in 1983, previously served on the Souderton Area School Board, including being chairman, and as Montgomery County comptroller.
The 53rd Legislative District contains Lansdale, Hatfield and Souderton boroughs, along with part of Telford, and Franconia, Hatfield, Salford and Upper Salford townships in Montgomery County.
