In the near future, we intend to offer a condolence resolution honoring the life, service and legacy of former Pennsylvania State Representative and State Senator Franklin L. Kury, who passed away on August 16, 2026, at the age of 89.

Franklin L. Kury served in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives for three terms from 1966 through 1972 and then was elected to the Senate, where he served for two terms from 1973 through 1980 representing the 27th Senatorial District which included Northumberland, Columbia, Juniata, Montour, Snyder and Union counties.  

Senator Kury was an environmental champion and his leadership led to the enactment of several important environmental protection laws. He was also famously the author and lead advocate for Article I Section 27 of the Pennsylvania Constitution, more commonly known as the Pennsylvania Environmental Rights Amendment, which guarantees the right to clean air, pure water, and to the preservation of the natural, scenic, historic and esthetic values of the environment and the Commonwealth’s responsibility for maintaining those rights. On May 18, 1971, the people of Pennsylvania voted 1,021,342 to 259,979 -- a 4 to 1 margin --  to add this right to the state constitution.

A graduate of Trinity College and the University of Pennsylvania Law School, Senator Kury was also the author of several books after serving in the legislature including Clean Politics/Clean Streams: A Legislative Autobiography; Why Are You Here? A Primer for State Legislators and Citizens; Gerrymandering! A Guide to Congressional Redistricting, Dark Money and the Supreme Court; and most recently in 2021, The Constitutional Question to Save the Planet: The Peoples’ Right to a Healthy Environment. 

Please join us in recognizing the life and legacy of the Honorable Franklin L. Kury.