Dan's Horrible Gas Problem, Part II

Dan Onorato believes that Marcellus Shale will save us.  The industry is looking at Pennsylvania, and considering moving in and setting up shop.  His plan to tax the bejeezus out of them may not be the most sound economic policy, and his plan to fund the DEP watchdogs makes environmentalists wonder if he ever heard of the Department of Minerals Management Services, but his plan for using the drilling industry to improve Pennsylvania's unemployment problem is a tried and true method with a good track record of success:

Extortion.

"Department of Environmental Protection, how may I direct your call?"

Onorato's website has lauded Marcellus Shale as a "powerful economic engine" that will "lead to extraordinary job creation".  In fact, he expects it will create "hundreds of thousands of jobs".  And last week he finally released his plan for spurring job growth:

Democratic gubernatorial nominee Dan Onorato says he’d pressure natural gas drilling companies to hire Pennsylvania residents by threatening to withhold state drilling permits...

Onorato says he’d be justified to use permits as leverage, arguing, “I think all governors apply pressure on every industry.

The soundbite Onorato gave to Scott Detrow is even more direct (you can find it here):

"The one piece of leverage that the governor has over the industry is the permitting for drilling.  The industry wants to be able to drill.  I'm prepared to give them permits to drill, but I want one thing in return:  the 80,000 that the study from Penn State predicted - they have to hire Pennsylvanians."  

Three things bother me about this statement:

1. 80,000 jobs is not "hundreds of thousands" of jobs.  It is 120,000 positions shy of the smallest possible number that can be considered "hundreds of thousands".  (That's 200,000, for all you Dan Fans out there).  Onorato either thinks the industry will create 1.5 support jobs for each person in the industry, or he has embellished his numbers a bit.  Or his staff can't count.
2. I hope we hire some people who have actual experience in doing this, and doing it safely.  I care more about their qualifications than I do about which state is on their driver's license.  I don't mind some outside expertise, seeing as our wells keep leaking and blowing up.
3. IT IS TOTALLY ILLEGAL.

It is absolutely inappropriate to grant or withold permitting based upon anything except the qualifications of the applicant, the confines of the law, and the safety of the public.  It is futher inappropriate for a governor to determine which permits are issued (that's why he has departments) because direct issuance from the executive is ripe for fraud and corruption.  And it is wildly discriminatory to do so based upon state residency, to the order of probably being a constitutional violation of the commerce clause!

Even Governor Rendell and DEP secretary John Hanger agree:

“It’s not what we do,” says Governor Rendell. “And you might be able to do that, but you’d probably have to change some regulations or get some legislation.” Department of Environmental Protection Secretary John Hanger, who oversees well permitting, agrees. “That’s not one of the grounds for rejecting a permit in the Oil and Gas Act,” he explains, adding he worries a measure mandating companies hire Pennsylvanians would run afoul of the Constitution’s Commerce Clause.

Onorato is saying "commerce works the way I tell it to work" and the rich history of PA and US law say "no it doesn't".     At best, he doesn't understand why it is illegal.  At worst, he doesn't care.
 
Try this - read Dan's statment again, but this time imagine that this guy is saying it:

"The one piece of leverage that the governor has over the industry is the permitting... I'm prepared to give them permits to drill, but I want one thing in return"