Rep. Mitch Gillespie

I bet you won't see this on a campaign sign:

Veteran lawmaker Rep. Mitch Gillespie – who in 2011 literally drew a bulls-eye target on his legislative office window aimed at the state Department of Environment and Natural Resources – will resign next month to become an assistant secretary of the agency.

Setting aside for the moment the negative impact of having an outspoken opponent of DENR taking over some of its reins, over 2/3 of the voters in his district turned out to vote for Gillespie, and donors contributed over $150,000 to his campaign. And in return, they're going to get someone else as a Representative, chosen by a small group of (also) unelected people. And this:

So far, it appears to be mostly study-related:

...the bill paves the way for a study of fracking and raises some fees associated with natural gas exploration. It also gives the Department of Environment and Natural Resources authority to work with consumer advocates.

I like some of the guidance for the study, especially as related to water resources. Where the water's going to come from and where the tainted water will go afterward are crucial questions that demand hyper-specific answers. But while we're in the early days, I have a question about this: