COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Ohio senators approved new regulations for horizontal shale drilling on Tuesday in a bipartisan vote punctuated by a spoken rendition of "The Beverly Hillbillies" theme song.
State Sen. Bill Seitz, a Cincinnati Republican, used the 1960s sitcom's protagonist — who became an instant millionaire when he discovered oil — to urge fellow lawmakers to dispense with critics of hydraulic fracturing and get drilling moving in the state.
"Folks, we're sitting on a mountain of money," he said. "People who have been poor as church mice for 150 years are now going to be the latter-day Jed Clampetts."
The detailed energy bill cleared the chamber, 27-6, with backing from both Republicans and Democrats. It also adjusts Ohio's renewable energy standard, which set a timetable for utilities to meet usage thresholds, to include waste heat such as that generated from factory smokestacks.
Supporters said the bill balances environment, public health and safety, and commerce by expanding chemical disclosure and water testing requirements. It goes next to the Ohio House.
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