71 Pa. Stat. § 1709-2
For several years an acute economic emergency has existed in certain parts of this Commonwealth, threatening the health, public safety, welfare and future prosperity of the people. Thousands of our citizens are without employment through no fault of their own, and appropriations required for their assistance are a heavy burden on the Commonwealth and her people. Such economic conditions demand the adoption of a public policy and an administrative program to alleviate these conditions and prevent their recurrence, which can be remedied only as business, industry, and commerce are encouraged, rehabilitated, developed, and expended, and only as the Commonwealth's communities and regions solve their physical development problems and make themselves attractive, convenient and economical areas in which to live and work. It is necessary that a department be empowered to effectuate such a program. Accordingly, the powers and duties hereinafter enumerated in this act are vested in the Department of Commerce.
71 P.S. § 1709-2