State makes progress on notoriously slow permitting process

By Anthony Hennen | The Center Square

HARRISBURG, PA — Long-standing permit delays have been a routine annoyance in Pennsylvania.
Gov. Josh Shapiro has lauded the fixes he’s found for some of those issues, but a number of problems remain.

The administration recently noted its progress on cutting down backlogs and reducing months-long delays to mere weeks. For Medicaid delays, the Department of Human Services cleared a 35,000-person backlog of applications older than 30 days.

Over the summer, the Department of Education has cut down new teacher certifications to 2-3 weeks, a 10-week improvement compared to a year ago.

And in the Department of State, business and corporate filings has fallen from eight weeks for processing to three days.

For Shapiro, the developments fulfill his promise to “build an administration that works effectively and efficiently to create real opportunities for Pennsylvanians”

“In January, my Administration set in motion a plan to review every single license, permit, and certification administered by agencies under my jurisdiction with the goal of giving Pennsylvanians a reliable process they can count on every time they need one of these crucial documents,” he said. “We’re helping entrepreneurs start small businesses … Together, we’re delivering real change that makes a real difference in lives all across the Commonwealth.”

The push to standardize the timeframes for administrative decisions comes from an executive order issued by Shapiro and comes with a “money-back guarantee” if someone isn’t given a decision for a permit, certification, or other decision.

However, much work remains to be done.

Pennsylvania still lags behind other states in getting licenses to nurses, for example, sometimes requiring a wait that’s months longer than neighboring states. The commonwealth took more than four months, on average, to approve LPNs, while 30 other states would take 50 days to do so.

Confusing and non-standardized processes within the Department of Environmental Protection to get permits have also slowed down the natural gas industry.

And, for home building, Pennsylvania is months behind: though an average home gets built in 7 months in the South, it can take 12-18 months in the commonwealth.

Projects involving the federal government can be delayed for years. As federal broadband funding comes into play, the usual problems could follow. Business advocates want better metrics to track approvals and a more-streamlined process.

The Shapiro administration, meanwhile, has promised further improvement.

“Moving forward, the Shapiro Administration will continue its work to improve the permitting, licensing, and certification processes by filling key vacancies, updating the Commonwealth’s IT and technological assets, improving the application processes, and more,” a press release noted.