Capitol Beat

Business leaders, lawmakers hope for bipartisan action on permitting reform

One lawmaker said the state has a “rare and unique opportunity” to act now.

State Sens. Lisa Boscola (left) and Kristin Phillips-Hill (right).

State Sens. Lisa Boscola (left) and Kristin Phillips-Hill (right). Commonwealth Media Services

Leaders from the Pennsylvania Chamber of Business and Industry and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce partnered with two state senators on Tuesday to push for state-level permitting reforms, making the case that a streamlined and more transparent permitting process will keep more businesses and workers in the state and ultimately pay dividends for the state’s economy. 

The virtual discussion included appearances from state Sens. Kristin Phillips-Hill, a York County Republican, and Lisa Boscola, a Democrat representing Lehigh and Northampton counties. Phillips-Hill is the prime sponsor of Senate Bill 350, which would make several changes to how permits are reviewed and approved in the state. Among other things, the bill seeks to speed up the timeline it takes to get a multitude of permits approved in the commonwealth. 

“We have a rare and unique opportunity to address the issue,” Phillips-Hill said. 

Both Phillips-Hill and Boscola, as well as Luke Bernstein, the president and CEO of the Pennsylvania Chamber, said permitting delays have derailed projects that offered a lot of promise for the state. 

Bernstein pointed to U.S. Steel, which in 2021 chose not to move ahead with $1.5 billion in planned improvements to western Pennsylvania facilities, as an example of one project that failed to materialize due to permitting delays. U.S. Steel acknowledged that permitting difficulties were one component of its decision to halt the project in a 2021 open letter to the Pittsburgh region.  

Phillips-Hill said her office has heard from doctors and teachers who have struggled to get the necessary permits and licenses for their professions. “People can't wait for days to get an answer from their state government,” she said. “I had teachers who could not get their certificate in time – they ended up leaving to teach in Maryland during the pandemic.”

Boscola concurred. “Whether it's building roads, houses, pipelines, solar fields, energy, broadband – you name it. These delays can often make or break a project,” she said.  

U.S. Chamber of Commerce Senior Vice President of Policy Marty Durbin and Pittsburgh Works Together Executive Director Jeff Nobers also spoke during the virtual press call. Nobers, who leads a partnership between building trade unions and businesses, said permitting reform efforts also have the support of western Pennsylvania labor. 

“We agree on this wholeheartedly. It's very logical. If businesses can't get the permits to construct, the trade unions don't work. Nothing could be more simple than that,” Nobers said. 

Bernstein outlined a list of solutions that he said could improve the state’s permitting processes. He called for lawmakers to codify an executive order signed into law by Gov. Josh Shapiro earlier this year, which directed state agencies to develop catalogs of the permits, licenses and certifications that they issue. 

The executive order, signed by Shapiro in January, tasks the governor’s office with establishing recommended permit application processing times for agencies. If agencies exceed the processing times set by the governor’s office, they will be required to refund the cost of the application fee, according to the executive order. 

Bernstein also said the state should allow for third-party reviews of permit applications, increase transparency during the application process and overhaul how permit appeals are handled. 

“From a state perspective, Pennsylvania needs to be more competitive,” Bernstein said. “Pennsylvania loses out on critical investments if we have an antiquated and outdated permitting structure.” 

SB 350, sponsored by Phillips-Hill, was approved by the state Senate in May with a 29-19 vote. The vote was split largely along party lines, though Boscola was the only Democrat to cross party lines and vote for the measure. 

The bill would require state agencies to review permit decisions and delays and establish a list of all the permits offered by state entities. The legislation would also task agencies with creating a secure tracking system for applicants to monitor the status of permit applications. 

It currently awaits a vote in the state House, which is currently made up of 101 Democrats and 101 Republicans, with one vacant seat needing to be filled. 

X
This website uses cookies to enhance user experience and to analyze performance and traffic on our website. We also share information about your use of our site with our social media, advertising and analytics partners. Learn More / Do Not Sell My Personal Information
Accept Cookies
X
Cookie Preferences Cookie List

Do Not Sell My Personal Information

When you visit our website, we store cookies on your browser to collect information. The information collected might relate to you, your preferences or your device, and is mostly used to make the site work as you expect it to and to provide a more personalized web experience. However, you can choose not to allow certain types of cookies, which may impact your experience of the site and the services we are able to offer. Click on the different category headings to find out more and change our default settings according to your preference. You cannot opt-out of our First Party Strictly Necessary Cookies as they are deployed in order to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting the cookie banner and remembering your settings, to log into your account, to redirect you when you log out, etc.). For more information about the First and Third Party Cookies used please follow this link.

Allow All Cookies

Manage Consent Preferences

Strictly Necessary Cookies - Always Active

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Sale of Personal Data, Targeting & Social Media Cookies

Under the California Consumer Privacy Act, you have the right to opt-out of the sale of your personal information to third parties. These cookies collect information for analytics and to personalize your experience with targeted ads. You may exercise your right to opt out of the sale of personal information by using this toggle switch. If you opt out we will not be able to offer you personalised ads and will not hand over your personal information to any third parties. Additionally, you may contact our legal department for further clarification about your rights as a California consumer by using this Exercise My Rights link

If you have enabled privacy controls on your browser (such as a plugin), we have to take that as a valid request to opt-out. Therefore we would not be able to track your activity through the web. This may affect our ability to personalize ads according to your preferences.

Targeting cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.

Social media cookies are set by a range of social media services that we have added to the site to enable you to share our content with your friends and networks. They are capable of tracking your browser across other sites and building up a profile of your interests. This may impact the content and messages you see on other websites you visit. If you do not allow these cookies you may not be able to use or see these sharing tools.

If you want to opt out of all of our lead reports and lists, please submit a privacy request at our Do Not Sell page.

Save Settings
Cookie Preferences Cookie List

Cookie List

A cookie is a small piece of data (text file) that a website – when visited by a user – asks your browser to store on your device in order to remember information about you, such as your language preference or login information. Those cookies are set by us and called first-party cookies. We also use third-party cookies – which are cookies from a domain different than the domain of the website you are visiting – for our advertising and marketing efforts. More specifically, we use cookies and other tracking technologies for the following purposes:

Strictly Necessary Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Functional Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Performance Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Sale of Personal Data

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.

Social Media Cookies

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.

Targeting Cookies

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.