When Governor Josh Shapiro campaigned for office, he often heard of the headaches small and large businesses experienced getting state permits.
“We recognize that time is money, and we recognize that it took too damn long to get projects done in the past," he said Wednesday in Hazleton.
Shapiro visited NorthPoint Development's new logistics warehouse to highlight how another of the real estate developer's projects will benefit from a new state program.
Located about 3 miles away, NorthPoint's Hazlenut is a large-scale technology processing center set to create about 900 jobs. It's one of three projects statewide in the state's new fast-track permit program, meant to speed up approvals and make the state more competitive in attracting business to fuel economic growth.
Flanked by county, Hazleton and Hazle Twp. representatives, Shapiro signed a ceremonial executive order officially establishing the program.
Large development projects often need permits from multiple state agencies like PennDOT and the state Department of Environmental Protection.
“If you were a developer, you didn't know where to go, and oftentimes those developers were forced to hire, you know, fancy lawyers and lobbyists and others to get them through the process. We don't want there to be a barrier to entry here," said Shapiro.
Now, the newly established Office of Transformation and Opportunity will help guide corporations planning major complex projects through the permitting process.
Shapiro said fast-tracking won't require meeting set parameters such as minimum acreage or job creation.
"But what it is are complex, large scale projects that are going to require a lot of different agencies to be involved," he said.
To promote transparency, an online dashboard shows projects ' development status.
Hazlenut will house secure tech infrastructure, including servers, power distribution, cooling systems and network connectivity.
"This new development will help Pennsylvania continue to stay at the front of the pack when it comes to attracting jobs to the area," said Brian Stahl, NorthPoint's vice president of development.
Hazleton Mayor Jeff Cusat agrees with the governor.
"Government should work for the people, and it should not slow down economic development projects that will benefit our communities," he said.
Fast-track is only of Shapiro's initiatives created to attract big and small businesses and family sustaining jobs.
When Shapiro took office in January 2023, he asked state agencies to catalog the permits, licenses and certifications they manage.
They found the state issues 2,400 permits, licenses and certifications, Shapiro said. On his first day in office, it took eight weeks to get a business license in Pennsylvania.
“Today, it takes only two days," he said.
Barbers and cosmetologists used to wait two weeks for a license — now it takes less than 24 hours, he said.
Teachers no longer have to wait 10 weeks for certifications. They wait less than one.
DEP cleared its permit backlog by 75 percent.
"I think it speaks to the way everyone is working together, from the chamber to local government to state government to the private sector, everyone rowing in the same direction to be able to make sure that we are more competitive in Pennsylvania, to be able to bring more prosperity to Pennsylvanians and to be able to put more people to work all across our Commonwealth," Shapiro said.
