The Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI) has published a report outlining improvements in state-level environmental permitting systems. The report highlights reforms aimed at making these systems more transparent and efficient, which are seen as crucial for meeting energy demands and modernizing infrastructure.
Several states have successfully implemented reforms that have improved the business environment. However, some face challenges from environmental activists and lawmakers in maintaining these changes.
James Broughel, the author of the report, stated, “When state reforms produce measurable results, they can provide a foundation of evidence to support similar efforts in other jurisdictions, including at the federal level.” He noted that state-level political environments might be more conducive to enacting reforms due to their homogeneity and less organized opposition from interest groups.
States without lasting reforms can look to others as legislative models. Suggestions for reform include:
– Online permit tracking systems used by Virginia, Washington, Iowa, Arizona, and Pennsylvania.
– Process improvement strategies like Lean and Kaizen methods applied in Iowa, Arizona, and Colorado.
– Expedited permit processing for a fee seen in Louisiana, North Carolina, and Pennsylvania.
– Third-party reviews adopted by Pennsylvania, Hawaii, Virginia, and Tennessee.
– Standardized application processing timelines used by New York, Arizona, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, and Minnesota.
Broughel added that while state-level reforms show promise for improving regulatory processes,“implementation requires careful consideration of context and potential unintended consequences.” He emphasized that lessons from these experiments could influence future U.S. environmental policy.
The full report titled “Laboratories of Bureaucracy: How states are improving environmental permitting” is available on CEI.org. Further reading on this topic includes analyses focused on Michigan, Hawaii, Minnesota,and North Carolina.