OFFICIALS SAY PA. IS LOSING JOBS DUE TO A LACK OF PERMITTING REFORM

Pennsylvania state officials are joining with lawmakers to reform the permitting processes in the state. They believe Pennsylvania remains at a competitive disadvantage due to the amount of time it takes businesses to get permission to begin projects. State Senator Kristin Phillips-Hill, a Republican from York, said Tuesday that she has a constituent who moved his business to West Virginia because he’d wanted to expand the facility. She says he got it built there and opened it in less time than he would have in Pennsylvania. Officials with the Pennsylvania Chamber of Business and Industry say a similar circumstance prompted US Steel to open a 900-job facility in Arkansas instead of Pennsylvania.