Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin signed a new Executive Order (EO) 39 intended to reduce wait times, reduce costs, and improve the permit, license, certification, and registration, application processes for Virginians.
“Since day one, we have made it a top priority to improve government efficiency for Virginians. We’ve reduced red tape, streamlined 50,000 regulatory requirements and saved Virginia citizens over $1.2 billion. Now, with our first in the nation approval tracking system, we are making it clearer, easier, and more efficient to apply for these critical approvals and taking a big step towards making Virginia the best place to live, work, and raise a family,” said Governor Youngkin.
Back in 2022, Youngkin’s administration established the Office of Regulatory Management (ORM), which has worked to modernize regulations to alleviate burdens on Virginia citizens and promote transparency throughout the regulatory process. ORM has partnered with the Office of Transformation on these efforts.
ORM’s efforts have already helped improve the permitting and licensing process in the state. The governor’s office said agencies have already removed 50,000 regulatory requirements, 17.5 percent of the total number of requirements.
Additionally, ORM has worked with agencies to ensure all regulatory actions and guidance document amendments appear online. ORM also worked with the Department of Environmental Quality to pilot and then launch the Virginia Permit Transparency (VPT) permitting dashboard. VPT covers over 100,000 applications issued per year across six agencies.
“Virginia is the only state that has built a government-wide platform that includes permit applications,” said ORM Director Reeve Bull. “Executive Order 39 takes this pioneering work to the next level, tasking agencies with bringing the few remaining permit types online and with speeding up processing times across the board.”
The EO builds on existing efforts by directing agencies to eliminate obsolete approvals; include approvals involving multiple steps on VPT; reduce the number and complexity of approvals through streamlining; and digitize and enhance the user experience for the approval application process.
“Increasing transparency, process efficiencies, and digitization of the permit and license application process is a critical component to supporting business growth and economic development,” said Secretary of Commerce and Trade Caren Merrick. “Whether it is shortening critical infrastructure timelines through permit reforms or increasing the timeliness of professional licensing, these actions help make Virginia the best place to live, work, and raise a family.”
