Earlier this year, the Manufacturer & Business Association (MBA) hosted Secretary Ben Kirshner of the Office of Transformation and Opportunity with members to learn what Pennsylvania is doing to promote business in the state.
The MBA is proud to be uniquely positioned to give our members access to those in government who make decisions that directly affect your business. We encourage members to attend these events and be a part of a network of well-connected individuals involved in government decisions that improve the business community.
In Kirshner’s presentation, he outlined the four functions he sees his office operating:
- The Front Door — Serve as a single point of contact for businesses as they navigate complex projects that require coordination amongst multiple state agencies.
- Measure what Matters — Develop data dashboards to measure KPIs for the Governor’s Office as part of a comprehensive Performance Management System.
- Support Long-Term Strategy — Ensure a competitive PA by supporting the Economic Development Strategy and standing up CEO Councils to ensure an ongoing dialogue with the business community.
- Drive Structural Reform — Address bottlenecks with both immediate support and long-term regulatory and legislative reform, from permitting to procurement.
During the presentation and subsequent question-and-answer session, permitting reform has been a priority. Permits for new or existing business expansion have been a common deterrent in Pennsylvania. In response, the office has established a “fast track” program for projects that are deemed to have a high impact.
The professional licensure permitting has caused backlogs and delays to get needed workers into the workforce. Due to new accountability measures being implemented, Kirshner reported that recently the Department of Education announced it had reduced teacher-certification processing times from 10 to 15 weeks down to less than one. Additionally, the Department of State cut the average processing time for business and corporate filings from eight weeks to three days.
It is commendable to see such progress in such a short period of time but also reinforces distrust amongst the business community, knowing this was possible from the government and was simply ignored. The office’s recent success is done in part due to Kirshner’s business-like approach using data to qualify government bureaucracy.
Like business, it’s impossible to measure success without a plan. According to Kirshner, for the first time in over 20 years, Pennsylvania has developed an economic development strategy.
Kirshner has established priorities for the plan in agriculture, energy, life sciences, manufacturing, robotics and technology. These sectors represent opportunities for the Commonwealth to accelerate its leadership in growth industries and sustain competitive advantages in key industries that support large job bases.
While having a direction and a mutual agreement that Pennsylvania should not consistently be ranked amongst the worst states to do business, some of the proposed solutions leave the business community still weary.
Governor Shapiro’s proposal for a record $48.1 billion plan includes $3 billion in reserves. I have never seen a budget reduce its spending year over year, but rather creates new minimum spending floors with each increase. To note, the Independent Fiscal Office says by 2025–26 our reserves and rainy-day fund will be depleted.
We need to enact pro-growth tax reform to make Pennsylvania’s treatment of taxes competitive compared to high-performing states. The governor has enacted a “get stuff done” mantra but what is needed is leadership to call out political maneuvers at the cost of real growth in Pennsylvania.
The MBA is grateful to Secretary Kirshner for meeting with our members, and he expressed his admiration for our members engaging with him as this is how he gets the ideas needed to make improvements in the state from the business community.
Jezree Friend is the vice president at the Manufacturer & Business Association (MBA). Contact him at 814/833-3200, 800/815-2660 or jfriend@mbausa.org.
