Governor Josh Shapiro Enacts Executive Order Guaranteeing 21-Day Environmental and Building Permits

HARRISBURG, Pa. — Governor Josh Shapiro signed Executive Order 2026-04 on Monday, establishing binding 21-business-day maximum review timelines for commercial building, air quality, stormwater, and industrial development permits issued by Pennsylvania state agencies, enforced by the state's signature "PAyback" automated fee refund guarantee.

The administrative directive expands upon the Commonwealth's initial licensing reform program, directing the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), the Department of Transportation (PennDOT), and the Department of Labor and Industry to eliminate application backlogs through digitized review tracking and automated administrative completeness checks.

Cutting Bureaucratic Red Tape at the Speed of Business Commercial developers, clean energy builders, and industrial manufacturers historically faced permitting delays exceeding twelve to eighteen months, forcing corporate investments to neighboring states with faster regulatory turnaround times.

"Government should move at the speed of business, not stand in the way of economic growth and job creation," Governor Shapiro said during a signing ceremony at the Pennsylvania State Capitol in Harrisburg. "Under this executive order, when an entrepreneur, clean tech manufacturer, or small business owner submits a permit application, state agencies must render a definitive decision within 21 business days. And if our agencies fail to meet that deadline, the state will refund their application fee in full, no questions asked."

Digital Permitting Dashboards and Priority Industrial Reviews Key reforms under Executive Order 2026-04 include:

• Real-Time Public Application Tracking: Implementing public online dashboards where applicants can track real-time permit review stages across all participating state agencies.
• Automatic Fee Refund Protocol: Codifying that any state agency exceeding the statutory 21-day timeline automatically issues an electronic reimbursement of all state filing fees.
• Expedited Economic Development Fast-Track: Creating a specialized interagency task force within the Governor's Action Team to process major manufacturing and clean tech projects exceeding $50 million in under 14 days.

Chambers of commerce, commercial real estate federations, and building trades unions praised the executive order, pointing out that predictable permitting timelines give Pennsylvania a decisive advantage in corporate site recruitment.