Pennsylvania is a difficult state to do business in.  Industry thrives on certainty in order to make investments and create jobs and a tax base in our communities.  Businesses need to know what the rules they need to play by are and how and when they can expect to be approved for permits.  And these standards need to make sense and not be left up to the discretion of unelected staff in our bureaucratic state agencies.
 
Too many times our state agencies make decisions which put up unnecessary roadblocks in the way of business development.  These requirements often have no basis in any rational or articulable environmental standard.  My legislation will address some of these concerns by requiring that where a federal law or regulation clearly sets forth an environmental standard, our state agencies cannot, by regulation, policy or guidance document, or permit condition, put a more burdensome requirement in place.
 
Pennsylvania has continuously lost out on investment and exciting business opportunities to our neighboring states and states throughout the country.  This is because where other states look to work with businesses to ensure that they can partner with them to be built quickly and safely in a manner that protects our environment, our agencies seek to regulate and block development just for the sake of slowing things down and being an obstacle.
 
Please join me in sponsoring this important legislation to make Pennsylvania the economic powerhouse that we can and should be.