Navigating bureaucratic red tape can feel like being lost in a maze. Waiting on answers, wondering what other paperwork is needed, hoping for replies, and experiencing little to no customer service is often the story associated with any bureaucratic permitting process. The disorienting permitting pathway faced by most economic development projects causes delays, cost increases, or failure and termination of projects.
Governor Little of Idaho issued an Executive Order on January 24th, addressing this concern with permitting delays. Executive Order No. 2025-02 is the Idaho Strategic Permitting, Efficiency, and Economic Development (SPEED) Act. The order is designed to improve the efficiency of permitting and approval timelines, increase collaboration between government agencies and stakeholders, and identify areas of improvement within Idaho’s regulatory framework.
The SPEED Act will create a council to support the goals of permitting efficiency, transparency, and reform. The council’s stated responsibilities are:
Improve early consultation between Idaho’s permitting agencies and project proponents;
Design, implement, and facilitate a coordinated permitting process that will improve transparency, predictability, and timeliness for certain projects;
Promote efficiency and transparency through the publication of project-specific timetables with completion timelines for all State authorizations and environmental reviews;
Increase accountability through consultation and reporting on projects; and
Identify sections of statute or administrative rule that are duplicative, unnecessary, or unreasonably prolong the State’s permitting process.
As the least regulated state in the nation, the continued improvement of government efficiency in Idaho is praiseworthy. If the council effectively meets its goals, the improved permitting process will attract valuable projects, creating jobs and improving the economic growth and strength of the Idaho economy.
One item the council should consider is how to achieve transparency in the permitting process. Mountain States Policy Center recently published a report on regulatory reform highlighting an innovative approach in Virginia concerning permitting transparency that can serve as an example. Virginia tested a small-scale approach to the permit transparency dashboard with their Department of Environmental Quality and was able to add six more state agencies in June 2024.
The Virginia Permit Transparency (VPT) website allows the public to search for permit applications and the associated details of location and responsible agencies, along with detailing the timeline since submission, how long a step in the process may take, and the expected completion date. Before the adoption of this program by Virginia’s DEQ the average processing time of 339 days per permit. Since the platform was implemented by DEQ the wait time should be no more than 255 days.
Governor Youngkin of Virginia said the website, “reaffirms our ongoing commitment to enhancing government transparency and ensuring it serves all Virginians effectively.” The VPT website is under the responsibility of Virginia’s Office of Regulatory Management which is striving towards a 25% reduction in regulatory requirements and is on track to achieve this goal. The VPT website has been a valuable addition to achieving their objectives and improving the Virginia economy.
Idaho’s constant striving towards government efficiency and regulatory reduction serves as an example to the rest of the nation. If Idaho combines an electronic permit processing tracker, that shows where permits are at in the maze, with the reforms included in the SPEED Act, it will be easier for entrepreneurs, government agencies, and stakeholders to create new opportunities for Idaho.