A lot of places offer a money-back guarantee. Tools, clothing, mattresses — if you aren’t satisfied with many products or services, you can get a refund, no questions asked.
It was intriguing when Pennsylvania state government joined the money-back guarantee club.
Gov. Josh Shapiro issued an executive order that says people who pay an application fee to obtain a state license, permit or certificate will get a refund if their application is not processed swiftly. That goes for everything, including occupational licenses for nurses, accountants, funeral directors and teachers, and environmental clearances for developers.
“We are committed to serving Pennsylvanians effectively and efficiently,” Shapiro, a Democrat, said at a Jan. 31 news conference.
“Pennsylvania, like many other states, is facing a critical labor shortage among front-line workers, from nurses to teachers,” he said. “At a time when we need every qualified nurse and hospital worker on the job, we cannot have nurses kept off the job because of paperwork delays.”
A lot of politicians talk about the need for government to operate more like a business. This is a model that I hope Shapiro expands to other state services. Other governments should adopt it, too.
Property tax or rent rebate not issued promptly? You get paid interest on it. Building permit application not approved in a timely manner? Contractors get their money back. Rental unit inspection not done in a timely manner? Landlords get their money back.
Improving turnaround times for professional licenses will help the state economy in many ways.
It will fill shortages of staff at hospitals, schools and businesses. It will allow people to earn a living and support their family. And it will put more money into local businesses.
Pennsylvania’s track record is poor. In 2021, the state had some of the longest wait times in the country for issuing nursing licenses, according to an analysis by NPR. More than half the applicants waited at least three months.
Programs such as this sound good, but they fail if quality is sacrificed for expediency. Applications can’t be rubberstamped just to beat the clock. And Pennsylvania gets a lot of applications: about 80,000 for new licenses and 375,000 license renewals every year.
Shapiro said his administration will not fall into that trap.
Each application for a professional license, environmental permit or other approval will be scrutinized to ensure the applicant is qualified and deserves what they are seeking.
Shapiro said the process will give applicants certainty of when to expect an answer because in the past, responses occurred arbitrarily, and sometimes never at all.
“It is unacceptable to have to wait and wait and wait and remain in limbo out of work,” he said.
He invited an Allentown salon owner, Elizabeth Strong, to speak at last week’s news conference about a problem she encountered obtaining a state cosmetology license.
Strong owns Elizabeth Anthony’s Salon. She encountered awful customer service from the state when she moved to her location on West Liberty Street in 2014.
An inspection is required within 90 days of a move. About halfway through that window, the check she sent to the state cosmetology board still had not been cashed. She called and was told her paperwork had arrived but her payment hadn’t.
Quite ridiculous.
But Strong didn’t have a choice. She sent a second payment — this time paying twice the amount of the previous fee because the rate had doubled while she waited.
After getting no response to that payment, Strong called again. She said she was told her paperwork was there, but something in the application was missing.
She didn’t have time to fool around anymore with bureaucrats. If her new salon wasn’t inspected in 90 days, she couldn’t open.
“I was pretty upset. My career’s hanging in the balance here,” she said at the news conference.
Strong called her state representative, Democrat Mike Schlossberg. He asked her to bring him the paperwork and payment for the initial fee. Her inspection finally occurred two days later.
“These things shouldn’t happen,” Strong said. “These are big dreams, There are people’s licenses on the line here, and we’re kind of at the mercy of state licensing.”
Under Shapiro’s executive order, state agencies, boards and commissions must send information to the governor’s office about the licenses, certificates and permits they issue, along with any statutory deadlines. The governor’s office will review the information and set “efficient application processing times.”
If a deadline is missed, the applicant will get a refund.
What they really want, though, is their license. This process needs to ensure that lingering applications remain the top priority, even if a refund has been issued.
This initiative is not about money. It’s about accountability. And that’s why it’s a model for others to follow.
Morning Call columnist Paul Muschick can be reached at 610-820-6582 or paul.muschick@mcall.com.
