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    Making Government Work for You

    Government Efficiency

    Governor Shapiro is cutting red tape and making government more responsive, accessible, and accountable to the people who matter most: Pennsylvanians. The Governor has led a whole-of-government effort to improve Pennsylvanians’ customer experience and has been laser focused on making the government’s public- and business-facing services more user-friendly—and with eliminated backlogs and drastically shortened wait times, that work has paid off.

    Under Governor Shapiro, Pennsylvania workers receive their licenses and business filings quicker than before:

    • Reduced processing times of certain business filings from 8 weeks to as little as 1 business day. 

    • The processing time for nursing licenses dropped from 25 days to just six days; doctors’ licenses from 43 days to five days; and pharmacist licenses from 20 days to just one day.

    • The Shapiro Administration fully implemented multistate licensure compacts that make it easier for doctors, nurses, and physical therapists who are qualified and licensed in other states to practice in the Commonwealth within days. 

    • The turnaround time for cosmetology and barbershop licenses dropped from almost 2 weeks to the same day. 

    • The wait time for new teacher certifications dropped by 10 weeks down to 2 weeks, and the Commonwealth has seen a steady increase in teacher certificates issued every year.

    The Shapiro Administration has streamlined and improved how businesses interact with the Commonwealth:

    • Established the Commonwealth Office of Digital Experience (CODE PA) to improve online services for Pennsylvanians and streamline the way they interact with the Commonwealth online.

    • Created the Office of Transformation and Opportunity, a one-stop-shop for businesses looking to grow in Pennsylvania and support transformational economic development, which helped cut through red tape for 300+ businesses looking to expand in the Commonwealth in 2025 alone. 

    • Launched first-in-the-nation online money-back guarantee system, increasing certainty for Pennsylvanians and accountability for Commonwealth agencies – and helping folks get their money back if the Commonwealth didn’t hear back about their permit, license, or certification by a certain date. 

    • Required all state agencies to review their processes to approve licenses and permits and created a money-back guarantee if applicants do not receive a response within a certain window. The completed first-ever catalogue included more than 2,400 licenses, permits, and certifications issued by state government.  

    • Signed an Executive Order to create the Pennsylvania Permit Fast Track Program to streamline the Commonwealth’s permitting process for key economic development and infrastructure projects and accelerate timelines. 

    • Secured $32.7 million to modernize and speed up the permitting process at the Department of Environmental Protection, clear permit backlogs, and hire necessary staff to implement these reforms across all three budgets.  

    • The Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) completely eliminated a 2,400 permit backlog. 

    • Streamlined the application process for one of the Commonwealth’s most important economic tools, the Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program. 

    • Launched a new one-stop grant search tool to make it easier for residents, businesses, non-profits, schools, and local governments to find and apply to grant programs from state agencies. 

    • Reduced time to hire for Commonwealth jobs by 42 percent – down from 90 days at the beginning of the Administration to 52 days currently – meaning the Commonwealth can respond to residents’ needs quicker.

    • Filled nearly 600 vacancies for Commonwealth positions related to permit, licensure, and certification processes, ensuring Pennsylvanians can get results when they need them.

    • Hired over 800 former federal employees to fill critical job vacancies in Pennsylvania’s workforce, accepting federal government experience as equivalent to Commonwealth experience, streamlining the hiring process and opening doors for highly qualified professionals.

    This Administration made it easier for Pennsylvania residents to receive state services and eliminated program backlogs.

    • Implemented automatic voter registration for eligible Commonwealth residents, joining 23 states that have taken this step to promote election security and save taxpayers time and money. 

    • Expanded services for in-person help with Unemployment Compensation through the Department of Labor & Industry’s UC Connect program, to make it easier for Pennsylvanians with limited English proficiency or internet access to receive assistance. Since taking office, the UC Connect program has served more than 106,000 Pennsylvanians. 

    • The Department of Labor & Industry fully eliminated a backlog of 40,000 pandemic-era unemployment claims that required individual examination or adjudication just seven months after Governor Shapiro took office.

    • The Department of Health eliminated its backlog of birth certificate amendment requests, which stood at 6,200 when the Governor took office.

    Governor Shapiro prioritized government transparency, representation, and communication.

    • Nominated the most diverse and qualified Cabinet in Pennsylvania history, including the first female Secretary of the Department of Corrections and the first Black Secretary of the Department of General Services.  

    • Signed an Executive Order to increase opportunities for small and small diverse businesses to compete for state contracts and make the Commonwealth procurement process more accessible, resulting in more than $1 billion directed to small businesses for two years in a row.

    • Expanded job opportunities with the Commonwealth by removing the four-year college degree requirement for around 65,000 positions. 

    • Implemented a three-part ethics package for Cabinet members and executive branch employees with a zero-tolerance policy towards lobbyists and mandatory ethics trainings for more than 1,800 Commonwealth employees. 

    • Reestablished the Governor’s Advisory Commissions on African American Affairs, Asian American and Pacific Islander Affairs, Latino Affairs, LGBTQ Affairs, and Women – while establishing the new Commission on Next Generation Engagement.

    The Shapiro Administration’s Streamlining Efforts By The Numbers:

    • The Department of State reduced average processing times for business filings to 1 day.
    • The Department of General Services cut the time to certify a small business to 2 days.
    • The Department of Human Services eliminated the 35,000 Medicaid provider enrollment application backlog.

    Hear from Pennsylvanians about the Shapiro-Davis Administration’s work: