Washington State Auditors Office Troy Kelley Independence Respect Integrity Regulatory Reform:...
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Washington State Auditor’s Office Troy Kelley Independence • Respect • Integrity Regulatory Reform: Improving Permit Timeliness Joint Legislative Audit and Review Committee January 7, 2014 Chuck Pfeil, Director of Performance Audit Deborah Stephens, Senior Performance Auditor
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Transcript of Washington State Auditors Office Troy Kelley Independence Respect Integrity Regulatory Reform:...
Washington State Auditor’s Office
Troy KelleyI n d e p e n d e n c e • R e s p e c t • I n t e g r i t y
Regulatory Reform: Improving Permit Timeliness
Joint Legislative Audit and Review CommitteeJanuary 7, 2014
Chuck Pfeil, Director of Performance AuditDeborah Stephens, Senior Performance Auditor
W a s h i n g t o n S t a t e A u d i t o r ’ s O ffi c e 2
Background
The Audit: Improving Permit Timeliness
Business Feedback
Recommendations
W a s h i n g t o n S t a t e A u d i t o r ’ s O ffi c e 3
2011: We published our Inventory of Regulations 26 state regulatory agencies administer business permits,
licenses and/or inspections
2012: We published our first regulatory reform audit Communicating business information online Streamlining business rules
2013: We published this audit on permit timeliness 14 of the 26 agencies issue 225 business permits
A bit of history
W a s h i n g t o n S t a t e A u d i t o r ’ s O ffi c e 4
Laws and executive orders tell agencies to: Report permit processing times to businesses Streamline processes as much as possible
Businesses need predictable regulatory timeframes to make sound business investment choices
Efficient processes save businesses and government money
Why we did this audit
W a s h i n g t o n S t a t e A u d i t o r ’ s O ffi c e 5
Background
The Audit: Improving Permit Timeliness
Business Feedback
Recommendations
W a s h i n g t o n S t a t e A u d i t o r ’ s O ffi c e 6
We surveyed 4,200 business representatives - 70 percent response rates
Overall, satisfaction with permitting was good - 90 percent positive
Highest scores - friendly staff, clear decisions, questions answered
Lowest score - 17 percent disagreed or strongly disagreed—in the area of knowing permit processing times
Business survey
Individual permit scores varied—we shared results and comments with agencies
W a s h i n g t o n S t a t e A u d i t o r ’ s O ffi c e 7
We conducted focus groups in: Port Angeles Seattle Spokane Tri Cities
Predictability was the most talked about issue
Business focus groups
Other important aspects of permitting that businesses revealed:
Transparency Consistency Customer service
W a s h i n g t o n S t a t e A u d i t o r ’ s O ffi c e 8
Background
The Audit: Improving Permit Timeliness
Business Feedback
Recommendations
W a s h i n g t o n S t a t e A u d i t o r ’ s O ffi c e 9
Audit objectives
Our audit questions
1. Do regulatory agencies and their business customers know how long it takes agencies to make permit decisions?
2. Are there opportunities to reduce the time it takes regulatory agencies to make permit decisions?
W a s h i n g t o n S t a t e A u d i t o r ’ s O ffi c e 10
What we did We surveyed permitting agencies to find out if:
They track permit times They have target timelines
We looked on agency websites and application forms for processing time information
We compared availability of processing time information to what we found in our first audit
Do agencies and businesses know permit times?
W a s h i n g t o n S t a t e A u d i t o r ’ s O ffi c e 11
Do agencies know permit times?
What we found Agencies track processing times for 60 percent of permits
Tracking methods are inconsistent
Agencies have target timelines for 57 percent of permits
Business Permits
40% not tracked60%
tracked
Agencies do not track or have targets for a number of reasons:
Permitting is not a priority business
No system to track
Too many external factors
W a s h i n g t o n S t a t e A u d i t o r ’ s O ffi c e 12
Do businesses know permit times?
What we found Agencies provide processing time information for 40 percent
of permits
Agencies have improved—only 15 percent had information available in 2012
2012: 15% of permits
2013: 40% of permits
Improvement, but more to do!
In summary: Agencies and business customers don’t always know how long permit decisions take
W a s h i n g t o n S t a t e A u d i t o r ’ s O ffi c e 13
Opportunities to reduce permitting times?
What we did
We selected permits to evaluate 8 permits from 7 agencies Cross-section of industries, agencies, and processing times
Looked at best practices in 4 areas of permitting
1. Pre-application
2. Application and intake
3. Review and notification
4. Performance management
Developed a tool agencies can use to evaluate all permit and license processes
1
3
2
4
W a s h i n g t o n S t a t e A u d i t o r ’ s O ffi c e 14
What we found
Opportunities in the pre-application phase
Only a few permits had process maps or detailed information about the process online.
Many permits list contact information online for help, but none told businesses how long they would need to wait for a response.
Agencies can improve processes by providing better information and assistance before the application is submitted
W a s h i n g t o n S t a t e A u d i t o r ’ s O ffi c e 15
In the application/intake, review/notification phases
What we found
Agencies are doing a good job with application forms, screening for completeness, and review and notification of applications
W a s h i n g t o n S t a t e A u d i t o r ’ s O ffi c e 16
In the performance management phase
What we foundOnly a few permits had performance measures and targets for any phase of the permit process.
Only a few permits had formal evidence of using performance management to monitor and improve permitting
Agencies can improve processes by collecting and analyzing data to identify and resolve bottlenecks or other delays
W a s h i n g t o n S t a t e A u d i t o r ’ s O ffi c e 17
Summary of opportunities to reduce permitting times
What we found
In summary: Agencies have simple, low-cost opportunities to improve permitting and potentially reduce permit times.
W a s h i n g t o n S t a t e A u d i t o r ’ s O ffi c e 18
Promising practices
We saw many promising practices, such as: Examples of complete applications
Free pre-application assistance
Online submission
Checklists for applicants
Pre-populated renewal forms
Online status checks
Automatic status updates
Customer satisfaction surveys
W a s h i n g t o n S t a t e A u d i t o r ’ s O ffi c e 19
Background
The Audit: Improving Permit Timeliness
Business Feedback
Recommendations
W a s h i n g t o n S t a t e A u d i t o r ’ s O ffi c e 20
We recommend agencies: Measure permit timeliness Provide that information to businesses online Report progress to the Legislature Publish targets and performance measures Provide more up-front assistance to businesses
We recommend the Governor’s Office: Compile permitting best practices and publish a report
Recommendations
W a s h i n g t o n S t a t e A u d i t o r ’ s O ffi c e 21
Contacts
Chuck PfeilDirector of Performance Audit
(360) [email protected]
Website: www.sao.wa.gov
Troy KelleyState Auditor
(360) [email protected]
Deborah StephensSenior Performance Auditor
(360) [email protected]
