Building trades and business leaders press for permitting, transmission and regulatory reforms to speed projects and bring jobs home

Leaders representing the Washington building trades and business associations told a Washington‑state policy summit that permitting delays, transmission constraints and regulatory complexity — not a lack of skilled workers — are the largest barriers to delivering public works and private projects.

Erin Frazier, deputy secretary of the Washington State Building and Construction Trades Council, said the state is experiencing a 'project shortage' and said the council is preparing a jobs package organized around five policy pillars: public works and capital investment, skilled‑workforce and apprenticeship pathways, labor‑standards enforcement and accountability, energy and infrastructure development, and siting/permitting and regulatory alignment. “Today, more than 10,000 skilled union construction workers are out of work,” Frazier said, characterizing the total as an organizational estimate.

Panelists and audience members proposed concrete fixes to shorten timelines and reduce uncertainty: set permit‑issuance timelines with refunds when agencies fail to meet agreed benchmarks; legislate limits on 'moving‑target' permitting so applications do not need repeated resubmission when rules change; and adopt incentive models such as fewer inspections for consistently compliant firms.

Angela, who led Oregon Business & Industry’s regulatory review, described Oregon’s effort and offered comparative data: she said her organization’s report counted roughly 201,000 regulations and tied regulatory growth to measurable economic impacts in the analyst reports they cited. Panelists urged business, labor and the executive branch to cooperate on a prioritized, accountable list of regulatory frictions the state can address.

Speakers emphasized the economic stakes: Microsoft and other employers have pursued projects that generated regional jobs and tax base increases, but panelists argued that permitting delays and uncertainty have pushed projects and workers to other states. Audience participants — including port and microenterprise representatives — raised litigation and compliance‑cost concerns for small employers and urged better agency customer service and centralized information on rule changes.

Erin Frazier asked potential partners to bring specific legislative concepts aligned with the five pillars so the building trades can evaluate support; no formal legislation was filed during the session. The panel concluded with an invitation for attendees to submit discrete lists of regulatory frictions to aid prioritization.