Confidence in government keeps slipping, and the reason isn’t a mystery. Under both parties, Washington has struggled to bring down the costs that weigh on working families. A big part of the problem is a permitting system so slow and outdated that the country can’t build the energy, housing, and infrastructure it needs on any reasonable timeline.
But thankfully, some states aren’t waiting to take this issue on. Democratic-led states are treating permitting as the cost of living issue it truly is. Colorado, under Gov. Jared Polis, is one of the strongest models.
What Colorado Is Doing
In August, Gov. Polis issued an Executive Order on Permitting Modernization. It directs four of the state’s busiest permitting divisions, covering air, water, hazardous waste, and energy and carbon management, to modernize how they work. The order tells them to move their work online by digitizing operations, to measure and track how long each permit takes, and to cut out unnecessary hurdles and steps.
The order also simplifies the experience for applicants and businesses. Instead of navigating several agencies separately, businesses will eventually use one single, statewide permitting portal. The pilot starts with the semiconductor industry, and agencies owe the governor a progress report by December 15.
Colorado is also focused on the projects that keep energy affordable. A working group led by the governor’s office and the Colorado Chamber of Commerce is developing ways to find faster paths for permits on transmission lines and low-emissions manufacturing, with recommendations expected by year end.
This work reflects what businesses told the governor’s Competitiveness Council in their October recommendations report: that permitting came up repeatedly and, as one business owner in the Pikes Peak region put it, it was “death by a thousand papercuts.”
The people who decide where projects land see the same problem. In a survey of site-selection consultants, 40 percent said a Colorado permit or review had ended a project outright. And 65 percent ranked a firm state permit deadline among their top three reforms.
The council’s recommendations are practical:
A concierge to guide businesses through the complex sign-off processes required by multiple state agencies.
State reviews that run on time, backed by firm deadlines.
Clear rules for what counts as a complete application, so projects aren’t stuck in endless back-and-forth.
The Research Backs It Up
Colorado’s experience matches what experts have found nationally. A white paper, commissioned by NAE, and authored independently by the Responsible Business Initiative, entitled “The Cost of Delay,” found that building delays have no single villain. Instead, they come from a pileup of interconnection queues, thin agency staffing, uncoordinated reviews, and policy that shifts with each election.
Those delays are expensive. Grid congestion alone cost consumers more than $12 billion in 2024, and the median wait to connect a new power project now tops five years. That’s why fixing one bottleneck at a time keeps falling short, and why Colorado’s approach of tackling the whole process is the right one. It’s a model for the nation.
Washington Has a Bill Ready to Go
Congress also now has a bipartisan bill built on these same ideas. The Bipartisan American Affordability and Jobs Act of 2026 (BAAJA; S. 5653) was introduced last month by Democrats Martin Heinrich and Sheldon Whitehouse alongside Republicans Mike Lee and Shelley Moore Capito.
Among many things, the bill would:
Set enforceable limits on federal environmental reviews: two-years for an impact statement and one year for an assessment, with consequences when agencies miss them.
Speed transmission permitting up, by letting federal review run alongside state review.
Require data centers to cover the cost of the transmission built to serve them so household ratepayers don’t absorb it.
Preserve Tribal consultation and the right to challenge permits in court.
Protect projects that have earned their permits from being revoked by a future administration, absent extraordinary circumstances, a violation of law, or a court order.
Colorado’s own Sens. John Hickenlooper and Michael Bennet have been supportive of permitting reform previously, and are working to get BAAJA across the finish line.
The Time to Act Is Now
With a Senate vote on permitting reform expected as soon as Monday, November 16th, lawmakers have a real chance to get this done before the year ends. Colorado has already proven that a state can speed up permitting while keeping safeguards communities count on in place. Washington should follow its lead at the federal level.
