Pennsylvania is looking at the cost to do business in the state for the 2024/25 budget.

"We want to make Pennsylvania more competitive so businesses can start, thrive, and grow here,” said Luke Bernstein, president of the PA Chamber.

There are several key investments Governor Josh Shapiro proposed in the budget. One program of interest for regional chambers of commerce is the PA SITES program. This offers a grant to property owners to rehabilitate old buildings so they are ready for new businesses to move into.

“In rural areas, there may not be a water line, or [the building] needs power lines that are established for the utilities,” said Curtis Jones, Government Affairs Director at the Erie Regional Chamber. "And so all of that costs significant funds”

“In the economic development game, if you want to keep a company here, if you want to attract a company, you need to have both sites and buildings that are ready to go,” said Jake Rouch, Vice President of the Erie Regional Chamber.

Shapiro’s proposed budget calls for $500 million in bonds to fund the program for 2024/25. Rouch says the state could use more, but its a significant improvement compared to state funding for economic development in recent decades.

Another area of improvement businesses are calling for is speeding up the permitting process. Shapiro has improved speeds in certain areas of state government administration— but economic leaders say all areas need to work efficiently to give businesses security in the time frame of a project.

“The administration right now has talked about, you know, if we don't get your permit to you in 30 days, you're going to get your money back. And candidly, that sounds good, but it's not as impactful as getting the permit,” said Rouch.

"If it's going to take you a year to get the permitting for a particular structure or building or operation, then they [businesses] are going to move on down the road because time is money to them,” said Rouch.

Shapiro proposed $10 million in the 2024/25 budget for the Department of Environmental Protection to increase staff and technology at regional offices.

Looking to taxes, Shapiro called for the rate cuts to the corporate income tax to continue— a decrease started in the Wolf administration.

The PA Chamber wants to increase the cap on the state's Net Operating Loss (NOL) tax deduction. This allows new businesses, who often spend more than they make in their first 1-3 years, to deduct some of their business losses on the year’s that they do make taxable income.

“Right now Pennsylvania is last in the nation, tied with New Hampshire, on where we cap NOL tax write offs,” said Bernstein.

Lastly, businesses need employees—and business advocates say workforce development is critical going forward.