Business owners frustrated by permit delays in Maryland are finding an ally in Delegate Joe Vogel, who has introduced legislation to expedite the process.
Daniel DiGiacomo, owner of National Home Team, a company dealing in rental properties across Baltimore, emphasized the financial impact of these delays.
“Ultimately, I cannot occupy a property with a tenant until I’ve received certain licensing,” DiGiacomo said. “If it takes me 90 days, then I’ve just lost 25% of my revenue for the year on that property. So, it can be very expensive if things aren’t issued quickly.”
Delegate Vogel, a Democrat from Montgomery County, is co-sponsoring House Bill 1038, a bipartisan effort to address the issue. The proposed law would require the Department of Commerce to create a complaint portal for reporting when a governmental unit takes longer than 60 days to process a license or permit application.
“At a time when we need economic growth here in Maryland, I believe government should be helping businesses grow and succeed,” Vogel said. “We know there are some agencies in some counties that are doing a good job, that are getting out these permits, that are getting out these licenses all on time. But we need to also know there are cases where that is not happening.”
Economist Anirban Basu highlighted the broader economic implications of these delays.
“My guess is that the impact of this is in the hundreds of billions of dollars per year, in terms of lost investment in Maryland and thousands of jobs,” Basu said. “When you make it difficult for businesses, they just go someplace else.”
DiGiacomo echoed this sentiment, noting his decision to invest elsewhere due to frustrations in Maryland.
“I mean, I started buying property in Florida to kind of offset some of my frustration,” DiGiacomo said. “So, I haven’t moved the business, but I’ve definitely invested in other markets. If Maryland was sort of more efficient, I probably wouldn’t be doing that.”
An upcoming hearing on House Bill 1038 in the Economic Matters Committee is scheduled for Tuesday, Feb. 25.