Permitting Reform Emerges as Construction Industry’s Top Policy Priority, Congressman Patronis Says

Congressman Jimmy Patronis, who represents Florida’s First Congressional District and serves on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, has identified permitting reform as the construction industry’s most urgent policy fight. In a recent episode of Beyond the Build, the official podcast of Associated Builders and Contractors North Florida, Patronis joined Kelvin Enfinger, Vice President at Greenhut Construction, to discuss the regulatory environment facing contractors.

Patronis did not mince words about the impact of permitting delays. “I get very spun up when we have excessive delays that lead to excessive soft costs,” he said. “Legal expenses, engineering expenses, survey expenses – because somebody is nickel-and-diming or challenging a development.” These soft costs, which include legal fees and engineering bills that accrue while projects stall, erode margins and strain contractor cash flow without advancing any physical work.

The congressman targeted not just bureaucratic slowness but an institutional culture within agencies like the Army Corps of Engineers, where some career staff treat permit denial as a default. He noted that new Corps leadership has shown interest in refocusing the agency on its mission, but questioned whether that shift will hold. For construction professionals, Patronis’s message is clear: pressure for permitting reform is building at the congressional level, and the political conditions – a cooperative White House, majority in both chambers, and roughly 70 outgoing members motivated to leave productively – create a window that does not stay open indefinitely.

Patronis sits on the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, where the surface transportation authorization bill is a priority. This legislation authorizes federal spending on roads and bridges, critical for markets like Northwest Florida, where population growth is outpacing road capacity on corridors like Highway 98. The Warrior Road Act, which Patronis championed, addresses access to Hurlburt Field and the broader military corridor. Additionally, the US Department of Transportation’s $489 million port infrastructure development program signals continued federal infrastructure investment.

The workforce conversation was equally direct. Enfinger cited the current national shortage of 360,000 construction workers, a number that could grow by another 100,000 within a year. Patronis drew on his own background, noting his first credential was a culinary arts degree and that he started in the kitchen. “There is a satisfaction you get by creating something with your hands that you’re never going to get from taking a test and hopefully getting an A,” he said. “When you get that gratification – you’ve done something yourself, that’s a different type of confidence builder.”

Patronis’s authentic testimony carries weight for an industry that struggles to communicate the dignity of trades work to a generation steered toward four-year degrees. The workforce pipeline requires policy support, institutional buy-in from schools and community colleges, and elected officials willing to say plainly that a skilled trade is not a fallback but a foundation.

The conversation on Beyond the Build, produced in partnership with Associated Builders and Contractors North Florida and Florida Construction News, underscores that permitting reform, infrastructure funding, and workforce development are interconnected challenges. With a narrow political window for action, the construction industry is watching closely.

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