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Department of State cites sharply reduced licensing wait times and outlines PALS replacement schedule
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Summary
Secretary Al Schmidt and deputy staff told the committee licensing times have fallen across professions after staffing and process changes; the PALS replacement will roll out in two phases in 2026 and the department budgeted funds for the project.
Department of State leaders told the Appropriations Committee that licensing application processing times have fallen substantially after staffing and performance-management changes, and provided a schedule for the next-generation professional-licensing platform.
Secretary Al Schmidt and acting bureau leaders said the Bureau of Professional and Occupational Affairs and the department reduced processing times across many boards, citing examples during testimony: barber licensing moved from roughly 12 days to one day, and physician licensing from roughly 43 days to nine days. Schmidt credited leadership attention, performance-management changes, and filling vacancies for much of the improvement.
The department said a PALS replacement contract is in place and will be deployed in two phases: the first phase in early 2026 and the second phase by summer 2026. Deputy Secretary Kalanji Johnson described the work as a cloud-based, scalable system designed to be more user friendly and to let applicants check application status online. “The RFP was issued in the fall of last year; we are currently building the system…and there are 2 phases of the rollout,” Johnson said.
Committee members asked about advisory opinions for licensees (nonbinding guidance about whether a license covers a particular activity). The department said its attorneys cannot provide legal advice to applicants today and that establishing an advisory-opinion function would require additional staff; most of the new positions requested in the budget were described as enforcement/investigations positions for the Bureau of Enforcement and Investigation (BEI), the department said.
On funding, department officials said they budgeted $7 million this year for the PALS modernization and had spent less than half at the time of the hearing; officials did not provide a final contract price in the hearing but said the project is under active build with vendor System Automation.
Ending: The department asked for legislative support for staffing and systems investments that it says have already reduced application times for individuals and small businesses and said the two-phase PALS replacement will focus first on high-use health licensing boards in early 2026.
