Posted: | April 29, 2015 10:16 AM |
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From: | Representative Ron Marsico |
To: | All House members |
Subject: | Repeal Prevailing Wage Act |
In the near future I will be reintroducing legislation from last session (HB 1257) to amend the Prevailing Wage Act (Act 442 of 1961) to require that at least 51% of a construction/renovation/repair project be paid for by public monies before it is covered by the act. Currently, the Prevailing Wage Act states that a project (in excess of $25,000 that is paid for "in whole or in part" out of public funds is subject to the act. Thus, unfortunately, projects that receive any public money become subject to the act and its requirements. I believe that many of us have heard the horror stories about local communities getting grants from DCED for various purposes to fund a small part of a project (baseball field, etc.), and finding out that receiving the money made the project subject to Prevailing Wage Act requirements. The way the act is written, a project could receive 1% public funding, and subject itself to the act's requirements. I believe my legislation is reasonable in that it simply requires that a majority of a construction project's costs be paid by a public body, and is similar to the requirement in Maryland's prevailing wage law in which the state's financial participation must by "50% or more" before a project can be covered. Your support of this legislation would be greatly appreciated. |
Introduced as HB1234