Prevailing Wage Bill Looms Large OverSession Home StretchMissouri legislators returned to the Capitol refreshed and reinvigorated this week following spring break, an annual tradition that marks a little past the mid-point of the legislative session. As we enter the home stretch, a few priority bills loom a little larger than others. One such piece of legislation is my Senate Bill 20, which would repeal the law pertaining to prevailing wage. Prevailing wage is a minimum wage paid to construction workers who work on state public-works projects, e.g. public school buildings. The rates are set by the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations and vary from county to county. Repealing this cumbersome, outdated law would save Missouri taxpayers money, while at the same time reward and attract quality contractors and employees; and ensure local communities are not being fleeced by having to pay wages that are far out of kilter with what is standard relative to the cost of living in a particular area. Missouri is very diverse in terms of its population clusters and socioeconomic makeup. About half the state’s population resides in St. Louis and Kansas City. Not surprisingly then, the lion’s share of the state’s economic activity is generated there. In between these two metropolitan areas that bookend our eastern and western borders lies a vast expanse of rural communities, smaller towns and a smattering of mid-size towns. Bearing in mind this all-ends-of-the-spectrum makeup, it should be obvious that the cost of building, repairing or maintaining a school building in Kansas City is not going to be the same as what it costs in Southwest Missouri, nor will the two areas have the same financial resources. Yet, as it stands right now, our rural municipalities are subject to the same prevailing wage standards set for urban areas. It’s no wonder then that eliminating the prevailing wage law is one of the most common requests legislators receive from rural community leaders who are being crippled by the uneven playing field this law creates. To better illustrate, one of the examples we often get is the gross disparity in construction costs for private projects such as banks, which are not subject to prevailing wage laws, as compared to a new school building. This burdensome practice sets up a situation where a community might be building four new schools for the cost of building six. I look forward to continuing to shepherd this important bill through the legislative process and across the finish line, once and for all ending this practice that is hurting our communities. Always feel free to contact me throughout the year with any comments, questions, or issues by calling my office at (573) 751-5713 or by visiting my website at www.senate.mo.gov/brown. Thank you for reading this and for your participation in state government.
|