Republican Assembly Speaker Robin Vos says nearly 60 percent of public projects in Wisconsin would not be subject to the state’s prevailing wage law under a proposal he’s introducing.
The state’s prevailing wage law sets minimum salaries for construction workers on public projects. Vos’ proposed changes would increase the cost threshold of government projects to $450,000. Most projects involving donations would be exempt, as would those for technical colleges.
The proposal, unveiled Monday, faces an uncertain future in the Republican-controlled Senate as the state’s budget stalemate enters a fifth week. At a press conference, Vos said his changes are the “most conservative reform that can pass.” He said he was confident it had the votes to clear his chamber.
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The proposal comes after a plan to fully repeal the law faltered.
“This is a proposal that will make substantive reforms that will head us down a path toward potentially having repeal in the future. But it’s not going to happen today,” said Vos.
Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald has not said what changes to the prevailing wage law senators would support. The 60-percent compromise doesn’t please Republican Sen. Steve Nass, who says he want all units of local government to be free of prevailing wage.
The compromise also doesn’t please John Mielke, who is president of Associated Builders and Contractors, Inc. The group has pushed for an all-out repeal of prevailing wage.
“We certainly understand it’s not an all-or-nothing game, but I would put these reforms closer to the ‘nothing’ end of the spectrum than the ‘all’ end of the spectrum. So we are hoping for something more significant,” said Mielke.
Reaching a deal on prevailing wage has been one of the biggest issues dividing Republicans and holding up passage of the state budget. Other contentious issues include road funding and the financing plan for a new Milwaukee Bucks arena.
Shawn Johnson contributed reporting to this story.
Editor’s Note: This story has been updated with more details on the proposal.
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