Prevailing wage exemption bill clears first Senate committee

CARSON CITY — A bill that would exempt school and university construction projects from Nevada’s prevailing wage law was passed by a Senate committee Friday, just two days after a contentious hearing.

Senate Bill 119 also would expand rollover bond authority for local school construction without raising property taxes, a provision that had bipartisan support.

But Republicans, in control of both houses of the Legislature for the first time in decades, said striking prevailing wage requirements for education building projects was paramount for their support. Combining the measures angered Democrats and labor groups in the first week of the 2015 session.

Sen. David Parks, D-Las Vegas, tried unsuccessfully to amend the bill and separate the two provisions.

“We can put schools first without putting middle class families last,” he said. His amendment proposal died for lack of a second, and the Senate Government Affairs Committee passed the bill on a 3-1 vote. Sen. Kelvin Atkinson, D-Las Vegas, was absent but his vote would not have changed the outcome.

Nevada’s prevailing wage law requires contractors who win publicly financed construction projects to pay workers according to a wage schedule established by the state labor commissioner. The original intent was to set local wage rates to prevent out-of-state contractors from undercutting the local labor pool.

Critics of the law say prevailing wages are predominantly set by union shops and artificially inflate costs.

Sen. Ben Kieckhefer, R-Reno, a co-sponsor of the bill, said exempting school construction from the law would more accurately reflect free-market labor costs and allow districts to stretch taxpayer dollars and build more schools.

During testimony earlier this week, Kieckhefer said some studies show that savings on public projects could amount to 30 percent, while others suggest it could be as low as 5 percent. But the Washoe County School District needs $500 million in construction, and a 5 percent savings would mean $25 million more for schools, he said.

“Five percent is not insignificant,” he said. “We are spending money on behalf of taxpayers in a way that is less responsible than I would spend my own money.”

Danny Thompson with the Nevada AFL-CIO called Friday’s vote the “opening salvo on the war on working families from this Republican Legislature.”

Exempting public works projects from prevailing wage laws has long been a priority for Republicans, but Democrats who have controlled past sessions have refused to consider bills addressing it.

The bill co-sponsored by Sen. Becky Harris, R-Las Vegas, now moves to the Senate floor, where passage is expected. It would then advance to the Assembly where approval is also likely.

Contact Sandra Chereb at schereb@reviewjournal.com or 775-687-3901. Find her on Twitter: @SandraChereb.