Wednesday, January 18, 2012

Missouri Proposes to Eliminate Prevailing Wage Requirements

A bill has been introduced in the Missouri House of Representatives that would eliminate Missouri's prevailing wage law for public works projects.  It adopted, it would become effective on August 28, 2012.

Rep. Bill White
Federal Exemption: HB 1089, in addition to deleting all prevailing wage provisions from state law, adds the following statement:  "Except for federally-funded projects and services provided to the federal government, no person in this state shall be paid a prevailing hourly wage."

For 2012 Action:  The bill was pre-filed in mid-December 2011 for the 2012 legislative session by Representative Bill White from Joplin, Missouri.  Joplin suffered catastrophic damage from a tornado on May 22, 2011.
Mike Purdy's Public Contracting Blog 
© 2012 by Michael E. Purdy Associates, LLC 
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2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I find this fascinating. Will this make agencies move towards RFPs rather than bids to assure competent workforces? Why is the last paragraph needed - if they get rid of the state prevailing wage requirements, why do they need the sentence that says no one will be paid a prevailing wage on non-federal contracts?

Mike Purdy said...

The elimination of prevailing wages, in and of itself, probably wouldn't be the impetus for shifting to RFPs rather than bids. I think public agencies are always looking for tools to ensure qualified contractors - whether that's pre-qualification, responsibility criteria, or selection based on an RFP.

I agree that the sentence about no one being paid a prevailing wage is unnecessary. By definition, if the law passes, there will be no prevailing wages. How can they prohibit a contractor from paying something that doesn't exist?