Legislature reinstates prevailing wages as part of deal with Dems

CARSON CITY — Prevailing wages for school construction projects were resurrected Monday on the last day of the legislative session in an end-game concession to the Democratic minority.

The state Senate amended Assembly Bill 172, rescinding a law already signed by Gov. Brian Sandoval that exempts schools from prevailing wage requirements. The Assembly later concurred, sending the new bill to the governor’s desk to undo the exemption contained in Senate Bill 119.

SB119 was a priority for the Republican-controlled Legislature. Supporters of the bill argued prevailing rates are skewed by higher-paying union wages and that exempting schools would allow scarce tax dollars to build more schools.

Democrats opposed the measure over concerns it would cut the pay of construction workers and send jobs to out-of-state workers.

The amendment was sponsored by state Sen. Ben Kieckhefer, R-Reno.

Prevailing wages for construction workers are determined by the state labor commissioner and are based on surveys of contractors.

Under the new bill, workers on public school and university and college campus projects would receive 90 percent of the hourly prevailing wage. Charter schools would still be exempt.

The measure also resets the project cost threshold on when prevailing wages must be paid for public works projects to $250,000, up from $100,000.

The original bill would have bumped that threshold to $500,000, meaning more taxpayer-funded construction projects would have been exempt.

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