House Co-Sponsorship Memoranda

House of Representatives
Session of 2019 - 2020 Regular Session

Posted:	January 16, 2019 12:35 PM
From:	Representative Cris Dush
To:	All House members
Subject:	Prevailing Wage: Exempting "Maintenance Work"

The state Prevailing Wage Act (Act 442 of 1961) requires that all public bodies pay the prevailing minimum wage, as determined by the Secretary of Labor and Industry, to workmen on a “public work” project. A “public work” is defined in the Act as any construction, reconstruction, repair, demolition, or alteration paid for in whole (or in part) out of the funds of a public body where the total estimated cost exceeds $25,000. Maintenance projects, however, are not considered “public work” under the statute. In the near future, I plan to reintroduce former HB 297, to clarify the definition of “maintenance work” to include work performed on dirt, gravel, and low-volume road maintenance projects. As the name suggests, I believe the aforementioned projects clearly constitute “maintenance work” and thus should be excluded from the onerous requirements of the Act. This will benefit our municipalities by easing the burden placed upon them by prevailing wages. The municipalities where our constituents are still driving on dirt and gravel roads are the least able to absorb such a high cost of maintenance. This is a reintroduction of former HB 297. Previous co-sponsors include: BLOOM, CAUSER, CUTLER, FEE, GROVE, HICKERNELL, PHILLIPS-HILL, IRVIN, JAMES, KAUFFMAN, KNOWLES, LAWRENCE, MACKENZIE, MARSICO, METCALFE, MILLARD, B. MILLER, PICKETT, ROTHMAN, RYAN, WARD AND SAYLOR
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Introduced as HB760