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FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — Taxpayers could save money while construction workers are paid less under a bill that cleared the state Senate on Thursday, the first of an ambitious agenda Republicans hope will gain traction because of Kentucky's shifting political power.
All construction projects on Kentucky public schools over $250,000, including K-12 and colleges and universities, must pay workers a predetermined wage based on a survey of similar projects by the Kentucky Labor Cabinet. That includes everything from a new elementary school to a multi-million dollar stadium for a college sports team. Republicans say the law unnecessarily inflates costs, making taxpayer-funded projects more expensive than those in the private sector. But Democrats say the law ensures the jobs attract trained, skilled workers for buildings used by children and other students.
On Thursday, the Senate voted 26-11 to exempt public school projects from Kentucky's prevailing wage. It was the first of 13 "priority bills" filed by the Senate Republican caucus to pass. Other priorities to get votes in the coming weeks include abortion restrictions, limiting the influence of labor unions and removing the names of county clerks from marriage licenses to accommodate elected officials who are opposed same-sex marriage.
Senate Republicans have passed most of those bills, including the prevailing wage exemption, many times in recent years only to watch them die in the Democratic-controlled House of Representatives. But Democrats have been slowly losing their majority, giving Republicans hope they can make progress on their stalled agenda. Democratic House Speaker Greg Stumbo said the bill was unlikely to pass.
Democrats and Republicans have been battling over wages for years, with Democrats hoping to boost the economy by increasing the minimum wage for all Kentucky workers. Meanwhile, Republicans have sought to protect businesses from government mandates on spending.
The Legislative Research Commission, the nonpartisan agency that helps lawmakers research proposed bills, said exempting elementary and secondary public school projects from the prevailing wage law would lower construction costs by 7.9 percent. The study did not include the cost of college and university construction projects.
"Since 2008, when the downturn of the economy happened, our education, our schools, have experienced loss, especially in their funding," Republican Sen. Mike Wilson of Bowling Green said. "This is an opportunity for us to give them some relief."
But Democrats noted nothing in the bill would require contractors to adjust the overall price, it would just allow them to pay their workers less.
"There is nothing in this bill that would limit how much the construction companies profited," Democratic Sen. Ray Jones of Pikeville said. "There is nothing in this bill that would mandate any savings going to the schools."
Other bills that passed the Senate on Thursday include:
—Senate Bill 11, which allows distilleries to sell cocktails to visitors
—Senate Bill 12, which allows Kentucky Speedway to sell on Sundays and at other times prohibited by local laws.
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The legislation is Senate Bill 9.
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