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For Immediate
Release
4/6/09
Brubaker Introduces Prevailing Wage Moratorium
to Stimulate Economic Growth
HARRISBURG – Sen. Mike Brubaker (R-36) introduced
legislation recently that would place a moratorium on prevailing wage
requirements for municipal and school construction projects while the state
recovers from the recession.
Senate Bill 695 would stimulate construction projects in the Commonwealth by
placing a three-year moratorium on prevailing wage requirements. It is estimated
that the moratorium would reduce labor costs by up to 25 percent, providing a
valuable incentive for school districts and municipalities to begin work on new
construction projects.
“Almost every community in the state has been affected by
the recession in the past several months, and I believe we need to take decisive
action to get more Pennsylvanians back to work as soon as possible,” Brubaker
said. “My bill would remove one of the barriers for local governments and school
districts to begin work on new projects so we can start putting hard-working
Pennsylvanians back to work.”
Brubaker said that his bill would also reduce the labor
costs paid by taxpayers for school and municipal construction projects.
“All levels of government need to use taxpayer dollars
responsibly, and this moratorium would ultimately allow local governments and
school districts to address urgent construction needs at the lowest cost to the
public,” Brubaker said. “These reduced costs have the potential to create a
great benefit for the municipality, the taxpayer and the local economy.”
Brubaker also noted that many bids for construction
projects in the state have been placed by out-of-state companies that do not
fall under prevailing wage restrictions, putting Pennsylvania companies at a
competitive disadvantage. Placing a temporary moratorium on these wage
restrictions would allow Pennsylvania companies to be more competitive in the
bidding process, Brubaker said.
Under Senate Bill 695, the moratorium on prevailing wage
would begin on July 1.
Contact:
Kristin
Crawford
(717)787-4420
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