It’s that time of year again, when Republican legislators in the Pennsylvania General Assembly seek to amend the Pa. Prevailing Wage Act. There are now several proposals to do just that, and two bills are farther along in the process than the many others that have been proposed. In April, the House Labor and Industry Committee voted along straight party lines to report out of committee two bills proposing changes to the Prevailing Wage Act.
The first bill, HB796, will raise the threshold amount from $25,000 to $100,000.
The second bill, HB665, will exempt routine road maintenance contracts.
In addition to these two bills, still more bills have been proposed. Here is a small sampling of some of the other bills pending in the General Assembly:
HB1095 would impose a 3-year moratorium on the Prevailing Wage Act.
HB999 would exempt KOZs from requirements of the Prevailing Wage Act.
HB1257 would require at least 51% of a project to be paid with public monies before the Prevailing Wage Act would apply.
It seems likely that this year will see some changes to the Prevailing Wage Act. What those exact changes will be still remains to be seen. Of course, these newest proposed amendments may lead nowhere, as the amendments proposed last year never came to pass.
Christopher I. McCabe, Esq.
