Like the right to work legislation signed into law earlier this year, Missouri’s prevailing wage law has been an important target for Gov. Eric Greitens ever since the campaign trail. Currently, companion bills being considered in the House and the Senate would fulfill Greitens’ promise to repeal the use of prevailing wage in the Show-Me State.
Currently, Missouri’s prevailing wage law requires cities, school districts, and other governmental entities to pay a wage higher than state minimum wage ($7.70 per hour) for construction and maintenance projects, such as roads, bridges, and buildings. The prevailing wage is established county by county by type of work, determined by voluntary wage surveys filled out by contractors. If no surveys are submitted, the union rate is used in that county. Ultimately, this ends up driving up the costs for public works projects, costing taxpayers more and limiting the opportunity for nonunion contractors to bid on these projects.
At this writing, the measure, HB 104, has passed the House and the Senate General Laws Committee. At the beginning of session, 10 bills were in the mix to deal with prevailing wage with varying degrees of severity. HB 104 would fully repeal the law, and it’s a contentious bill. There are predictions that the Senate may need to call for Previous Question to get it passed, and if it takes too long, it could delay the passage of the minimum wage fix for the Supreme Court decision.
