Michigan’s prevailing wage law overcharged taxpayers on publicly funded construction projects.
After years of NFIB effort, the legislature voted to approve Initiated Legislation IL2 that repeals Michigan’s outdated and wasteful Prevailing Wage Law. The citizen-initiated law was submitted to both the Senate and the House on June 1 after being certified by the State Board of Canvassers for having the required number of signatures. It was passed into law on June 6. As an initiated law, it did not require the approval of the Governor. Michigan’s prevailing wage law overcharged taxpayers on publicly funded construction projects by requiring that union-scale wages be paid regardless of whether a contractor has non-union employees. Estimates of the additional cost to taxpayers ranges from 10 to 15 percent on a project. The law also discouraged small business contractors from bidding on public projects because of union intimidation, which also increased project costs.
