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APRIL 22, 2011 | Policy Points by COMMONWEALTH FOUNDATION
School Taxpayer Referendum & Property Tax Relief
Gov. Tom Corbett's FY 2011-12 budget proposal includes $63.6 billion in total operating spending—$27.3 billion in General Fund spending—a reduction of $3.3 billion from FY 2010-11. This budget restores overall spending to pre-stimulus levels and proposes no new taxes. This is the fifth in a series of fact sheets on the state budge
MARCH 22, 2011 | Testimony by MATTHEW BROUILLETTE
Prevailing Wage in Pennsylvania
Prevailing Wage law also harms taxpayers, as it forces them to pay higher labor costs on public construction projects. Construction companies forced to pay union-inflated wages and benefits will pay upward of 30 percent more in labor costs for identical work on private sector projects.
MARCH 15, 2011 | Policy Report by COMMONWEALTH FOUNDATION
Streamlining State Government
Reforming the Regulatory Structure of Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania businesses must navigate a complex web of regulations from more than 340 independent state agencies, offices, state departments, boards, commissions, and committees stemming from the executive branch. Several other boards, committees, and commissions in state government primarily provide an advisory or public relat
Recent Blog Posts
DECEMBER 16, 2011
County Data Shows Prevailing Wage Hikes Costs
We have documented the racist origins of Pennsylvania's prevailing wage law, how it artificially raises the costs of taxpayer-funded construction projects by 20 percent (or approximately $1 billion per year), and how real reform is possible in the form of six bills the Pennsylvania House will consider.
County-by-county data from the Pennsylvania State Association of Boroughs illustrate how prevailing wage mandates raise labor costs between 30 percent and 76 percent across the commonwealth. If lawmakers and school districts are looking for savings without cutting educational and arts programs or laying off teachers, getting rid of prevailing wage is the most effective reform they can enact.
posted by PRIYA ABRAHAM | 02:57 PM | 0 comment
OCTOBER 3, 2011
Prevailing Wage Reform Bills Pass Committee
Six bills to reform Pennsylvania's prevailing wage law passed the House Labor and Industry Committee today, and will now go to the full House for a vote. The state's 1961 Prevailing Wage Act requires that workers on taxpayer-funded construction projects be paid the government-established "prevailing wage"—often the union-inflated wage that is higher than the market rate for identical work. The law means taxpayers often pay an extra 30 percent or more in labor costs for government construction projects—or $1 billion a year. The bills the House will consider are:
- HB 1271: Defines "maintenance work" to include road repairs, which reduces the number of projects subject to Prevailing Wage Act requirements.
- HB 1685: Requires using federal occupational classifications to clarify the application of the law to jobs on construction sites.
- HB 1329: Raises the minimum amount to which the Prevailing Wage Act applies to $185,000 (from $25,000) and adjusts for inflation in future years.
- HB 1541: Exempts projects where more than half the funding comes from private sources from the Prevailing Wage Act.
- HB 709: Allows school districts to opt out of the Prevailing Wage Act for school construction projects.
- HB 1191: Allows all local governments to opt out of the Prevailing Wage Act.
Prevailing wage requirements have for decades burdened taxpayers and slowed the state economy. It's good to see reform efforts finally making headway.
posted by PRIYA ABRAHAM | 04:51 PM | 0 comment
JUNE 14, 2011
Shippensburg Asks for Prevailing Wage Relief
Shippensburg Borough Council recently passed a resolution asking for state relief from prevailing wage mandates.
Prevailing wage mandates were imposed 50 years ago in Pennsylvania, following federal Davis-Bacon Act 20 years earlier. These mandates were overtly racist in their origins, and were designed to prevent black workers from competing with white laborers on government construction projects.
State-determined "prevailing wages" in Pennsylvania average 37 percent higher than the private sector pay for the same work (and 44 percent higher in Philadelphia). Given the almost $10 billion state and local governments in the commonwealth spend on construction, repealing prevailing wage mandates (as ten states have done since 1980), could save taxpayers at least $1 billion on construction spending.
In this fiscal crunch, local governments need the flexibility to control their spending. Unfunded mandates like the prevailing wage rules place an undue burden on taxpayers. Shippensburg Borough Council should be commended for standing up to special interests and asking for relief from Harrisburg-created mandates.
See the full resolution passed by Shippensburg Borough Council below.
Shippensburg Prevailing Wage Resolution
posted by NATHAN BENEFIELD | 05:30 PM | 0 comment
