For Immediate Release
April 6, 2009
Contact: Kristin Crawford
717-787-4420
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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.