LOC News
LOC Encourages Cities to Contact their Senators to Express Opposition to SB 493-A
SB 493-A was passed out of the Senate Labor & Business Committee earlier this week (March 9) and is expected to be on the calendar for a vote of the full Senate in the coming week(s). This bill will change how the Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries (BOLI) determines construction wage rates that must be paid on public works projects, including infrastructure and some affordable housing projects. Important additional information on what the bill does and data on potential cost increases is available here.
The state of Washington passed the same law in 2018. That law is currently being litigated in Washington and has resulted in significant construction wage spikes in some circumstances. The Washington law has also resulted in instances of dramatic increases in residential construction costs for some affordable housing projects that are subject to prevailing wage laws. While the LOC is not opposed to the existence of prevailing wage laws in Oregon, we are strongly opposed to this legislation as it represents a significant departure from the current process of wage rate determinations (moving from a system that is based on averaging of all wage rates in a region, and instead, only using the highest wage rate as the new minimum wage rate). Many communities are already struggling to afford necessary infrastructure and the mechanism for determination of fair construction wage rates should provide consistency and some degree of reasonable predictability. As cities reach out to their Senators on this legislation, they are encouraged to include examples of community-specific infrastructure and affordable housing needs/challenges and how cost increases could impact these needs.
Please note: SB 493-A was co-sponsored by Senator Kathleen Taylor and Senate Majority Leader Rob Wagner. If your city is within those senate districts, you should be aware that your Senator is probably unlikely to change their position on the bill.
Contact: Tracy Rutten Rainey, Lobbyist - trutten@orcities.org