State House Republicans on Thursday rolled out a long list of policy goals for the next two years. The first item on the list is legislation to ban prevailing wage requirements in Michigan.
Those laws require union-level pay and benefits for people working on taxpayer funded construction projects.
“I think that we need to make a decision as to whether or not this is the right policy or not,” said state House Speaker Kevin Cotter, R-Mt. Pleasant. “Should government be mandating the price of construction? If the answer to that is ‘no,’ then I think repeal is the appropriate road.”
Gov. Rick Snyder says he does not support getting rid of prevailing wage laws. He says that could hurt efforts to bolster skilled trades in Michigan. Another priority for legislative Republicans is to lower the state’s income tax rate to what it was before the recession. The rate was increased from 3.9 percent to 4.35 percent to help balance the budget in 2007. It has been frozen at 4.25 percent since 2011. But the state also faces a significant shortfall this year.
“In light of the current budget year shortfall, right now is not the time,” said Cotter. “But it remains a priority. We feel that there is a commitment that was made that has not yet been delivered upon.”
The governor will outline his plan to address the shortfall during his budget address next week.
