After several months of inaction, a bill that would ban local hiring requirements and restrict labor agreements for local community projects is likely to come up for a vote in the Ohio House tomorrow.
Republican Rep. Joe Uecker’s bill would ban communities from requiring local workers be used on state funded public construction projects.
“Anytime you limit who can bid on a project, that immediately serves to increase the cost of the bid.”
Uecker says the bill would make the process of awarding construction contracts more fair. But Democratic Representative Fred Strahorn says it would not require workers to be paid a living wage, and that it jeopardize jobs and destabilize local economies.
“It’s a solution in search of a problem.”
A similar measure had been put by Republicans into last year’s budget, but Democratic Cleveland Sen. Sandra Williams agreed to vote for the budget if it were removed.
