Pandemic Darlings The pandemic economy, in original documents
Home Source documents Proponent Testimony on House Bill 146 - Ohio Chamber of Commerce, Kevin Shimp

Proponent Testimony on House Bill 146 - Ohio Chamber of Commerce, Kevin Shimp

Summary

Proponent testimony on House Bill 146 before the House Commerce & Labor Committee from Kevin Shimp, Director of Labor and Legal Affairs for the Ohio Chamber of Commerce. The testimony states that Ohio's prevailing wage law, found in Chapter 4115 of the Revised Code, was enacted in 1931 and regulates labor costs on state public construction projects. It says HB 146 would provide local governments, special districts and state higher education institutions with a choice on whether to be subject to the law. It states that the Ohio Chamber supports an outright repeal of the prevailing wage law and believes House Bill 146 is a step in the right direction.

Summary drafted by a model from the document's text below and checked by script against that text before publication. It is a navigation aid, not a reading of what the document proves. Where AI is used

Cite this document

“Proponent Testimony on House Bill 146 - Ohio Chamber of Commerce, Kevin Shimp.” Archived at Pandemic Darlings, https://pandemicdarlings.com/source-documents/2021-06-23-commerce-labor-testimony-hb146prochamber-1bc8daa56c/, SHA-256 a60d8e6a0c1edbfb6cdb9da18f66fe0bf492c3db6b644f9cb6c466bbd5a5ff10.

Full text

        BEFORE THE HOUSE COMMERCE & LABOR COMMITTEE
            PROPONENT TESTIMONY ON HOUSE BILL 146

Chairman Stein, Vice Chair Johnson, Ranking Member Lepore-Hagan, and members of the
House Commerce and Labor Committee, thank you for the opportunity to provide proponent
testimony on House Bill 146. My name is Kevin Shimp and I am the Director of Labor and Legal
Affairs for the Ohio Chamber of Commerce.

The Ohio Chamber is the state’s leading business advocate, and we represent thousands of
companies that do business in Ohio. Our mission is to aggressively champion free enterprise,
economic competitiveness and growth for the benefit of all Ohioans.

Enacted in 1931, Ohio’s prevailing wage law found in Chapter 4115 of the Revised Code,
regulates labor costs on state public construction projects. However, Ohio’s prevailing wage
rates do not reflect actual local construction wages for both union and non-union employees.
This is because the prevailing wage is primarily set by tables developed from the construction
unions’ bargaining agreement, many of which are statewide agreements. As a result, in many
localities around the state the prevailing wage is significantly higher than the wage paid on
other construction projects.

HB 146 would provide local governments, special districts, and state higher education
institutions with a choice on whether they wish to be subject to Ohio’s prevailing wage law on
public improvement projects. Under Ohio’s prevailing wage laws, the labor component is fixed
and not subject to competitive bidding on government construction projects. Requiring
nonunion contractors to use union wage rates ignores the free market and limits one area
where nonunion contractors could have a competitive advantage. In effect, the prevailing wage
shields unions from competitive pressures on labor costs by requiring all contractors to pay the
same rate. While the Ohio Chamber supports an outright repeal of Ohio’s prevailing wage law,
we believe House Bill 146 is a step in the right direction.

Simply put, Ohio’s Prevailing Wage Law interferes with the free enterprise principles espoused
in our mission statement and limits the number of qualified contractors who may be able to bid
on a project. A state mandated wage severely restricts competition in the marketplace on public
improvement projects where Ohio’s prevailing wage law is applied. By limiting the ability to take
labor costs into account, the prevailing wage law limits both the contractors who are willing to
bid on a project and the competition among those who do. Less competition can result in a
failure to negotiate the best possible price leading to increased costs for government
constructions jobs—costs borne by all Ohio taxpayers.

HB 146, by promoting free enterprise and competition, provides flexibility and would allow
businesses and workers a chance to compete more freely and fairly on public improvement
projects. Further, allowing greater competition would provide a better business environment in
Ohio.

Thank you for the opportunity to provide this testimony and I can answer any questions from
the committee.

File and source

File
2021-06-23_commerce-labor_testimony_hb146prochamber.pdf
Size
66,574 bytes
SHA-256
a60d8e6a0c1edbfb6cdb9da18f66fe0bf492c3db6b644f9cb6c466bbd5a5ff10
Our copy
2021-06-23_commerce-labor_testimony_hb146prochamber.pdf
Original
No public link identified.
Back to top