Per a communication from Beth Lear, ABC of Ohio’s Vice-President of Government Affairs, Senate Bill 310 – a COVID-19 emergency relief bill with an amendment to repeal a 1997 prevailing wage exemption for Transportation Improvement Districts – was halted by the Ohio Senate on Wednesday.

Senate Bill 310 was a bill to distribute federal CARES money to local governments. Instead of voting on the bill with the House added prevailing wage expansion in it, the Senate took the COVID-19 language and added it, as an amendment, to another House Bill 481, a land conveyance bill. A senate democrat attempted to re-insert the prevailing wage expansion but State Senator Peterson successfully moved to table this additional amendment. Seventeen Republicans voted with us.

ABC of Ohio represented the principle opposition to this exemption.

  1. With member assistance, ABC of Ohio fought back an expansion of prevailing wage promoted by House leadership and the Ohio Construction Association.
  2. We achieved formal Senate roll call votes on prevailing wage.
  3. We learned about a little known prevailing wage exemption that 70 or more Ohio counties will benefit from utilizing going forward.  The small local government TIDs are well within the scope of merit shop contractors capacity to bid and win!

If you have any comments or questions, please contact Beth Lear at blear@abcofohio.org.