Another day, another press release. This one's from Thursday, Sept. 18. Here ya go!
HARRISBURG - In response to a Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruling, Senator Mike Waugh (R-York) and Representative Ron Marsico (R-Dauphin) are calling upon their colleagues in the General Assembly to pass legislation amending the Prevailing Wage Act as it relates to municipal road maintenance projects.
On June 4, 2008, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court affirmed a decision of the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court issued on January 22, 2007, in the case of Borough of Youngwood v. Pennsylvania Prevailing Wage Appeals Board. The rulings set forth a much broader interpretation of the definition of road "repair work," including many activities and practices that have long been considered "maintenance work." As a result, municipalities are now being required to pay prevailing wages for these projects.
"I don't believe the court's decision is in accord with the intention of the law, and more importantly, it has potentially very costly consequences for local governments in York County and across the Commonwealth," said Waugh.
Senate Bill 333 (Waugh) and House Bill 1515 (Marsico) both amend the Prevailing Wage Act to further define "maintenance work" to expressly enumerate those activities that have traditionally been recognized as such, including milling and resurfacing work. These bills, in effect, revert back to previous PennDOT guidelines for municipal road maintenance and improvement projects that were undone by the Court's ruling.
"The recent court decision placed a huge burden on municipalities. I felt that it was imperative that we remedy this immediately through legislation," said Marsico. "My legislation adds language into the Prevailing Wage Act to state that combination rehabilitation/reconstruction projects where non-maintenance items exceed 15 percent of total project costs shall be considered subject to the act's requirements."
While time is limited in the remainder of the 2007-2008 legislative session, Waugh and Marsico are hopeful the legislature will see the urgency for addressing this issue in order to assist Pennsylvania municipalities in providing well-maintained roads at a reasonable cost to their taxpayers.
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