MacIver News Service | May 26, 2015
[Madison, Wisc…] Rep. Andre Jacque (R-De Pere) announced Tuesday morning that the Assembly Labor Committee would hold a public hearing and executive session on the full repeal of Wisconsin’s prevailing wage law. Prevailing wage costs taxpayers up to $300 million a year, according to a study by the non-partisan Wisconsin Taxpayers Alliance. Some local examples include a $260,000 increase in the Village of Grafton for two water towers and a $150,000 increase in Vilas County for an ATV trail.The law artificially inflates wages, but it also creates a bureaucratic nightmare for small businesses attempting to bid on public projects.
Assembly Bill 32 – which has more than 40 co-sponsors – will be taken up on Wednesday at 9 a.m. In the interview, Jacque told the MacIver Institute he expects the bill to pass out of committee where five of the nine committee members a co-sponsors of the bill.