Wednesday, February 23, 2011
Why Pay More?
The Maryland Chamber supports the repeal of Maryland’s living wage and prevailing wage laws, which inflate the cost of state service contracts and construction projects.
The bills were heard by the Senate Finance Committee last week.
Living Wage (SB 222): Maryland’s living wage law was enacted in 2007. A 2009 study by the Department of Legislative Services indicated that sampled contracts reflected an average increase in wage costs passed on to the state of 13 to 26 percent. “At a time when the state is struggling to close a $2 billion gap between ongoing spending and ongoing revenues, this program needlessly inflates the cost of state service contract by paying above market wages,” Maryland Chamber Vice President of Government Affairs Ron Wineholt said. View the Chamber’s position statement here.
Prevailing Wage (SB 659): Maryland’s prevailing wage law undermines the competitive bidding process by requiring projects using state funds to pay higher labor prices than would be required through market-based competitive bidding. “At a time when Maryland needs to build more schools, this bill would allow the state and local governments to stretch their construction dollars,” Wineholt said. View the Chamber’s position statement here.
For more information, contact Ron Wineholt at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).
