H. B. 2084
(By Delegates Overington and Blass)
[Introduced January 19, 1995; referred to the
Committee on Industry and Labor.]
A BILL to amend and reenact section one, article five-a, chapter
twenty-one of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine
hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating to requiring
prevailing wage rates for construction of public
improvements; excluding construction of a value less than
one million dollars.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section one, article five-a, chapter twenty-one of the
code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as
amended, be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 5A. WAGES FOR CONSTRUCTION OF PUBLIC IMPROVEMENTS.
§21-5A-1. Definitions.
(1) The term "public authority," as used in this article,
shall mean any officer, board or commission or other agency of
the state of West Virginia, or any political subdivision thereof,
authorized by law to enter into a contract for the construction
of a public improvement, including any institution supported in
whole or in part by public funds of the state of West Virginia or
its political subdivisions, and this article shall apply to
expenditures of such institutions made in whole or in part from
such public funds.
(2) The term "construction," as used in this article, shall
mean any construction, reconstruction, improvement, enlargement,
painting, decorating or repair of any public improvement let to
contract in the amount of one million dollars or more. The term
"construction" shall not be construed to include temporary or
emergency repairs.
(3) The term "locality" means the county where the
construction is to be performed, except that if there is not
available in the county a sufficient number of competent skilled
laborers, workmen and mechanics to perform such construction efficiently and properly, and may include one or more counties in
this state adjacent to the one in which the construction is to be
performed and from which such skilled laborers, workmen and
mechanics may be obtained in sufficient numbers to perform the
construction. With respect to construction of public
improvements with the state road commission division of highways,
"locality" may be construed to include one or more counties in
this state adjacent to the one in which the construction or
public improvement is to be performed and from which skilled
laborers, workmen and mechanics may be accessible for work on
such construction on public improvements.
(4) The term "public improvement," as used in this article,
shall include all buildings, roads, highways, bridges, streets,
alleys, sewers, ditches, sewage disposal plants, waterworks,
airports, and all other structures upon which construction may be
let to contract by the state of West Virginia or any political
subdivision thereof.
(5) The term "construction industry," as used in this
article, shall mean that industry which is composed of employees
and employers engaged in construction of buildings, roads, highways, bridges, streets, alleys, sewers, ditches, sewage
disposal plants, waterworks, airports, and all other structures
or works whether private or public on which construction work as
defined in subsection (2) of this section is performed.
(6) The term "board" shall mean the minimum wage board as
constituted in this article.
(7) The term "employee," for the purposes of this article,
shall not be construed to include such persons as are employed or
hired by the public authority on a regular or temporary basis or
engaged in making temporary or emergency repairs.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to exclude all
construction projects under $1,000,000 under from the
requirements of prevailing wage rates in construction contracts.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken
from the present law, and underscoring indicates new language
that would be added.