The Porter County
Council on Tuesday joined the growing opposition towards Indiana House Bill
1019 that seeks to repeal the state’s common construction wage act.
The Council voted
6-0 on a resolution encouraging state lawmakers to stop the passage of HB
1019, contending that the bill would reduce incomes of employed construction
workers.
Reading aloud the
resolution that he introduced, Council member Jeremy Rivas, D-2nd, said the
Common Construction Wage Act was passed by a majority of Republican
lawmakers in 1935 to protect workers’ wages. Repealing the act would set the
base threshold at minimum wage, Rivas said.
“I don’t think
that’s going to help our community,” he said.
The Act currently
applies to public construction projects that are paid for by state or local
governments such as schools, government buildings and public roads estimated
to be in excess of $350,000 in costs.
Rivas’ resolution
refers to testimony given in the statehouse last week by construction
companies and academic experts contending that the ramifications of the bill
would eliminate funding for training and apprenticeship programs and would
“open the door to low paying, out of state construction companies.”
“Testimony by
elected officials of governmental units indicated this bill would hurt
residents of their communities, make it harder to evaluate bids for projects
and make it harder to keep the economic development benefits of construction
projects in their community,” Rivas read from the resolution.
The Indiana House
of Representatives on Monday voted 55-41 in favor HB 1019, and will be heard
later by the state senate for a vote. Voting in opposition to the bill were
all three of Duneland’s state representatives -- Rep. Scott Pelath,
D-Michigan City, Rep. Chuck Moseley, D-Portage, and Rep. Soliday,
R-Valparaiso. Soliday was one of 13 Republicans who dissented against the
measure.
Moseley, at the
Porter County Retired Teachers legislative forum on Saturday, referred to
bill as “the single most harmful piece of legislation in 25 years.”
Proponents of the bill have argued repealing the common wage act would make
Indiana more competitive for business and save local government units money
by having companies compete for the lowest bid.
Rivas said County
government has benefited since the Act was in place 80 years ago, giving as
an example the new Porter County Jail. The Act could still serve the County
well as it moves forward with a new Animal Shelter, he said.
“It’s investing in
human capital,” he said.
Council president
Dan Whitten, D-at large, said the resolution will be sent to all state
lawmakers representing Porter County.
PCPLS eying Sunday
hours
Meanwhile, another
resolution was passed unanimously by the Council, this time to support the
Porter County Public Library System’s current proposal to establish Sunday
afternoon hours for at least two of its branches.
Currently, all five
branches of the PCPLS are closed all day on Sundays. Whitten said library
officials have told him there is a strong demand from patrons to have
libraries open then.
The resolution
mentions that several Northwest Indiana communities have their public
libraries open on Sunday, including the Westchester Public Library in
Chesterton, which is a separate entity from the PCPLS.
The resolution does
not state which branches of PCPLS would be open Sunday. Whitten said that is
at the discretion of its board of trustees.
RDA appointment
In another vote of
approval, the Council voted 6-0 in support of the Commissioners’ decision to
appoint Chris Campbell of Valparaiso as the County’s representative to the
Northwest Indiana Regional Development Authority board.
The Commissioners
had only a few applicants who met the qualifications, Whitten said, and
agreed, along with Council member Jim Biggs, R-1st, that Campbell, who works
as a Senior Vice-President for Centier Bank, is well-suited for the role.
Absent from the
meeting Tuesday was Council member Robert Poparad, D-at large.