MADISON, WI (WTAQ) – While Wisconsin legislative leaders announced Wednesday that a deal on the state budget would remove prevailing wage from it, one area lawmaker wants to put his prevailing wage plan back inside the two-year spending plan.
De Pere Republican Senator Frank Lasee says his proposal for prevailing wage is the best thing outside of a full repeal.
“It’s a much better compromise,” Lasee said in a phone interview late Wednesday afternoon. “And it would help property taxpayers tremendously and allow a lot more freedom for local governments.”
Lasee’s plan has three main parts:
- Repeal for all local governments, technical colleges, schools, and municipal utilities
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Uses federal rates on state projects
- Removes the Department of Workforce Development (DWD) from administering the state prevailing wage – eliminating 4 positions, a $358,000 savings.
Lasee adds that he has the support to put this prevailing wage proposal back inside the state budget.
“I think it has an excellent chance of making it into the budget in the Senate,” said Lasee. “We’ve gotten the support of the majority of Senators and we’re continuing to work to get all that we need to pass it in the state budget.”
So why does this need to be included, especially after Wednesday morning’s press conference from GOP leaders in both chambers saying it was being removed?
“I think that there are some of us that are concerned there may be a holdup or it may not pass both houses of the Legislature outside of the budget,” Lasee said. “Our concern that for somehow it might get hung up and if it goes back to the Assembly and it’s not exactly its version that there might be issues with it every getting into law.”
Lasee adds that when the state Assembly meets on Tuesday to discuss the budget and prevailing wage, “they’ve talked about using my plan and passing that.”
