Lawmakers debate wage floor for stimulus jobs

By Cy Ryan (contact)

Thursday, March 5, 2009 | 2 a.m.

The federal stimulus package includes $38.8 million to weatherize 6,500 homes in Nevada, but legislators are fighting over whether only union members will be eligible for the jobs.

As part of his “green” initiative, Senate Majority Leader Steven Horsford, D-Las Vegas, is pushing a bill that would require the prevailing union wage be paid to these workers and that the contractor provide insurance for the workers and their families.

“We can serve thousands of needy families and provide jobs” with this program, Horsford told the Senate Committee on Energy, Infrastructure and Transportation.

Sen. Barbara Cegavske, R-Las Vegas, said the provision of prevailing wage would exclude some contractors.

“This narrows it down to organized labor,” Sen. Randolph Townsend, R-Reno, said.

Horsford said that prevailing wage isn’t paid only by union contractors and his bill would not limit which contractors could seek the jobs.

The federal Energy Department hasn’t decided whether it will require the state to follow the Davis-Bacon Act for these projects. That law, passed in 1931, requires that prevailing wages be paid for federal public works projects.

Danny Thompson, representing the Nevada AFL-CIO, testified that the purpose of the stimulus package is putting people back to work at livable wages. The money shouldn’t be used “to cheap out” workers or make contractors rich, he said.

“It helped end the Depression,” Thompson said. “Its importance cannot be underestimated.”

The prevailing wage is set by the state labor commissioner after conducting a statewide survey and establishing the wage in each county.

Charles Horsey, administrator of the state Housing Division, told the committee there would be “plenty of work” under the stimulus program. At present, the state agency is exempt from the Davis-Bacon Act when it receives money from the Energy Department, he said, and the pay on these projects is about $15 an hour.

The prevailing wage in Clark County is $46 an hour for a journeyman carpenter and $57 an hour for a glass worker. These two trades perform many of the weatherization jobs.

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Under a bill approved Wednesday by the state Senate, the Ethics Commission would not have any authority to decide whether a state legislator is guilty of misconduct in the performance of his duties.

Only state senators could judge whether a senator had violated the rules, and only Assembly members could judge another Assembly member.

The bill, which now goes to the Assembly, codifies the separation of constitutional powers between the executive and legislative branches.

The vote was 19-0 with Sen. Warren Hardy, R-Las Vegas, abstaining.

The bill stems from a complaint filed with the Ethics Commission against Hardy, president of the Associated Builders and Contractors of Southern Nevada, after he voted in 2007 and 2005 for bills involving contractors.

Former District Judge Bill Maddox ruled the Ethics Commission did not have authority over members of the Legislature because of the separation of powers doctrine. The case is now before the Nevada Supreme Court.

But the Senate Judiciary Committee introduced Senate Bill 160, which would bar the Ethics Commission and other groups from imposing sanctions against a legislator for any actions he performs in following his duties.

Legislators would remain subject to the Ethics Commission for conduct that falls outside the scope of legislative activity. Senate and Assembly members still would have to file the same financial disclosure statements as other public officials and would still be subject to the same rules when it comes to misusing the office.

Cy Ryan is the Sun’s Capital Bureau chief.