Bill Positions

Bill Number: SB 785

Bill Title: Public Investment Protection Act

Bill Sponsor(s): Sen. Peters , et al.

Subject: Procurement

Committee: FIN

Bill Summary: This bill would have imposed sweeping wage and collective bargaining requirements on any employer, contractor, subcontractor, developer, tenant, or subtenant that received or benefited from a state economic development subsidy or capital improvement of more than $250,000. The mandates imposed on affected employers would have included:(1) Payment of wages of at least 130% of the state or federal minimum wage; (2) For contractors, food service employers, grocery employers, and hotel employers, payment of wages fringe benefits and leave at a prevailing wage scale set by the Labor Commissioner and mandatory project labor agreements with unions. Contractors would have been required to hire through union hiring halls. The mandates would have continued for the longer of 10 years, the term of the subsidy, or as long as the benefits are enjoyed. Employers would have been subjected to significant record keeping, penalties, civil liability, and legal damages.

History: In 2010 SB 785 died without a vote in the Finance Committee.

Chamber Position: Oppose

Position Summary: The Maryland Chamber opposed this bill because it would have caused the forced unionization of many employers in the state and impose higher wage and fringe benefit mandates on a wide array of private employers related, even minimally, to state-funded projects. The Commissioner of Labor and Industry would have been empowered to set wages and benefits for construction, building service, food service and hotel workers. The scope of the bill was so vast that a state-funded road project would have caused labor mandates to extend to employers located on a resurfaced street "as long as their benefits are enjoyed." The bill would have increased procurement costs on state projects and inflate wages and benefits for many private sector jobs beyond market levels. The bill would have been ill-advised and a blank check for labor organizations.

Position Statement:

Chamber Staff: Ronald Wineholt

General Assembly: Click here to view the bill on the Maryland General Assembly's website.