A group pushing to repeal Michigan's law that requires higher "prevailing" wages on state-financed construction projects wants the state to certify its petitions without pulling a larger sample to review.
A ballot committee backed by the non-union Associated Builders and Contractors of Michigan (Protecting Michigan Taxpayers) says it turned in more than 380,000 signatures for the veto-proof legislation. At least 252,523 valid signatures must be valid for citizen-initiated bills.
Earlier this month, the Board of State Canvassers said it would move to a second stage of sampling because of 535 signatures reviewed, 370 were valid. That is just shy of the 373 required by a statistical model to automatically be recommended for approval.
The elections bureau says Protecting Michigan Taxpayers' request to bypass the larger sample is "unprecedented." Elections staff wrote in a briefing memo: “Staff recommends that the Board (sic) maintain the signature review procedures and follow the established, statistically sound random sampling methodology.”
Prevailing wage laws require union-scale wages and benefits be paid on public building projects. Supporters say eliminating Michigan's prevailing wage law would save taxpayers money by eliminating overspending on state-sponsored construction projects. Construction and trade unions argue doing so would hurt efforts to hire and retain skilled workers when Michigan is already facing a talent shortage.
Senate Republicans favor a ballot proposal that would repeal prevailing wage. When the Senate introduced a repeal in the first bills of the 2015 legislative session, Senate Bills 1, 2 and 3, it gained some enthusiasm. A ballot petition for repeal in 2016 failed to collect enough valid signatures from registered Michigan voters.
