SENATE BILL REPORT

                            HB 1637

AS REPORTED BY COMMITTEE ON LABOR & COMMERCE, MARCH 30, 1993

Brief Description:  Including municipal street railways in the definition of public work.

SPONSORS: Representatives Conway, Heavey, King, G. Cole, Basich, Kessler, G. Fisher, Karahalios, Jacobsen, Ogden and Veloria

HOUSE COMMITTEE ON COMMERCE & LABOR

SENATE COMMITTEE ON LABOR & COMMERCE

Majority Report:  Do pass. 

     Signed by Senators Moore, Chairman; Prentice, Vice Chairman; McAuliffe, Pelz, Sutherland, Vognild, and Wojahn.

Minority Report:  Do not pass. 

     Signed by Senators Amondson, Barr, Cantu, Newhouse, and Prince.

Staff:  Jonathan Seib (786‑7427)

Hearing Dates: March 22, 1993; March 30, 1993

BACKGROUND:

State law regulates contracting procedures for public works.  Public works include all work, construction, alteration, repair, or improvement other than ordinary maintenance, executed at the cost of the state or of any municipality, excluding municipal street railways.  The exclusion for municipal street railways was made in the original act in 1923 apparently to avoid conflicting with another bill enacted that year that created local improvement districts for municipal street railways.

SUMMARY:

The definition of public work is amended to delete the exclusion of municipal street railways.

Appropriation:  none 

Revenue:  none

Fiscal Note:  available

TESTIMONY FOR:

The bill is needed to assure that the prevailing wage law will apply to any regional transit project.

TESTIMONY AGAINST:  None

TESTIFIED:  Representative Conway; Otto Herman, REBOUND; Bob Dilger, WA State Building and Construction Trades Council