Breaking: Michigan and Maine Legislatures Pass PLA Bans
Today is a huge day for those who think free enterprise and open competition should determine how taxpayer-funded construction contracts are awarded in America. Lawmakers in Maine and Michigan passed bills that ban government-mandated PLAs on state funded construction. Once they are signed into law, they will ensure that taxpayers get the best construction at the […]
Louisiana Bans Government-Mandated PLAs on State Funded Projects
The wave continues! With Gov. Bobby Jindal’s signature yesterday of S.B. 76, Louisiana is now the fifth state to ban government-mandated project labor agreements (PLAs) to some degree in 2011 and the ninth state to do so nationwide. This is a huge development for taxpayers in Louisiana. This bill guarantees that free enterprise – not Big Labor […]
One is the Loneliest Number for a Michigan Congressman
One is the loneliest number for Michigan Congressman Thad McCotter (R), who last week gained the distinction of being the only Republican in the U.S. House or the Michigan Senate to vote in favor of wasteful and discriminatory government-mandated project labor agreements (PLAs) on public construction. The Mackinac Center for Public Policy covered this issue […]
State Lawmakers Show U.S. House the Way Forward
Despite a setback at the federal level, the drive for taxpayer value on public construction continued at the state level last week with several key states taking important actions. First, the Louisiana Legislature approved legislation that would ban government-mandated PLAs on all state and local construction in the state. This bill, S.B. 76, received bi-partisan […]
Michigan Lawmakers Seek Labor Reform
As part of a survey of the labor reforms proposed in the Great Lakes State in 2011, The Daily Caller recognized that lawmakers are also taking on government-mandated project labor agreements (PLAs) too. Here are the highlights (Our emphasis added): Republicans control both houses of the Michigan legislature and the governor’s mansion, but passage of any […]
Another State Legislative Committee in Michigan Approves Bill to Ban Government-Mandated PLAs
The Michigan House Commerce Committee approved legislation yesterday to prohibit wasteful and discriminatory government-mandated project labor agreements on state and local projects. The committee approved H.B. 4287 by a 12-7 vote. This bill now awaits consideration from the full House. The Michigan Senate has also taken up the PLA issue and S.B. 165, which is […]
Telling the Truth About PLAs on Radio
Chris Fisher, president of Associated Builders and Contractors of Michigan, appeared this morning on Tony Conley’s radio show on 1320 WILS in Lansing, MI to discuss legislation to prohibit government-mandated project labor agreements on taxpayer funded construction projects. Chris does an outstanding job explaining how PLAs negatively impact Michigan’s taxpayers and the 80 percent of […]
Michigan Senate Committee Hears Bill to Guarantee Open Competition on Taxpayer Funded Work
The Michigan Senate Reforms, Restructuring and Reinventing Committee heard S.B. 165 this morning, which would prohibit the state and local government entities from prohibiting or requiring contractors from entering into wasteful and discriminatory project labor agreements (PLAs) as a condition of performing public construction. The Lansing State Journal covered the hearing around mid-day today. The […]
Open Competition Legislation on the Move!
There have been some big developments for proponents of fair and open competition around the country. It is clear that taxpayers from sea to shining sea are sick of their hard earned tax dollars funding special interest handouts in the form of wasteful and discriminatory project labor agreements (PLAs). Last week, lawmakers in Idaho cleared […]
Detroit News Editorial: Break the Barriers
The editorial board of The Detroit News has once again come out against job killing policies that line the pockets of one special interest group at the expense of Michigan taxpayers. This issue was discussed in the context of The Detroit News urging the newly-minted Snyder administration to remove the government-imposed hurdles to job creation […]