MADISON, Wis. (WSAU) — Wednesday’s Assembly Labor Committee vote to support a full repeal of Wisconsin’s 84-year-old Prevailing Wage law may be the last action seen on this issue. That’s because Republicans are split on the issue. Committee Chairman André Jacque of De Pere did not please Assembly Speaker Robin Vos by forging ahead with the hearing and the vote, as Vos prefers making changes to the law instead of eliminating it.
The nine person committee passed the bill on a 5-4 vote, with Marshfield Republican John Spiros as the only Republican to vote against the bill. Spiros agrees with Vos that the current law needs changes, and says several businesses in his district have asked him to vote against repealing the law. Stratford Republican Bob Kulp reluctantly voted for it, telling Right Wisconsin.com, “Frankly, this is a vote I would rather not take today.”
Kulp says if this doesn’t pass, he hopes it will lead to a discussion on reforming the law. About the Labor Committee vote, Kulp told the conservative website, “I’m going to make enemies by a vote one way or another.”
Speaker Robin Vos has already said he will not schedule the bill for a floor vote, so there’s little chance of any change in the law unless something gets inserted into the budget.
