85R9986 DMS-F
By: Murphy H.B. No. 2689
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to wage surveys for the determination of prevailing wage
rates for certain contracts for public works.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 2258.022, Government Code, is amended by
amending Subsections (a) and (b) and adding Subsection (b-1) to
read as follows:
(a) For a contract for a public work awarded by a political
subdivision of the state, the public body shall determine the
general prevailing rate of per diem wages in the locality in which
the public work is to be performed for each craft or type of worker
needed to execute the contract and the prevailing rate for legal
holiday and overtime work by:
(1) conducting a survey or considering a survey
conducted by a third party of the wages received by classes of
workers employed on projects of a character similar to the contract
work in the political subdivision of the state in which the public
work is to be performed; or
(2) using the prevailing wage rate as determined by
the United States Department of Labor in accordance with the
Davis-Bacon Act (40 U.S.C. Section 3141 [276a] et seq.), and its
subsequent amendments.
(b) This subsection applies only to a public work located in
a county bordering the United Mexican States or in a county adjacent
to a county bordering the United Mexican States. For a contract for
a public work awarded by the state, the public body shall determine
the general prevailing rate of per diem wages in the locality in
which the public work is to be performed for each craft or type of
worker needed to execute the contract and the prevailing rate for
legal holiday and overtime work as follows. The public body shall
conduct a survey or consider a survey conducted by a third party of
the wages received by classes of workers employed on projects of a
character similar to the contract work both statewide and in the
political subdivision of the state in which the public work is to be
performed. The public body shall also consider the prevailing wage
rate as determined by the United States Department of Labor in
accordance with the Davis-Bacon Act (40 U.S.C. Section 3141 [276a]
et seq.), and its subsequent amendments[, but only if the survey
used to determine that rate was conducted within a three-year
period preceding the date the public body calls for bids for the
public work]. The public body shall determine the general
prevailing rate of per diem wages in the locality based on the
higher of:
(1) the rate determined from the survey conducted in
the political subdivision;
(2) the arithmetic mean between the rate determined
from the survey conducted in the political subdivision and the rate
determined from the statewide survey; and
(3) if applicable, the arithmetic mean between the
rate determined from the survey conducted in the political
subdivision and the rate determined by the United States Department
of Labor.
(b-1) A survey used to determine a general prevailing rate
under Subsection (a) or (b) must be conducted within a three-year
period preceding the date the public body calls for bids for the
public work.
SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 2017.