🔒GOP, contractors raise alarm over extension of prevailing wage to offsite fabrication for public works projects

A group of senate Republicans has sent a letter to a state official raising concerns about a requirement included in the state budget that extends Connecticut's prevailing wage law to offsite custom fabrication for public works projects. The letter, dated July 8, was sent electronically by 10 GOP senators to Dan O’Keefe, commissioner of the state Department of Economic and Community Development (DECD). It states that business owners in Plainville and Thomaston have expressed concerns about the potential impact of section 148 in the budget bill, which Gov. Ned Lamont recently signed into law. The section, which went into effect July 1, states that for “each contract for off-site custom fabrication for any such public worksproject” the state’s prevailing wage law will apply. According to an analysis by the state Office of Legislative Research, in general the prevailing wage law requires “each contract to build, renovate, or repair certain public works projects to have a provision that requires the project’s contractors and subcontractors to pay their construction workers wages and benefits equal to those that are customary or prevailing for the same work, in the same occupation, in the same town.” The prevailing wage law applies to new construction projects costing at least $1 million and renovation projects costing at least $100,000. The extension of the prevailing wage law to off-site custom fabrication originally was the focus of Senate Bill 1370 during the 2025 legislative session. The bill was approved by the Labor and Public Employees Committee, but never raised for a vote in the Senate before the session ended. Instead, it was added to the 745-page budget bill, which was approved by both chambers during the final few days of the session. The letter to O’Keefe states that Sen. Henri Martin (R-Bristol) has received “some troubling emails” from “central Connecticut job creators and constituents.” “A successful business owner described how his company had just invested millions of dollars in a state-of-the-art prefabrication facility in Plainville,” the letter states. “Now, due to the consequences of prevailing wage for off-site work, his company is at a disadvantage against out-of-state competition. The business owner also noted that this has led him to research moving portions of his business to neighboring states.” The letter adds that a "constituent of Sen. Martin’s from Thomaston expressed similar concerns.” Martin said Tuesday that the unnamed businesses cited in the letter are Ferguson Contractors in Plainville and Alliance All Trades, a commercial HVAC contractor based in Thomaston. Neither business responded to several requests for comment. The letter describes the prevailing wage extension as “bad policy,” something also expressed in a commentary by Sen. Rob Sampson (R-Wolcott) that was published Monday online by CTMirror.org. In his commentary, Sampson described S.B. 1370 as “a piece of legislation that should alarm every taxpayer.” He said it would require “that union-level wages (often two to three times higher than the competitive market rate) be paid” for labor on off-site fabrication of any materials used in public projects. The consequences, Sampson added, will be “(m)assive cost increases for local governments, which are already required to pay prevailing wage on most infrastructure and construction projects.” Martin said the extension of the prevailing wage for off-site fabrication also could result in jobs being awarded to out-of-state contractors as a way to reduce costs. The GOP letter to O’Keefe states the senators hope to work with him, the governor and other lawmakers “to reverse this damaging policy as soon as possible, perhaps even in the September special session.” A special session is expected to be held this fall primarily to address cuts in federal funding. The letter adds that the GOP senators hope O’Keefe agrees “that this is a worthy bipartisan undertaking.” In addition to Martin and Sampson, the letter is signed by Senate Majority Leader Stephen G. Harding (R-Brookfield), Sen. Eric Berthel (R-Watertown), Sen. Paul Cicarella (R-North Haven), Sen. Ryan Fazio (R-Greenwich), Sen. Jeff Gordon (R-Woodstock), Sen. Tony Hwang (R-Fairfield), Sen. Jason Perillo (R-Shelton) and Sen. Heather Somers (R-Mystic). A DECD spokesperson said the department has received the letter and is “reviewing the legislation to consider its implications for the Connecticut economy before responding.”