A.G. Gancarski
Cities and counties often impose conditions on contractors and who they hire for public works products. But a bill filed Thursday in the Florida Senate would change some of that.
Senate Bill 534, filed by Gainesville Republican Keith Perry on Thursday, would prohibit cities, counties, local taxing districts, schools, and other such “political subdivisions” from dictating terms of employment to contractors during public works projects.
These so-called political subdivisions, under this legislation, would no longer be able to dictate rates of pay or levels of benefits for contractors’ employees and subcontractors.
As well, it would be the contractor’s discretion as to who he or she wants to hire, and local and regional authorities could no longer dictate that those employees come from a single source.
The bill also protects contractors’ rights when it comes to bidding on projects.
As long as the contractor is “qualified, licensed, or certified” to handle a project, said contractor can’t be barred from bidding on the project.
This bill is a priority of the Associated Builders and Contractors, we were told by a staffer in Sen. Perry’s office.
