DENVER—A bill to require public-works contractors to pay union-level wages has been killed by a committee in the Colorado state House.
Democrats and Republicans joined Wednesday to defeat the measure, House Bill 1208, amid fears it would cost too much during the economic downturn.
Democratic Rep. John Soper says it would have ultimately helped the economy by giving workers more money to spend.
The bill would have required contractors to pay the prevailing wage as determined by federal rules, usually an amount close to the pay in local union contracts.
Soper says the prevailing wage still applies to projects paid for under the federal stimulus. It won’t apply to projects that state lawmakers hope to fund by raising vehicle registration fees.
