Local wage ordinance ban passes House, again

LANSING – A bill that would ban local communities from passing ordinances regarding wages, benefits or work rules for companies operating in their towns passed the state House of Representatives again Tuesday — but with a significant amendment.

Such ordinances — like living wage ordinances passed in several Michigan cities — passed by communities before Jan. 1 would be able to stand under the new amendment. The original bill that passed the House and Senate earlier this month would have reversed those ordinances. The amended bill, which passed on a 59-51 vote, will have to go back to the Senate, again, for concurrence.

A similar bill stalled last year and has faced intense criticism again this year from Democrats who feared the bill would also prohibit communities from negotiating community benefit packages with companies that were getting tax credits or abatements from communities. New language was added in the Senate version of the bill that will allow cities to negotiate the terms and conditions of contracts with businesses outside of wages and benefits.

But locals are still wary that the language in the bill is so broad that it would hamper a municipality's ability to continue to do things like set rules for adult entertainment facilities, or make regulations that require garbage haulers to wear identifiable uniforms and name tags. Many opponents of the bill called it the "Death Star" bill.

But state Rep. Earl Poleski, R-Jackson, who sponsored the bill, said it provides businesses with more certainty when it's making decisions on where to locate.

"Can you imagine the difficulty of those who want to invest and hire in our state contemplating the potential for 1,800 different local ordinances in the state," he said. "This bill makes it plain that state and federal law applies for wage, benefit and leave packages."

He added the amended bill was necessary to get legislation that would pass both the House and Senate and get Gov. Rick Snyder's signature. "You know what they say about sausage being made," he said.

And as for the "menacing Death Star moniker," Poleski said, adopting a Darth Vader-like voice, "All I can say to the Death Star bill is I am your father and I'm glad to see it born today."

The bill — HB 4052 — moves back to the Senate for final concurrence.

Contact Kathleen Gray: 517-372-8661, kgray99@freepress.com or on Twitter @michpoligal.