[Congressional Bills 103th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2042 Introduced in House (IH)]

103d CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2042

 To amend the Davis-Bacon Act and the Copeland Act to provide new job 
opportunities, effect significant cost savings by increasing efficiency 
and economy in Federal procurement, promote small and minority business 
participation in Federal contracting, increase competition for Federal 
  construction contracts, reduce unnecessary paperwork and reporting 
requirements, clarify the definition of prevailing wage, and for other 
                               purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 6, 1993

Mr. Stenholm (for himself, Mr. Fawell, Mr. Valentine, Mr. Goodling, Mr. 
 Montgomery, and Mr. Inhofe) introduced the following bill; which was 
            referred to the Committee on Education and Labor

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To amend the Davis-Bacon Act and the Copeland Act to provide new job 
opportunities, effect significant cost savings by increasing efficiency 
and economy in Federal procurement, promote small and minority business 
participation in Federal contracting, increase competition for Federal 
  construction contracts, reduce unnecessary paperwork and reporting 
requirements, clarify the definition of prevailing wage, and for other 
                               purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; REFERENCE.

    (a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``Davis-Bacon Reform 
Act''.
    (b) Reference.--Whenever in this Act (other than in section 12) an 
amendment is expressed in terms of an amendment to a section or other 
provision, the reference shall be considered to be made to a section or 
other provision of the Act of March 3, 1931, entitled ``An Act relating 
to the rate of wages for laborers and mechanics employed on public 
buildings of the United States and the District of Columbia by 
contractors and subcontractors, and for other purposes'' (40 U.S.C. 
276a et seq.) (commonly referred to as the ``Davis-Bacon Act'').

SEC. 2. INCREASE IN THRESHOLD AMOUNT.

    Subsection (a) of section 1 (40 U.S.C. 276a(a)) is amended by 
striking out ``$2,000'' and inserting in lieu thereof ``$500,000''.

SEC. 3. APPROPRIATE CIVIL SUBDIVISION FOR COMPUTATION OF PREVAILING 
              WAGE.

    Subsection (a) of section 1 (40 U.S.C. 276(a)) is amended by 
striking out ``the city, town, village, or other civil subdivision of 
the State, in which the work is to be performed,'' and inserting in 
lieu thereof ``the particular urban or rural subdivision (of the State) 
in which the work is to be performed,''.

SEC. 4. DETERMINATION OF PREVAILING WAGE.

    Subsection (a) of section 1 (40 U.S.C. 276(a)) is amended by adding 
at the end thereof the following new sentence: ``In determining the 
prevailing wage for a class of laborers, mechanics, or helpers where 
more than a single wage is being paid to the corresponding class of 
laborers, mechanics, or helpers, the Secretary shall establish as the 
prevailing wage the entire range of wages being paid to such 
corresponding class of laborers, mechanics, or helpers employed on 
private industry projects of a character similar to the contract work 
in the urban or rural subdivision of the State in which the work is to 
be performed, or in the District of Columbia if the work is to be 
performed there.''.

SEC. 5. EXCLUSION OF FEDERAL PROJECTS FROM PREVAILING WAGE COMPUTATION.

    Subsection (b)(1) of section 1 (40 U.S.C. 276a(b)(1)) is amended by 
inserting before the semicolon the following: ``, excluding the basic 
hourly rates of pay of individuals whose wages are established pursuant 
to the requirements of this Act, unless it is determined that there is 
insufficient wage data to determine the prevailing wages in the absence 
of data from such Federal or federally assisted projects''.

SEC. 6. CLASSIFICATION OF HELPERS.

    Section 1 (40 U.S.C. 276a) is amended by adding at the end thereof 
the following new subsection:
    ``(c)(1) For the purposes of this Act, helpers of laborers or 
mechanics shall be considered as a separate class and prevailing wages 
for such helpers shall be determined on the basis of the corresponding 
class of helpers employed on private industry projects of a character 
similar to the contract work in the urban or rural subdivision of the 
State in which the work is to be performed, or in the District of 
Columbia if the work is to be performed there.
    ``(2) For purposes of this section, the term `helper' means a semi-
skilled worker (rather than a skilled journeyman mechanic) who--
            ``(A) works under the direction of and assists a 
        journeyman,
            ``(B) under the direction and supervision of the 
        journeyman, performs a variety of duties to assist the 
        journeyman, such as--
                    ``(i) preparing, carrying, and furnishing 
                materials, tools, equipment, and supplies and 
                maintaining them in order,
                    ``(ii) cleaning and preparing work areas,
                    ``(iii) lifting, positioning, and holding materials 
                or tools, and
                    ``(iv) other related semi-skilled tasks as directed 
                by the journeyman, and
            ``(C) may use tools of the trade which are under the 
        direction and supervision of the journeyman.''.

SEC. 7. PROHIBITION ON CONTRACT-SPLITTING.

    Section 1 (40 U.S.C. 276a) (as amended by section 6) is further 
amended by adding at the end thereof the following new subsections:
    ``(d) Any person entering into a contract under which wages are to 
be determined in accordance with this Act shall not divide any project 
into contracts of $500,000 or less if the project would not have been 
so divided but for the purpose of avoiding the application of this Act.
    ``(e) Whenever the Secretary of Labor determines that a division 
for such purpose as described in subsection (d) has occurred, the 
Secretary may--
            ``(1) require that the contracts, grants, or other 
        instruments providing Federal financing or assistance be 
        amended so as to incorporate retroactively all the provisions 
        which would have been required under this Act or other 
        applicable prevailing wage statute, and
            ``(2) require the contracting or assisting agency, the 
        recipient of Federal financing or assistance, or any other 
        entity which awarded the contract or instrument providing 
        Federal financing or assistance in violation of this section, 
        to compensate the contractor, the grantee, or other recipient 
        of Federal assistance, as appropriate, for payment to each 
        affected laborer and mechanic, of an amount equal to the 
        difference between the rate received and the applicable 
        prevailing wage rate, with interest on wages due at the rate 
        specified in section 6621(c) of the Internal Revenue Code of 
        1986, from the date the work was performed by such laborers and 
        mechanics.
    ``(f) The Secretary shall make a determination that a division for 
such purpose as described in subsection (d) has occurred only where the 
Secretary has notified the agency or entity in question not later than 
180 days after completion of construction on the project that an 
investigation will be conducted concerning an alleged violation of this 
subsection.''.

SEC. 8. TECHNICAL AMENDMENT APPLYING REFORM TO RELATED ACTS.

    The Act (40 U.S.C. 276a et seq.) is amended by adding at the end 
thereof the following new section:
    ``Sec. 8. No provision of any law requiring the payment of 
prevailing wage rates as determined by the Secretary in accordance with 
this Act shall apply to contracts for construction, alteration, or 
repair valued at $500,000 or less, or in the case of rent supplement 
assistance or other assistance for which the instrument of Federal 
financing or assistance does not have an aggregate dollar amount, where 
the assisted project is in the amount of $500,000 or less.''.

SEC. 9. MATCHING FUNDS.

    The Act (40 U.S.C. 276a et seq.) (as amended by section 8) is 
further amended by adding at the end thereof the following new section:
    ``Sec. 9. In the case of a grant or other instrument by which the 
Federal Government provides to or shares with any State or subdivision 
thereof funding of a construction, alteration, repair, rehabilitation, 
reconstruction, or renovation project, any law requiring the payment of 
prevailing wage rates as determined by the Secretary in accordance with 
this Act shall apply to that project only if at least 25 percent of the 
costs of that project are paid by the Federal grant or instrument.''.

SEC. 10. VOLUNTARY CONTRIBUTION OF SERVICES.

    (a) In General.--The Act (40 U.S.C. 276a et seq.) (as amended by 
sections 8 and 9) is further amended by adding at the end thereof the 
following new section:
    ``Sec. 10. The provisions of section 1 of this Act relating to the 
wages required to be paid shall not apply to any individual--
            ``(1) who contributes services on a voluntary basis; and
            ``(2) who--
                    ``(A) does not receive compensation for such 
                services; or
                    ``(B) is paid expenses, reasonable benefits, or a 
                nominal fee for such services; and
            ``(3) whose contribution of such services is specifically 
        approved in advance by the contracting or assisting agency, the 
        recipient of Federal financing or assistance, or other entity 
        which awarded the contract or instrument providing Federal 
        financing or assistance, which is the entity in the closest 
        relation to the work to be performed; and
            ``(4) whose contribution of such services is not for the 
        benefit or competitive advantage of any contractor otherwise 
        performing or seeking to perform work on the same project.''.
    (b) Technical Amendment.--Subsection (b) of section 3 (40 U.S.C. 
276a-2) is amended by inserting ``(except as provided for in section 10 
of this Act)'' after ``agreed to accept less than the required rate of 
wages''.

SEC. 11. TECHNICAL AMENDMENTS.

    (a) Short Title.--The Act (40 U.S.C. 276a et seq.) is amended--
            (1) by redesignating sections 1 through 6 as sections 2 
        through 7, respectively; and
            (2) by inserting before section 2, as so redesignated, the 
        following new section:
    ``Section 1. This Act may be cited as the `Davis-Bacon Act'.''.
    (b) Payment of Wages by Comptroller General.--Subsection (a) of 
section 4, as so redesignated, (40 U.S.C. 276a-2) is amended by 
striking out the first sentence and inserting in lieu thereof the 
following new sentences: ``In accordance with regulations issued by the 
Secretary pursuant to Reorganization Plan Numbered 14 of 1950 (64 Stat. 
1267), any wages found to be due to laborers, mechanics, and helpers 
pursuant to this Act shall be paid directly to such laborers, 
mechanics, and helpers from any accrued payments withheld under the 
terms of the contract. Any sums due laborers, mechanics, or helpers 
under section 1, not paid because of inability to do so within 3 years, 
shall revert to or be deposited into the Treasury of the United States. 
The Administrator of General Services shall distribute a list to all 
departments of the Government giving the names of persons or firms that 
the Secretary has found to have disregarded their obligations to 
employees and subcontractors.''.

SEC. 12. COPELAND ACT PAPERWORK REDUCTION AMENDMENT.

    (a) Statements.--Section 2 of the Act of June 13, 1934, entitled 
``An Act to effectuate the purpose of certain statutes concerning rates 
of pay for labor, by making it unlawful to prevent anyone from 
receiving the compensation contracted for thereunder, and for other 
purposes'' (40 U.S.C. 276c) (commonly referred to as the ``Copeland 
Act'') is amended by striking out ``shall furnish weekly a statement 
with respect to the wages paid each employee during the preceding 
week'' and inserting in lieu thereof ``shall furnish, at the beginning, 
midpoint, and conclusion of the period covered by the contract, a 
statement with respect to the weekly wages paid each employee during 
such period, except that such statement shall be furnished no less 
often than every 3 months''.
    (b) Application.--Section 2 of such Act (40 U.S.C. 276c) is further 
amended by adding at the end thereof the following new sentence: ``This 
section shall not apply to any contract or project that is exempted by 
its size from the application of the Davis-Bacon Act.''.

SEC. 13. REPORTS REQUIRED.

    Beginning 1 year after the effective date of the amendments made by 
this Act, and at intervals of 1 year thereafter, the Secretary of Labor 
and the Comptroller General of the United States shall each prepare and 
submit to the appropriate committees of Congress a report describing 
the results of a review of the implementation, enforcement, 
administration, impact on local wages, and impact on local and national 
economies of the Act of March 3, 1931 (the Davis-Bacon Act), the Act of 
June 13, 1934 (the Copeland Act), and the amendments made by this Act 
during the preceding 12-month period, including recommendations for 
such further legislation as may be appropriate.

SEC. 14. EFFECTIVE DATE.

    The amendments made by this Act shall take effect on the date that 
is 60 days after the date of enactment of this Act but shall not affect 
any contract in existence on that date or made pursuant to invitations 
for bids outstanding on that date.

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