Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak (D) recently signed into law two pieces of legislation that will revise construction provisions on public works projects. A.B. 136 makes three substantive changes to the state’s prevailing wage law, including:

• lowering the threshold for projects that qualify for prevailing wages from $250,000 to $100,000;
• removing the prevailing wage exemption for charter schools; and
• eliminating a statute that allows prevailing wages for public school districts and the Nevada System of Higher Education to be paid at 90% of what is required for other public works projects.

These moves spearheaded by the Democrat-lead legislature reverse changes made by Republicans in 2015.

Additionally, Gov. Sisolak signed into law S.B. 231, which overturns a 2015 law that prohibited government-mandated project labor agreements (PLA) on public and publicly assisted projects. The bill also repealed a provision that states public bodies may not award a grant, tax abatement, tax credit or tax incentive to a contractor that enters into a contract with a labor organization.

These changes will allow public entities in the state to enter into union-only PLAs on more than $2 billion worth of construction projects put in place annually by state and local governments in Nevada. The law will take effect July 1.