Committee fails, but doesn't kill prevailing wage repeal

MADISON (AP) — A Senate committee has voted not to recommend a bill that would eliminate the state's prevailing wage law, but that doesn't mean it's dead.

A Senate committee on labor and government reform voted Thursday not to advance a bill that would eliminate the state's prevailing wage law on a 3-2 vote. Under the current law, workers on state or local public projects and highway projects must be paid wages equivalent to what they would earn working on other projects in the area.

The bill can still go to the Senate for a vote without the committee's recommendation, but Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald on Wednesday said its chances were "murky."

Assembly Speaker Robin Vos has said he doesn't have the votes in the Assembly to pass a repeal.