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2011 won’t produce a vote by the Oregon Legislature on a bill that would have required prevailing wage be paid to construction workers on some projects within enterprise zones.

But the bill is certain to be revisited in a future session.

Democrats failed to gather enough signatures by a Tuesday deadline for a discharge petition that would have moved from a House committee to the House floor. Union officials strongly supported the bill, but others worried that it would negate one of the state’s most powerful economic development tools.

鈥淭his isn’t just about union workers; it’s about making sure all workers on these jobs are paid fair, family wages,鈥� said bill sponsor Rep. Michael Schaufler, D-Happy Valley.

The bill would require construction workers to be paid prevailing wage 鈥� a standard wage determined by the state that is paid to workers on public projects 鈥� on jobs worth over $5 million that receive enterprise zone incentives.

An enterprise zone is a state-sanctioned, municipality-governed program. Companies can qualify for property tax abatement from three to five years on improvements they make to properties within the zone. However, companies must create a predetermined number of jobs at a predetermined wage.

鈥淲e fully support the state’s enterprise zone program,鈥� said John Mohlis, executive secretary of the Oregon State Building and Construction Trades Council. 鈥淏ut it seems to us that if there are rules in place to ensure that workers inside the facility are to be paid fair area wages, why wouldn’t we want to have similar standards in place to ensure the construction workers are being paid fair area standards?鈥�

This was the line of thinking in 2009 when an identical bill was passed by both the House and the Senate, but not signed by then-Gov. Ted Kulongoski. In this year’s session, House Bill 2624 was passed out of the Committee on Business and Labor and referred to the Committee on Revenue. But because no one was pushing the bill to the House floor and the legislative session is set to end soon, Democrats started a discharge petition.

However, only 17 signatures were gathered, and 31 were needed to send HB 2624 to the House floor, so the bill will start the next session in the same committee.

Rep. Jason Conger, R-Bend, fully supports the enterprise zone program, and noted that 鈥渓ittle old Redmond鈥� has created 1,700 permanent jobs and $123 million in capital investments since its enterprise zone was established in 1988. But he thinks the added costs of prevailing wage would deter companies from coming to Oregon, despite incentives.

John Southgate, economic development manager for Hillsboro, added that Oregon can’t significantly compete with other states in regard to incentives. Enterprise zones are one of Oregon’s few advantages and would become less attractive if costs increased, he said.

鈥淲e can’t cut the big checks like some states can,鈥� Southgate said.

Research conducted by Ron Fox, executive director of Southern Oregon Regional Economic Development Inc., found that requiring prevailing wage in an enterprise zone could increase a project’s cost by as much as 25 percent. That would essentially negate the property tax abatement, and perhaps increase cost, he said.

The League of Oregon Cities and the Association of Oregon Counties oppose the bill because they say those that oversee enterprise zones already have authority to require prevailing wage be paid.

Associated Builders and Contractors, which oversees independent contractors, also opposed the bill.

鈥淓xpanding prevailing wage to private construction work is a bad idea, end of story,鈥� said John Killin, president of ABC’s Pacific Northwest chapter. 鈥淧ublic and private work are incredibly different, and there just isn’t a case for prevailing wage in private work.鈥�

Schaufler, meanwhile, said Oregon will continue to benefit from enterprise zones.

鈥淭he program has been successful and it will continue to be,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 want to make it clear: We are not trying to change the program; we are trying to get fair wages for those that work on the projects.鈥�