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A Marion County Circuit Court judge on Monday lodged a temporary injunction preventing Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek鈥檚 executive order requiring project labor agreements from taking effect.

The order from Judge Thomas M. Hart preserves the status quo until a decision is made in the broader case.

Kotek on Dec. 18 issued an executive order requiring project labor agreements to be used for state-funded projects when on-site labor amounts to 15 percent or more of project costs. The union-friendly agreements, known as PLAs, typically mandate prevailing wages be paid, but also prevent labor disruptions.

In February, several contractors鈥� groups and individual contractors sued, arguing Kotek had exceeded her authority. On Monday, Hart found that the contractors were likely to succeed on the merits.

Contractors hailed the injunction.

鈥淭he judge鈥檚 ruling reinforces what our local contractors have been saying since the order was issued last December,鈥� Mike Salsgiver, CEO of the Associated General Contractors鈥� Oregon-Columbia chapter, stated in a news release. 鈥淭he governor lacks the authority to unilaterally alter Oregon鈥檚 system of competitive bidding and open and fair competition.鈥�

Opponents of PLAs argue they raise costs.

鈥淧LAs inflate the cost of taxpayer-funded construction projects by artificially reducing the number of companies, including locally owned family businesses, who are able to do the work,鈥� stated Jenny Dixson, executive director of the Northwest Utility Contractors Association and a plaintiff in the case. 鈥淲orse, they prevent the vast majority of Oregon construction workers from working on projects financed with their own tax dollars.鈥�

“The governor respects the court鈥檚 ruling, and her office will not comment further on ongoing litigation,” Roxy Mayer, a spokeswoman for Kotek, stated in an email.

In December, Kotek stated that PLAs would advance gender and racial equity by requiring targets and tracking of the use of Certification Office for Business lnclusion and Diversity (COBID) firms. Each PLA must also be available to open-shop and local firms, the governor鈥檚 office stated.

鈥淲ith the broad use of PLAs across state projects, Oregonians will know that public dollars are spent efficiently and benefit the communities in which they鈥檙e spent,鈥� Kotek stated.

Plaintiffs in the Marion County suit include AGC鈥檚 Oregon-Columbia chapter, Associated Builders and Contractors鈥� Pacific Northwest chapter, the Northwest Utility Contractors Association, the National Federation of Independent Business and 13 Oregon contractors.