| Summary |
Current labor requirements for public projects. In 2019, the
general assembly adopted an apprenticeship utilization law
(apprenticeship utilization law) that requires the general contractor for a
public project that does not receive federal money, and that is in the
amount of one million dollars or more, to submit, at the time a
mechanical, electrical, or plumbing subcontractor is put under contract,
documentation to the contracting agency that identifies the contractors or
subcontractors that will be used for specified aspects of the public project
and certifies that all firms identified participate in specified
apprenticeship programs.
At the same time, the general assembly also adopted a prevailing
wage law (prevailing wage law) that requires any contractor who is
awarded a contract for a public project by an agency of government for
$500,000 or more and that does not include federal money, and any
subcontractors working on the public project, to pay their employees a
prevailing wage at weekly intervals. The contractors and subcontractors
are required to comply with prevailing wage enforcement provisions and
requirements.
Energy sector public works projects. The bill creates a new
category of public works projects defined as energy sector public works
projects, and requires these projects to comply with the requirements of
the apprenticeship utilization law and the prevailing wage law for energy
sector public works projects. An energy sector public works project is
any project that:
•
Has the purpose of generating, transmitting, or distributing
electricity or natural gas for the purpose of providing
energy to Colorado individual consumers and businesses;
or
•
Has the purpose of generating or distributing electricity or
natural gas for the purpose of providing energy to Colorado
individual consumers and businesses from utility customer
funding as approved by a cooperative electric association.
With certain exceptions, the bill requires that a contract for an
energy sector public works project include provisions that expressly
require that all work performed under the contract comply with the state
mechanical, electrical, and plumbing apprenticeship utilization law and
the state prevailing wage law if the project is an electric power generation
project with a nameplate generation capacity of one megawatt or higher
or if the project is a project other than an electric power generation
project with a total cost of one million dollars or more. All contracts with
subcontractors on the project are also required to include such provisions.
If the contract for an energy sector public works project does not include
such provisions, the project will not be eligible to receive state funding
or to receive required authorizations or approvals from the public utilities
commission (PUC).
The lead contractor for an energy sector public works project is
required to:
•
Prepare certified payroll records for workers directly
employed by the contractor and any subcontractors on the
project and submit the records to the public utility or other
owner of the energy sector public works project weekly;
and
•
Prepare a quarterly craft labor certification that attests that
the lead contractor and all subcontractors are compliant
with the apprenticeship utilization law and the prevailing
wage law.
The public utility, cooperative electric association, independent
power producer, or other owner of an energy sector public works project
is required to maintain the records for all craft labor certifications and is
required to either provide copies quarterly to the department of labor and
employment or require the lead contractor to provide such copies.
The state auditor's office, in conjunction with the PUC and the
department of labor and employment, is required to conduct periodic
random audits of the labor certifications for energy sector public works
projects.
Violations of the requirements for energy sector public works
project contracts are subject to the penalties described in the
apprenticeship utilization law and the prevailing wage law.
For projects funded in whole or in part by the state, the
requirements to comply with the apprenticeship utilization law and the
prevailing wage law apply only when the total project cost is one million
dollars or more and the aggregated public assistance from the state is
$500,000 or more or when the project is a power generation project with
a nameplate generation capacity of one megawatt or higher, and the
aggregated public assistance from the state is $500,000 or more.
The requirements to comply with the apprenticeship utilization law
and the prevailing wage law do not apply to a project that is covered by
a project labor agreement, work on an energy sector public works project
performed by employees of a utility company, a utility-incentivized
demand-side management or electrification program, a utility or
state-funded building efficiency program, service agreements that were
entered into on or before a certain date, projects that involve an electric
distribution line with a specified capacity, work on an energy sector
public works project put out to bid on or after January 1, 2024, that is
qualified for and claims the increased federal production tax credit or
investment tax credit amount, excluding any domestic content, energy
community, or low-income community bonus credit, and projects that
involve pipelines with a specified minimum yield strength.
Project labor agreements. In lieu of compliance with the
apprenticeship utilization law and the prevailing wage law, a public
utility, cooperative electric association, or independent power producer
may incorporate a project labor agreement requirement for an energy
sector public works project. A project labor agreement is a prehire
collective bargaining agreement that establishes the terms and conditions
of employment of the construction workforce on an energy sector public
works project. A project labor agreement is required to:
•
Include provisions for resolving labor disputes and
grievances;
•
Guarantee against strikes and lockouts;
•
Ensure a reliable source of trained and skilled labor;
•
Further public policy objectives regarding improved
employment opportunities for minorities, women, and other
economically disadvantaged populations in the construction
industry;
•
Permit the selection of the lowest qualified responsible
bidder or lowest qualified responsible offeror without
regard to union or non-union status at other construction
sites; and
•
Bind all contractors and subcontractors on the energy
sector public works project to the project labor agreement
through the inclusion of appropriate bid specifications in
all relevant bid documents.
The PUC is prohibited from denying approval of an energy sector
public works project solely because it uses a project labor agreement.
The bill specifies which provisions of the apprenticeship
utilization law for public projects apply to energy sector public works
projects.
Regarding best value employment metrics that the PUC is
required to consider when it evaluates electric resource acquisitions and
requests for certificates of public convenience and necessity for
construction or expansion of generating facilities, the bill:
•
Requires the PUC to promulgate rules requiring utilities,
when submitting annual progress reports for an electric
resource acquisition, to collect and provide to the PUC
information concerning the implementation of best value
employment metrics;
•
Requires the PUC to report annually to committees of
reference of the general assembly concerning the
information that is reported; and
•
Repeals obsolete language requiring the state auditor to
conduct a performance audit.
The bill adds enforcement mechanisms for the existing
mechanical, electrical, and plumbing apprenticeship utilization
requirements for gas demand-side management projects and beneficial
electrification projects.
In addition, the bill requires that projects undertaken pursuant to
specified existing state laws comply with the state mechanical, electrical,
and plumbing apprenticeship utilization law and the state prevailing wage
law.
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