Governor Lee Signs Ford Megasite Contractor Transparency Bill Into Law
Image Credit: Gov Bill Lee / Facebook
The Center Square [By Jon Styf] –
Construction contractors who perform more than $100,000 of work at the state megasite outside of Memphis will have to register with the state after Gov. Bill Lee signed a bill into law.
The main construction at the state-owned site will be that of Ford and SK Innovations as they continue to build the $5.6 billion Blue Oval City electric truck factory.
Senate Bill 2204 passed Tennessee’s Legislature after requiring a conference committee at the end of session.
Contractors who do more than $100,000 of work at the site will be required to disclose details such as number of employees, the state of residence for each worker, union affiliation (if any) and the work they performed to the state building commission and the speakers of both legislative chambers quarterly.
The bill was touted as a transparency requirement related to building at the site, where the Legislature has agreed to give Ford Motor Company $884 million in incentives for its $5.6 billion project.
During House discussion of the bill, Rep. Tim Rudd, R-Murfreesboro, said that it was important for the state to make sure that Ford and its contractors are following state law by not discriminating against non-union contractors when hiring for construction work at the site.
Rudd said that, if the bill passed, the state could then make a call to Ford if it felt that state law was not being followed.
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“Earlier this year, we had Tennessee businesses that were applying to do work on the site and they were turning them down based on how much union participation was in their employee force and that was not within Tennessee law,” Rudd said.
Lee also received several late-session bills on his desk Monday. He will have 10 days to act on a bill after receiving it, not counting Sundays.
A Davidson County hotel/motel tax increase for a new Tennessee Titans stadium, a sales tax deal for a new Chattanooga Lookouts baseball stadium and a bill requiring restitution for DUI offenders who kill the parent of minor children were sent to Lee on Monday.
A one-year moratorium on state personal vehicle and motorcycle registration fees set to start on July 1, the full budget appropriations bill that includes $500 million for a new Titans stadium, a bill to add to the state’s HOPE scholarship awards and a campaign finance reporting bill have not yet been sent to Lee.
About the Author: Jon Styf, The Center Square Staff Reporter – Jon Styf is an award-winning editor and reporter who has worked in Illinois, Texas, Wisconsin, Florida and Michigan in local newsrooms over the past 20 years, working for Shaw Media, Hearst and several other companies. Follow Jon on Twitter @JonStyf.
