TN House Adds Construction Reporting Requirement At Ford’s Blue Oval City
Image Credit: tn.gov
The Center Square [By Jon Styf] –
An amended bill requiring the review of any construction contracts with companies building at the Ford Blue Oval megasite in west Tennessee passed the House, 69-22, on Thursday.
An amended Senate Bill 2204, sponsored by House Speaker Cameron Sexton, was promoted 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.
The bill also relates to the hiring of contractors at the site, which is overseen by the newly created Megasite Authority of West Tennessee.
“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,” said Rep. Tim Rudd, R-Murfreesboro, who presented the bill for Sexton.
The House amended a bill passed, 26-5, by the Senate on March 31. The bill will go back to the Senate with the changes, which include requiring the megasite CEO to report whether new contractors begin work at the site, adding a July 1 effective date and removing a stipulation that only companies doing more than $100,000 of work need to report.
“There is no project that has ever been like this in Tennessee history, where we have invested over $1 billion of our own money and set up an authority for us to do this,” said Rep. Ryan Williams, R-Cookeville.
Rudd said the companies would need to report quarterly on how much work is being done by each company, whether the workers have a labor agreement, the value of the work and location to the state building commission, speaker of the senate and the speaker of the house.
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“I think we ought to be willing to trust the idea that we’ve got success coming and not put a burden on success before it gets here,” said Rep. Johnny Shaw, D-Bolivar. “I don’t think it’s necessary. … I don’t know why we have to feel like we have to look over Blue Oval day and night.
“We’re saying we invited you here, but we don’t trust you coming.”
Rep. Larry Miller, D-Memphis, said he previously signed on as a bill co-sponsor, but after Rudd’s comments on unions, he wanted to delay a vote on the bill until the House could get a legal opinion on whether construction could be halted at the site based on the bill.
“In your statements a minute ago, you basically implied that this was an anti-union piece of legislation,” Miller said.
Rudd denied that was true, saying the bill was about transparency and comparing the reporting to a building inspector on a construction site.
“The last thing we need them to do is get into a situation where they are breaking state law,” Rudd said.
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.
