Senate moves to close Rocky's wage loophole

A bill aimed at closing what's been called the "Rocky loophole" — after the Salt Lake City mayor's decision to give preference to companies that pay a living wage when awarding city contracts — advanced in the Senate on Tuesday.

SB139, which would stop Mayor Rocky Anderson from rewarding vendors that pay as much as $10.56 an hour to their employees, was given preliminary approval by a vote of 15-10, with four senators absent.

The bill must be approved again by the Senate before it goes to the House.

The sponsor of the bill, Sen. Howard Stephenson, R-Draper, had put it on hold last week after questions were raised about whether local government officials would be prevented from questioning companies seeking to relocate about the wages they paid.

On Tuesday Stephenson said he'd been assured by the Legislature's legal counsel that wasn't the case.

"This does not affect that," he said. "This affects those that are contracting to provide goods or services to the city."

Senate Minority Whip Ron Allen, D-Stansbury Park, said he still worried the bill would have "broad, unintended consequences" and voted against it.

He was joined in his opposition by Republican Sen. Chris Buttars of West Jordan, who said, "I think this is wrong."

The head of Utah's AFL-CIO, Sen. Ed Mayne, D-West Valley, also voted no.

"A living wage is a question of morality," Mayne said.

The bill sends a message to workers and bosses in Utah that "we like low wages here," he said.

The minimum wage is $5.15 an hour.

But Stephenson said the effort to pay living wages hurts unskilled workers.

"If we want to look at this from a moral perspective," he said, "we need to make sure the free market dictates those wage rates and not a benevolent government."