Private construction projects that use even a small amount of public money, such as for brownfields cleanup or purchasing machinery and equipment, will be subject to Ohio's prevailing-wage requirements under rules issued yesterday by the Strickland administration.

Opponents charge that Gov. Ted Strickland's move is a body blow to a struggling economy.

But Strickland spokesman Keith Dailey said the guidelines are not new. They simply "apply the prevailing wage properly."

"The goal is to ensure adherence to the law in these instances when public dollars are invested into privately funded projects. The law as it is written must be applied going forward.despite past practices."

Prevailing wages, which are usually closer to union-scale wages and typically higher than the market rate, have been required on Ohio public projects since 1931, with passage of a state law often referred to as the "little Davis-Bacon Act."

Gary E. Dwyer, secretary-treasurer of the Ohio State Building Trades Council, representing 90,000 union construction workers in 15 crafts, said he's glad Strickland listened to long-standing complaints.

"It's not exactly what we wanted. We believe that if there's $1 of public money in it, it's a prevailing-wage job," Dwyer said, noting that there are some qualifying factors.

Many business leaders and Republican lawmakers don't see it that way, however.

"The fact of the matter is the new rules will drive up the cost of doing business in the state of Ohio and drive jobs out of the state," said Karen Stivers, spokeswoman for House Speaker Jon Husted, R-Kettering.

She said Husted is particularly concerned about how the rules would apply to the $400 million in new Clean Ohio Fund money that voters are being asked to approve Nov. 4.

Sen. President Bill M. Harris, R-Ashland, who blew up last month after learning about the wage proposal via a leaked union memo, was briefed yesterday by Strickland.

"President Harris believes this is absolutely the wrong time to follow this course," spokeswoman Maggie Ostrowski said. "We should be doing everything we can to encourage economic development. This runs counter to all the other steps we've taken in a bipartisan fashion."

Andy Doehrel, president of the Ohio Chamber of Commerce, said he fears some businesses may drop expansion plans if they have to pay prevailing wages when the only public money involved is for new equipment and machinery.

"We would have concerns that we're moving into areas we wouldn't have anticipated being covered by prevailing wage," Doehrel said.

However, he acknowledged that having clear guidelines will help.

"There was not a lot of solid guidance in the past," he said. "Clarification is helpful. Give business a box they can deal with. It's the uncertainty that kills you."

Strickland spokesman Dailey said that has been the problem: inconsistency in how prevailing-wage rules were applied.

He said businesses will be able to make better, more informed decisions if they know in advance what they'll be dealing with in terms of construction wages.

Dailey batted aside the criticism that Strickland, a Democrat, made the changes to mollify union supporters. Last week, the governor persuaded union backers to remove from the fall ballot an issue mandating paid sick days.

ajohnson@dispatch.com