On Feb. 12, the West Virginia Legislature voted to override Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin’s vetoes of  a prevailing wage repeal bill and the West Virginia Workplace Freedom Act, making West Virginia the 26th Right to Work state in the country and the fourth state to pass Right to Work since 2012. 

Both bills will take effect on July 1, 2016. The actions come nearly a year after West Virginia passed ABC’s government neutrality in contracting legislation, which prohibits government-mandated PLAs and PLA preferences on state and state assisted projects. In signing the Establishing Fair and Open Competition in Governmental Construction Act, Gov. Tomblin became the first Democratic governor to sign legislation outlawing PLA mandates on public construction projects. A total of 22 states have adopted measures ensuring fair and open competition on taxpayer funded construction contracts.