Union bill reemerges in Senate

BOISE (AP) — Idaho Lawmakers are taking another crack at bill designed to weaken unions that was thrown out by a federal judge this year.

New Plymouth Sen. Monty Pearce Friday introduced legislation amending a law passed last year that bans requiring contractors to forge pacts with unionized workers as a condition of winning a government construction job.

U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill ruled in January that the majority Republican Legislature's 2011 efforts to undercut unions in Idaho were illegal.

The Senate State Affairs Committee agreed to print Pearce's bill on a party-line vote

Pearce says the new bill has the attorney general's approval and addresses the court's concerns. He argues it will instill more competition for government projects, resulting in lower costs to be borne by Idaho taxpayers.