The Association of Builders and Contractors is celebrating Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback's  signing of a law that bans the use of government-mandated project labor agreements (PLAs) on state and municipal projects that use public funds.

“I applaud Gov. Brownback for implementing a law that guarantees the efficient use of tax dollars and keeps a level playing field for the state’s construction workforce to bid on projects,” said Jim Kistler, president and CEC of Associated Builders and Contractors' Heart of America chapter.

Monday, ABC touted a decision by the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) to withdraw a solicitation that would have required contractors to implement a PLA as a condition of building a $40 million Job Corps Center in Manchester, N.H.

Three contractors had filed a bid protest March 19 with the Government Accountability Office, and it indicated last month that it was likely to agree with them.

ABC has been leading a campaign against PLAs, which require non-union contractors to pay an area's prevailing union wage on a government-funded job.