SB54 is a bad bill

It's not a good year for incumbents. Politicians at every level--federal, state and local--have drawn many opponents and it's in this atmosphere that Senate Bill 54 is making its way through the Kentucky General Assembly. The bill, sponsored by Sen. Carroll Gibson, would mandate that public agencies that require employees to wear uniforms must use garments from American-made sources. Other "safety equipment" is also covered in the legislation. The bill is being pushed by a 300-employee Larue County garment manufacturer and sounds innocent enough. Legislators from both sides of the aisle sense a political victory with a "good old U.S.A." bill.

The problem is that the vast majority of garment manufacturing left the U.S. a long time ago. The bill might have been a good idea in 1990, but that ship has already sailed. In fact, there's other Kentucky employers that stand to lose if this bill is passed. Companies like Unifirst in Owensboro employs 300+ and Sitex in Henderson employs 160+. These companies employ Kentuckians, provide benefits and are good corporate citizens. They stand to be punished, however, by SB54 because they often use materials made outside the U.S. They have no choice to be competitive.

A similar bill passed the Minnesota legislature with little debate and took effect in January. Public agencies are crying foul there because garments they can source in the U.S. are usually twice as expensive as those produced elsewhere. Law enforcement agencies who use and have training programs designed around the Austrian-made Glock pistols are wondering if they can still buy them. Kentucky's own LRC issued a local mandate opinion that SB54 could result in "substantial costs" to government agencies--just what they need in these difficult financial times.

SB54 passed the Senate in late January with only Sen. Dorsey Ridley of Henderson voting against it. Good for him. It appears it will be heard in the House State Government Committee this Thursday. That's too bad for good Kentucky employers like Unifirst and Sitex. Maybe common sense will prevail. Maybe not.