State Laws on Buying American

To date, over 30 states have proposed legislation that would bar their state governments from contracting or subcontracting services from companies that employ people who are not U.S. citizens, according to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

Mary Bottari of Public Citizen makes it clear: “The goal of such policies is to keep taxpayers dollars working for the community and reflecting the values of the state.” 

Here are some examples that do just that:

In Wisconsin, Representative Mark Pocan introduced the "American Jobs Act", which allows the state to only contract for services performed within the United States.  

In Pennsylvania, a three-bill model outsourcing package was introduced to (1) Require companies to notify the state if they outsource more than 100 jobs to a foreign country (2) Bar such companies from any procurement contract, grant, loan or bonding assistance from either the state or local governments in Pennsylvania for seven years; and (3) Require all state contractors to have an employment eligibility forms on file.  Pennsylvania has lost 80,000 jobs in the last three years as companies have moved operations abroad.

In the State of Washington, House Bill 2768 would prohibit contracting with offshore firms for any road construction, corrections projects or work at higher education institutions, and would also apply to subcontractors. For example, steel used to build a bridge in Washingtonwould have to be prefabricated in the United States, said Rep. Zach Hudgins, D-Tukwila, the bill's primary sponsor.  “This is all about starting the discussion around whether we should use tax dollars to create jobs someplace else," said Hudgins.

In Missouri, Public Citizen reports that SB 853 is focused on privacy concerns, prohibiting outsourcing when personal information is involved, including social security, banking or medical information. Recent new reports indicated that hundreds of thousands of U.S. tax returns will be shipped overseas this year by tax preparation companies without the knowledge of the taxpayer.

In Minnesota, a ban on outsourcing advanced with bipartisan support.  The State and Local Government Operations Committee approved S.F. 1792on a 10-1 vote, and Governor Pawlenty has directed officials at state agencies to examine whether they are outsourcing consulting work.

In Indiana, Anti-Outsourcing Legislation SB 4 passed the state Senate 38-10.  This bill says none (0%) of Indianastate government contracts may be offshored after July 1, 2004, which is the time needed to establish administrative rules.  Until then, no contract may be awarded until interim guidelines are established.(PDF SB4)

To highlight the impact of offshoring American information technology jobs, the Washington Alliance of Technology Workers launched a Web-based advertising and fund-raising campaign April 7. The first ad features Seattle-area tech workers who have lost jobs to offshoring, including one who, to receive severance pay and retain unemployment insurance eligibility, had to train her offshore replacement. To see the ads and learn more, visit www.washtech.org.

Meanwhile, union activists working with legislators in 33 states have introduced or plan to introduce a version of the AFL-CIO– developed model legislation to slow the offshoring of American jobs. The legislation prohibits states from contracting with companies that send jobs out of the country and uses state tax revenue to create local jobs and stabilize local tax bases. For more information on the state legislation, contact stateaction@aflcio.org.

Click on the box to the right to see actual samples.

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