18-2-403. Preference of Montana labor in public works -- wages -- tax-exempt project -- federal exception. (1) In every public works contract, there must be inserted in the bid specification and the public works contract a provision requiring the contractor to give preference to the employment of bona fide Montana residents in the performance of the work.

(2) All public works contracts for construction services under subsection (1), except those for heavy and highway construction, that are conducted at the project location or under special circumstances must contain a provision requiring the contractor to pay:

(a) the travel allowance that is in effect and applicable to the district in which the work is being performed; and

(b) the standard prevailing rate of wages, including fringe benefits, that is in effect and applicable to the district in which the work is being performed.

(3) In every public works contract for heavy and highway construction, there must be inserted a provision to require the contractor to pay the standard prevailing wage rates established statewide for heavy and highway construction services conducted at the project location or under special circumstances.

(4) Except as provided in subsection (5), all public works contracts for nonconstruction services under subsection (1) must contain a provision requiring the contractor to pay:

(a) the travel allowance that is in effect and applicable to the district in which the work is being performed; and

(b) the standard prevailing rate of wages, including fringe benefits, that is in effect and applicable to the district in which the work is being performed.

(5) An employer who, as a nonprofit organization providing individuals with vocational rehabilitation, performs a public works contract for nonconstruction services and who employs an individual whose earning capacity is impaired by a mental, emotional, or physical disability may pay the individual wages that are less than the standard prevailing wage if the employer complies with the provisions of section 214(c) of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, 29 U.S.C. 214 and 29 CFR, part 525, and the wages paid are equal to or above the minimum wage required in 39-3-409.

(6) Transportation of goods, supplies, materials, and manufactured or fabricated items to or from the project location is not subject to payment of the standard prevailing rate of wages.

(7) A contract, other than a public works contract, let for a project costing more than $25,000 and financed from the proceeds of bonds issued under Title 17, chapter 5, part 15, or Title 90, chapter 5 or 7, must contain a provision requiring the contractor to pay the standard prevailing wage rate in effect and applicable to the district in which the work is being performed unless the contractor performing the work has entered into a collective bargaining agreement covering the work to be performed.

(8) A public works contract may not be let to any person, firm, association, or corporation refusing to execute an agreement with the provisions described in subsections (1) through (7) in it, provided that in public works contracts involving the expenditure of federal-aid funds, this part may not be enforced in a manner as to conflict with or be contrary to the federal statutes prescribing a labor preference to honorably discharged veterans of the armed forces and prohibiting as unlawful any other preference or discrimination among citizens of the United States.

(9) Failure to include the provisions required by 18-2-422 in a public works contract relieves the contractor from the contractor's obligation to pay the standard prevailing wage rate and places the obligation on the public contracting agency.