For all those who believe Wisconsin Republicans march in lockstep with Gov. Scott Walker, at least 36 Assembly Republicans are about to prove them wrong, reports RightWisconsin:

Assembly Labor Committee Chair Rep. Andre Jacque announced Tuesday morning that the committee will hold a hearing and executive session Wednesday on AB 32, a bill to repeal the prevailing wage. The hearing and vote, long stifled by Republican leadership, provides new momentum for conservative legislators looking for taxpayer savings in a tight budget.

“We have a chance to get a real reform done for the taxpayers,” said Jacque in an interview with Charlie Sykes Tuesday morning.

Jerry Bader first reported the news of a public hearing Monday afternoon on his blog at WTAQ, and sources to RightWisconsin quickly confirmed the news.

The public hearing now sets up a standoff in the Republican controlled Assembly.

It is widely known at this point that Assembly Speaker Robin Vos has been working overtime to prevent a public hearing in the Labor Committee and a showdown over the repeal of the prevailing wage. With a new hearing and vote called for Wednesday, a full repeal will more than likely pass given that of the six Republican members, five are co-sponsors of AB 32.

Jacque acknowledged to Sykes that he did not have the support of Assembly Speaker Vos.

“I don’t think the Speaker wanted me to have this hearing at this point,” said Jacque. “But this is something that I felt as Chair was important to do.”

Assuming AB 32 passes out of the Labor Committee Wednesday, the pressure will be on Speaker Robin Vos to bring the bill to the floor for a vote in the Republican dominated chamber.

Vos has said that he doesn’t have the votes to pass a full repeal. But Jacque disagreed, saying, “I believe if this bill were to make it to the Assembly floor it would pass.”

I have yet to read a good rationale for the existence of the prevailing wage law as it is, so obviously I support this. The role of government should not include telling businesses what they must pay their employees, first. (Nor should it include telling businesses what they must charge their customers for their products and services.) If government is paying $1 more than it needs to pay for public works projects, government is ripping off the taxpayer.

Independent of the state’s 2015-17 budget, when you consider how we need to upgrade our roads and bridges (according to those who maintain those roads and bridges), the idea that current law that inflates those costs by 20 percent or more doesn’t need to change is, frankly, nuts. The idea that we should pay 20 percent or more beyond what a school project costs because of, again, current law is abuse of the taxpayer.

It’s not clear to me why Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, or Walker (who has been silent so  far), is on the wrong side of this issue. (Too much John Gard influence? Fear that Democrats will say mean things about the GOP?) But Vos is on the wrong side of this issue, and if Walker agrees with Vos, Walker is also on the wrong side of this issue.