State Senator Becky Schmitz says she supports the idea of state lawmakers passing a prevailing wage bill. Such a bill would require workers on projects funded by state dollars, be paid by the typical wage for the area identified by the state labor department. Schmitz says this practice is used in many cases today when the state uses federal money on projects and will be used when stimulus package money comes to Iowa, so it's not an out of the box proposal. Schmitz said at a weekend town hall meeting in Washington that she'd vote for such a bill. However, Schmitz says since it couldn't pass in the House, it is highly unlikely they'll spend time introducing such a bill in the Senate. Opponents of prevailing wage have expressed concern about being forced to pay a higher wage, could drive up governmental project costs.