Following are responses to each of your questions. You have asked whether state prison inmate labor may work on public works projects in Nevada. The brief answer to this question is that each use of state prison inmate labor on a public works project must be examined on its unique facts. A guiding principle for such inquiries is that the use of private labor must be favored whenever possible over the use of inmate labor. Countervailing to the legislative intent to favor private employees over inmate employees is another public policy to encourage the use of inmate labor.
Statutes are to be read, where possible, to be harmonious.
Your question addressed the specific issue of whether state prison inmates could perform skilled craftswork, such as electrician's, pipefitter's, or ironworker's work. The above multi-factor analysis takes this into consideration. For example, if a given public works project would entail the use of skilled workers and private skilled labor is available, the above analysis would require a close look at the effect of the loss of that piece of skilled work to the private employees in that trade. The principle that should always underlie any such inquiry should be the favoring of private employment over the employment of state prison inmates on public works projects. As this office pointed out in that opinion, whether a given inmate will be paid the prevailing wage depends on the precise legal relationship between the inmate and his actual employer.