Opinion ID: 2286511
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Application of 8 CSR 30-3.020

Text: The Department's promulgation of 8 CSR 30-3.020 in 1990 outlined a refinement of the statutory definition of `construction' in that it define[d] the term `major repair'... to mean ` repair of an existing facility ... where the amount of repair involves twenty percent (20%) or more of the ... existing facility.' State Dep't of Labor & Indus. Relations v. Bd. of Pub. Utils. of City of Springfield, 910 S.W.2d 737, 744 (Mo.App.1995) (citing with emphasis 8 CSR 30-3.020(2) (original rule filed Aug. 24, 1990, effective April 29, 1991)). In Public Utilities, however, the court of appeals struck down this regulation after finding it was contrary to the language defining maintenance work under section 290.210(4), which includes the phrase repair of an existing facility. Id. Public Utilities stated: Sections 290.210(4), 290.220, and 290.230(1) provide that any `repair ... of existing facilities' is work excluded from the Act, provided that the `repair... of existing facilities' does not change or increase `the size, type or extent of the existing facilities.' Thus, the test to be applied for `maintenance work' is not the magnitude of the repair; rather, it is whether a change or increase in the size, type, or extent of the existing facility is wrought by the repair. The clear inference is that the legislature did not intend that a test for magnitude be used to determine the Act's applicability. Id. (emphasis added). After Public Utilities, however, the Department promulgated a new version of 8 CSR 30-3.020. The new regulation provides in relevant part: The term construction of public works generally includes construction activity as distinguished from manufacturing, furnishing of materials or servicing and maintenance work. The term includes, without limitation, the construction of buildings, structures and improvements of all types.... [And the term] also means all work done in the construction or development of a public works project, including without limitation, altering, remodeling, demolishing existing structures, installation on the site of the construction of items fabricated off-site, [and] painting and decorating.... 8 CSR 30-3.020(1) (filed July 17, 1995, effective Jan. 30, 1996) (emphasis added). [4] Particularly because the statutes provide no quantitative instructions for applying the Act, the without limitation language in this current version of 8 CSR 30-3.020 is instructive. [5] Where the Act is silent or ambiguous on an issue, the Department has the power to form policy and make necessary rules to fill gaps left by the legislature. See Chevron, U.S.A., Inc. v. Natural Res. Def. Council, 467 U.S. 837, 842-43, 104 S.Ct. 2778, 81 L.Ed.2d 694 (1984) (discussing that an administrative agency has the power to form policy and make necessary rules when statutes are silent or ambiguous on an issue; noting that the court reviews the agency's rule to determine if it is based on a permissible construction of the statute). Contrary to the arguments made by the parties, it is not this Court's role to provide quantitative boundaries for applying the Act. [6] Comparing the definitions for construction under section 290.210(1) and maintenance work under section 290.210(4) by those statutes' respective terms, this Court disagrees with Public Utilities 's suggestion that work on an existing facility is maintenance work unless it changes the size, type, or extent of the facility. Because maintenance work is exempt from coverage under the Act, its definition must be read narrowly. Accordingly, the limitation in the definition of maintenance workwhich tests whether work changes the size, type, or extent of an existing facilityis a limitation that cannot be applied in a way that reduces the scope of what is construction under the plain meaning of section 290.210(1). The plain meaning of the terms included in the definition of construction under section 290.210(1) encompasses work that can occur without any change to a facility's size, type, or extent. Further, contrary to Contractor's suggestions, nothing in the definition of construction under section 290.210(1) prevents the application of the statute to work performed on an existing facility. No other statute or regulation instructs that construction under section 290.210(1) is limited to work performed on new public works projects. By its defining terms, construction work under section 290.210(1) can include work performed on new or existing facilities. For example, the definition of construction includes  re construction, which necessarily must be accomplished on something in existence. Particularly in light of 8 CSR 30-3.020(1), any work that is encompassed in the plain meaning of the language defining construction under section 290.210(1) is work that requires payment of prevailing wages, regardless of whether the work changes the size, type, or extent of an existing facility.