Commercial fishing exemption bill ready for House vote

Crews are already exempt under state and federal law from the state unemployment insurance system during harvest operations because their pay is based on shares of the catch.

House Bill 289 extends that exemption to drills or actual spill response work for up to seven consecutive days. The state, oil tanker operators and seafarers unions all support the bill to maintain the integrity of the spill response system, which is based on the availability of fishing boats for immediate responses to oil spills.