02/17/1993 09:00 PM House FSH

 HB 134:  TEMP TRANSFER OF ENTRY PERMITS                                       
                                                                               
 RICHARD LISTOWSKI, COMMISSIONER, COMMERCIAL FISHERIES ENTRY                   
 COMMISSION (CFEC), said HB 134 allowed people 65 years of                     
 age and older to lease their limited entry permits through                    
 an emergency transfer.  The only transfer now available was                   
 if, for example, a permit holder broke a leg two days before                  
 a fishing period, he could then get an emergency transfer.                    
 The CFEC was in a strong anti-lease position due to a bill                    
 passed by the legislature in 1973, he noted, adding that the                  
 CFEC wanted to see the owners of the permits doing the                        
 fishing.                                                                      
                                                                               
 MR. LISTOWSKI saw a problem in that older owners would lease                  
 their permits to highly successful commercial fishermen, to                   
 get more income, instead of to local fishermen who                            
 desperately needed the work.  He would like to see the older                  
 folks actually sell their permits if they were not using                      
 them.                                                                         
                                                                               
 REPRESENTATIVE CLIFF DAVIDSON asked if passage of HB 134                      
 classified the permits as real property.                                      
                                                                               
 MR. LISTOWSKI advised that although he was not an attorney,                   
 HB 134 leaned toward supporting the Internal Revenue                          
 Service's claim that the permits were property, and not                       
 privileges.  Further, he said that permit holders 65 years                    
 or older might lease to highly successful, experienced,                       
 commercial fishermen who could make more money instead of                     
 leasing to younger, beginner fishermen in the village.   He                   
 then advised that the state had a loan program to help                        
 young, uncollateralized fishermen purchase lease permits.                     
                                                                               
 ADJOURNMENT                                                                   
                                                                               
 CHAIRMAN MOSES asked members and the public if there were                     
 further comments.  Hearing none, he adjourned the meeting at                  
 9:55 a.m.