HB 1178-S - DIGEST

(DIGEST AS PASSED LEGISLATURE)

     Exempts persons under age twenty-one employed on the family farm from industrial insurance coverage, if the individual resides on the farm.

VETO MESSAGE ON HB 1178-S

                   May 16, 1995

To the Honorable Speaker and Members,

  The House of Representatives of the State of Washington

Ladies and Gentlemen:

     I am returning herewith, without my approval, Substitute House Bill No. 1178 entitled:

"AN ACT Relating to exemptions from industrial insurance coverage for persons under age twenty-one employed on the family farm;"

     The initial intent of this legislation was to assist those farm families who have college-age, family members working on their farms after school and during school vacations.  The original bill included these college-age, young people in the exemption from industrial insurance coverage currently applicable to those under 18 years of age.

     Substitute House Bill No. 1178 utilized a different approach in responding to this family farm issue.  The implication of which -- repealing the current exemption for farm family members under the age of 18 -- only recently became clear.  Additionally, the approach of the substitute version of the bill appears cumbersome and difficult to implement for the Department of Labor and Industries.

     Based upon information offered by the Chair of the House Commerce and Labor Committee, I am convinced the repeal of the current exemption for those under 18 years of age was neither the intent, nor an acceptable outcome, of the legislature's work.

     For these reasons, I have vetoed Substitute House Bill No. 1178 in its entirety.

                   Respectfully submitted,

                   Mike Lowry

                   Governor