Bill to boost National Guard recruitment awaits Missouri Governor’s signature

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KCTV) – Missouri Governor Mike Parson has just a few more days to either sign or veto all the bills passed by the legislature this year. One of the bills on his desk would ease the process for Missouri National Guardsmen to pay for their higher education.

The current program that helps National Guard members supplement the cost of college draws federal dollars, but not enough, according to Major General Will Blaylock, who leads the Missouri National Guard Association.

“The federal level doesn’t fund it completely, and so [Senate Bill 912] closes the loop so that we have soldiers and airmen who can go to college basically at no cost,” Blaylock said.

The bill also waives the tax liability on recruitment bonuses and re-enlistment bonuses for the National Guard and U.S. Armed Forces.

“It’s a cleanup of a system that we have had in place, but it needed to be corrected because it is hurting our recruiting,” Blaylock added.

A healthy job market with many lucrative alternatives, Blaylock believes, is one of the main contributing factors to a recent recruitment slump.

SB 912 also affects veterans, making it easier for them to obtain a special parking placard, creates a new program to help address veteran suicides, and renames a section of highway in Osage County after U.S. Army Staff Sergeant Paul Hasenbeck, a Missourian who went missing in action during the Vietnam War.

On Friday, Governor Parson’s office announced a list of bills he plans to sign in the coming days, but SB 912 was not among them. Parson has until July 14 to take action on bills passed by the legislature.

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