The Technology, Economic Development and Veterans Committee held a hearing on House Bill 1073, which would authorize a state-administered retention program for the Washington National Guard and require the adjutant general to study retention needs and recommend reenlistment bonuses.

Martha Whaling, committee staff, briefed members that the bill would require the adjutant general to determine reenlistment bonus amounts and eligibility criteria, consider factors such as length of service and shortage of critical skills, publish criteria at least once every three years beginning in November 2027, and report recommendations to the governor and legislature.

Representative Marie Levitt, prime sponsor, said retention matters because the National Guard’s roughly 8,000 members are citizen-soldiers who respond to state and federal missions. “Once we get them in the door, we want them to remain so we don't have to recruit as many on the front end,” Levitt said, and she asked the committee to support retention measures that keep trained members available for state response and federal missions.

Jim (James) Baumgart, intergovernmental affairs and policy director for the Washington Military Department, testified in support and said the program would offer flexibility to address shortages in critical specialties such as IT, cyber, aviation maintenance, vehicle maintenance and logistics. Baumgart said some first-line leaders are ineligible for federal retention bonuses because of years of service and that a state program could target those gaps.

Baumgart also described federal pay as a national base pay schedule set by rank and adjusted in some cases for housing or skill pay; National Guard pay is prorated based on days of service. He told members the department can provide the federal pay schedule and prorated examples at the committee’s request.

The Veterans Legislative Coalition and several veteran stakeholders including former First Special Forces Group commander Rick Thomas voiced support for HB 1073. Testimony closed with committee members asking technical questions about pay schedules and how a state program would interact with federal retention incentives. The committee closed the hearing without taking a vote.