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Senate committee hears bill to expand which uniformed services qualify veterans for state benefits
Summary
A Senate committee heard Senate Bill 5420, which would expand definitions of military service used to determine eligibility for state retirement, licensing, hiring preferences and other veteran benefits to include the Space Force and two federal uniformed services.
Senate staff and witnesses told the Technology, Economic Development and Veterans Committee on March 18 that Senate Bill 5420 would update Washington law to recognize newer and nontraditional uniformed services when calculating state retirement and other benefits.
Martha Whaling, staff to the committee, said the bill would expand the type of military service counted for firefighter, police, Public Employees' Retirement System (PERS 1) and city employee retirement benefits and would add other state benefits that use military service in their eligibility rules. "The bill before you today, Senate Bill 5,420, expands eligibility for pension and retirement benefits and veterans benefits based on military service and adds additional types of military service to the definitions," Whaling said.
The measure…
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