Virginia National Guard Soldiers support Virginia State Police security operations Aug. 12, 2107, in Charlottesville, Virginia. (U.S. National Guard photo by Cotton Puryear)
RICHMOND, Va. – Legislation which would increase State Active Duty pay for activated Soldiers and Airmen of the Virginia National Guard and members of the Virginia Defense Force is passed the Senate on Thursday, March 12, 2020, and will be sent to the Governor for signature into law later this Spring.
Senate Bill 753, entitled “Virginia National Guard; state active duty for emergency response,” increases pay and allowances equal to their rank and years of service, when activated in certain emergencies.
“Our Virginia National Guard Soldiers are always ready to respond to state emergencies,” said Senator Bryce Reeves, District 17 and chief patron of the bill, in a statement on his social media page. “Currently, activated National Guard soldiers are paid at very low wages and not eligible for overtime pay, even when they work 12-18 hours per day. In some scenarios, Guardsmen are paid below minimum wage when the house are calculated. They often work alongside Virginia State Police officers who are receiving a substantial amount more, which leads to a decline in morale.”
The bill also authorizes the Adjutant General of Virginia to increase state active duty pay on an annual basis by a rate not to exceed the most recent percentage increase in basic pay for members of the U.S. Armed Forces.
Virginia National Guard Soldiers assigned to the Norfolk-based 1st Battalion, 111th Field Artillery Regiment, 116th Infantry Brigade Combat Team assist with a patient transport Jan. 6, 2018, in York County, Virginia. (Photo courtesy 1st Battalion, 111th Field Artillery Regiment)
“When our Soldiers, Airmen and [Virginia Defense Force] members response on short notice for state active duty in potential dangerous situations, the emergency response pay they receive should be appropriate to their rank and experience,” said Maj. Gen. Timothy P. Williams, the Adjutant General of Virginia, during a joint presentation to the General Assembly Military and Veterans Caucus and Joint Leadership Council Jan. 15, 2020.
The Virginia National Guard Association has been actively communicating the effects of this bill to the general public, members of the Virginia National Guard and legislators at the state and local level.
“Thanks to your support we have successfully educated the Commonwealth’s legislature about a vast disparity in state active duty pay,” said Capt. Adam Provost, president of the VNGA. “We have a voice both at the state and national level and we couldn’t have do it without the support of our members and their families.”
Reeves, Sen. Bill DeSteph, chief co-patron, and seven other sponsoring members of the Senate introduced this bill Jan. 8, 2020. Thirty-five patrons of the House of Delegates supported this bill through committee. If signed by Gov. Ralph Northam, the change would likely take effect July 1, 2020.
Read the text of the bill here.