The Military Services Retirement and Surviving Spouse Benefit Payment Act
MOAA’s California Council of Chapters (CALMOAA) would like you to join our grassroots advocacy campaign
in support of legislation designed to make California a more welcoming home to military retirees who dedicated
their lives to our country, as well as to their families and their surviving spouses.
California is the only state in the country that does not provide some form of tax relief for military retirees.
Assembly Bill 46, the Military Services Retirement and Surviving Spouse Benefit Payment Act, would offer
this relief. The legislation would help our state retain and attract uniformed-service retirees to strengthen
the state’s skilled workforce, bring stability to communities, and contribute to the state and local tax base.
California continues to lose military retirees and surviving spouses to other states. Military retirees who remain
in California provide an available workforce to fill many of the 40,000 technical and over 20,000 medical field vacancies in California. Additionally, many military retirees, surviving spouses, and children will use their federa
l GI Bill educational benefits to pursue advanced degrees in STEM and medical occupations to add to California’s much-needed workforce.
According to a study conducted for the Governor’s Military Council, the defense industry contributed $168 billion
to California’s economy in 2021 – 5% of the state’s budget. DoD estimates military retirees and surviving spouses bring a $4.8 billion inflation-protected stream of federal funds to California’s economy each year.
AB46 will be presented to the Assembly’s Appropriations Committee in May. Please show your support for AB46
by sending a short letter to the Assembly Appropriations Committee at approps.committee@assembly.ca.gov.
The Appropriations Committee also accepts hard copies of written testimony, which can be brief, delivered by
the U.S. Postal Service to the following address:
Assemblymember Chris Holden, Chair of the Appropriations Committee
Assembly Appropriations Committee
1021 O Street, Suite 8220
Sacramento, CA 95814
You may also use this Voters Voice link to send an auto-generated letter of support to your
California Assemblymember.
If you’re already familiar with CALMOAA via your local MOAA chapter, thank you so much for your ongoing
support of our efforts. If you’re interested in learning more about MOAA chapters in your area, please visit MOAA.org/chapters to find a group near you.
Respectfully,
California Council of Chapters Military Officers Association of America (CALMOAA)