Military Affairs

ENROLLED

2026

Legislature

CS for SB 474, 2nd Engrossed

2026474er
1
2 An act relating to military affairs; amending s.
3 115.01, F.S.; revising the authorization to be granted
4 a leave of absence for military service to include the
5 Coast Guard; removing the condition that such service
6 be during war between the United States and a foreign
7 government; amending s. 115.07, F.S.; clarifying a
8 provision relating to leaves of absence for all
9 officers and employees of the state and the counties,
10 municipalities, and political subdivisions of the
11 state for reserve or guard training; authorizing local
12 governments to provide additional paid leave for
13 officers and employees for reserve or guard training;
14 amending s. 115.08, F.S.; revising the definition of
15 the term “active military service”; amending s.
16 115.09, F.S.; specifying that an authorization for a
17 leave of absence for public officials to perform
18 active military service for a specified timeframe is
19 based on a single order; amending s. 115.14, F.S.;
20 specifying that an authorization for a leave of
21 absence for all employees of the state and the
22 counties, municipalities, and political subdivisions
23 of the state to perform active military service for a
24 specified timeframe is based on a single order;
25 amending s. 121.055, F.S.; revising the list of
26 military positions required to participate in the
27 Senior Management Service Class of the Florida
28 Retirement System; amending s. 250.10, F.S.; removing
29 a requirement that the Adjutant General administer
30 youth About Face Programs and adult Forward March
31 programs; removing provisions governing the programs;
32 amending s. 250.116, F.S.; revising eligibility for
33 the Soldiers and Airmen Assistance Program to include
34 traditional drilling guardsmen on state active duty or
35 on Title 32 United States Code duty and their eligible
36 beneficiaries demonstrating valid financial need;
37 defining the term “beneficiary”; requiring requests
38 for assistance to be reviewed, processed, and approved
39 by the Florida National Guard Foundation’s board of
40 directors; requiring requests for assistance to be
41 reviewed and evaluated based on specified criteria;
42 requiring an annual external audit of the program;
43 requiring the board to annually review the bylaws that
44 govern the program; requiring the board to provide a
45 report to the Department of Military Affairs to be
46 approved by the Adjutant General; reenacting s.
47 115.06, F.S., relating to reassumption of duties for
48 officers returning from the service of the United
49 States, to incorporate the amendment made to s.
50 115.01, F.S., in a reference thereto; providing an
51 effective date.
52
53 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
54
55 Section 1. Section 115.01, Florida Statutes, is amended to
56 read:
57 115.01 Leave of absence for military service.—Any county or
58 state official of the state, subject to the provisions and
59 conditions hereinafter set forth, may be granted leave of
60 absence from his or her office, to serve in the volunteer forces
61 of the United States, or in the National Guard of any state, or
62 in the regular Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps,
Coast Guard,

63 or Space Force of the United States, when the same shall be
64 called into active service of the United States
during war

65
between the United States and a foreign government
.
66 Section 2. Subsections (3) and (4) of section 115.07,
67 Florida Statutes, are renumbered as subsections (4) and (5),
68 respectively, subsections (1) and (2) are amended, and a new
69 subsection (3) is added to that section, to read:
70 115.07 Officers and employees’ leaves of absence for
71 reserve or guard training.—
72 (1) All officers or employees of the state, of the several
73 counties of the state, and of the municipalities or political
74 subdivisions of the state who are commissioned reserve officers
75 or reserve enlisted personnel in the United States military or
76 naval service or members of the National Guard are entitled to
77 leaves of absence from their respective duties, without loss of
78 vacation leave, pay, time, or efficiency rating, on all days
79 during which they are engaged in training ordered under the
80 provisions of the United States military or naval training
81 regulations
or applicable general law
for such personnel when
82 assigned to active or inactive duty.
83 (2) Leaves of absence granted as a matter of legal right
84 under the provisions of this section may not exceed 240 working
85 hours in any one annual period
, except as provided in subsection

86
(3)
. Administrative leaves of absence for additional or longer
87 periods of time for assignment to duty functions of a military
88 character shall be without pay
, except as provided in subsection

89
(3),
and shall be granted by the employing or appointing
90 authority of any state, county, municipal, or political
91 subdivision employee and when so granted shall be without loss
92 of time or efficiency rating.
93
(3)

A county, municipality, or other political subdivision

94
of the state may adopt an ordinance or resolution providing that

95
an employee who is a commissioned reserve officer or reserve

96
enlisted personnel in the United States military or naval

97
service or who is a member of the National Guard may receive

98
more than 240 working hours of paid leave from his or her

99
respective duties, without loss of vacation leave, pay, time, or

100
efficiency rating, on all days during which he or she is engaged

101
in training ordered under the provisions of the United States

102
military or naval training regulations or applicable general law

103
for such personnel when assigned to active or inactive duty,

104
provided that no state funds are used for such supplemental

105
payments.

106 Section 3. Subsection (1) of section 115.08, Florida
107 Statutes, is amended to read:
108 115.08 Definitions.—
109 (1) The term “active military service” as used in this
110 chapter
means

shall signify
active duty
in the Florida defense

111
force or federal service in training or on active duty
with any
112 branch of the Armed Forces or Reservists of the Armed Forces,
113 the Florida National Guard, the Coast Guard of the United
114 States, and service of all officers of the United States Public
115 Health Service detailed by proper authority for duty with the
116 Armed Forces, and
includes

shall include
the period during which
117 a person in military service is absent from duty on account of
118 sickness, wounds, leave, or other lawful cause.
119 Section 4. Section 115.09, Florida Statutes, is amended to
120 read:
121 115.09 Leave to public officials for military service.—All
122 officials of the state, the several counties of the state, and
123 the municipalities or political subdivisions of the state,
124 including district school and
Florida

community
College
System

125 officers, which officials are also servicemembers in the
126 National Guard or a reserve component of the Armed Forces of the
127 United States, must be granted leave of absence from their
128 respective offices and duties to perform active military
129 service, with the first 30 days of any such leave of absence to
130 be with full pay for active federal military service that is
131 equal to or greater than 90 consecutive days
on a single order
.
132 Section 5. Section 115.14, Florida Statutes, is amended to
133 read:
134 115.14 Employees.—All employees of the state, the several
135 counties of the state, and the municipalities or political
136 subdivisions of the state must be granted leave of absence under
137 the terms of this law; upon such leave of absence being granted,
138 such employee must enjoy the same rights and privileges as are
139 granted to officials under this law, including, without
140 limitation, receiving full pay for the first 30 days for federal
141 military service that is equal to or greater than 90 consecutive
142 days
on a single order
. Notwithstanding s. 115.09, the employing
143 authority may supplement the military pay of its officials and
144 employees who are reservists called to active military service
145 after the first 30 days in an amount necessary to bring their
146 total salary, inclusive of their base military pay, to the level
147 earned at the time they were called to active military duty. The
148 employing authority shall continue to provide all health
149 insurance and other existing benefits to such officials and
150 employees as required by the Uniformed Services Employment and
151 Reemployment Rights Act, chapter 43 of Title 38 U.S.C.
152 Section 6. Paragraph (g) of subsection (1) of section
153 121.055, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
154 121.055 Senior Management Service Class.—There is hereby
155 established a separate class of membership within the Florida
156 Retirement System to be known as the “Senior Management Service
157 Class,” which shall become effective February 1, 1987.
158 (1)
159 (g) Effective July 1, 1996, participation in the Senior
160 Management Service Class shall be compulsory for any member of
161 the Florida Retirement System employed with the Department of
162 Military Affairs in the
uniformed
positions of the Adjutant
163 General, Assistant Adjutant General-Army, Assistant Adjutant
164 General-Air,
and
State Quartermaster
, Director of Human

165
Resources, Director of Legislative Affairs, Inspector General,

166
Executiv
e Of
ficer
, and
two positions serving as a Special

167
Projects Officer of the Florida National Guard

additional

168
directors
as designated by the agency head
, not to exceed a

169
total of 10 positions
. In lieu of participation in the Senior
170 Management Service Class, such members may participate in the
171 Senior Management Service Optional Annuity Program as
172 established in subsection (6).
173 Section 7. Paragraph (m) of subsection (2) of section
174 250.10, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
175 250.10 Appointment and duties of the Adjutant General.—
176 (2) The Adjutant General shall:
177
(m) Subject to annual appropriations, administer youth

178
About Face programs and adult Forward March programs at sites to

179
be selected by the Adjutant General. Both programs must provide

180
schoolwork assistance, focusing on the skills needed to master

181
basic high school competencies and functional life skills,

182
including teaching students to work effectively in groups;

183
providing basic instruction in computer skills; teaching basic

184
problem-solving, decisionmaking, and reasoning skills; teaching

185
how the business world and free enterprise work through computer

186
simulations; and teaching home finance and budgeting and other

187
daily living skills.

188
1. About Face is a summer and year-round after-school life

189
preparation program for economically disadvantaged and at-risk

190
youths from 13 through 17 years of age. The program must provide

191
training in academic study skills, and the basic skills that

192
businesses require for employment consideration.

193
2. Forward March is a job-readiness program for

194
economically disadvantaged participants who are directed to

195
Forward March by the local workforce development boards. The

196
Forward March program shall provide training on topics that

197
directly relate to the skills required for real-world success.

198
The program shall emphasize functional life skills, computer

199
literacy, interpersonal relationships, critical-thinking skills,

200
business skills, preemployment and work maturity skills, job

201
search skills, exploring careers activities, how to be a

202
successful and effective employee, and some job-specific skills.

203
The program also shall provide extensive opportunities for

204
participants to practice generic job skills in a supervised work

205
setting. Upon completion of the program, Forward March shall

206
return participants to the local workforce development boards

207
for placement in a job placement pool.

208 Section 8. Subsections (4), (5), and (6) of section
209 250.116, Florida Statutes, are amended, and subsection (7) is
210 added to that section, to read:
211 250.116 Soldiers and Airmen Assistance Program.—
212 (4) ELIGIBILITY.—
Persons eligible for assistance from the

213
program include:

214 (a)
Persons eligible for assistance from the program

215
include
servicemembers who are members of the Florida National
216 Guard who are
:

217
1.

traditional drilling guardsmen
on
state
active duty
or

218
on Title 32 United States Code duty, who otherwise do not

219
qualify for the assistance programs available to servicemembers

220
serving under Title 10 United States Code, and who demonstrate

221
valid financial need, and their eligible beneficiaries, and such

222
persons are authorized to apply for and receive financial

223
assistance from the program, as administered by the Florida

224
National Guard Foundation’s board of directors and its governing

225
bylaws, contingent upon the availability of funds

serving in the

226
Global War on Terrorism or Overseas Contingency Operation or who

227
request assistance within 120 days after the termination of

228
orders for such service and return to their home of record
.
229
2. Deployed by the Federal Government and participating in

230
state operations for homeland defense or request assistance

231
within 120 days after the termination of orders for such service

232
and return to their home of record.

233 (b)
1.

As used in this subsection, the term “beneficiary”

234
means the current spouse, dependent children, or other

235
beneficiaries as designated in the servicemember’s
service

236
component records

Beneficiaries of an eligible servicemember

237
designated on United States Department of Defense Form 93
.
238
2.

Individuals demonstrating a financial need for

239
authorized assistance who are dependents or family members of an

240
eligible servicemember.

241 (5) REQUESTS FOR ASSISTANCE; REVIEW; AWARDS.—
242 (a) A request for assistance
must

shall
be reviewed
,

and

243 processed
, and approved by the Florida National Guard

244
Foundation’s board of directors

at the local level by an

245
official designated by the Adjutant General. During the initial

246
review and processing of the request, the Department of Military

247
Affairs may accept assistance from the direct-support

248
organization. Final review and approval of requests for

249
assistance shall be made by the Department of Military Affairs
.
250 (b) Requests for assistance
must

shall
be reviewed and
251 evaluated based on the following criteria:
252 1. The impact of a servicemember’s
financial situation

253
absence
and inability to
provide quality of life and other

254
qualifying life-impacting

assist in home and vehicle repairs or

255
meet other
family needs;
256
2.

The economic impact of deployment;

257
3.

The overall financial situation of the applicant;

258
2.
4.
The assistance authorized under the program; and
259
3.
5.

Any other consideration dictated in the bylaws of the

260
Florida National Guard Foundation

Other relevant information
.
261 (6)
QUARTERLY
FINANCIAL REVIEW.—The financial committee of
262 the board of directors of the direct-support organization shall
263 review financial transactions of the program each quarter.
The

264
board of directors must also ensure an annual external audit is

265
completed and published on the publicly available website of the

266
direct-support organization.
This
audit must

review shall
be
267 provided to the Department of Military Affairs in order to
268 determine whether the direct-support organization is being
269 operated in a manner that is consistent with the purposes of the
270 Soldiers and Airmen Assistance Fund, and in the best interests
271 of the department. The financial committee may request the
272 Office of Inspector General to conduct additional reviews.
273
(7)

ANNUAL BYLAW REVIEW.—The Florida National Guard

274
Foundation’s board of directors shall annually review the bylaws

275
that govern the program. This review shall be provided in a

276
report to the Department of Military Affairs and subject to

277
approval by the Adjutant General.

278 Section 9. For the purpose of incorporating the amendment
279 made by this act to section 115.01, Florida Statutes, in a
280 reference thereto, section 115.06, Florida Statutes, is
281 reenacted to read:
282 115.06 Reassumption of duties.—Upon being mustered out of
283 the service of the United States, such officer granted leave
284 under s. 115.01 shall immediately enter into the duties of his
285 or her office for the remainder of the term for which he or she
286 was elected.
287 Section 10. This act shall take effect July 1, 2026.