Florida National Guard referral bonus program aims to boost recruitment

By Amber Jo Cooper

Published Mar. 27, 2023, 3:13 p.m. ET | Updated Mar. 27, 2023

Soldiers with the 160th Transportation Company, 254th Transportation Battalion, secure a load of food to an M871A2 flatbed trailer at Bonita Springs High School in Bonita Springs, Fla., Oct. 3, 2022. (Photo/Florida National Guard, Facebook)

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (FLV) – Lawmakers advanced a bill that will give bonuses to Florida National Guard members and retirees in qualifying pay grades to serve as recruiting assistants and receive compensation for successfully referring and enlisting individuals to the Guard.

The “Florida National Guard Joint Enlistment Enhancement Program” will be established within the Department of Military Affairs.

The bill was carried by Rep. Dan Daley, D-Coral Springs, and passed unanimously through the House Infrastructure & Tourism Appropriations Subcommittee and House Local Administration, Federal Affairs & Special Districts Subcommittee. A similar bill is being carried in the Senate by Sen. Tom Wright, D-Port Orange.

The bill provides that recruiting assistants must be members or retirees of the Florida National Guard who recruit new members and provide motivation, encouragement, and moral support for recruits until the recruit’s enlistment.

Daley said they previously did a memorial to urge Congress to increase the number of National Guardsmen and women in the state.

“We are currently capped at 12,000. That’s not a number that we can adjust. That’s a number they have to adjust. But we’re having trouble, for a number of reasons, meeting that 12,000 cap. So, this is an incentive program to help them do that,” Daley said.

The bill provides that recruiting assistants shall be paid $250 for each new member referred to the Florida National Guard, and an additional $250 upon the recruit’s enlistment.

Current Florida National Guard members with the pay grade of E-1 to E-9 or O-1 to O-3 and retirees in any pay grade are eligible to serve as recruiting assistants in the program.

The Florida National Guard consists of organized, armed, equipped, and federally recognized commissioned officers, warrant officers, and enlisted personnel who are citizens of the United States or who have declared their intention to become citizens of the United States.

A number of states have launched similar state-funded and administered referral bonus programs, including Alabama, Delaware, Vermont, and Virginia.

If the bill passes, $3 million of nonrecurring general revenue would be appropriated for the program. According to the bill’s analysis, actual expenditures are dependent upon the number of successful referrals and enlistments by eligible recruiting assistants.

The bill now heads to the House State Affairs Committee.