HB 723 2023
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hb0723-00
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
A bill to be entitled 1
An act relating to Florida National Guard recruitment; 2
establishing the Florida National Guard Joint 3
Enlistment Enhancement Program within the Department 4
of Military Affairs; providing the purpose of the 5
program; defining the term "recruiting assistant"; 6
providing eligibility requirements for participation 7
in the program; requiring the Adjutant General to 8
provide compensation to recruiting assistants under 9
certain circumstances; requiring the department and 10
the Florida National Guard to adopt rules; providing 11
an effective date. 12
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WHEREAS, the number of soldiers and airmen allocated to 14
each state's National Guard, known as its "force structure," is 15
determined by the United States National Guard Bureau in 16
Washington, D.C., and 17
WHEREAS, with approximately 21 million residents, Florida 18
is the third most populous state in the nation but nevertheless 19
has a force structure of just over 12,000 Guardsmen, and its 20
ratio of one Guardsman for every 1,833 residents ranks 53rd 21
among the 54 states and territories of the United States which 22
have a National Guard component, and 23
WHEREAS, the Florida National Guard continues to meet its 24
mission goals; however, the shortage of these invaluable citizen 25
HB 723 2023
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hb0723-00
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
soldiers, combined with the state's growing population and 26
increased need for National Guard activation and response, has 27
resulted in the repeated deployment of the same soldiers, which 28
ultimately leads to their excessive fatig ue and negatively 29
impacts recruitment, retention, and readiness, NOW, THEREFORE, 30
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Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 32
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Section 1. Florida National Guard Joint Enlistment 34
Enhancement Program. — 35
(1) The Florida National Guard Joi nt Enlistment 36
Enhancement Program (JEEP) is established within the Department 37
of Military Affairs. The purpose of the program is to motivate 38
soldiers, airmen, and retirees of the Florida National Guard to 39
bolster recruitment efforts and increase the force structure of 40
the Florida National Guard. 41
(2) As used in this act, the term "recruiting assistant" 42
means a member of the Florida National Guard or a retiree of the 43
Florida National Guard who assists in the recruitment of a new 44
member and who provides moti vation, encouragement, and moral 45
support until the enlistment of such new member. Except for a 46
recruiting and retention non -commissioned officer, a current 47
member in pay grade E -1 to E-9 or O-1 to O-3 or a retiree in any 48
pay grade is eligible for participa tion in the JEEP as a 49
recruiting assistant. 50
HB 723 2023
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hb0723-00
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
(3) The Adjutant General shall provide compensation to 51
recruiting assistants participating in the JEEP. A recruiting 52
assistant shall receive $250 for each new member referred to the 53
Florida National Guard and $ 250 upon the enlistment of such 54
referred member. 55
(4) The Department of Military Affairs, in cooperation 56
with the Florida National Guard, shall adopt rules to administer 57
the program. 58
Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2023. 59