Senate approves military bills

OLYMPIA — Among the long list of legislation approved by the Senate on its last day to consider bills in their house of origin were a wide range of proposals expanding benefits to members of the armed forces.

Senate Bill 6447, sponsored by Sen. Steve Hobbs, D-Lake Stevens, establishes the Family Military Leave Act, which provides employees who are married to a military member of the U.S. armed forces to take up to fifteen days unpaid leave while their military spouse is on leave.

Senate Bill 6426, also sponsored by Hobbs, enters Washington into a multi-state agreement that seeks to create uniform standards on issues surrounding the areas of student enrollment, eligibility, placement, and graduation.

Senate Bill 6237, sponsored by Sen. Derek Kilmer, D-Gig Harbor, modifies the eligibility criteria for Washington’s armed forces special license plates prisoner of war special license plates, including allowing POW plates to be issued to any veteran who has been awarded a prisoner of war medal, regardless of the amount of time they were held captive.

Senate Bill 5256, sponsored by Sen. Margarita Prentice, D-Renton, provides relief for an additional 1,150 our of state’s disabled senior veterans by deducting federal Veterans Administration disability benefits from counting toward the income requirement for the state’s existing senior property tax relief program, which is currently available for homeowner’s over age 61 making $35,000 a year or less.

SB 6389, sponsored by Sen. Lisa Brown, D-Spokane, exempts housing owned by the federal government and used by military personnel and their families from property taxes and leasehold excise taxes.

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