CERTIFICATION OF ENROLLMENT
SUBSTITUTE SENATE BILL 5803
Chapter 24, Laws of 2024
68th Legislature
2024 Regular Session
NATIONAL GUARD MEMBER REFERRAL INCENTIVE PROGRAM
EFFECTIVE DATE: June 6, 2024
Passed by the Senate February 12, CERTIFICATE
2024
Yeas 48 Nays 0 I, Sarah Bannister, Secretary of
the Senate of the State of
Washington, do hereby certify that
DENNY HECK the attached is SUBSTITUTE SENATE
President of the Senate BILL 5803 as passed by the Senate
and the House of Representatives on
the dates hereon set forth.
Passed by the House February 28, 2024
Yeas 96 Nays 0 SARAH BANNISTER
Secretary
LAURIE JINKINS
Speaker of the House of
Representatives
Approved March 13, 2024 11:11 AM FILED
March 14, 2024
Secretary of State
JAY INSLEE State of Washington
Governor of the State of Washington
 SUBSTITUTE SENATE BILL 5803
Passed Legislature - 2024 Regular Session
State of Washington 68th Legislature 2024 Regular Session
By Senate Ways & Means (originally sponsored by Senators Conway,
Boehnke, Dozier, Frame, Holy, Hunt, Kuderer, Liias, Lovelett, Lovick,
MacEwen, Mullet, Nobles, Padden, Stanford, Wagoner, Warnick, and
Wellman; by request of Military Department)
READ FIRST TIME 02/05/24.
1 AN ACT Relating to the recruitment and retention of Washington
2 National Guard members; and adding a new section to chapter 38.24
3 RCW.
4 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
5 NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. A new section is added to chapter 38.24
6 RCW to read as follows:
7 (1) There is created the Washington national guard member
8 referral incentive program. The purpose of the program is to
9 incentivize and maximize peer-to-peer recruiting that results in a
10 completed accession to the Washington national guard by providing a
11 referral bonus to Washington national guard members who make a
12 successful referral. Administration of this program requires that:
13 (a) A Washington national guard member may provide the identity
14 and contact information of a person who the member believes would be
15 an appropriate recruitment prospect using a form provided by the
16 Washington national guard, which includes the person's name, contact
17 information, and any other information required by the state military
18 department.
19 (b) The state military department shall keep a record of all
20 forms submitted under (a) of this subsection. Upon the completed
21 accession of a referred person and to the extent sufficient funds are
p. 1 SSB 5803.SL
 1 available, the state military department shall distribute a referral
2 bonus to the member who provided the successful referral.
3 (2) Members of the Washington national guard serving in command
4 or senior enlisted advisor positions, as well as those assigned
5 recruiting as a primary or additional duty, are ineligible for the
6 Washington national guard member referral incentive program.
7 (3) For the purposes of this section:
8 (a) "Completed accession" means the referred person signs the
9 referred person's name to an enlistment contract for entry or reentry
10 after prior service into the Washington national guard;
11 (b) "Referral bonus" means a monetary payment set each calendar
12 year by the adjutant general not to exceed $500.00;
13 (c) "Successful referral" means providing the identity and
14 contact information in subsection (1)(a) of this section of any
15 person not already a member of the Washington national guard that
16 results in a completed accession to the Washington national guard.
Passed by the Senate February 12, 2024.
Passed by the House February 28, 2024.
Approved by the Governor March 13, 2024.
Filed in Office of Secretary of State March 14, 2024.
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