Here is the Letter I used feel free to use it.
The Honorable Buffy Wicks
California State Assembly
1021 O Street, Suite 8140
Sacramento, CA 95814
Support for AB 53 (Ramos) – Military Services Retirement and Surviving Spouse Benefit Payment Act.
Dear Assemblymember Wicks,
As a Veteran I write in strong support for AB 53 (Ramos), which proposes a targeted personal income tax exemption of up to $20,000 for military retirement pay and Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP) annuities for qualifying California residents. We understand this Committee’s mandate to review the fiscal implications of proposed legislation. We submit that this measure, rather than increasing long-term cost pressures, is a strategic correction to an existing fiscal liability that continues to erode the state’s competitiveness, revenue base, and national security workforce.
California’s Unique Fiscal Disadvantage
California is the only state in the nation that fully taxes military retirement and SBP income. This outlier status has had a clear and measurable impact. Between 2010 and 2022, California lost over 24,000 military retirees, resulting in a recurring loss of more than $700 million annually in federal retirement and survivor payments that would otherwise flow through California’s economy. The California Statewide National Security Economic Impacts Study, published in 2024, highlights that while California remains a leader in defense employment, it has fallen from 1st to 4th in military retiree population and from 1st to 3rd in national security contract spending, largely due to outmigration.
These retirees are not idle. They are highly skilled professionals who leave service in their early 40s and often pursue second careers in education, public safety, tech, and skilled trades. Their departure not only reduces the state’s share of federal dollars, but it also weakens our labor force and diminishes our ability to fill high-need vacancies in critical sectors. The loss is twofold: (1) federal retirement income and benefits, and (2) California-taxable wages from second careers.
A Responsible, Targeted Approach
AB 53 is intentionally structured to be fiscally modest and surgically targeted:
By comparison, 49 other states have already acted. Many offer full exemptions with no income caps. California's more limited approach is a carefully balanced policy, ne that acknowledges fiscal constraints while beginning to recover ground lost due to decades of tax inequity.
Support for the National Guard and State Readiness
This bill also has a unique and often overlooked impact on the recruitment and retention of California National Guard members. For career Guardsmen and Reservists, those most likely to reach retirement eligibility, the promise of long-term tax policy matters. California's current tax structure discourages long-term service and drives away mid-career leaders, weakening our state’s ability to meet homeland defense, wildfire, disaster response, and civil support missions.