The fact that South Carolina might not be considered a veteran-friendly state by the Department of Defense is an issue leaders across the state are working hard to prevent.
According to David Lobb, the vice president for legislative affairs with the state's Military Officers Association of America, a 2017 initiative will target non-veteran-friendly states as the first to get cuts to military installations, including the Palmetto State's Fort Jackson.
Lobb said that over the next few years, the Defense Department will oversee a Base Realignment Commission - an assessment of which military facilities are most efficient and which states can accommodate those facilities the best.
Because of federal budget cuts and efforts to reduce the size of the military, some military bases might also face workforce reductions. In fact, the University of South Carolina reported in January that potential cuts to Fort Jackson could impact the area by $1 billion annually.
Lobb said the objective now is to make South Carolina more military- and veteran-friendly using elements outlined by the Defense Department.
Those include making sure obtaining a South Carolina driver's license and other credentials goes as smoothly for veterans as possible, setting up the educational system so that students of active military and veterans can transfer credits more easily, and making sure sports, clubs and other extracurricular activities are available for veterans.
"Basically, as military and veterans move from place-to-place, we want to make sure their move to South Carolina is as effective and smooth as possible," Lobb said.
The effort is why the Aiken chapter of the Military Officers Association of America has been pushing for two bills in the General Assembly to make it to Gov. Nikki Haley's desk.
One bill, S. 391, was recently signed into law. The legislation allows veterans using the GI Bill to attend colleges in South Carolina without having to pay out-of-state tuition if they do not meet the residency requirements.
The other piece of legislation, H. 3147, seeks to attract military retirees who will complement the workforce with special skills, according to Rep. Bill Taylor, R-Aiken, who described it as a "jobs bill."
He said the bill would phase in the elimination of the state income tax on veterans' retirement benefits attributable to their military service over three years. He added that retired military, ages 65 and older, could deduct retirement income of up to $15,000 per year, while taxpayers under age 65 can deduct retirement income up to $3,000 per year.
The bill unanimously passed through the House on April 28 and is now in the Senate Finance Committee.
Passage of both bills is critical, Lobb said, in light of the Defense Department's designation.
"The passage of this bill will be a major step in changing this status. 'Veteran Friendly State' status is a major consideration in determining which bases will be closed or reduced in size when a base realignment commission meets," Lobb said.
Taylor said, "By reducing the state tax burden on retired veterans, South Carolina would be more competitive with other states, such as Florida and Texas, that have no state income tax. It's estimated that this legislation, if passed and fully implemented, would save our retired veterans $30 million in state taxes annually."
Last year, Haley signed off on a related bill which allows military homeowners to pay the owner-occupied property tax rate of 4 percent instead of the 6 percent rental rate. The law is intended to ease the burden on deployed service members and reduce the risk of foreclosures.
Lobb added that initiatives such as these can help keep South Carolina as a top state for veterans and active duty military. The benefit, he said, will be job protection.
"As long as we can take care of these things, I think we can justify keeping our facilities and maintaining our workforce," he said.
Derrek Asberry is the SRS beat reporter for the Aiken Standard and has been with the paper since June 2013. He is originally from Vidalia, Ga., and a graduate of Georgia Southern University. Follow him on Twitter @DerrekAsberry.