A Bill Sponsored By A Montco State Sen. To Raise National Guard Pay Is Signed Into Law

HARRISBURG — A bill sponsored by a southeastern Pennsylvania lawmaker that sought to raise the pay rate for members of the Pennsylvania National Guard has now become law.

The office of State Sen. Katie Muth, a Democrat representing the 44th Senatorial District in Montgomery, Chester and Berks Counties, announced that Act 54 of 2022 was recently signed into law by Gov. Tom Wolf.

The measure became law as part of the passing of the 2022-23 state budget.

The proposal — House Bill 1421 — was born out of language that was originally contained within Senate Bill 1286, a proposal to increase the minimum daily special state duty pay and state active duty pay for Guard personnel from the current rate of $100 per day to the new rate of $180 per day.

Muth, who said the change in law was much needed, praised the bill's passage.

"I am thrilled that we were able to get the language of Senate Bill 1286 across the finish line to more-fairly compensate members of our National Guard who had been making a minimum of $100 per day since 2016 — roughly $8 per hour based on a 12-hour shift," Muth said in a statement. "We always knew that our National Guard members were critically important, but throughout the COVID-19 pandemic we really saw how valuable they were to our communities by helping at food banks, assisting in our nursing homes, and lending support anywhere else they were called."

Muth's office said the senator's proposal had been supported by the Department of Military and Veterans Affairs and was listed as a priority for the Pennsylvania National Guard Associations.

The latter's executive director, Chad Rettew, released a statement saying that guard members, who have been "especially busy the past four years ... appreciate the support."

Guard members are entitled to "special state duty" or "state active duty" pay when they are ordered by the state's governor into active-duty service for in-state events, activities, missions, disasters or emergencies.