Plans are taking shape in the agency tasked with pitching Florida to newly discharged veterans. Florida is For Veterans held its second strategy meeting Monday in Tallahassee.
Lawmakers passed the Florida GI bill last session with the idea of making Florida the most veteran friendly state in the nation. To that end, the bill established Florida is for Veterans to help connect service members with employers or give them resources to start their own businesses. But Board Chairman Jim Bagby says the group also needs to find out veteran priorities and advocate for them with the Legislature.
“If that’s not in the GI Bill,” Bagby says, “we need to go back to the Legislature and say, ‘Hey, we need you to fix this because our research shows this is the number one priority to bring separating families to Florida in the skill sets that we need.’”
Bagby proposed easing the transition for veterans’ spouses with out of state teaching credentials as a hypothetical priority. The GI Bill already carries provisions granting immediate in-state tuition and exemptions for obtaining a Florida driver license.
