Since the beginning of the Iowa legislative session, one program that Governor Terry Branstad wanted to pass through the legislature was a bill about bringing military veterans to the state for jobs.

House District 47 State Representative Chip Baltimore says they passed a Home Base Iowa bill through the House last week in the closing days of the session that establishes different incentives in support of the governor’s initiative.

Baltimore points out some of the major incentives that are included in the bill.  He states that retired veterans income is excluded from state income tax along with military survivor benefits.

“If a soldier has sacrificed his life for our country, we felt it wasn’t appropriate for his or her surviving spouse or family members to have to pay income tax on that income that comes in.”

Other incentives include not subjecting private sector employers to discrimination laws if they choose to hire a veteran or other qualified applicants for a job, adding educational credits if a veteran decides to go back to school to continue their education and allowing a veteran to get proper licensing for a profession or occupation if they have the same qualifications from training while in the military.

Baltimore believes these incentives along with several others will help to bring in more military veterans to the state for jobs and education and he expects the governor to sign the bill into law later this month.