Military Spouse Residency Relief Act approved in Senate
We help you understand how this legislation might change your life.
by Andrea Downing Peck
Since 1940, military members have been permitted to maintain a permanent “legal residence” in one state while being stationed somewhere else. Military spouses, however, legally become residents of their new state every time they make a Department of Defense mandated PCS move.
Residency Defined Now
While a service member can continue to vote, hold a driver’s license, and register vehicles in their original or newly acquired home state, a spouse upon moving to a duty station in a new state has no choice but to register to vote, obtain a driver’s license, and re-register any vehicles titled in her name. Working spouses also cannot maintain their residency in low-tax states such as Florida, Texas, and Washington if military orders send the family elsewhere.
Proposed Legislation
The Military Spouses Residency Relief Act would eliminate for spouses those hassles and inequities. On July 23, the Senate approved the legislation, which would allow military spouses the option of claiming the same state residency as their service member husband or wife. The House Veterans' Affairs Committee has endorsed similar legislation.
“We have long supported a service member’s ability to continue voting and paying taxes in one state over the course of a military career as they are transferred around the world on orders,” said U.S. Rep. John Carter, who represents Fort Hood in Texas, when he reintroduced the legislation in February. “I feel it has been an egregious oversight spanning decades that we have not extended that stability to spouses as well, as they are impacted politically and economically just as much as the service member by these frequent and career-long moves.”
Legislation Origins
At the urging of Army spouse Rebecca Noah Poynter, Carter first introduced the legislation last year during the 110th Congress. The Military Spouses Residency Relief Act passed the House during the last session of Congress but failed to advance through the Senate before Congress adjourned in December. While Carter had expected last year’s bill to pass with “flying colors,” the legislation was shoved to the backburner by the September stock market crash and subsequent banking crisis.
Poynter and Navy spouse Joanna Williamson are the driving forces behind the legislation, and they have brought an unrelenting determination to eliminating residency hassles for military spouses. By the time they both PCS from the Washington, D.C., area this summer, the pair will have had in person conversations with aides to every senator and congressman in the nation’s capitol.
“What Rebecca and I are able to do by going up there on the [Capitol] Hill is put a face to the piece of paper and explain the real life stories of military spouses and how residency issues affect them,” said Williamson, a Web-based business owner living in Virginia.”The history of protecting service members from residency issues is actually quite long, but we have to bring the law up to date. It’s neglectful to military families if we don’t correct this problem.”
Why It Matters
Extending protections under the SCRA would eliminate many of the bureaucratic annoyances spouses face when moving to a new duty station, but, perhaps more importantly, it would help ensure that long-married military spouses do not end up with all their vehicles, real estate, and personal property titled in their husband’s name.
“I view this bill as a women’s rights issue,” Williamson said, “because over time what has happened is military spouses for the ease of moving have put everything in their husband’s name. If a husband should decide to repossess the vehicle, he is within his rights to do so. That leaves a segment of military spouses vulnerable. That bothers me since 92 percent of military spouses are women.”
The argument against the legislation comes from states that fear a loss of state revenue if military spouses opt to declare residency in states with low or no state income tax. Poynter, however, counters those objections by explaining the SCRA does not allow service members simply to choose a state of legal residency.
The Counter-Argument
“Somehow the perception is that everyone is going to flee to a no-income tax state. That’s not going to happen because that is not allowed. If a couple makes a choice to [declare the same legal residence], their choice is one state where they already have a relationship with that state,” said Poynter, a public relations professional with clients in Texas, who experienced firsthand the financial cost of being a military spouse when Maryland’s personal income tax took a 10-percent bite out of her wages following a PCS move from Texas.
In order to change their state of legal residency, military personnel must meet certain rules. They must have a “physical presence in the new state” as well as intent to one day make it their “permanent home.” That intent is borne out by owning property, registering to vote, titling and registering automobiles, or preparing a will in the new state. They also are required to file DD Form 2058, State of Legal Residence Certificate, with their local finance office.
How To Help
While Poynter and Williamson may be the public face of the campaign to change residency laws, they are calling on military families worldwide to speak up in support of the legislation. In round two of their legislative battle, they have broadened their campaign to include a Facebook page and have gained the support of two heavyweight organizations – the Military Officers Association of American and the National Military Family Association. Yet grassroots efforts – phone calls and emails to members of Congress - will be the key to the bill becoming law.
“I just keep saying you can’t stand in another DMV (Department of Motor Vehicles) line and complain if you haven’t picked up the phone and called your congressman,” Williamson said. “You can’t stand there and complain if you haven’t done something to fix it.”
What You Can Do
While Carter continues to push the Military Spouses Residency Relief Act through the House of Representatives and two key senators – Dianne Feinstein of California and Richard Burr of North Carolina – are co-sponsoring the legislation in the Senate, the battle is not yet won.
“We’re relying on all spouses to contact their individual congressmen and senators and request their co-sponsorship,” said Poynter, noting that military couples with different home states should call two different sets of representatives.
Having witnessed the legislation pass early hurdles but then stall last year, Williamson knows military spouses must make their voices heard.
“It’s not a done deal yet,” Williamson said. “We still need everybody’s effort and we still need everybody’s input.”
How to Take Action...
For more information on the Military Spouses Residency Relief Act, including ways to voice your support to members of Congress, check out the Military Spouses Business Association website at www.milspousebiz.org or the Military Spouses Residency Relief Act page on Facebook at www.facebook.com/pages/Military-Spouses-Residency-Relief-Act/51457362877.