Time for California to prove it's military-friendly

I've spent years building national partnerships between employers and our service members and their spouses, turning military experience into real jobs with real futures. In my role with the Capital Region Veterans Chamber, I've sat across from lawmakers, agency heads and CEOs to push policy that improves veteran and family life. When I ran for Roseville City Council in 2024, I put veterans at the center of safe neighborhoods, smart growth, community parks and policies that respect both business owners and residents. That work taught me something I can't ignore: California talks like a military-friendly state, but too often we don't act like one. Veterans love this place – the coastline, the communities, the opportunity. What they don't love is the price tag and a policy maze that turns "thank you for your service" into an IOU. Sacramento can fix this, but it requires choices, not slogans. Start with housing costs. A clean, fully funded property-tax exemption for 100-percent disabled veteran homeowners should be bipartisan common sense. Instead, relief keeps getting delayed while mortgages, insurance and utilities rise. If the Capitol can fast-track marquee incentives, it can also honor disabled veterans with a straightforward fix and the resources counties need to implement it. Priorities are policy. Put veteran homeowners first. Next, consider transition pipelines California underuses. The Department of Defense pays service members during SkillBridge. Employers can bring in trained, disciplined professionals for 120 to 180 days at little or no wage cost – an onramp that often converts to full-time offers. Paired with Hiring Our Heroes and the Military Spouse Career Accelerator, these programs match talent to need. In the world's tech capital, they should run like clockwork across government, utilities, health systems, construction and software. Too many employers still treat them as optional. Normalize them as we do campus recruiting. For spouses, prioritize remote-friendly roles – funded ERGs, manager training that translates military experience and transparent growth paths. If you call yourself military-friendly, put it in writing and publish outcomes. We're also leaving technology on the table. California is the epicenter of AI, yet a veteran can still bounce from websites to phone trees to PDFs. Stand up a privacy-safe "CA Vets Connect" platform that one-clicks veterans and spouses into county VSO appointments, CalTAP, campus veterans' centers, licensure help, apprenticeships, childcare and housing resources, mental-health supports and real-time job matching – with SkillBridge, spouse fellowships and Hiring Our Heroes built in. Texas already demonstrates coordinated infrastructure: The Texas Veterans Commission anchors navigation, while the Texas Veterans Network – powered by Combined Arms – connects veterans to providers through a data-driven platform. California should study that success and build, scaled to our economy and population. How to move forward? Pass real property-tax relief for disabled veterans and fund county implementation so benefits don't die in paperwork. Make SkillBridge standard with a statewide accelerator that gets public agencies and employers approved, schedules cohorts and tracks conversions with public targets. Expand spouse pipelines by adding host sites, rewarding remote-friendly hiring and connecting roles to childcare, licensing and credential support that actually clears barriers. Institutionalize Hiring Our Heroes as a predictable recruiting channel. Launch "CA Vets Connect," integrate CalTAP and higher-ed partners, and measure time-to-service and employment outcomes; if it isn't fast or clear, fix it. Create a targeted state tax credit for employers that hire military spouses, tied to retention and wage growth, so families can put down roots where service sends them. Finally, legislate for the future. Authorize secure, accountable use of AI-driven tools in veteran services – with privacy standards, interoperability and performance dashboards – so the system learns where bottlenecks occur and routes people faster. Incentivize universities to recruit and retain veteran students in STEM pathways with admissions support, bridge scholarships and credit-for-experience that accelerates time to degree while meeting California's workforce needs. Yes, the budget is tight. But California moves billions when it cares. Veterans are not a special interest; they are a state interest. Let's pass the tax relief, standardize transition pipelines, build the AI backbone, learn from Texas' coordinated model, add a military-spouse hiring credit, and stop the quiet exodus. We owe it to those who served – and to the California we say we are. Nick Busse is a U.S. Army veteran and founder of MilitaryEngagement.com, serving as Director of Government Affairs for the Capital Region Veterans Chamber and leading corporate-military talent programs.