Assemblyman Jeff Gonzalez said the remark came during debate over SB 1407, a bill expanding state tax relief for military retirement and survivor pay.
California Assemblyman Jeff Gonzalez, R-Indio, condemned remarks from California Tax Reform Association representative Danielle Kando-Kaiser during a June 16 Assembly Military and Veterans Affairs Committee hearing over SB 1407, a bill by Sen. Bob Archuleta, D-Pico Rivera, that would expand state tax relief for military retirement and survivor benefit pay. Gonzalez is vice chair of the committee and represents Assembly District 36, which includes parts of Imperial, Riverside and San Bernardino counties.
“If scraps were benefits, then yes, I would agree.”
Gonzalez made the remark after Kando-Kaiser opposed the bill on behalf of the California Tax Reform Association and said California already provides “generous benefits” to veterans.
“California already provides generous benefits to veterans, particularly for disabled veterans, and a substantial retirement pay exclusion from military retirement pay,” Kando-Kaiser said.
Kando-Kaiser argued that expanding the exclusion would give military retirees a tax benefit not available to other public-sector workers.
“The choice of long-term military service is similar to other very valuable public servants, such as teachers, our law enforcement, firefighters, and nurses, who receive no such exclusions from their retirement pay,” Kando-Kaiser said.
Gonzalez, a 21-year Marine Corps combat veteran who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, said the comment was personal because of the sacrifices made by service members and their families.
“There is a very small group of us that have put on the uniform,” Gonzalez said. “There is a small group of us that have either served a couple years or a lifetime, and there’s a small group of us that never came home.”
Gonzalez said the phrasing was “offensive” to veterans, spouses and Gold Star families.
“So, to say that California veterans already receive generous benefits is offensive to the men and women who serve this nation,” Gonzalez said. “It’s offensive to Gold Star families, and it’s offensive to the very freedoms that we enjoy here today.”
SB 1407 would raise California’s existing exclusion for military retirement pay and Department of Defense Survivor Benefit Plan annuity payments from $20,000 to $40,000 for qualifying taxpayers beginning in 2026 and extend the exclusion through taxable years before Jan. 1, 2037, according to the bill text. The measure keeps income limits of $125,000 for most individuals and $250,000 for surviving spouses or joint filers, with inflation adjustments beginning in 2027.
Archuleta told the committee the bill was intended to keep more veterans in California as retirees weigh the state’s high cost of living.
“How do we keep our veterans in California? This could be a big first step,” Archuleta said.
David Boone, president and CEO of the San Diego Military Advisory Council, testified in support of SB 1407 and said California has been losing military retirees.
“Since 2000, California’s population of military retirees has fallen by 27%, while the military retiree population in the United States overall has actually increased by 17%,” Boone said.
The bill passed the Senate 39-0 on May 28 and advanced from Assembly Military and Veterans Affairs on an 8-0 vote June 16. It was placed on the Assembly Revenue and Taxation suspense file on June 23, with the official bill status listing the measure as active in the Assembly committee process and a June 29 committee hearing date.
A Senate Revenue and Taxation analysis said the Franchise Tax Board estimated SB 1407 would reduce state revenue by $100 million in fiscal year 2026-27 and $65 million in each of the next two fiscal years. The bill is co-sponsored by State Treasurer Fiona Ma and the San Diego Military Advisory Council, according to Archuleta’s office.
Gonzalez said he would continue pushing for veterans, active-duty service members, military families and survivors.
“Veterans earned these benefits through service and sacrifice,” Gonzalez said.
