Pielli’s bill to incentivize National Guard enlistment heads to governor’s desk
Rep. Chris Pielli July 12, 2026 | 1:56 PM
HARRISBURG, July 12 – State Rep. Chris Pielli, D-Chester, announced today that his legislation to expand partial tuition reimbursements for enlistment in the National Guard has passed the state House of Representatives unanimously and now heads to the governor’s desk for his signature.
The bill (H.B. 1102) would expand the partial tuition reimbursement program to cover enlistment in the National Guard by U.S. Army JAG officers and chaplains, as well as fine-tune the current list of eligible medical or health officers. The incentive program would help address significant shortages in these fields and provide a tiered reimbursement structure based on educational attainment to offset the costs of the advanced academic credentials needed to serve in these roles.
Currently, the program has achieved notable success with the state Department of Military and Veterans Affairs, with some medical officer positions reaching 100% fill rates. However, the DMVA said the original program did not include other key medical and health officer positions, in addition to needed JAG officers and chaplains.
“Over a decade ago, Pennsylvania launched the Medical Officer and Health Officer Incentive Program to provide additional financial incentives for skilled medical professionals to enlist in the Pennsylvania National Guard,” Pielli said. “In the time since Act 78 of 2014, this program has proven to be a meaningful tool, bringing highly qualified health professionals into our forces.
“The ever-rising costs of education and training, and the need to recruit even more skilled professionals into the National Guard, have shown us that we should expand the current program to cover additional critical areas beyond the medical field. This requested legislation will fine-tune and expand the program to incentivize recruitment to better serve both our commonwealth’s interests and our national security. I am proud to work with state Sen. Hutchinson on this bill and thank my colleagues for their support and acknowledgment to keep our National Guard strong.”
The bill passed both the state House of Representatives and state Senate with unanimous approval.