SB 474 — Military leave and the FRS Senior Management Service Class

CS/SB 474 (2026 Regular Session), sponsored by Senator Wright and the Governmental Oversight and Accountability Committee, is a military-affairs bill. It was ordered engrossed and enrolled on March 17, 2026, was approved by the Governor on May 22, 2026, and became Chapter 2026-92, Laws of Florida (assigned May 26, 2026), with an effective date of July 1, 2026.

Most of the bill amends Chapter 115, Florida Statutes (military leaves of absence). Section 115.01 is revised to add the Coast Guard to the forces for which a state or county official may be granted a military leave of absence and to remove the condition that the service occur "during war between the United States and a foreign government." The bill also updates s. 115.07, s. 115.08, s. 115.09, and s. 115.14 on reserve and guard training leave, the definition of "active military service," and single-order leave authorizations, and it amends provisions of Chapter 250 relating to the Department of Military Affairs.

The FRS connection: The bill's only change to the Florida Retirement System is in s. 121.055(1)(g), F.S. It revises the list of uniformed Department of Military Affairs positions for which participation in the Senior Management Service Class (SMSC) is compulsory — positions such as the Adjutant General, Assistant Adjutant General–Army, Assistant Adjutant General–Air, State Quartermaster, and a set of named director and special-projects positions of the Florida National Guard. This is a membership-classification update affecting a small group of National Guard leadership positions.

What it does not do: The bill does not amend the FRS creditable-service statutes, including s. 121.111, F.S. (credit for military service), and does not change how military service is credited or purchased for FRS members generally. A member's existing rights to claim creditable service for qualifying military leave under current law are unchanged. The Coast Guard addition is to the leave-of-absence statute in Chapter 115, not to any Chapter 121 creditable-service provision.

What this would change in PensionForge's projections: Nothing for the members PensionForge models. The change is limited to which Department of Military Affairs positions are placed in the Senior Management Service Class; it does not alter the SMSC benefit formula, multiplier, vesting, or creditable-service rules.

Current engine behavior: PensionForge projects SMSC benefits using the SMSC multiplier and service inputs; this is unchanged, and no engine update is required.