The State Guard & Defense Force Council, also known as StateDefenseForce.com, is proud to announce that the new website for our Office of Government & Legislative Affairs is now online.

The new website will serve as the central home for our organization’s legislative advocacy, government-relations initiatives, and efforts to strengthen State Defense Forces across the United States.

Through the Office of Government & Legislative Affairs, we will publish news and progress reports concerning legislation intended to provide State Guard service members with greater benefits and protections. These initiatives include:

• State Active Duty pay for all State Defense Forces
• Paid Weekend Training & Annual Training
• Tuition assistance and college educational discounts
• Workers’ compensation and line-of-duty protections
• Employment protections
• Insurance coverage
• Improved equipment and operational funding

The website will also document our continuing efforts to establish new State Guards in states that currently lack these valuable military organizations. Two of our principal advocacy initiatives will focus on the creation of new State Guards in Arizona and West Virginia.

State Defense Forces provide governors with trained, organized, and locally available personnel who can support emergency management agencies, augment National Guard forces, law-enforcement agencies, and local communities during disasters and other state emergencies. Our goal is to help lawmakers understand how indispensable these organizations can improve emergency preparedness, strengthen state sovereignty, and provide a cost-effective force capable of serving when its state needs it most.

Help Us Identify Legislative and Policy Concerns

One of the most important features of the new website is our Report a Concern page.

State Guard members are often the first people to learn about proposed legislation, new military department directives, drastic administrative decisions, changes in budget allocation, or policy changes that could significantly affect their State Defense Force.

We encourage members to contact us when they become aware of developments that may:

• Reduce State Guard funding, personnel, missions, or authority
• Restrict training, recruitment, equipment, benefits, or State Active Duty opportunities
• Affect service-member compensation, protections, or recognition
• Drastic changes to uniform policy (ie. Army OCU uniform to Polo & Khakis Pants)
• Significantly reorganize, suspend, weaken, or potentially disband an existing State Defense Force
• Misrepresent the mission, professionalism, or legal status of a State Guard
• Transition a State Guard to a Private Organization (ie. Bill to transition Connecticut Governors Guard to a Private Military Entity)

Our staff will review the information, research the matter, and determine whether a legislative, administrative, public-policy, or legal response may be appropriate. When necessary, an issue may also be referred to legal counsel for further review.

Reports may be submitted confidentially. Members should provide as much supporting information as possible, including bill numbers, directives, policy documents, relevant dates, issuing agencies, source materials, and an explanation of how the action could affect their State Guard.

Report a concern:
https://legislativeadvocacy.org/reportaconcern.html

State Defense Force Legal Counsel Network

The Office of Government & Legislative Affairs is also developing the State Defense Force Legal Counsel Network Attorney Interest Roster.

We are seeking licensed attorneys across the United States who are interested in being considered for future legal matters involving State Guards and State Defense Forces. The network will help us identify qualified legal professionals who may be available to provide legislative analysis, legal guidance, policy review, administrative representation, or other legal services when laws, directives, regulations, or government actions affect a State Defense Force or its service members.

Attorneys may be contacted when an issue arises within a state or jurisdiction where they are licensed to practice. Potential matters may involve:

• Proposed legislation affecting a State Defense Force
• Harmful or restrictive departmental policies
• Questions involving State Active Duty pay or service-member benefits
• Workers’ compensation or line-of-duty protections
• Employment protections
• The reorganization, suspension, or proposed disbandment of a State Guard
• The legal authority, responsibilities, or recognition of a State Defense Force
• Administrative or constitutional questions involving state military organizations
• Legal review of proposed legislation creating a new State Guard

Participation in the network does not constitute immediate employment, a standing retainer, a partnership, or a guarantee of future work. It will serve as an attorney interest roster that allows the organization to identify and contact legal professionals when their experience and state licensure match a particular matter.

Any compensation, scope of representation, professional responsibilities, conflicts review, and terms of engagement would be determined separately for each assignment.

Attorneys interested in joining the network should submit their contact information, résumé or professional biography, states in which they are licensed, areas of legal practice, and any relevant military, government, legislative, administrative, nonprofit, or constitutional-law experience.

Part-Time Employment Opportunity

The Office of Government & Legislative Affairs is currently accepting applications for a Part-Time Legislative Advocacy Coordinator.

The coordinator will communicate with lawmakers, legislative staff members, government officials, and partner organizations to explain proposed State Defense Force legislation and build support for bills that create, strengthen, or expand these organizations. The coordinator will also assist with legislative research, advocacy materials, bill development, legislative tracking, and public progress reports.

Applicants should be professional, dependable, comfortable communicating by telephone and email, and strongly committed to advancing the State Defense Force mission.

Additional information is available on our careers page:

Volunteers Needed for the 2027 Legislative Sessions

We are also preparing for the next state legislative cycle. Legislative sessions in many states will begin in January 2027, and we will need volunteer support to build public awareness and momentum behind State Guard legislation.

Volunteer Grassroots Outreach Representatives will contact residents in states where State Guard legislation is being considered. Using approved informational materials and outreach scripts, volunteers will explain the proposed legislation and encourage interested residents to respectfully contact their state delegates, representatives, or senators.

Our outreach will place particular emphasis on residents represented by lawmakers who serve on committees responsible for reviewing, developing, and advancing State Guard legislation.

During previous legislative sessions, our organization worked to promote bills that would create new State Guards. However, those proposals did not generate enough public and legislative momentum to move successfully through the committee process.

Introducing a bill is only the beginning. For legislation to advance, committee members must understand that their constituents support it and recognize the value a State Guard could provide to their communities. Volunteers who can make telephone calls, share factual information, and respectfully encourage public participation will therefore be essential to our future success.

The volunteer position is unpaid and will generally require several dozen telephone calls each week during active legislative sessions, typically between January and May.

Our 2026 Fundraising Goal

Our original 2026 fundraising objective was $65,000. Unfortunately, we have not reached that goal.

Despite this setback, our advocacy work will continue. Supporters may still donate directly to the Office of Government & Legislative Affairs, and all proceeds designated for this division will be used to support State Guard legislative advocacy, policy research, public education, government outreach, and related initiatives.

The State Guard & Defense Force Council, also known as StateDefenseForce.com, is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt nonprofit organization. Donations are tax-deductible to the extent permitted by law.

Even a modest contribution can help us research legislation, prepare advocacy materials, communicate with public officials, organize grassroots campaigns, and bring greater attention to the needs of State Guard service members.

Visit the new Office of Government & Legislative Affairs website to learn more or contribute:

Made Possible by Our Patreon Community

None of these initiatives would be possible without the dedicated Patreon members who support StateDefenseForce.com each month.

Their continuing support allows us to maintain State Defense Force news coverage, preserve important historical information, track legislation across the country, develop public-policy proposals, educate lawmakers, advocate for service-member benefits, and pursue the creation and expansion of State Guards nationwide.

To every Patreon member who continues to stand behind our mission: thank you for making programs such as the Office of Government & Legislative Affairs possible.