State of the state (#36)

add state-of-the-state speeches data

state-of-the-state/README.md

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+# State of the State
+
+This folder contains the data behind the story [What America’s Governors Are Talking About](https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/what-americas-governors-are-talking-about/).
+
+`index.csv` contains a listing of each of the 50 speeches, one for each state as well as the name and party of the state's governor and a link to an official source for the speech. If an official government source could not be found, we have linked to a news media source that had a transcript of the speech.
+
+The `speeches/` folder contains 50 `.txt` files containing the text of each of the speeches.
+
+`words.csv` contains every one-word phrase that was mentioned in at least 10 speeches and every two- or three-word phrase that was mentioned in at least five speeches after a list of stop-words was removed and the word "healthcare" was replaced with "health care" so that they were not counted as distinct phrases. It also contains the results of a [chi^2 test](https://scikit-learn.org/stable/modules/generated/sklearn.feature_selection.chi2.html#sklearn.feature_selection.chi2) that shows the statistical significance of and associated p-value of phrases.
+
+Column | Definition
+-------|-----------
+`n-gram` | one-, two- or three-word phrase
+`category` | thematic categories for n-grams hand-coded by FiveThirtyEight staff: `economy/fiscal issues`, `education`, `health care`, `energy/environment`, `crime/justice`, `mental health/substance abuse`
+`d_speeches` | number of Democratic speeches containing the n-gram
+`r_speeches` | number of Republican speeches containing the n-gram
+`total` | total number of speeches containing the n-gram
+`percent_of_d_speeches` | percent of the 23 Democratic speeches containing the phrase
+`percent_of_r_speeches` | percent of the 27 Republican speeches containing the phrase
+`chi2` | [chi^2 statistic](https://scikit-learn.org/stable/modules/generated/sklearn.feature_selection.chi2.html#sklearn.feature_selection.chi2)
+`pval` | p-value for chi^2 test

state-of-the-state/index.csv

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+state,governor,party,filename,url
+Alabama,Kay Ivey,R,Alabama_SOTS.txt,https://governor.alabama.gov/remarks-speeches/2019-state-of-the-state-address/
+Alaska,Mike Dunleavy,R,Alaska_SOTS.txt,https://gov.alaska.gov/newsroom/2019/01/22/2019-state-of-the-state-address/
+Arizona,Doug Ducey,R,Arizona_SOTS.txt,https://azgovernor.gov/governor/news/2019/01/governor-ducey-delivers-state-state-address
+Arkansas,Asa Hutchinson,R,Arkansas_SOTS.txt,https://governor.arkansas.gov/news-media/speeches/2019-state-of-the-state
+California,Gavin Newsom,D,California_SOTS.txt,https://www.gov.ca.gov/2019/02/12/state-of-the-state-address/
+Colorado,Jared Polis,D,Colorado_SOTS.txt,http://www.cpr.org/news/story/2019-polis-colorado-state-of-the-state
+Connecticut,Ned Lamont,D,Connecticut_SOTS.txt,https://portal.ct.gov/Office-of-the-Governor/News/Speeches/Governor-Lamont-2019-State-of-the-State-Address?platform=hootsuite
+Delaware,John Carney,D,Delaware_SOTS.txt,https://governor.delaware.gov/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2019/01/State-of-the-State-01172019.pdf
+Florida,Ron DeSantis,R,Florida_SOTS.txt,https://www.flgov.com/2019/03/05/governor-desantis-state-of-the-state-address/
+Georgia,Brian Kemp,R,Georgia_SOTS.txt,https://www.11alive.com/article/news/governor-brian-kemp-issues-first-state-of-the-state-address-read-full-transcript/85-7af10d01-6c5b-40cd-b991-2d11ac43d5ea
+Hawaii,David Ige,D,Hawaii_SOTS.txt,https://governor.hawaii.gov/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/2019-State-of-the-State-Address-by-Governor-David-Ige.pdf
+Idaho,Brad Little,R,Idaho_SOTS.txt,https://gov.idaho.gov/wp-content/uploads/sites/74/2019/01/2019-sos.pdf
+Illinois,JB Pritzker,D,Illinois_Both.txt,https://www2.illinois.gov/sites/gov/newsroom/Documents/01.14.19InauguralSpeech.pdf
+Indiana,Eric Holcomb,R,Indiana_SOTS.txt,https://www.in.gov/gov/3027.htm
+Iowa,Kim Reynolds,R,Iowa_SOTS.txt,https://governor.iowa.gov/2019/01/gov-reynolds-to-deliver-condition-of-the-state-address
+Kansas,Laura Kelly,D,Kansas_SOTS.txt,https://governor.kansas.gov/governor-laura-kellys-state-of-the-state-address/
+Kentucky,Matt Bevin,R,Kentucky_SOTS.txt,https://ketorg.cdn.ket.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/2018-Bevin-budget-speech.pdf?_ga=2.204846416.1172937214.1550158485-1238189224.1485811080
+Louisiana,John Bel Edwards,D,Louisiana_SOTS.txt,http://gov.louisiana.gov/index.cfm/newsroom/detail/1871
+Maine,Janet Mills,D,Maine_SOTS.txt,https://www.maine.gov/governor/mills/news/governor-janet-mills-state-budget-address-2019-02-11
+Maryland,Larry Hogan,R,Maryland_SOTS.txt,https://governor.maryland.gov/2019/01/30/2019-state-of-the-state-address/
+Massachusetts,Charlie Baker,R,Massachusetts_Both.txt,https://www.mass.gov/news/governor-charlie-baker-delivers-inaugural-address-for-second-term
+Michigan,Gretchen Whitmer,D,Michigan_SOTS.txt,https://www.michigan.gov/documents/whitmer/20190212-Speech-Whitmer-SOTS19_646125_7.pdf
+Minnesota,Tim Walz,D,Minnesota_SOTS.txt,https://mn.gov/governor/news/#/detail/appId/1/id/378589
+Mississippi,Phil Bryant,R,Mississippi_SOTS.txt,https://www.clarionledger.com/story/news/politics/2019/01/15/watch-live-gov-phil-bryants-state-state-address-text-speech-ms-leg/2581705002/
+Missouri,Mike Parson,R,Missouri_SOTS.txt,https://www.mo.gov/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/2019-State-of-the-State-Text.pdf
+Montana,Steve Bullock,D,Montana_SOTS.txt,http://governor.mt.gov/Pressroom/governor-steve-bullocks-2019-state-of-the-state-address
+Nebraska,Pete Ricketts,R,Nebraska_SOTS.txt,https://governor.nebraska.gov/press/gov-ricketts-state-state-address
+Nevada,Steve Sisolak,D,Nevada_SOTS.txt,http://gov.nv.gov/uploadedFiles/govnew.nv.gov/Content/News/Press/2019/Sisolak_SOTS.pdf
+New Hampshire,Chris Sununu,R,NewHampshire_Both.txt,https://www.governor.nh.gov/news-media/speeches/inaugural-2019.htm
+New Jersey,Phil Murphy,D,NewJersey_SOTS.txt,https://nj.gov/governor/news/addresses/approved/20190115_sos.shtml
+New Mexico,Michelle Lujan Grisham,D,NewMexico_SOTS.txt,http://www.santafenewmexican.com/text-of-gov-lujan-grisham-s-first-state-of-the/article_9a7b5a6a-1926-11e9-8218-3bf11adbcd54.html
+New York,Andrew Cuomo,D,NewYork_SOTS.txt,https://www.governor.ny.gov/news/video-audio-photos-rush-transcript-governor-cuomo-outlines-2019-justice-agenda-time-now
+North Carolina,Roy Cooper,D,NorthCarolina_SOTS.txt,https://files.nc.gov/governor/documents/files/2019_State_of_the_State_0.pdf
+North Dakota,Doug Burgum,R,NorthDakota_SOTS.txt,https://www.governor.nd.gov/sites/governor/files/documents/2019%20State%20of%20the%20State%20Final%20Copy.pdf
+Ohio,Mike DeWine,R,Ohio_SOTS.txt,https://governor.ohio.gov/wps/wcm/connect/gov/5ee4eee4-b8ce-4bbe-8270-9e89036059c8/2019+State+of+the+State+Address.pdf?MOD=AJPERES&CONVERT_TO=url&CACHEID=ROOTWORKSPACE.Z18_M1HGGIK0N0JO00QO9DDDDM3000-5ee4eee4-b8ce-4bbe-8270-9e89036059c8-mBfX-ua
+Oklahoma,Kevin Stitt,R,Oklahoma_SOTS.txt,https://www.tulsaworld.com/opinion/read-the-full-transcript-of-gov-kevin-stitt-s-state/article_92e71b97-ddba-5019-9f96-1bd1c8abf02a.html
+Oregon,Kate Brown,D,Oregon_Both.txt,https://www.oregon.gov/gov/media/Pages/speeches/Governor-Kate-Brown-Inaugural-Address-2019.aspx
+Pennsylvania,Tom Wolf,D,Pennsylvania_SOTS.txt,https://www.governor.pa.gov/remarks-by-governor-wolf-at-budget-address/
+Rhode Island,Gina Raimondo,D,RhodeIsland_SOTS.txt,http://www.governor.ri.gov/newsroom/speeches/2019/state-of-the-state.php
+South Carolina,Henry McMaster,R,SouthCarolina_SOTS.txt,https://governor.sc.gov/news/2019-01/state-state-address-prepared-delivery
+South Dakota,Kristi Noem,R,SouthDakota_SOTS.txt,https://kelo.com/news/articles/2019/jan/09/transcript-gov-noems-state-of-the-state-address/
+Tennessee,Bill Lee,R,Tennessee_SOTS.txt,https://www.tn.gov/governor/about-bill-lee/state-of-the-state-2019-address.html
+Texas,Greg Abbott,R,Texas_SOTS.txt,https://gov.texas.gov/news/post/governor-greg-abbott-delivers-state-of-the-state-address
+Utah,Gary Herbert,R,Utah_SOTS.txt,https://governor.utah.gov/2019/01/31/governor-herberts-2019-state-of-the-state-address-full-transcript/
+Vermont,Phil Scott,R,Vermont_Both.txt,https://governor.vermont.gov/press-release/governor-phil-scott-delivers-second-inaugural-address
+Virginia,Ralph Northam,D,Virginia_SOTS.txt,https://www.governor.virginia.gov/newsroom/all-releases/2019/january/headline-837676-en.html
+Washington,Jay Inslee,D,Washington_SOTS.txt,https://www.governor.wa.gov/news-media/news-media/speeches/2019-state-state
+West Virginia,Jim Justice,R,WestVirginia_SOTS.txt,https://governor.wv.gov/News/press-releases/2019/Pages/2019-West-Virginia-State-of-the-State-Address-.aspx
+Wisconsin,Tony Evers,D,Wisconsin_SOTS.txt,https://evers.wi.gov/Pages/Newsroom/Press-Releases/012219-Governor-Evers-Gives-2019-State-of-the-State-Address.aspx
+Wyoming,Mark Gordon,R,Wyoming_SOTS.txt,https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B5QDlu63DmCiY1AwRnBsM3VuQlJtc01YWkVYUDVFdEhNVWI4/view

state-of-the-state/speeches/Alabama_SOTS.txt

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+Lieutenant Governor Ainsworth, Pro Tempore Marsh, Speaker McCutcheon, Speaker Pro Tempore Gaston, members of the Alabama Legislature, Chief Justice Parker, justices of the Alabama Supreme Court, distinguished guests – and my fellow Alabamians:
+Just over 48 hours ago, Mother Nature’s wrath – in the form of vicious and deadly tornados – ripped through our state, leaving behind significant devastation.
+At least 23 innocent lives were lost.
+Young children who had barely experienced life.
+Mothers. Fathers. Friends and neighbors.
+It is during times like these that we turn to the good Lord, asking for His continued comfort and healing hands.
+We also give special thanks for the emergency responders and local law enforcement.
+Please join me as we observe a moment of silence to remember all those who passed away, as well as many others who were injured.
+While there is always uncertainty in what tomorrow may bring, there is absolute certainty in the resiliency of the people of Alabama.
+After all, we’ve done it before, and we will do it again.
+This is a time for all of Alabama – and our entire nation – to rally behind these good people. Together, we will bring Lee County back to its feet!
+In our 200 years of statehood, the men and women of Alabama have always stepped forward when our nation called.
+When our country needed defending, the legendary Tuskegee Airmen were born.
+When our country was plagued with injustice, it was an Alabama woman that refused to give her seat up on a bus.
+When our country sought to do the impossible and take man to the moon, it was Alabamians that built the rocket that successfully launched and returned them home.
+The people of our state shaped the past. They are influencing the present, and without a doubt, they are at the forefront of defining our future.
+Since this occasion last year, our story in Alabama has continued to evolve with one major accomplishment after another. At the same time, we are managing to fund state government, remaining conservative with the hard-earned dollars the men and women of this state send to us.
+Ladies and gentlemen, this evening, I am proud to report that the state of our state is growing stronger each day. Our state’s recent history combined with the willing attitude I sense in the Chamber this evening, will aid in our quest to overcome our long-neglected issues and will help us achieve even greater prosperity for the entire state.
+We will accomplish this together, because we are Alabama, and this is our time.
+Alabama’s economy is breaking records some thought we would never see.
+In 2018, alone, Alabama achieved a historic total of $8.8 billion dollars in new capital investments, which created more than 17,000 new and future jobs for our people!
+Major technology companies like Amazon, Facebook, Google and Shipt are showing the rest of the country what it means to do business in our state.
+Alabama is on track to be the number two auto-producing state in the nation, in less than five years. This is remarkable for a state that 25 years ago did not produce a single car, truck or SUV.
+Our aerospace industry is, once again, redefining the futures of both our state and nation. With the recent groundbreaking for Airbus’s second assembly line, the City of Mobile is positioned to be one of the top four cities in the world for aerospace manufacturing. And up in Huntsville, construction began on Blue Origin’s $200 million-dollar rocket production facility, further solidifying Alabama’s critical role in putting the United States at the forefront of space exploration.
+Now, just as Alabama has emerged as a powerhouse in the automotive and aerospace industries, our Department of Commerce, under the direction of Secretary Greg Canfield, is working hard to expand project activity in areas like technology, forestry and bioscience.
+Members of the Legislature, companies from around the globe want to be part of the gold standard that is known by the “Made in Alabama” brand.
+And make no mistake. The upward trend in Alabama’s economy is a direct compliment to the men and women in Alabama’s workforce. These very men and women are regaining hope because of the good-paying jobs that are pouring into our state.
+The Department of Labor, under the capable leadership of Secretary Fitzgerald Washington, is working hard to ensure we fulfill our vision of connecting every Alabamian who wants a job with a job.
+Ladies and gentlemen, Alabama has seen a record-breaking year!
+Last year, we recorded the lowest unemployment rate in our history: 3.7 percent. That’s a record for our state.
+In December 2018, Alabama reported having the most people working in our state’s history. That means 49,000 more Alabamians are working today than were a year ago. That’s a record for our state.
+When economists predicted we would gain 27,000 jobs in 2018, in natural Alabama fashion, we exceeded that projection by supporting more than 44,000 additional jobs! That, too, is a record for our state!
+Even so, there are still some 80,000 Alabamians seeking employment opportunities. And to those across our state who are still searching, I urge you to not lose faith, because we are not going to rest on our efforts, and we will not leave you behind.
+Regardless of their own individual situation, every Alabamian must be given an opportunity to provide for themselves and their family, enabling them to climb the ladder to success.
+For us to better provide for all of our citizens, it is vitally important that Alabama has maximum participation in the upcoming 2020 Census. We will be launching the Alabama Counts campaign next month, with the goal simply being to secure much-needed federal funds for our state. At the same time, we are ensuring that our representation in Congress remains unchanged, guaranteeing Alabamians a strong voice for the next decade.
+As you would expect, the hardworking men and women of Alabama will always come first in the Ivey Administration.
+Under Republican leadership, over the past few years, the people of Alabama have experienced major gains. We have seen significant growth in our economy. We have cut taxes on middle-class families, and we are shrinking government.
+Sometimes people forget that during the past few years, we have repealed more than 300 obsolete laws and regulations. And since 2010, we have reduced the number of state employees by more than 6,000 people. That means we are operating leaner, smarter and stronger.
+And because of the approach taken by Republican leadership since 2010, Alabama has saved literally hundreds of millions of dollars!
+As we know, every dollar spent by the government belongs to the hardworking men and women of our state. Last year, I was very proud to sign into law the largest tax break for middle-class Alabamians in more than a decade! In turn, the total impact is projected to net $40 million dollars in savings for our taxpayers over the next decade. All of our efforts are centered on doing what is best and right for the people of our state – and that begins with protecting their hard-earned dollars whenever and however we can.
+Doing what is best and right for our people also means giving every Alabamian the opportunity for a quality education. Through ‘Strong Start, Strong Finish’, we are making important strides to improve Alabama’s education system.
+For a child to reach their fullest potential later in life, they must first build a strong educational foundation. Under the nationally-recognized leadership of Secretary Jeana Ross, the tremendous efforts of the Department of Early Childhood Education have enabled Alabama’s First Class Pre-K to be ranked as the nation’s highest quality program for the 12th consecutive year!
+Most importantly, our efforts are giving more of Alabama’s children a strong start.
+Last year, we increased funding by $18.5 million dollars, which was the largest, single-year increase ever approved. And because of that historic investment, 107 new First Class Pre-K classrooms were added last fall, which led Alabama to officially break the 1,000-classroom mark.
+Additionally, our P-3 pilot program aimed at building upon the gains made in Pre-K, grew by 75 classrooms this school year.
+As we anticipate the rising demand of the computer science field, we are continuing our efforts to enhance computer science education in Alabama.
+Last year, I signed legislation establishing the Alabama School of Cyber Technology and Engineering. We also secured additional funding to create the Alabama Math and Science Teacher Education Program, which provides a better pathway to certify future computer science teachers.
+Today in Alabama, women and minorities make up well over half of the population. Yet, they are underrepresented in the STEM professions.
+Tonight, I am pleased to have with us a young woman who is the face of changing this disparity, specifically in the area of computer science. Arrington Harper is currently a senior at the Alabama School of Fine Arts in Birmingham.
+In her ninth-grade year, she had her very first computer science class.
+Since then, Arrington has excelled. She is a recipient of the Aspirations in Computer Science Award for Alabama. She is an advocate for computer science education and girls in computer science. She wants to use her passion to help address the gender and race gaps that exist in computer science education. Arrington has spoken to numerous groups of parents and educators and was invited by the National Center for Women in IT to share her experiences at large. She plans to major in computer science in college.
+Arrington represents my vision for education in our state. It was in a classroom where she discovered her niche, and through the guidance of her dedicated teachers and her own hard work, this young lady is headed into a very promising future. Arrington, could you please stand to be recognized?
+Equipping our students with the proper skills and education to fill high-demand jobs is essential to ensure their strong finish.
+Part of my mission for the state, is to carve a path for our students to enter the workforce, highly-skilled and well-equipped. To further our efforts, I am asking the Legislature to fund our new co-op program for Alabama’s Historically Black Colleges and Universities.
+It is geared specifically toward Alabama’s HBCU students interested in pursuing careers in the science, technology, engineering and mathematics fields. It is not only a win for these students; it’s a win for these colleges and universities. And it’s a win for our employers who are gaining qualified individuals to strengthen the work of their company.
+Each year, uses for the internet grow more dynamic. Delivering high speed broadband access is absolutely necessary. Last year, through the Alabama Broadband Accessibility Act, we connected broadband in seven counties.
+One notable example is in Choctaw County. Within the next two years, more than 700 residences and businesses will have access to high-speed internet service.
+Thanks to this grant program, living in rural Alabama does not mean being cut out! This is a major step forward for education, for economic prosperity and for the entire state of Alabama!
+In our efforts to meet the current and future needs of business and industry, I have established the Governor’s Office of Education and Workforce Transformation. The focus will be solely on aligning our workforce development funding streams to create the most effective workforce development programs for Alabamians across the state.
+Since we met last year, we have been ambitious in our efforts to improve Alabama’s education system and are now on our way to providing all our students a quality education.
+Each of us has our own story to tell.
+My own story began in the public schools of rural Wilcox County, Alabama.
+I graduated from high school in a class that had 35 students. My surroundings at Auburn University would look a whole lot different, though. Instead of a class of 35, I would be one in a college of more than 12,000. My Wilcox County upbringing would be put side by side with some of the smartest young people from bigger schools in larger cities.
+However, I would not allow these challenges to hinder me from achieving success.
+So, in the summer before my first semester, I spent a week on campus to walk the grounds to know exactly where my classes would be located and try out for the Auburn University Marching Band.
+Benjamin Franklin said it best, “If you fail to plan, you’re planning to fail.”
+I worked hard and planned for success.
+My journey from Wilcox County also brought me to where I stand this evening.
+Despite the heavy challenges that lie ahead, we in Alabama must plan for success.
+Part of planning for that success is ensuring that we have a robust economy and ample public safety. We can help tackle both of these issues with a reasonable increase in the investment we make in our state’s infrastructure system.
+Almost three decades have gone by, and Alabama has not made one change to our infrastructure funding.
+While our neighboring states are increasing their revenue for their transportation budgets, Alabama has not. We are dead last.
+Certainly, motorists are experiencing firsthand the poor conditions of Alabama’s infrastructure.
+Each year in Alabama, 69 billion miles are driven on our roadways.
+We have urban roads in poor condition. Our drivers are experiencing major congestion on our freeways.
+County governments currently operate on a 56-year resurfacing schedule; when, in fact, we should be operating on a 15-year rate.
+In Alabama, half of our more than 16,000 bridges are older than their 50-year life span.
+Bridges should be replaced every 50 years. Yet, county governments are on schedule to replace their bridges every 186 years! Folks, that’s almost as long as Alabama has been a state.
+From 2015 to 2017, Alabama saw nearly 3,000 traffic fatalities. One-third of those were due to deficiencies in our roadways.
+Each year, $436 billion dollars in goods are shipped to and from businesses using our state’s roadways.
+The Port of Mobile, Alabama’s only deep-water port, moves approximately 64 million tons of cargo each year. Deepening and widening the Port will increase Alabama’s economic capability. This will enhance our status as a primary industrial and agricultural hub in the Southeast.
+Driving on rough roads costs the average Alabamian $507 dollars annually in additional vehicle maintenance – a total of $2 billion dollars statewide, each year!
+That is why we are proposing a 10-cent increase in Alabama’s fuel tax. This increase would be implemented over the next three years.
+And I want to be crystal clear – this money will be scrutinized and watched over – every single penny. There will be strong accountability measures to make certain these monies are spent solely on transportation infrastructure. Period.
+Leading the charge in the Legislature on this issue is Representative Bill Poole. He along with Senator Clyde Chambliss, will guide this legislation over the coming weeks. I thank both of them for their leadership.
+Additionally, I have listened to leaders make good points about money being diverted from the Alabama Department of Transportation to supplement our court system and law enforcement agency every year.
+I believe we should begin to unwind this outdated approach. And, in fact, the budgets I am presenting will cut this annual transfer in half without hurting the court system or our hardworking state law enforcement officers.
+A renewed investment in infrastructure will lead to safer roads, economic prosperity and an enhanced quality of life.
+Ladies and Gentlemen, I am willing to call you, the members of the Alabama Legislature, into a special session, if necessary, to focus solely on passing this critical legislation.
+Beginning tomorrow, as we enter this special session, we must shift our focus and tackle this issue together!
+It’s time to make our crumbling infrastructure system a problem of the past.
+This is a challenge that is felt by every Alabamian, clearly making it a bipartisan issue.
+As governor, I say enough is enough.
+Now is the time to Rebuild Alabama.
+Another problem that has gone unaddressed for years and years is that of the horrendous conditions of our prisons. Our next step, however, must be to address the issue of understaffing to improve our recruiting and retention efforts.
+Alabama is currently under a federal court order requiring the state to roughly double the number of corrections officers over the next two years. If we fail to resolve the apparent issue of understaffing in our prisons, federal courts will dictate what needs to happen in our own state.
+I am proposing we include an additional $31 million dollars in the General Fund budget. This will allow us to hire 500 new correctional officers and increase the pay scale for all prison security personnel to make their salary competitive. This is an Alabama problem that must have an Alabama solution.
+As we move forward, we must continue to wisely use our funds. I am proud that the General Fund budget I am proposing will do just that.
+As a positive sign of that progress, Medicaid, under the capable leadership of Commissioner Stephanie Azar, will require $40 million dollars less in 2020 than compared to 2019. The Medicaid program in Alabama is driving efficiency, while being prudent with our taxpayer dollars.
+I am also proposing an additional $7 million dollars to fund important Mental Health programs in our state.
+As governor, I will do everything in my power to make Alabama safer, which is why my General Fund budget includes funding to hire and train 50 additional State Troopers.
+I have also included in my budget a 2 percent pay raise for all state employees. These men and women went too long without merit raises, and with the increase last year and the additional increase this year, we are making it right.
+Like my General Fund budget, my education budget is practical, while still helping more Alabamians receive the opportunity for a quality education.
+My education budget will provide $25 million dollars to expand our nationally-recognized First Class Pre-K program. This significant increase will expand the program by 193 classrooms. It will be the largest investment in Alabama First Class Pre-K to date and takes us even closer to providing more of Alabama’s youngest learners a strong start.
+Alabama’s institutions of higher education are making major research contributions. They generate significant revenue for our state. They serve as a major part of our identity in Alabama. Most importantly, they are preparing hundreds of thousands of students to enter the workforce.
+Because of their significant contributions to our state, my budget provides an increased investment of $75 million dollars to our four-year public colleges and universities. These institutions are essential to the future of our state.
+Alabama’s teachers are vital to our students throughout every step of their learning journeys, and they deserve to be the highest paid public employees in our state. That is why, tonight, I am proposing to the Legislature a four percent raise for all teachers: pre-k through community college! Without our teachers, our students cannot achieve success!
+The foundation for a strong future for all Alabamians begins in the classroom.
+Members, I remind you that our story in Alabama will go long past the time you and I are in office.
+When we make improvements to our state’s infrastructure, to our prisons, and to our education system, we are planting a seed of opportunity for Alabama’s next 200 years.
+Ladies and gentlemen, I am a governor looking beyond the next four, the next eight or even 10 years.
+I am a governor leading our state into the next century.
+I am all in! And the people of our great state need you, legislators, all in as well.
+Democrats, republicans, progressives and conservatives.
+To achieve a better future in Alabama, all of us must be willing to build on our successes.
+We must be willing to overcome our long-neglected issues.
+We must be willing to take the next step, because we are Alabama, and this is our time!
+May God continue to bless each of you and the great state of Alabama!
+

state-of-the-state/speeches/Alaska_SOTS.txt

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+Thanks, everyone for your gracious welcome. I truly appreciate it. It’s been just seven weeks since I took the oath of office to become the twelfth Governor in the history of our young state.
+I’m here today because of the People of Alaska, who put their faith in me and in my vision, for our great state.
+Too often leaders seem to forget a simple truth: Government gets all of its authority from the people.
+The Court system has no power – except what the people give.
+The Legislature has no power – except what the people give.
+The Governor has no power either– except what you, the people of Alaska, give.
+This evening, as I stand before the People of Alaska, delivering my first State of the State Address, I reflect on where we are as a state, the opportunity before us, and what this point in history means for Alaska.
+Before I continue, I’d like to take a moment and introduce members of my administration. I would ask them to please stand. Thank you all very much.
+And now I’d like to introduce someone who is very special to me: my wife of 31 years, the First Lady Rose Dunleavy. Rose is from Northwest Alaska and we were married in the wonderful city of Nome. We have three independent, free-spirited, and very self-reliant daughters: Maggie, Catherine, and Ceil Ann, who love Alaska as much as we do.
+Like many Alaskans, I enjoy the outdoors, hunting, fishing, and the boundless adventures and opportunities our great state has to offer. Yet, I’m a man who chose education as a career, because I love helping kids and I love learning and teaching.
+I’m not a career politician. I’ve only been in politics for eight short years — three of those years as a school board member, and five years as a state senator.
+I’ve always wanted to help people. This is why I went into politics. Last year, I followed my heart and my gut, and decided in order to change the course of our great state, that I would run for governor. And so, I did. And then I was elected.
+How did this retired teacher get elected governor? Was it my social graces and charm?  Not really. If you ask, me, I’d say the other candidates were much better connected in the social circles, better looking, and far more charming.
+Was it my eloquent speeches or my debating skills?  Not really. If you ask me, I’d say all the other candidates were smoother and better debaters.
+Was it because I was the tallest? Well, I do stand out in the crowd a bit, but I don’t think that was it either.
+I’m Governor today because of the campaign promises I made to the people of Alaska on the issues most of us believe in. I’m here to do exactly what I promised to do, what I told Alaskans I would do.
+So, here it is:
+* We’re going to declare war on criminals.
+* We’re going to get our spending in line with our revenue. This has to be done.
+* We’re going to protect Alaskans’ Permanent Fund dividends.
+* We’re going to grow our economy and put Alaskans to work.
+* And we must restore public trust in government and elected officials.
+That’s what my plan was last year, and that’s my plan now.
+But before I could be sworn in, our world shook.  As we know, the second-most damaging earthquake in Alaska’s history struck Southcentral Alaska on November 30,, 2018, with over $100 million in damages.
+Within hours of the quake, I was down at the State Emergency Operations Center, assessing the situation. I want to thank Governor Walker for working with my team during the process.
+Last month I met with President Trump and had the opportunity to brief him on the earthquake damage and recovery efforts. The President confirmed his strong support. And the congressional delegation and I will work together to hold the federal government to its commitment.
+This is an example of Alaskans coming together to solve significant problems.
+We all feel a deep sense of gratitude to the men and women who served as emergency responders. They are Alaska heroes. There were countless examples of Alaskans who made us proud:  Hospital employees were ready to treat the injured. School teachers kept kids safe and evacuated them from unsafe buildings. And contractors rushed to repair damage to roads and buildings in record time.
+Neighbors helping neighbors. That’s what Alaska is all about.
+A perfect example of this are two middle schoolers we have with us today: Tor Petersen and Kayana Marquiss. For them, it started out like any other day.  And then it hit. When the quake struck and their school began to shake violently, they knew this was serious.
+Relying on what Tor was taught by his amazing teachers, he immediately sought safety. But he soon realized one of his classmates needed help. Putting his own safety aside, Tor proceeded to do what heroes do. He took immediate action, grabbed ahold of Kayana and led her to the safest part of the room.
+I would ask Tor and Kayana to please stand and be recognized. You two exemplify what the spirit of Alaska is all about.  I want to thank you both for reminding us that in a time of crisis how good all of us can be to each other.
+That day, Alaskans demonstrated to the world our resiliency. Alaskans were at their finest.
+It was a perfect example that together we can overcome anything; that together we will make our streets safe again; that together we will build a permanent fiscal plan; that together, we will protect the Permanent Fund dividend for generations to come. That together, we will restore the trust of the Alaska People in their government and their elected officials.
+I promised during the campaign to follow the law on the PFD. And that’s exactly what we should do. Alaskans’ PFDs should be paid in full using the law that has worked for decades, and the PFD should be protected in the Constitution, now and for the future.
+Last week, I introduced two bills for the back-pay owed to Alaskans on their PFDs. I urge you to act swiftly on those bills. Every penny of that PFD money due Alaskans is sitting in the Earnings Reserve Account, and is available for distribution.
+Let’s act now and put this issue behind us once and for all.
+* * * *
+Now let’s talk about creating a real, honest budget.
+Alaskans believe our state budget process is a mess. There is simply no other way to describe it.
+Why is it a mess?
+Because our government spending far exceeds the revenue we take in. Kicking the can down the road for years, wiping out billions from savings, and then taxing the PFD, all the while just hoping for another oil boom — it simply doesn’t work.
+The days of creating a “wish list” budget, where Alaska is more like a reality show — make a wish, have your dream come true — that just isn’t real life.
+The days when anything and everything is just too important not to fund, and where politicians spend their time looking for ways for you to pay for it? Those days have got to be over. We can no longer spend what we don’t have.
+We are now preparing a budget that for the first time all Alaskans will be able to understand and trust. No more games, no more shuffling numbers. Just an honest, straightforward look at where we are.
+While no one person is to blame, Alaskans will quickly see that we’ve been spending wildly beyond our means for years. Our children and grandchildren deserve better.
+In order to get a handle on the budget, one of my first administrative orders was to centralize the budget-making functions of all departments under the Office of Management and Budget.
+My administration will be focused on the basic functions of government, while realigning programs and operations to eliminate duplication and prioritize each agency’s core mission.
+My first budget is going to be an honest budget. As I promised the people, we must start from the standpoint that expenditures must equal revenue. We can’t go on forever using savings to plug the budget gap.
+But that’s only part of the solution. In order to address the fiscal issues that have plagued our state for years, we need a permanent fiscal plan, a plan that will put our state on solid footing for decades to come.
+To be fair, this isn’t a new struggle for our state, we’ve struggled with this before. When Alaska first became flush with oil money from Prudhoe Bay, many were focused on spending as much as possible.
+However, there were some in the Legislature, even back then, who were concerned about where we were headed.
+I’d like to take a moment to introduce Dick Randolph from Fairbanks.  Dick is a former teacher, an insurance agent and a retired legislator, who in the 1970s and early 1980s had the foresight to understand that the People of Alaska, through constitutional amendments and the initative process, could help us control our spending and develop a sustainable fiscal plan.
+Enlightened legislators, such as Representative Randolph, trusting the People of Alaska, put forth a number of constitutional amendments, including the Permanent Fund, to try to bring order to the spending mania.
+Representative Randolph, please stand. I want to thank you for your foresight and wisdom, coupled with the belief that the people, individual Alaskans, through constitutional amendments, are the key to securing Alaska’s future. Thank you, Dick.
+And for those of us in the room today, we have an opportunity to work together and complete the process those enlightened legislators started many decades ago.
+Therefore, next week I will introduce three constitutional amendments, which will be the foundation of a permanent fiscal plan.
+If we wish to win the People’s trust, we must trust the People. This fiscal plan is empowered by the People, for the People:
+First, a spending limit and savings plan that will keep politicians from spending every penny we have, one that allows us to save excess revenue when possible for future Alaskans.
+Second, there should be no change to the PFD without a vote of the people.
+The third constitutional amendment will call for no change in taxes without a vote of the People.
+These three constitutional amendments will require that both the people of Alaska and their elected officials work closely together to secure our future. The People are the key to a permanent fiscal plan. Without the People’s support, any plan put in place by the Legislature will always be in doubt.
+* * * *
+Another key component in securing Alaska’s future are investments and jobs. Politicians often talk about policies and laws, but what Alaskans really care about, are jobs, opportunities, and individual freedoms. With jobs come independence, self-reliance, self-respect, thriving communities, and hope for the future.
+There’s no doubt our economy is struggling. There’s no doubt when people don’t have opportunities, hope fades.
+While the rest of the country’s economy has been booming for years, Alaska remains mired in recession with the worst unemployment rate in the nation. Let that sink in for a moment.
+I will be a relentless advocate for turning this around. I’ve said that we’re going to make Alaska “open for business” – and that’s exactly what we’re going to do.
+We often talk about diversifying the economy. The irony is, years ago, some would say Alaska had more of a diversified economy than we do today. We had more Alaskans engaged in commercial fishing, mining, agriculture, and a once-robust timber industry.
+However, since Prudhoe Bay came online, we have become more narrowly focused on oil and government programs as the basis for our economy, while neglecting other opportunities that could create more jobs and wealth for our state.
+For Alaska to fully realize our potential, including our location on the globe, our vast resources, and unbridled quality of life, we must look to other industries and investments to come to Alaska.
+As a result, we have put together a team that will market Alaska to the world. It’s a team of experts with backgrounds in finance, marketing, and research that will inform investors, industries, and individuals that Alaska is open for business and we want new business here.
+* Our location on the globe is a distinct advantage.
+* The third-busiest cargo hub in the world is also an advantage to doing business here in Alaska.
+* Our proximity to Asia and Europe is an advantage.
+* Our quality of life is a distinct advantage as well.
+Alaska doesn’t have to be just a resource state. We have so much more to offer. It is my goal to be able to report to you in the near future about all of the new industries coming to Alaska, because of these efforts.
+For those who have little hope that Alaska can diversify its economy, we need only to look to two small Alaska companies that, through good old-fashioned capitalism and entrepreneurship, created thriving businesses right here in our state.
+One of these businesses, Triverus, is located in Palmer and owned by Hans Vogel.
+His company was awarded a contract by the Department of Defense for a machine that cleans the decks of the entire U.S. aircraft carrier fleet. These machines are designed, engineered, and manufactured right here in Alaska and shipped all over the world.  He does this with no tax credits or subsidies from the state.
+I repeat — no tax credits and no subsidies from the state government.
+Another company thriving here in Alaska is Bambino’s Baby Food, owned by Zoi Maroudas. She noticed customers were not happy with the quality of baby food available — and Zoi responded. She started the company right here in Alaska and now employs 25 Alaskans.  By the end of this month, she plans to begin exporting to Asia.
+This is what I am talking about. This is the future of Alaska.
+Zoi and Hans, you both demonstrate to us all that there are boundless opportunities for Alaska to diversify our economy. Zoi is in the gallery tonight and I would ask her to stand. Hans is unfortunately weathered out of Juneau this evening. I want to thank you both for the example you have set for Alaska.
+* * * *
+While all of these initiatives I’ve presented so far are critical to securing Alaska’s future, in the end, our primary responsibility and the most important thing a government can do is keep its citizens safe.
+We all know crime is out of control. Everyone in this room has either been affected by crime or knows someone who has.
+And when it comes to sexual assault, Alaska stands alone.  Our sexual assault rate is the highest in the nation.
+To put this in perspective, New York City has a sexual assault rate of 28 incidences per 100,000 people. Compare this to Anchorage, which has 132 sexual assaults per 100,000 people.  That’s almost five times that of New York City. Let that sink in.
+This is an outrage. Plain and simple. The women and children of Alaska, must be made safe, and we have an obligation, all of us in this room, to do everything we possibly can to stop this scourge in Alaska. We can no longer stand by and allow this to be the reality that faces Alaskans every day.
+In addition to sexual assault, our murder rate is horrific. Tonight, I would like to recognize two Alaskan families who know firsthand the personal devastation that comes from violent crime.  Edie and Ben Grunwald from Palmer, who lost their son David; and Scotty and Aaliyah Barr from Kotzebue, who lost a daughter and a sister, Ashley. 
+Unfortunately, we all know their tragic stories too well — two beautiful young Alaskans taken from their families by individuals who have no regard for human life.
+Scotty and Aaliyeah Barr are here with us tonight, I would ask them to please stand. The Grundwald family was unfortunately unable to make it due to weather. Thank you having the strength to be here with us tonight.
+Edie, Ben, Scotty, and Aaliyah, I speak for all of those here today, and every Alaskan: We are heartbroken and mourn with you over this senseless loss. Nobody should have to go through the devastation and pain you have endured.  But know this, the loss of Ashley and David has mobilized Alaska. Your loss is going to be the catalyst that will push us forward into a safer Alaska.
+And I say to you, and to everyone, today begins a new day in our state. From this day forward, we will not cater to the criminals and ignore the victims. We will not make excuses and turn a blind eye. I ask everyone in this room tonight – and across Alaska — to join in making Alaska the safest state in the country.
+There is a lot that government should not do, cannot do, or does not do well. But the most important thing a government must do is keep its people safe. History will judge those of us in this room tonight on how we respond to this crisis.  At what point do we say enough is enough?  I say that time is now.
+Therefore, we will expend the necessary resources for additional State Troopers, provide more local control, and more prosecutors. We will ensure that our courts will remain open five full days a week in order to hear cases. We will provide the focus and the resources necessary to combat the scourge of opiates and other illicit drugs driving up our crime rates and ruining lives.
+And we will repeal and replace SB 91.  A series of bills and initiatives to be introduced tomorrow will not only roll back SB91, but will help Alaska turn the corner to a safer tomorrow.
+To our legislators, I’m asking you to make public safety a priority and move forward with due diligence on reviewing and considering this public safety package.
+To law-abiding Alaskans, I say this to you: I care if your house is burglarized. I care if your car is stolen. And I care if your loved ones are threatened.
+But to the criminals, and to the rapists and molesters who see women and children as nothing more than opportunities, I say this to you: We will do everything in our power to stop you, apprehend you, and put you in prison for a very long time.
+For those Alaskans who have made a mistake and have gotten involved with opiates or other drugs and want help, we are a compassionate people as well. Therefore, as part of our public safety approach we will provide ways for you to break this habit and get back into society and be productive individuals.
+But let me be perfectly clear. If you are a criminal, this is going to be a very dangerous place for you, starting now. I strongly suggest you get out while you can. No more coddling, no more excuses.  Your days are over.
+I’m going to go to great lengths to make sure we are safer, and you will see that reflected in my budget.
+With SB 91, we broke the People’s trust and now is the time to restore it. By doing the right things, we can fix what is broken and restore the trust that was lost.
+* * * *
+I’m here to serve the People of Alaska. I’m here to work with you, the Legislature. I’m here because, like all of you, I believe in this great state. I’m here tonight because Alaskans want to chart a different course.  I’ve made promises that I intend to keep.
+We’re all part of the greatest experiment in self-government in the history of the world: A government by the People, for the People and of the People. As for me, that in part means this:
+That all the special interests, all the political insiders, all those used to manipulating government and policy for their own benefit — this is just not your time.
+I promise you now, what I promised during the campaign. Things will be different; things will be very different. Together we are tasked with righting the wrongs that have broken the trust of the Alaska People. And I’ll work with all my energy, dedication, and ability to do exactly what I promised you I would do.
+I look forward to working with each and every one of you in this room. No more of the tired old approaches:
+* We must reduce senseless crime.
+* We must balance our budget.
+* We must protect the PFD.
+* We must grow our economy and put Alaskans back to work.
+And by doing this the Alaskan people will once again trust their leaders.
+Thank you for allowing me to speak to you this evening.
+God bless you, and God bless the great State of Alaska.
+

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+Chief Justice Bales, Members of the Legislature, Judiciary and fellow Arizonans — I am so honored to be back here today, and just like you, I am ready to get to work.
+2018 brought a lot our way. Election years tend to do that for people in our business. Elections also bring change and new faces, as we see here today — and in government, that’s a really good thing. Let’s work together in the months ahead to transform our promises into progress for the state we all love.
+To all who were sworn in for the first time today, and to the other public servants who took the oath with me last week, congratulations and welcome. It wasn’t so long ago that I was new here, too. I ran because I cared, believed I could make a difference, and felt we needed some fresh ideas. No doubt, you’re all here for many of the same reasons.
+You’ve also lucked out, because you’ve got some real pros here to show you the ropes. Speaker Bowers and President Fann — you’re well suited and well prepared for these new roles. I’m hoping today’s not the last day you’ll have my back.
+Leaders Fernandez and Bradley — I’m looking forward to working together. I think we can all agree, there’s plenty of opportunities to find common ground.
+Bipartisanship is a word that gets tossed around a lot. And today, it seems everyone has their own definition. So let me be clear on the approach I intend to take. I’m not here just to work with Republicans on Republican ideas. And bipartisanship doesn’t simply mean working with Democrats on Democratic ideas. I’m here as governor of all the people to work with all of you on good ideas.
+And now’s the time to do so. Because the state of our state is strong, and it’s getting stronger. The challenge before us is to lay the groundwork today to make sure the Arizona of tomorrow remains strong. Doing so requires action now to do thethings that matter and secure Arizona’s future.
+The issues we need to tackle aren’t partisan ones. In some cases, they aren’t even political. At the top of that list: securing our water future.
+Now stay with me — this is not an issue that leads the news. It doesn’t make for a snappy headline, or a provocative soundbite, and it can’t be explained in 280 characters. But as I traveled the state this past year, it’s one of the issues I was asked about most by real people -- especially in rural Arizona.
+It’s an issue that deserves your focus and attention. Which is why it’s first on my list.
+Here’s the bottom line: We’re in a 19-year drought. It’s going to get worse before it gets better.
+ Arizona and our neighboring states draw more water from the Colorado River than Mother Nature puts back.
+It’s time to protect Lake Mead and Arizona. It’s time to ratify the Drought Contingency Plan and we have 17 days to do it.                                                                 
+Doing so will require compromise. No one stakeholder is going to get everything they want. Everyone is going to have to give. And I’ve been impressed by the willingness of those involved to do just that.
+It’s been said: whiskey’s for drinking; water’s for fighting.
+We have two leaders here today who’ve got the scars to prove it. They are giants, who deserve the credit for getting Arizona to this point — not to mention our gratitude for their lifetime of public service: Governor Bruce Babbitt and Senator Jon Kyl.
+Bruce Babbitt served in public office for 20 years, first as Arizona Attorney General and Governor and later as Secretary of the Interior under President Bill Clinton.
+Jon Kyl served Arizona in Congress for 26 years, including three terms as a U.S. Senator. Then, when Arizona needed him most, he returned to the Senate last September.
+Governor Babbitt and Senator Kyl have shown us the path. Working with others. Setting aside differences. Putting our state, and the greater good first.
+Now it’s our turn to do the heavy lifting.
+This issue is important and it’s urgent. Our economy. Our environment. Our future.
+Let’s prove we can work together in a bipartisan fashion and get this done.
+Same goes for a lot of other things, frankly.
+We’ve implemented a hiring freeze and held the line on out of control growth in government. Today, our state government operates more efficiently.
+We’ve gotten government out of the way of job creation, cutting red tape and placing a moratorium on new regulations. In fact, we’ve eliminated over 1,000 regulations.
+Imagine if we took that same approach this legislative session regarding laws. We’re not short on laws here in our state. Over 107 years we’ve built up a hearty 11,000 plus pages.
+Certainly, many of our laws have merit. But many don’t.
+So why does each legislative session seem to be a competition to pass the most new laws?
+What if we found a way to get rid of old unneeded laws, rather than just creating new ones?  If for every law we passed, we repealed three or if new laws had sunsets.
+I’m challenging this legislature let’s chop the stacks and stacks of statutes down, so that the laws make sense and are relevant to the Arizona of today.
+And how about we start with eliminating the most unnecessary law of them all: legislative immunity.
+We are a nation of laws, not men. No one -- not me, nor you -- is above the law.
+Now, congress likes to exempt themselves from the law -- but isn’t that why Americans hold them in such contempt?
+Let’s show the people of Arizona that their elected leaders will live under the same laws as every man and woman in this state.
+Send T.J. Shope’s referral to the ballot and let the people speak on special privileges for elected officials. 
+And when there are emerging issues that need to be addressed, let’s not ignore them -- let’s solve them.
+One year ago, most of us didn’t know Parkland, Florida, even existed. But now, tragically, it’s another on the list. Ingrained in our memories and American vernacular. Columbine. Virginia Tech. Sandy Hook.
+So last spring, I convened Arizonans in my office. Parents. Teachers. Principals. Law enforcement. Prosecutors. Mental health experts. Democrats and Republicans. People who weren’t Democrats or Republicans. Students themselves. With a goal of being proactive, and taking action to stop a tragedy from happening here. We researched the five deadliest school shootings of the last 20 years, and asked: How could these have been prevented?
+We built a plan that could make a real difference: The Safe Arizona Schools Plan. More cops on campus. More school counselors. Improved background checks. A STOP order that protects Second Amendment rights while keeping guns out of the hands of individuals who are a lethal threat.
+These are solutions that will make schools safer, and it’s time for us to get it done. I’ll be including some elements of this plan in my budget that you’ll see Friday -- with an even greater investment than I proposed last year.
+We know when a police officer is around, it makes things safer. Who do we call whenever there’s trouble?  Our brave men and women in blue. And that’s why we’re including enough dollars to put a cop on every campus that needs one.
+And I’ll be working with legislative leaders to pass the rest.
+This plan is a reasoned and balanced approach. Which is why thought leaders like David French at the National Review and Hugh Hewitt have endorsed it; why the Arizona PTA supports it; and why we modeled elements of it from Gabby Giffords’ plan.
+This is simply too important an issue to let partisan politics and special interests get in the way. We’ve got a responsibility to do something for our kids -- and we’ve got to do it this session.
+Whether it’s water or school safety -- these are things that matter. We know that.
+We’ve been here before. We did it on Prop 123 -- who thought that lawsuit would ever get settled? We did it with the 20-year extension of 301 -- nobody believed that would happen. University bonding -- the obituaries were written on it, but we got it done. Opioids -- a unanimous vote of the entire Legislature.
+And it was just 8 months ago we delivered a 20 percent pay raise for hardworking teachers.
+When we unveiled that proposal, many said it was not possible. And there’s no doubt, forces were standing in the way. But because of teachers -- lots of them -- and principals, and superintendents, PTAs, parents, education champions and business leaders -- with the leadership of J.D. Mesnard, and former President Yarbrough. With bipartisan support from leaders like David Bradley, Sean Bowie, Andrea Dalessandro and Steve Farley, we got that pay raise passed and into teachers’ paychecks.
+Half of this commitment was added last fall, with some school leaders going even further. Payson. Yuma. Marana. The Washington Elementary School District, right up the street. Many others.
+And to anyone out there considering using these resources somewhere else, I have one message - don’t even think about it. These are raises teachers earned and they are raises we are going to fulfill and protect.
+And more is needed on K-12 education. A focus on results, resources and reforms.
+Arizona has been the leader in school choice. It’s good for parents, and most of all, it’s good for kids.
+Healthy choice and competition brings about innovation, and that’s been the case in Arizona public education. But we also know improvements can be made. More transparency, more accountability, and granting more financial review and oversight over taxpayer dollars -- all with the purpose of making sure every public school is improving and providing Arizona kids with the best-possible education.
+Same goes for addressing the teacher shortage.
+In my past life, I used to tell my team at Cold Stone Creamery -- if you find a good idea, grab it. So as we built Cold Stone -- we borrowed ideas from others: McDonald’s. Subway. Starbucks.
+And I confess -- I’ve kept the habit going.
+Four years ago, I heard what sounded like a really good idea to address the teacher shortage. If someone graduates from an Arizona university, is willing to stay in Arizona, and teach in a public school, why not allow them to graduate debt-free by providing a scholarship?
+So we turned it into reality and launched the Arizona Teachers Academy. Already, 221 students have started moving through the program.
+This year we plan to significantly expand it: more dollars, more support. We are going to create a pipeline of talent and the next generation of Arizona teachers.
+And today, as a guest of Angela and I -- we have the person who came up with the idea. He’s had an incredible career of public service, he’s continuing that service as newest member of the Arizona Board of Regents, and his wife, Jennifer, is with him today. Arizona thanks you, Fred Duval.
+Education and our economy go hand in hand.
+Many of us remember a class back when we were in high school called shop. 
+
+It's where a lot of good people discovered a passion, they turned into a purpose, and then a pretty good paycheck. 
+
+Our education leaders are creating the "shop" classes of the 21st century-- it’s called Career and Technical Education-- CTE.
+
+Today, students in these programs are training to becoming nurses, pilots, pharmacists, bankers, firefighters and software developers -- all before graduation.
+
+In fact, 99 percent of CTE students graduate high school--99 percent-- a rate much higher than the national average.
+
+They perform better in mathematics and reading -- and their technical skills rival professionals in the same trade. 
+
+Just take a look at some of these programs: Aviation at Pima Community College. Advanced manufacturing at Maricopa Community Colleges. Diesel mechanics at the Western Maricopa Education Center. And culinary arts at the East Valley Institute of Technology.
+Today, we have more jobs available in the state of Arizona than we have people to fill them.
+Whatever and wherever the skilled trade is needed, Arizona is prepared to meet the demand.
+I want to recognize education leaders who are paving the way: 
+
+Lee Lambert, Maria Harper-Marinick, Greg Donovan, Doug Pruitt, and Sally Downey. Thank you for your leadership.
+
+These are programs we plan to build, expand and align with the jobs of tomorrow. And my budget will do just that.
+If people want to work, let’s let them work! 100,000 people will move here this year. There’s a job available for every one of them. Lots of them are trained and certified in other states. Standing in their way of earning a living in Arizona, our own licensing boards, and their cronies who tell them -- “You can’t work here. You haven’t paid the piper.”
+Let’s stop this foolishness. Pass Warren Petersen’s bill to grant universal recognition for all occupational licenses-- and let them work.
+And before those unelected boards feign outrage – let’s remember: workers don't lose their skills simply because they move to Arizona.
+And, in the name of good government, let’s have the bullies on these boards answer three questions: what do you exist to do, how do you know if you’re doing it well, and who would miss you if you were gone? 
+There’s dignity in all work. 
+Last fall, I visited our state prison in Buckeye, Arizona. There, joined by Arizona Cardinals defensive back Antoine Bethea and D lineman Corey Peters along with Cardinals President Michael Bidwill, we saw the possibilities of Opportunity for All first hand.
+At a job fair, soon-to-be-released men and women were excited to participate in a program that equips them with the skills to successfully re-enter society. They lined up at employers like Jacksons Car Wash and Hickman’s Family Farms -- some left with multiple job offers.
+This is a program we need to secure well into the 21st century to protect public safety and reduce Arizona’s prison population.
+ Arizona’s economy is booming. There’s no doubt about it. We’ve added nearly 300,000 new jobs in the last four years.
+ And I’m proud to say, our relationship with Mexico is stronger than ever. With an updated North American trade deal, known as the USMCA, this will mean even more trade coming through our ports and more jobs for Arizonans.
+I’ve become fond of saying that the last time unemployment was this low, you were renting your movies at Blockbuster.
+But the benchmark is moving. By the end of this year, unemployment is forecasted to plummet to levels we haven’t seen since before you knew what a hashtag was.
+Some said the teacher pay raise was unsustainable and based on rosy projections. Turns out those projections weren’t rosy -- they were in response to a growing economy that has led to a record balance in our general fund.
+When I stood here four years ago, we faced a $1 billion deficit. It’s not by accident that today, we’ve got a $1 billion surplus.
+Arizona weathered the storm. Made tough decisions. Held the line on raising taxes and will continue to hold the line on raising taxes.
+And breaking news: somebody call The Daily Show -- we even own this building again.
+It’s the Arizona way, it’s a winning game plan, and I have no intention of changing course.
+Government didn’t rebuild Arizona. People rebuilt their businesses. They hired and invested. Workers and families rolled up their sleeves.
+So for their sake, let’s make sure we’re on strong footing today and into the future.
+With revenue soaring, some have suggested loosen up, let the good times roll.
+Ladies and gentleman: We’ve seen that movie before, and we know how it ends.
+It wasn’t that long ago that this state racked up a massive tab, went on a spending binge, with no long-term plan of how to pay for any of it. And when the economy tanked -- every one of those false promises evaporated. 
+It was painful, for real people. Let’s learn from the mistakes of the past.
+To the big spenders: On November 6th, the people spoke. They want their teachers paid and their budgets balanced.
+So, the balanced budget I will present to you on Friday fully funds the priorities we know are important -- public safety, child safety, education -- above and beyond inflation. There are some targeted investments in critical areas. But frankly, for a surplus year, this budget is pretty light reading.
+Because I’m proposing that we secure Arizona’s future and prepare responsibly for the unexpected and the inevitable -- by bringing our Rainy Day Fund, to record-breaking balance of one billion dollars.
+If ever there were a way to protect public education, to protect the pay raises our teachers have earned and deserve, to prevent budget gimmicks, band-aids and massive cuts down the line; to avoid tax increases and budget standoffs and government shutdowns -- it’s through this thoughtful, prudent and fiscally-conservative approach.
+Four years ago, as a new governor, I inherited 35,000 hardworking state employees, 40 billion in combined spending, over 200 boards and commissions and 43 plus state agencies. We got to work restructuring a government that should operate at the speed of business.
+We’ve made a lot of progress. We’ve got less bureaucracy, more efficiencies. And still, more can be done. Remember when Andy Tobin worked his way out of a job?
+Well, buckle your seatbelts because there’s going to be a lot more of that as we look to save taxpayer dollars and streamline state government.
+And our dedicated state employees will continue to play a critical role in shaping our direction. We’ll rely on their expertise, and know-how as we apply technology and customer service techniques to further consolidate our government.
+This is another non-partisan issue. It’s not Republican versus Democrat. In our nation’s capitol, both parties are equally guilty for bloated government, spending sprees and unmanageable debt. If anything it’s an Arizona versus Washington, D.C. issue. The federal government is broke, broken and broken-down, and has been for decades. Washington could learn a lot from us.
+When the federal government failed to secure our border, we created the Border Strike Force, combating crime without interrupting trade. 
+We know the value of time, so we reduced wait-times at the MVD.
+Our Department of Child Safety has become a national model and the envy of other states.
+And yes, when congress failed to do their job, we kept the gates of the Grand Canyon open. 
+I’ve spent a lot of time these last four years, making a lot of new friends. I’ve been to every county. In dozens of schools. In our state agencies. Businesses -- large and small. It’s been fun and pretty darn delicious. The chocolate chip cookies at Beyond Bread in Tucson. The Especial at Lute’s Casino in Yuma. And you’ve got to try the pies at The Mogollon Moose out in Payson. Let’s just say you don’t have to guess my new year’s resolution.
+We’ve got great people in this state. Some have been here for generations -- others just got here yesterday.
+And then there are those we said goodbye to last year for the final time. Their memory, and their legacies will live on: 
+Congressman Ed Pastor
+Superintendent of Public Instruction Carolyn Warner
+Treasurer Carol Springer
+Chief Justice Bud Jones
+Senator John McCain
+Others had names we were not familiar with -- their lives cut short in the line of duty. Their service will be honored and remembered all the same:
+Staff Sergeant Maximo Flores
+Chief Warrant Officer Taylor Galvin
+Staff Sergeant Alexander Conrad
+First Sergeant Nicholas Amsberry
+Army Specialist Robert Jones 
+U.S. Deputy Marshal Chase White
+Nogales Police Officer Jesus Cordova
+Salt River Police Officer Clayton Townsend
+Trooper Tyler Edenhofer
+Their ultimate sacrifice reminds us of the sacrifices made every day by our heroes in uniform -- law enforcement, first responders, correctional officers, our National Guard, and military personnel. We salute you. We are proud of you. And we thank you.
+We know that to truly secure Arizona’s future, we can’t do it without you. And we pledge to continue to support and invest in you and your families.
+Ladies and gentlemen of the Legislature -- we’ve got our work cut out for us. But with the leadership here, and the passion and purpose that you and I bring to the issues that face us, I have high hopes and great enthusiasm that this will be our most productive session yet.
+Let’s put party labels aside.
+Let’s put Arizona first.
+Let’s do the things that matter.
+Let’s get to work.
+Thank you and God bless.
+

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+Lt. Gov. Griffin; Speaker Shepherd; President Hendren; Mr. Chief Justice; and honored Members of the General Assembly.
+This is truly an occasion to celebrate. You are celebrating. We are celebrating. It is exciting. But it is also a time to reflect and to set a determined course for the future.
+As part of the celebration, I have my family here today. My wife, Susan; my son Asa III; Sarah and Dave, my daughter and son-in-law; John Paul and Nubia; and Young Seth and Julia. Thank you for being here and a part of this.
+I have four grandchildren here today: Ella Beth, Malcolm, Isabella, and John Pablo. Maybe John Pablo took a leave of absence because he’s young.
+It is a special privilege to have my family here who have been along this journey with me, and it’s important for them to share in this important occasion.
+As we convene today to begin a new term in office, we can rejoice that the election is over. The seasons have changed, and we are now entering the winter of hard work. As we do so, we are reminded that the true purpose of political victory is service.
+A simple but profound phrase: We serve the public. Not a party; not personal interests. We serve the public.
+Some of you may not be aware. You’ve been in my office; maybe you’ve come directly to visit with me. But if you go in the door of my office, and you look left, you will see a box. It is a shoeshine kit. It is in my office, and there’s a plaque on there that says, “This is to remind you of your youth in Gravette.” In Gravette I shined shoes at Johnny’s Barbershop as my first job. I shined shoes for 25 cents and boots for 50 cents, because they were muddy.
+I have that in my office because it reminds me of my roots, and it reminds me of the dignity of work.
+So, members of the General Assembly, during the session, come on by the Governor's office and get your shoes shined.
+As we consider the upcoming session, we also realize very quickly that there is nothing we can do alone. It takes all of us working together for the people of Arkansas.
+And if we toil well and together, then this spring we will be able to see the first fruits of our labor, and in due time, we will enjoy the full harvest when good policy strengthens public confidence; when good policy builds hope; and when good policy serves the cause of justice.
+Today, as is our custom, we began our new leadership with a prayer service at the Mosaic Templars Cultural Center. And justice was one of the themes of that ceremony. Later, we will go out to the public ceremony, and we will have our poet laureate, Jo McDougall, read a poem that I commissioned, on the theme of hope in Arkansas.
+I believe that we will all agree today that Arkansas is an amazing place to live, raise a family, and build our own special future.
+It hasn't always been easy. Arkansans have had our share of challenge and difficulty. The most challenging time was during the Great Depression. During that time, we were poor. But we did not lose population. Our population did not decline. People stayed here because poverty was all over the nation. That was the 1930s.
+But when the economy boomed again after the war, the jobs out of state offered better pay. Between 1940 and 1960, over 150,000 people left our state. Some of our best left for Michigan, California, and Chicago.
+But now that trend is reversed. People are moving to Arkansas from California, Michigan, and Illinois, and we are retaining our homegrown talent. Our population is now over 3 million people and growing every day.
+The lesson is that if people follow opportunity and pursue quality of life, they are going to come to Arkansas. We have it all.
+That is why we work so hard to be competitive in our tax rates; to compete for industry and businesses locating in this state; to build a technology sector; to expand tourism; and to improve access to the arts and to education.
+As evidence of these new opportunities, we have moved more than 65,000 Arkansans over the last four years out of poverty and into work. They have jobs and are making more money. Fewer Arkansans are on Medicaid, and fewer are having to rely upon the important safety net of SNAP and other benefits because they have more opportunity.
+We have also proven that we can lead in entrepreneurship, agriculture, global retail trade, and technology education.
+Before we forge into the future today, it is important to note what we have accomplished together.
+Together, we have reformed our child welfare system. Three years ago, you approved $24 million additional funding for our child welfare programs, and the result is a 30 percent increase in foster beds; the result is 22 percent increase in caseworkers; and the result is nearly 1,000 fewer children in foster care. We initiated the Restore Hope Summit where our faith-based leaders and government partners figured out ways to work together.
+Thank you for making a difference for our children.
+Together, we have reformed our criminal justice system, and as a result, the growth of our prison population has been reduced. Four years ago, we were growing at the rate of 3 percent per year in our prison population. The growth rate has been reduced to 1 percent per year.
+We have invested more in reentry centers to give people a second chance in life. More than 1,200 inmates have graduated through our reentry facilities, and this results in a lower incarceration rate, more people working, and a reduced burden on taxpayers.
+We want to give people a second chance in life after they have paid the penalty for any wrongdoing, and I am proud of our employers who give them a chance!
+One illustration is Steven Edwards. He is an example of a person who got a second chance and is succeeding. Steven was convicted of first-degree murder at the age of 16. He spent nearly 20 years in prison. During that time, he got his GED; he earned a diploma from Ozarka College; and he earned a bachelor's degree through correspondence from Ohio University. Steven became the first inmate in our correction system to accomplish those educational goals while incarcerated.
+The Parole Board gave Steven a second chance and reduced his sentence. He moved to Marion, where his first job out of prison was at an eye-care clinic. A patient heard his story and hired him to teach GED classes at the juvenile center in West Memphis.
+Then he started a lawn-care company with two push mowers from Wal-Mart. Now, he has 80 clients, owns his own home, pays taxes, and tells his story at teen summits.
+Steven Edwards got a second chance. We need to give everyone who is willing to change and contribute that second chance in life.
+Four years ago, we had a scholarship lottery that was declining each year in the amount of scholarships for our students. We transformed the lottery from an independent agency into part of the Department of Finance. The result is that we have cut administrative costs and lottery student scholarships have grown by 26 percent. They have increased from $72 million in 2015 to over $91 million this last year. That’s effective government work that we did together.
+We had an off-course, behind-schedule, and discredited effort to put high-speed internet in our schools. We didn't let it ride; we changed course and built the Arkansas Public School Computer Network. At that time, we became one of only six states in the country to fully deploy the highest broadband internet to every school in our state.
+Together, we have lowered taxes for everyone making less than $75,000 in this state; and we have recruited industry to this state from Sig Sauer in Jacksonville to EnviroTech in Helena/West Helena to Glatfelter in Fort Smith to Conifex in El Dorado and Glenwood, with hundreds more businesses moving here or expanding in our state.
+Together, we have invested in technology education, and as a result, we lead the nation in computer science education of our students. It started with an idea; a modest investment; and legislative support. It now sets an example for states from California to North Carolina.
+Together, we have invested in pre-K education. Our budget for pre-K has increased from $111 million to $114 million in recent years. We rank 17th nationally in spending on pre-K and Number 18 in four-year-old pre-K access; and we rank Number 5 in the nation in terms of three- year-old access to early education.
+Together, we have cut the size and inefficiency of government. We have worked with you to cut the red tape. We repealed over 800 outdated and unnecessary regulations, which makes state government less burdensome to taxpayers and businesses.
+We have reduced the size of the executive branch of state government by more than 1,400 employees. That is a reduction of over 5 percent. This is through improved management practices and attrition, but we can do more.
+Together, we have transformed a wasteful healthcare system to make sure our health care assistance is available to those who need it most. Think about the abuse of Preferred Family Healthcare, which sucked millions of dollars out of Medicaid into the hands of executives. All at the cost of our behavioral-health population.
+It has not been easy, but together, we have changed the rules to reduce waste and the potential for abuse in Medicaid payments.
+And when it comes to the disability waiting list, we did something about it, and for the first time in decades, we provided help to these families and created a way to reduce the waiting list further. This helps families and maximizes the lives of those with disabilities.
+One year ago, I stood in this chamber, and I reported to you on the story of Wendie and Wade Reaves and their daughter, Regan. Today, I want to give you an update. As you remember, Regan was one of the more than 3,000 on the disability waiting list hoping for services to improve their lives. She had been on the list for eight years.
+Then we together allowed $8.5 million every year for those in need of services, Regan was off the list and got the help she needed. Now Regan’s, mom, Wendie, reports she has been able to get a full-time job for the first time since Regan was born. Regan is learning new skills with the help of her waiver worker. Wendy reports that, "The first time Regan learned to wash her hair by herself was a big day."
+What we do in these chambers and in public service makes a difference in the lives of people.
+Together, we have changed our state budget from one that spends it all to one that creates savings for more difficult times. We now have the Long-Term Reserve Fund. The current balance is over $125 million.
+So when it comes to the future, we have an understanding from history that our future is brightest when we embrace the new, and we create growth. Remember, the voters supported us and gave us approval for a growth agenda. We cannot let them down.
+Let's not let this moment in history pass us by, but let us work together for success.
+Let's work together and make history by reversing the trend of high taxes in Arkansas; let’s make history by transforming state government; let’s make history by raising teacher pay to historic levels in our state; and let’s make history by focusing on a growth agenda that allows Arkansans to prosper.
+I have submitted my balanced budget to you, and it includes additional funding for public safety with 30 additional probation and parole officers. It also includes $2.3 million for an increase of 24 new troopers over the next two years.
+The Arkansas State Police is our top law-enforcement agency, and we must support our law enforcement. And Arkansas does.
+Recently, Corporal Clayton McWilliams was severely injured in the line of duty. The citizens of Ashdown had a fundraiser to support Corporal McWilliams, and more than 500 attended and raised over $50,000. Well done, Ashdown!
+The budget includes $60 million allocated for raising the minimum teacher pay by $4,000 over the next four years.
+And recognizing that agriculture is our state's number one industry, my budget includes a much- needed increase in funding of $1.1 million for the Division of Agriculture. It includes $1.5 million increase in budget for University of Arkansas Medical Sciences, as well.
+Our proposed budget includes sufficient funding for programs that provide a critical safety net for our citizens, and that is why it is important to continue funding at $2.5 million per year of our Crisis Stabilization Units. The CSUs. The CSU's provide a treatment option for those suffering from mental illness rather than incarceration or just simply ignoring their needs.
+As you know, we have dramatically increased our numbers in computer science courses in Arkansas. Last school year, we were at about 6,000, and this year we have more than 8,000 students in high school taking computer coding. That is a 30 percent increase.
+One of the key results of this initiative is that more technology companies are locating in Arkansas or are being created here. One of my goals for Arkansas is to be a hub of technology companies that will provide new opportunity and diversity to our economy.
+For that reason, I am calling for the creation of a private sector Technology and Innovation Council. This Innovation Council will bring industry leaders and technology entrepreneurs together to create new energy and support for tomorrow's problem solvers and thought leaders in software design, cyber security, data analytics, blockchain technology, and all those other things that you’re expert in.
+When it comes to our goals for the future, to me it comes down to a growth agenda. I know I talk about that a lot. But it’s a plan for Arkansas that includes more and better paying jobs; increased attainment levels in higher education; a strong diversified economy; and competitive tax rates.
+That is why the third phase of tax cuts is planned for this session. Four years ago, I signed into law the tax cut for the middle-income category. This reduced tax rates for those making between
+$20,000 and $75,000 per year.
+In 2017, we came together and passed the second phase of our overall tax-cut plan with a $50 million reduction for lower income Arkansans. This includes those making less than $20,000 per year.
+At this point, 90 percent of all Arkansas taxpayers have received a tax cut, but we have more to accomplish. I applaud the work and recommendations of the Legislative Task Force that worked for two years in analyzing and making recommendations. While I wanted to flatten the rate for all taxpayers to 5.9 percent over the next 4 years, the task force wisely said we should also simplify the rate structure and to raise the standard deduction for all taxpayers.
+The result is a plan that we call the 2-4-5.9 plan. It will set Arkansas on a path to be competitive with our surrounding states; to attract new investments and talent in our state; and to continue our vigorous economic growth. We will work with you to make sure that this plan reduces taxes, and that we will hold everyone harmless so that no taxpayer will see any tax increase.
+For those who think we need to do more, I remind you that the 2-4-5.9 plan reduces revenue by $47.4 million in the first year; but everyone should also note that in the same year, we will be reducing the grocery tax by $61.1 million, and then the low-income goes into effect, that’s $50 million. So the total tax reductions will be around $158 million.
+For those who are concerned about the tax cuts and meeting the other needs of our state, please note that in the last four years, we have cut taxes carefully. And we have continued to invest in education, in prisons, public safety, and even funding expanded Medicaid in this state. And we have set aside, during that same time, over $125 million in savings. Those commitments remain. Carefulness. Commitment. Meeting our obligations in education and services. But let’s not take our eye off the ball of competitive tax rates in this state.
+Today, we have a budget that allows for tax cuts while investing in the future. We have demonstrated we can get this done. And we will do it again.
+As we think about the last four years and look forward to what the future holds, it is more than fitting that we recognize those who serve our state and nation in the Arkansas National Guard and our military branches. Without their leadership and service, we could not get the job done in terms of security and services in times of natural disaster in our state. Thank you, men and women, for your service.
+Thirty-two years ago, I had the opportunity to meet with President Ronald Reagan in the Oval Office. It was my first time in the White House, so I was trying to memorize everything about it.
+As I was in the oval office, I noticed on the president’s desk two mottos. They caught my attention. One was, "It is amazing what can be accomplished when you don't care who gets the credit." The other motto was a simple phrase: "It can be done."
+When I think about how hard it is to transform government, we need to remind ourselves: "It can be done."
+When I worry about reaching an agreement on a new highway-funding plan: let’s remind ourselves, “It can be done.”
+When we ponder the requirement of a three-fourths vote for lowering and simplifying our income tax rates in Arkansas, let’s remind ourselves: “It can be done.”
+When I look at the need to raise minimum teacher pay in Arkansas, we know: “It can be done,” and it must be done.
+Let me add one phrase as I conclude today’s remarks—one phrase to the president’s desk motto: That is. “Together, it can be done.”
+Thank you, and may God bless this General Assembly, the work ahead, and the people of this Great State.
+

state-of-the-state/speeches/California_SOTS.txt

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+Mr. Speaker, thank you for being a champion for all Californians – and for welcoming Jen and me into your house today.
+Madam Pro Tem – thank you for your commitment to collaboration, which has helped make our first month together so productive.
+I also have the honor of saying for the first time ever in this chamber: thank you Madam Lieutenant Governor for that very kind and short introduction.
+To all the constitutional officers and legislators assembled here today – thank you for your service to our state.
+And let me reassure everyone: our son Dutch is not here. We learned our lesson at the inauguration.
+It was just over four weeks ago that I stood in front of this Capitol and pledged to defend not just the California constitution but the California dream.
+Today, I want to talk about how we can do that together.
+By every traditional measure, the state of our state is strong.
+We have a record-breaking surplus.
+We’ve added 3 million jobs since the depths of the recession.
+Wages are rising.
+We have more scientists, researchers, and engineers, more Nobel laureates, and the finest system of higher education anywhere in the world.
+But along with that prosperity and progress, there are problems that have been deferred for too long and that threaten to put the California dream out of reach for too many.
+We face hard decisions that are coming due.
+The choices we make will shape our future for decades.
+This is what I want to talk about today, as frankly and directly as I can:
+The tough calls we must make together on rail, water, and energy. How we protect migrants, care for seniors, and help the homeless, and how we will tackle the affordability crisis that is coming to define life in this state.
+I won’t pretend to have all the answers. But the only way to find them is to face these issues honestly.
+Let’s start with the fear mongering from the White House about the so-called “emergency” at our border.
+For me, this is an echo from 15 years ago.
+I was a new mayor sitting in the gallery at the State of the Union when President Bush said LGBT Americans should not be able to get married.
+It was an attack on our friends and neighbors, and on California’s values.
+I was so proud to watch brave Californians answer those attacks with love and courage. Phyllis Lyon and Del Martin made history when they were married 15 years ago to this very day.
+Now, just like back then, we must stand up for those maligned, marginalized, and scapegoated.
+Because last week, we heard another president stand up at the State of the Union and offer a vision of an America fundamentally at odds with California values.
+He described a country where inequality doesn’t seem to be a problem, where climate change doesn’t exist, and where the greatest threat we face comes from families seeking asylum.
+Just last night, he went down to El Paso and said it again.
+Let us state the facts. We are currently experiencing the lowest number of border crossings since 1971.
+In California, like our nation, our undocumented population is at its lowest level in more than a decade.
+Some 550,000 fewer in our state alone.
+Immigrants, both those here legally and those without documentation, commit crime at a lower rate than native-born citizens.
+And those families, women and children, seeking asylum at our borders, are doing so lawfully.
+Those are the facts. The border “emergency” is a manufactured crisis and California will not be part of this political theater.
+We’re not backing down. Just yesterday, I gave the National Guard a new mission – one that will refocus on the real threats facing our state.
+A third of our forces currently on the border will be redeployed to help prepare for the upcoming fire season by joining CAL FIRE in prevention and suppression. Work, ironically, the federal government curtailed during the recent shutdown.
+Another third will boost the National Guard’s statewide Counterdrug Task Force by redeploying up north to go after illegal cannabis farms, many of which are run by cartels, are devastating our pristine forests, and are increasingly becoming fire hazards themselves.
+The remaining third of our Guard will focus on stopping criminals smuggling drugs and guns through existing border checkpoints.
+A wall that stretches thousands of miles through the wilderness will do nothing to stop this threat.
+This is our answer to the White House: No more division, no more xenophobia and no more nativism. We suffered enough from that in the nineties with Props 187 and 227.
+Next, let’s level about High-Speed Rail. I have nothing but respect for Governor Brown’s and Governor Schwarzenegger’s ambitious vision. I share it. And there’s no doubt that our state’s economy and quality of life depend on improving transportation.
+But let’s be real. The project, as currently planned, would cost too much and take too long. There’s been too little oversight and not enough transparency.
+Right now, there simply isn’t a path to get from Sacramento to San Diego, let alone from San Francisco to LA. I wish there were.
+However, we do have the capacity to complete a high-speed rail link between Merced and Bakersfield.
+I know that some critics will say this is a “train to nowhere.” But that’s wrong and offensive. The people of the Central Valley endure the worst air pollution in America as well as some of the longest commutes. And they have suffered too many years of neglect from policymakers here in Sacramento. They deserve better.
+High-Speed Rail is much more than a train project. It’s about economic transformation and unlocking the enormous potential of the Valley.
+We can align our economic and workforce development strategies, anchored by High-Speed Rail, and pair them with tools like opportunity zones, to form the backbone of a reinvigorated Central Valley economy.
+Merced, Fresno, Bakersfield, and communities in between are more dynamic than many realize.
+The Valley may be known around the world for agriculture, but there is another story ready to be told. A story of a region hungry for investment, a workforce eager for more training and good jobs, Californians who deserve a fair share of our state’s prosperity.
+Look, we will continue our regional projects north and south. We’ll finish Phase 1 environmental work. We’ll connect the revitalized Central Valley to other parts of the state, and continue to push for more federal funding and private dollars. But let’s just get something done.
+For those who want to walk away from this whole endeavor, I offer you this:
+Abandoning high-speed rail entirely means we will have wasted billions of dollars with nothing but broken promises and lawsuits to show for it.
+And by the way, I am not interested in sending $3.5 billion in federal funding that was allocated to this project back to Donald Trump.
+Nor am I interested in repeating the same old mistakes.
+Today I am ordering new transparency measures.
+We’re going to hold contractors and consultants accountable to explain how taxpayer dollars are spent – including change orders, cost overruns, even travel expenses. It’s going online, for everybody to see.
+You’re also going to see some governance changes, starting with my pick for the next chair of the High-Speed Rail Authority, Lenny Mendonca, my Economic Development Director. Because, at the end of the day, transportation and economic development must go hand in hand.
+We also need a fresh approach when it comes to meeting California’s massive water challenges.
+We have a big state with diverse water needs. Cities that need clean water to drink, farms that need irrigation to keep feeding the world, fragile ecosystems that must be protected.
+Our water supply is becoming less reliable because of climate change. And our population is growing because of a strong economy. That means a lot of demand on an unpredictable supply. There are no easy answers.  But let me be direct about where I stand:
+I do not support the Water Fix as currently configured. Meaning, I do not support the twin tunnels. But we can build on the important work that’s already been done. That’s why I do support a single tunnel.
+The status quo is not an option.
+We need to protect our water supply from earthquakes and rising sea levels, preserve delta fisheries, and meet the needs of cities and farms.
+We have to get past the old binaries, like farmers versus environmentalists, or North versus South. Our approach can’t be “either/or.”  It must be “yes/and.”
+Conveyance and efficiency. And recycling projects like we’re seeing in Southern California’s Met Water District, expanding floodplains in the Central Valley, groundwater recharge, like farmers are doing in Fresno County. We need a portfolio approach to building water infrastructure and meeting long-term demand.
+To help bring this balance, I’m appointing a new chair of the California water board, Joaquin Esquivel.
+Our first task is to cross the finish line on real agreements to save the Sacramento-San Joaquin Bay Delta.
+We must get this done – for the resilience of our mighty rivers, the stability of our agriculture sector, and the millions who depend on this water every day.
+Now, let’s talk honestly about clean drinking water.
+Just this morning, more than a million Californians woke up without clean water to bathe in or drink. Some schools have shut down drinking fountains due to contamination. Some poorer communities, like those I visited recently in Stanislaus County, are paying more for undrinkable water than Beverly Hills pays for its pristine water.
+This is a moral disgrace and a medical emergency. There are literally hundreds of water systems across the state contaminated by lead, arsenic, or uranium.
+Solving this crisis demands sustained funding. It demands political will.
+Next, let’s talk about our energy future – and PG&E’s bankruptcy.
+We are all frustrated and angry that it’s come to this. PG&E didn’t do enough to secure dangerous equipment or plan for the future. My administration will work to make sure PG&E upholds its obligations. I have convened a team of the nation’s best bankruptcy lawyers and financial experts from the energy sector.
+They will work with my strike team to develop a comprehensive strategy that we will present within 60 days. We will ensure continued access to safe affordable power. We will seek justice for fire victims, fairness for employees, and protection for ratepayers. We will continue to invest in safety, and we will never waver on achieving the nation’s most ambitious clean energy goals.
+The problems we face are far greater than PG&E. Climate change is putting pressure on all of our utilities—public and private, north and south. Edison and San Diego Gas & Electric both recently had their credit ratings downgraded.
+This pressure comes at a time when the entire energy market is evolving. From roof-top solar and wind generation to smart grid technologies. From Community Choice Aggregators to direct access service. More and more of our electricity now is procured outside of investor-owned utilities.
+Regulations and insurance practices created decades ago didn’t anticipate these changes. We must map out longer-term strategies, not just for the utilities’ future, but for California’s energy future, to ensure that the cost of climate change doesn’t fall on those least able to afford it.
+Now let me turn to education.
+The teachers’ strike in LA is over — but the need to confront its underlying causes has only just begun. Understaffed schools, overcrowded classrooms, pension pressures, the achievement gap, and charter school growth — these stressors are showing up all over the state, right here in Sacramento, in Fresno, and Oakland.
+Districts across the state are challenged to balance budgets even in this strong economy, and at a time when we’re spending more on schools than ever before.
+Seven years ago, we invested $47.3 billion in our schools. Next year, with your support, we’ll invest more than $80 billion — that includes $576 million for special education.
+But it’s not enough. We’re still 41st in the nation in per pupil funding. Something needs to change. We need to have an honest conversation about how we fund our schools at a state and local level.
+But at the same time, let’s remember that the measure of a school system’s excellence is more than the sum of its budgets.
+We need clear and achievable standards of transparency, more information sharing, and accountability for all public schools … traditional and charter.
+We need a new President for the State Board of Education, to lead the way and work alongside State Superintendent Tony Thurmond, and to lift up all of our students. And my pick for that position is nationally recognized education expert Linda Darling-Hammond.
+There’s another urgent moral issue we must confront: the homelessness epidemic.
+So many of California’s homeless – whether they’re families, veterans, victims of rent spikes, or survivors fleeing domestic violence – are invisible and left behind by our society. Too many on the streets are suffering from bipolar disorder, schizophrenia or paranoia. Many are self-medicating with drug or alcohol as a consequence. Our homelessness crisis has increasingly become a public health crisis.
+Last year, there was a Hepatitis-A outbreak in San Diego. Recently, there was an outbreak of Syphilis in Sonoma. And now, typhus in Los Angeles. Typhus. That’s a Medieval disease. In California. In 2019.
+Mayors, county supervisors, and city councils around the state are working hard to reduce homelessness and its underlying causes. We’ve got to have their backs.
+But they can’t do it alone. To help lead this discussion, I’m appointing a new Commission on Homelessness & Supportive Housing, led by Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg.
+With your support, let’s put half a billion dollars into immediate funding for navigation centers — emergency shelters with services on site, and another hundred million for Whole Person Care to replace a fragmented approach to services with one that’s more integrated and comprehensive.
+And while cities and counties are on the front lines, this challenge will only be solved regionally. We need to work together as a state to focus on prevention, rapid rehousing, mental health, and more permanent supportive housing — because while shelter solves sleep, only permanent supportive housing solves homelessness.
+Now, let’s talk about something too often overlooked:
+The Golden State is getting grayer. We need to get ready for the major demographic challenge headed our way.
+For the first time in our history, older Californians will outnumber young children. Over the next decade, our statewide senior population will increase by 4 million. In 25 years, it will double. And more than half will require some form of long-term care.
+Growing old knows no boundaries – aging doesn’t care what race you are, your economic status, or if you’re single with no other family support.
+I’ve had some personal – and painful – experience with this recently. I lost my father over the holidays, after years of declining physical health and dementia. He was determined to live out his days with dignity. He also happened to be a retired public official with a pension and a support circle of family and friends.
+Even with all those advantages, it was a daily challenge to meet his needs so he could live in place and maintain a good quality of life. Millions of Californians share a similar story, and the numbers will only grow.
+It’s time for a new Master Plan on Aging. It must address: person-centered care, the patchwork of public services, social isolation, bed-locked seniors in need of transportation, the nursing shortage, and demand for In-Home Supportive Services that far outpaces its capacity.
+And we can’t talk about aging without focusing on Alzheimer’s.
+Too many of us have seen the crushing grip this disease has on our loved ones – and especially on our wives and mothers – two-thirds of new Alzheimer’s cases are women.
+Today, I am launching the Alzheimer’s Prevention and Preparedness Task Force, bringing the most renowned scientists and thinkers together to develop first-of-its-kind research in this area. It will be headed by a leading advocate for families dealing with Alzheimer’s, our former first lady, Maria Shriver. She is here today and we are grateful for her continued service.
+Tying together many of the hard challenges we face is the broader cost crisis. In a recent survey, 61 percent of young adults in California said they can’t afford to live here. California should never be a place where only the well-off can lead a good life.
+It starts with housing, perhaps our most overwhelming challenge right now. We all know the problem. There’s too much demand and too little supply. And that is happening in large part because too many cities and counties aren’t even planning for how to build. Some are flat out refusing to do anything at all.
+That’s why I have committed $750 million for a major new incentive package for communities to do the right thing. $250 million in support to cities and counties to update their housing plans, revamp their zoning process, and get more housing entitled. $500 million more in grants when they achieve these milestones.
+If we want a California for All, we have to build housing for all.
+I want to support local governments that do what’s right, like Anaheim and Santa Rosa. But there must be accountability for those that don’t.
+Two weeks ago, the state of California sued the city of Huntington Beach for failing to meet its obligations on affordable housing. Let me tell you, as a former mayor, the last thing I wanted to do was start my term by suing a city. But they left us no choice.
+This isn’t about picking on Huntington Beach, they happened to be first because of a statute of limitations. There are 47 other cities across California that are not complying with their planning requirements in one way or another.
+Some cities are trying, like Clovis. But others are not, like Wheatland, Huntington Park, and Montebello. I am inviting these cities’ leaders to sit down next week for a candid conversation. I don’t intend to file suit against all 47, but I’m not going to preside over neglect and denial. These cities need to summon the political courage to build their fair share of housing.
+I also want to acknowledge other factors beyond city planning that have limited our ability to provide housing.
+In recent years, we’ve expedited judicial review on CEQA for professional sports. It’s time we do the same thing for housing.
+I want to applaud the efforts by home builders and labor leaders, who together are working to forge a compromise to accelerate production.
+But there is no way we can achieve our ambitious targets unless we train a skilled workforce big enough to meet this challenge … and those workers deserve wages high enough to support their families.
+Let’s encourage this progress, bring more people to the table, and get something big done. And while we’re at it, let’s not forget the commitments many of us made after Prop 10 failed last year.
+The pressures on vulnerable renters didn’t go away after the election. We need new rules to stabilize neighborhoods and prevent evictions, without putting small landlords out of business. I want the best ideas from everyone in this chamber. Here is my promise to you, get me a good package on rent stability this year and I will sign it.
+Next, if we’re serious about taming the cost crisis we need affordable healthcare for all Californians.
+Our ability to invest in everything we care about is constrained by the pressure of rising health care costs. It impacts everything else we want to do.
+The White House is laser-focused on destroying the Affordable Care Act. The vandalism they’ve already done to the individual mandate has had consequences. This year’s Covered California premiums increased almost twice as much as we expected. This is just what we feared, and it’s just what they wanted.
+That’s why, when it comes to the individual mandate, California must act where Washington failed.
+If we do, we will be able to deepen subsidies for those earning up to $48,000 and extend subsidies to families earning up to $150,000, something no other state in America has done. We all know California has among the lowest Medicaid reimbursement rates in America.
+That’s why our budget devotes more than $1 billion to increase rates and address the provider shortage.
+This investment will also allow us to increase access to preventative health measures like -immunizations, trauma screenings, and mental health services. And it provides $100 million for reproductive health and family planning.
+As we pursue the long-term goal of single payer financing, let us make a down-payment now by expanding Medi-Cal coverage to all Californians up to age 26, regardless of their immigration status.
+But access is only part of the solution. Cost is another.
+We must address rising costs throughout the system, like the consolidation of hospitals and other health providers, which limits patient choice and makes care more expensive. And we must continue to bring down the cost of prescription drugs.
+My first act as Governor was to lay the foundation for a single-purchasing system – the largest such system in the nation, which will save hundreds of millions of dollars a year for the people of California.
+I want to thank President Trump for calling attention to prescription drug prices in his State of the Union. Yes, you heard that right. I hope he follows through.  After all, this should be a bipartisan issue. But with or without the Federal government, California will lead.
+Finally, we must ask ourselves, how do we create a future with more good jobs and higher wages.
+Because when it comes to making life in California more affordable, cost is only one side of the equation, the other is income.
+Despite our rising wages, working families in California today barely earn more than they did a decade ago. Many working parents are making less than their parents did at the same age.
+That’s why, with your support, we will provide a cost of living refund by expanding the earned income tax credit to a million more Californians who need it the most.  For families with kids under the age of six, they’ll see their benefit go up by as much as three times.
+But, in an economy where the world of work is in a perpetual state of flu, where workers are too often displaced, devalued and disconnected from the social safety net, we must also think bigger.
+It’s time to develop a new modern compact for California’s changing workforce. This is much bigger than Dynamex.
+California needs a comprehensive statewide strategy to uplift and upskill our workers, to ensure technological advancements in AI, blockchain, big data, are creating jobs, not destroying them, and to reform our institutions so that more workers have an ownership stake in their sweat equity.
+We will appoint a new Commission on California’s Workforce & Future of Work. We will bring together leaders from labor and business – both the public and private sectors. Their assignment is to come up with new ideas to expand worker opportunity without extinguishing innovation or flexibility.
+California is proud to be home to technology companies determined to change the world. But companies that make billions of dollars collecting, curating and monetizing our personal data have a duty to protect it. Consumers have a right to know and control how their data is being used.
+I applaud this legislature for passing the first-in-the-nation digital privacy law last year.  But California’s consumers should also be able to share in the wealth that is created from their data. And so I’ve asked my team to develop a proposal for a new Data Dividend for Californians, because we recognize that your data has value and it belongs to you.
+Now, we’ve covered a lot of ground today, but there is so much more that deserves our focus. Climate change.  Reforming our tax code and our criminal justice system. Major initiatives like paid family leave, universal pre-school, free community college, re-imagining the DMV…there’s so much more. And I’ll be talking a lot about those issues in the coming months.
+At my inauguration, I quoted the Sermon on the Mount about a house that did not fall in the face of floods and storms, because it was founded upon a rock.
+I promised that, together, “We will build one house for one California.”
+We’ve started drawing the blueprint for that house, and together we will finish it.
+This goes deeper than budget numbers or program details. This is about the bonds between us as human beings.
+As St. Paul said, “we are many parts but one body.” We are all diminished when one of us struggles to lead a good life.
+The problems we face are as hard as they come, and decades in the making. But I truly believe we have the tools to solve them.  We have the technology and the know-how.
+Most importantly, we have the generosity of our people.
+Remember the story of the registered nurse in Paradise who was sitting in traffic, trying to escape the fire, as flames started to engulf his car. He thought, “this is it.” He recorded a goodbye video for his family. Then a miracle occurred: a bulldozer cleared burning cars out of his path. At that point, he could have driven away as fast as possible. That’s what a lot of people would have done.
+Instead, he turned his car around and drove straight to the hospital in the middle of town, where he worked in the ICU.  He and his colleagues started treating injured people.  Then the hospital caught fire. They moved patients to a helipad 100 yards away as fast as they could.
+Every single one of them was safely evacuated.
+When he was asked why he did this – why he drove back through the fire when he could have saved himself – he shrugged and said, “This is what we do.”
+His name is Allyn Pierce and he’s here with us today.
+Allyn is right. Taking care of each other, showing courage when it matters most – this is what we do in California.
+Yes, we have so much left to do.
+But I believe in the remarkable talent assembled here.
+I believe in our state. And I know that the best is yet to come.
+Thank you.
+

state-of-the-state/speeches/Colorado_SOTS.txt

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+As we confront historic social and technological change throughout our country and our state, let me start by saying what an honor it is to serve as Colorado’s 43rd Governor.
+Before I deliver the state of the state, I’d like to deliver a message to every kid in Colorado. In our state, you can do anything you can dream. Here in Colorado, we celebrate our differences, embrace our uniqueness, and believe that what you look like and who you love matters less than what you ARE like and what you do for your community. Be proud of who you are, because your future is FULL of opportunity.
+To all the new members of the Legislature, welcome.
+To all the returning members of the Legislature, thank you.
+And a special shout-out to the record-setting number of women who are now serving in this building.
+It’s only fitting that the very first state to elect any women TO its State House is now leading the way with a majority of women IN its State House. From Clara Cressingham, Carrie Holly, and Frances Klock, to Pat Schroeder, Polly Baca, Brianna Titone and every other trailblazing woman in this chamber today — Colorado’s barrier-breaking legacy is something we should all be proud of.
+President Garcia,
+Speaker Becker,
+Leader Holbert,
+Leader Neville,
+Members of the General Assembly,
+Lieutenant Governor Primavera,
+Lieutenant Governor Lynne,
+Chairman Harold Cuthair of the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe,
+Councilman Adam Red of the Southern Ute Indian Tribe,
+Attorney General Weiser,
+Secretary of State Griswold,
+Treasurer Young,
+Secretary Salazar,
+Members of the State Board of Education,
+Justices of the Colorado Supreme Court,
+Denver Mayor Hancock,
+Members of the Cabinet,
+My staff,
+First Gentleman Marlon Reis:
+Thank you all for being here.
+Thank you all for your support and good wishes over the past few days.
+And thank you for all that you have done and all that you will do for Colorado.
+Years ago I sat over there with the State Board of Education and I never thought I’d be up here like this, but hey, this is Colorado!
+I hope you will all join me in thanking Colorado’s military members serving with honor across the globe, the National Guard troops who keep us safe, and the Colorado first responders who save lives in our communities day after day.
+We are grateful for your service.
+I would also like to specifically acknowledge Ute Mountain Ute Tribe Chairman Cuthair and Southern Ute Indian Tribe Councilman Red who are here today. Dianne and I are eager to work with both of you in the years ahead, and to continue strengthening our government-to-government relationships.
+I stand here today with the big shoes of Governor Hickenlooper to fill. But, rest assured, I’ve got my blue sneakers on and I’m ready to keep us moving forward.
+And I stand here incredibly proud to have Lieutenant Governor Dianne Primavera, a healthcare leader, a former legislator, and one of the toughest people on the planet, working with me to help shape Colorado’s future.
+The state of our state is solid. It is strong. It is successful. It is daring. And it is bold.
+While my predecessor and this Legislature should get credit for so much of Colorado’s progress, our strength lies first and foremost in the bold and pioneering spirit of our people.
+Here in Colorado, we climb the highest mountains. We look far past the horizons. We dream, we dare, and we do.
+That spirit has been alive and well under the leadership of Governor Hickenlooper as we overcame tough economic times to build one of the strongest state economies in American history.
+But I’m not here just to talk about the current state of the state and all the incredible achievements of the past few years.
+I’m here to talk about the state of what’s yet to come.
+Because in the days, months, and years ahead, we are here to do more than build on the achievements of the past...
+We are here to boldly forge a new path into the future. To make change work for us, rather than against us.
+It’s true that our economy is strong. From agriculture and outdoor recreation to aerospace, bioscience, energy, and cannabis, we’ve watched industries succeed and create jobs.
+We’ve become a model for how we can put politics aside and work together.
+But, despite all of our progress, far too many people are either barely getting by, or falling behind.
+Our administration's mission and mandate from the voters begins with tackling the everyday challenges that Coloradans face because of the rising costs of living...
+Providing every single child with quality early education;
+Finally lowering the outrageous cost of health care;
+Creating good-paying jobs in the clean-energy sector that can never be outsourced; and
+Achieving true tax reform that reduces taxes for hardworking Coloradans instead of giving breaks to special interests while forcing families to pay more.
+Together, we’re going to build an economy where Coloradans from all walks of life don’t just get by, but thrive...
+Whether it’s the small business owner in Eagle County whose health care costs are threatening their Colorado dream…
+The rancher in Fort Morgan whose livelihood is threatened by drought...
+Or the parents struggling to pay $400 a month for kindergarten tuition in Douglas County.
+To these Coloradans across our state, I want to say: our administration will work tirelessly to make our state work better for you — so that you can earn a good living and share in our special way of life. And I know that this Legislature will do the same, because every single one of us wants to see every single Coloradoan succeed. A Colorado for all.
+Part of what defines our Colorado way of life are the values that we live by — values like equality under the law, honesty, the sanctity of basic human rights, and a free market for exchange of goods and services. We see the erosion of these values in some quarters of our nation today — which makes them all the more precious.
+Here in Colorado, we treat each other with respect. We reject efforts to intimidate immigrant families, or tear children from their parents’ arms. We don’t tolerate bigotry or discrimination of any kind. And we don’t accept hostage-taking as a form of governance.
+Last summer, Marlon and I were having a conversation with our son Caspian, who was 6 at the time. He wanted to know the difference between all the various political parties — Democrat, Republican, Libertarian, Green, and so on. And at the end, he went over to his 4-year-old sister Cora and asked her, “What political party are you in?” And without missing a beat she answered, “the Happy Birthday Party.”
+It was one of those moments every parent experiences, where your child shows you wisdom you can’t get from most adults. And it’s wisdom that will guide our approach to problem-solving in this administration.
+Because what truly matters is not the letter next to our name or which side of the aisle we sit on. What matters is: will our ideas be good for Colorado? Will they reduce health care costs? Will they improve our schools and help our kids get a strong start? Will they expand economic opportunity to more Colorado families?
+This doesn’t mean any of us should abandon our values. What it does mean is that mere partisanship will never stop us from embracing good ideas or taking bold action. The people of Colorado elected each of us to deliver, not to grandstand.
+So, in the spirit of putting problem-solving over partisanship, let’s work together.
+We all agree that every child deserves a great education, so let’s start there.
+If we want Colorado to be a place where every person can build a great life for themselves, where our economy can continue to grow fueled by a skilled workforce, then our schools need to provide students with the tools they need to succeed.
+One of the great joys of my life was starting the New America School and the Academy of Urban Learning — public charter schools for at-risk youth — and seeing how kids who had fallen through the cracks in our education system could take off and go on to achieve amazing things once they were given the opportunity.
+It’s time for us to build a Colorado education system where every single child — regardless of their zip code — gets a great education that prepares them for a bright future. And it begins with preschool and kindergarten.
+Our top priority this session is empowering every single Colorado community to offer free, full-day kindergarten, while expanding free preschool to 8,000 more Colorado children.
+Our state’s strong economic growth means we have the power to do all of this right now without taking resources away from other areas of the budget. As Uncle Ben once said to Spiderman, “With great power comes great responsibility.” I know that together we can fulfill this responsibility, which many of you have been working on for years: Free Kindergarten Now.
+Making full-day kindergarten available and accessible for all children sets kids up to be more successful in school and throughout their lives — improving performance, narrowing achievement gaps, leading to earlier identification and intervention for those with special needs, even increasing high school graduation rates down the road.
+And all of us will share in those benefits. It will save taxpayer money in the long run by increasing incomes and decreasing the achievement gap. It will strengthen families, our communities, and our economy.
+But today, the state only funds half-day kindergarten, leaving individual districts and parents holding the bag for the rest. And it is not cheap. Most districts charge tuition to pay for the extra half day. Some offer it free to students, but only by cutting funding for other priorities like teacher salaries or class size.
+As a result, kindergarten in Colorado is a picture of inequality, where some students attend free full-day kindergarten, some must pay tuition, and other families get left behind because they cannot afford the cost.
+In Colorado, families can pay upwards of $500 per month to enroll their kids in full-day kindergarten. That’s money that can instead go toward a good home, health care, a college fund, retirement savings, starting a small business, or simply a nice vacation once in a while.
+Folks, Oklahoma figured all this out a long time ago. And with all due respect to our wonderful neighbors in the Sooner state, if they can do it, so can we.
+What we are proposing is the single biggest expansion of early childhood education in Colorado history. It is an essential first step in our broader strategies for both early childhood and K-12 education, setting kids up for success right from the start. In fact, it will free up resources to get closer to an even more ambitious goal: full-day preschool available for every Colorado child, which the families of this state deserve, and which we are committed to achieving.
+And I want to be clear: this is not a mandate, either for parents or for school districts. But for parents who believe public preschool and full-day kindergarten are the best option for their kids — and for school districts who want to offer these vital opportunities to families — we will do everything possible to make it happen.
+School districts, education nonprofits, and bipartisan state legislators have done amazing work to raise public awareness of the benefits of full-day kindergarten and make it a top priority in this state.
+Now it’s time for us to finally cross the finish line. Free, full-day kindergarten by fall of 2019. Let’s get it done.
+Colorado has the fastest growing economy in the country. It’s time our students, families, and dedicated teachers started sharing in that success.
+And here are three other areas we can make real progress on together, if we truly value our students — and their teachers.
+First, our educator shortage is having a devastating effect on public schools across this state. We’re 3,000 teachers down from where we need to be, and schools in rural communities are feeling the brunt of the impact.
+We should offer student loan relief for teachers who serve in these high-need areas. It’ll enable more schools to make good on their potential to provide our children with the very best education. And it’ll help more hardworking educators afford daily life as indispensable members of the communities where they teach.
+Every day, we entrust Colorado’s educators with our children’s safety, with helping them grow into successful, compassionate adults. Educators deserve our respect. They deserve our gratitude. And they deserve to be compensated as the hardworking professionals they are.
+Second, more than 750,000 Coloradans are carrying over $19 billion dollars in student loan debt. We can lessen this burden by bringing more transparency to the student-loan process and providing basic consumer protection for borrowers.
+And a third area where we can have a major impact is graduation rates. While we have made some progress over the past few years, Colorado still only ranks in the middle of all states with our graduation rate from high school.
+Colorado’s Education Leadership Council has done admirable work shining a light on this problem and examining how it can be solved.
+We need to invest in proven programs that prevent students from falling through the cracks, and work with local communities to provide students the support they need to succeed in high school and in life.
+This means recognizing that it is hard for a student to learn if they are hungry, homeless, or struggling with trauma or mental illness.
+I know there are many thoughtful and innovative proposals here in the legislature to improve behavioral health resources in our schools. I look forward to working with you to help our most vulnerable students overcome the barriers they face through no fault of their own, and graduate from high school as healthy adults.
+In the 21st century economy, a high school degree is more important than ever for economic success. If we are going to make sure students are prepared for careers in the booming areas of Colorado’s economy – fields like technology and renewable energy — then the first step is to look at innovative solutions for reducing dropout rates.
+When our students rise, our state rises even more.
+Another top priority — one that we know has lit a fire under Americans here in our state and across this country — is health care. Governor Hickenlooper and this Legislature did admirable, bipartisan work expanding access to affordable health care in Colorado — overseeing the expansion of Medicaid, expanding access to vital reproductive health services, and cutting the uninsured rate to an unprecedented six-and-a-half percent.
+But despite all the progress we’ve made, health care costs are still rising today, and families are still being ripped off.
+It’s time for us to build a health care system where no person has to choose between losing their life savings and losing their life. It’s time for Coloradans to pay a fair price for the prescription drugs they need. It’s time for folks experiencing mental illness or addiction to get treatment, not jail time.
+And we must work to make Colorado as family-friendly as possible. As a first step, with our budget package coming on the 15th, I will be including a formal request to provide paid parental leave for all state employees. And together, we should take comprehensive action. It’s time to finally establish a paid family and medical leave program in Colorado — so that employees aren’t having to choose between keeping their paycheck and caring for their child, a sick relative, an aging parent, or themselves.
+Look, if all this were easy, it would have been done already. Progress is always hard, and overcoming these challenges will be a long journey. But the people of Colorado need and deserve nothing less, and our work begins now.
+Another immediate step we’re taking is the creation of the first-ever Office of Saving People Money on Health Care.
+We aren’t giving this office a fancy name to make it SOUND important. Instead we’re giving it a simple name because it IS important.
+Led by Lieutenant Governor Primavera, The Office of Saving People Money on Health Care will form the beating heart of our efforts to reduce patient costs for hospital stays and expenses, improve price transparency, lower the price of prescription drugs, and make health insurance more affordable.
+And let me say a bit about why Dianne is the very best person to take on this challenge.
+Many of you in this chamber had the opportunity to serve with Dianne during her four terms in the State House, and you saw her at work as one of the fiercest, most knowledgeable patient advocates we’ve ever had.
+As a young woman raising her two young kids, Dianne was diagnosed with breast cancer and told she had less than five years to live. She knows firsthand how our healthcare system makes getting sick even harder by robbing people of their financial security at the same time they’re struggling to reclaim their health.
+Dianne survived cancer, got well, worked hard for Colorado AND raised two amazing daughters who are here with us today.
+She dedicated her life to helping others get quality, affordable health care and we just couldn’t ask for anyone better to lead this administration’s health care efforts.
+Dianne is a fighter and she is living proof that, with strength, courage, and resilience, we can overcome all obstacles and solve any challenge.
+And as Dianne has said, health care is something that affects everyone, no matter our political beliefs. It is not a partisan issue.
+We must work to get a grip on the opioid epidemic, which has taken thousands of lives, devastated our communities, and stretched our resources to the breaking point. In 2017 alone, more than 550 Coloradans died because they overdosed on either prescription or illicit opioids. I look forward to working with legislators from both parties on solutions that focus on both addiction prevention and access to effective treatment.
+And we must tackle the outrageous health care costs facing Coloradans — particularly in rural and mountain counties. There’s no reason for anybody to lose their savings or their home simply trying to keep up with rising health care costs. And there is no reason a family in Glenwood Springs or Gunnison should pay twice as much for health care as a family in Denver.
+We’ll empower the Division of Insurance to protect consumers and support rural and mountain communities working to lower their health care costs.
+We’ll establish a reinsurance program to reduce costs and save Coloradans money. This is a proven solution to reduce health care costs that has worked in other states, and it’s one we should embrace in Colorado.
+And finally, we will address the appalling costs of prescription drugs. Canada has the same drugs from the same manufacturing plants that we have here in the United States — but often at one-half, one-third, yes, even one-quarter of the cost.
+Together with the Legislature, I look forward to setting up a way for Colorado to safely import prescription drugs from Canada. The burden that prescription drug costs place on families is simply too crushing for us not to act boldly.
+Our ultimate objective is to bring universal, high-quality, affordable care to every Colorado family. We know that won’t happen overnight, but the work we will do together in this legislative session will put us on the right path and bring us closer to our goal.
+Together we can save Coloradans money, help small businesses across the state, and clear away barriers that prevent Coloradans from receiving needed life-saving health care.
+Now, I want to say something that I know has total and complete bipartisan agreement in this room: Colorado is the best state in the nation, and frankly, it isn’t even close.
+It’s our job to keep it that way.
+Here in Colorado, we pride ourselves on our unbeatable quality of life and the breathtaking beauty of the state we proudly call home. Protecting our special way of life for ourselves and future generations is one of the most sacred responsibilities we all share.
+Not only do our majestic mountains and plains provide endless opportunities to enjoy our natural world with friends and family and to find solitude — they also are vital to our economic success.
+Colorado is now proudly the home of the Outdoor Retailer Show, a testament to our collective commitment to public lands and the outdoor recreation economy. We will continue to defend our public lands, promote access to outdoor recreation, and stand up for the outdoor industry’s 230,000 and growing Colorado jobs.
+While the outdoor recreation economy continues to expand opportunities in rural Colorado, we must also double down on supporting Colorado’s rich farming and ranching tradition.
+Though our agriculture exports have nearly quadrupled over the last two decades, the last few years have been difficult for farmers and ranchers. Volatile commodities markets, a damaging trade war from Washington, an increasingly serious water shortage — are all making life harder for the men and women of our agriculture industry.
+We need to make sure today’s farmers and ranchers, and tomorrow’s, have the tools to succeed. And I couldn’t be more excited that our nominee for Agriculture Commissioner, Kate Greenberg, will be the first woman to hold the position. Kate has spent her career focused on the future of farming rather than the past, which is exactly what today’s challenges call for.
+The lifeblood of our agriculture industry is water — which is why we must commit to a bipartisan and sustainable funding source for the Colorado Water Plan. Governor Hickenlooper, along with the leadership of John Stulp, did extraordinary work bringing together a coalition of Coloradans from all corners of our state to create the Water Plan. Now we’re going to do our part by implementing it.
+We will also partner with organizations like the Rocky Mountain Farmers Union’s Co-Op Development Center and others to reduce barriers to employee ownership and grow wages in the agriculture sector. And we’ll work with the Rural Colorado Venture Capital Fund to expand access to capital and help the next generation of farmers thrive.
+And we’ll make good on the promise of industrial hemp. With our world-class universities like Colorado State and Adams State, which are at the forefront of hemp innovation, and with the leading hemp manufacturers and cultivators already here, we will seize the opportunity to make Colorado the national leader in industrial hemp production.
+And when we talk about protecting Colorado’s way of life, we need to talk about climate change.
+Climate change is a scientific reality. It’s real. There’s no pretending otherwise for farmers and ranchers who are facing historic water shortages. There’s no pretending otherwise for the 46,000 women and men who work in Colorado’s ski industry and see their jobs threatened by decreased snowpack.
+And there will be no pretending otherwise in this administration. We’re going to confront this challenge head-on — not only because we must, but because we want to take advantage of the huge opportunities associated with being a leader in the growing green-energy economy.
+I launched my campaign for Governor in Pueblo at an all-solar coffee-roasting small business, just 10 miles from the Vestas Wind Turbine factory, which employs 800 Coloradans today.
+I did so to demonstrate that our commitment to reaching 100% renewable energy by 2040 is not just about climate change. It’s about saving money for consumers with cheaper energy, and it’s about making sure the good-paying green jobs of the future are created right here in Colorado.
+Today the work begins setting Colorado on course to reach that goal.
+That means modernizing both our grid infrastructure and our regulatory processes to ensure all Coloradans are reaping the full suite of benefits associated with swift adoption of renewable energy.
+It means working to electrify our cars and buses and trucks.
+And it means taking advantage of modern technology to use energy more efficiently — cleaning our air and saving consumers money in the process.
+As Governor, my goal is to lead the statewide transition to a clean, sustainable, and growing economy. It is imperative for our climate, our security, our health, and our economic growth for all Coloradans.
+We will lead with policies that support, enable, and accelerate market investment. We will work with stakeholders across Colorado on outcomes-based approaches that promote innovation, and that deliver emissions reductions from all sources, reductions in consumer costs, and sustainable economic growth for communities across Colorado.
+We will build upon significant work and commitment by communities, businesses, and people throughout the state. Today 62,800 people are employed in advanced energy in Colorado. Xcel Energy has committed to achieving 80% carbon reduction by 2030 and 100% carbon-free electricity by 2050. Communities like Pueblo, Summit County, Fort Collins, Denver and others across the state have embraced strong climate goals. We are already leading the way forward right here in Colorado, and now we will build on that progress.
+Make no mistake — with price declines and technology advances, the move toward renewable energy is already taking place and will only accelerate. But as we embrace the renewable-energy future, we must also do right by all the men and women in today’s energy workforce. Some of the hardest-working people in Colorado today work in the coal and oil-and-gas industries and we will not leave them behind.
+We will embrace the skills and experience these Coloradans bring to the table. Their help will be needed and rewarded at every single step of this transition. And we will support the communities these jobs have sustained, to ensure they can continue to thrive in the renewable-energy economy.
+Creative financing mechanisms that exist today can ensure that consumers pay lower rates as we move to renewables, and help provide for a transition that is just and fair both for workers and for communities directly impacted.
+Colorado has always been, and must always be, a place where we respect the dignity of hard work. Providing for ourselves and our families is at the core of the Colorado Way of Life we all love. And a strong economy cannot be built on any one sector, or any one region of the state, on its own.
+Our mission is to help businesses of all kinds start, grow, thrive, and create good-paying jobs across Colorado, from the Western Slope and the Eastern Plains, to the Front Range, Southern Colorado, and the San Luis Valley.
+We will value every job. We will respect every worker and every shareholder. We will protect the rights of workers to organize and collectively bargain for the pay and benefits they deserve, and the rights of shareholders to lead their companies.
+And just as we stand up for workers and good jobs, so too must we stand up for our communities — and their right to have a voice when it comes to industrial activities within their borders. It’s time for us to take meaningful action to address the conflicts between oil-and-gas drilling operations and the neighborhoods they impact, and to make sure that all of our communities have clean air and water.
+This is a vital quality-of-life issue for Colorado families.
+To keep our economy moving in the right direction, we must upgrade our antiquated roads and highways and limited public transit options. They are simply not equipped to sustain a growing 21st-century economy.
+Thanks to the bipartisan commitment made last year to dedicate additional funds to transportation, we have hundreds of millions of dollars to improve our roads over the next few years.
+That’s a strong foundation to work from but it’s not enough. We must come together around a bipartisan funding mechanism for our future transportation needs that the voters of this state will accept.
+We also need to expand access to broadband. I’m eager to work with legislators to cut red tape that forces communities to go through costly and lengthy elections to build out their own broadband infrastructure. And at the same time, we’ll continue the good work of the Hickenlooper administration in supporting the creation of Strategic Regional Broadband plans to make high-speed internet access a reality across our entire state.
+In the 21st-century economy, broadband is critical infrastructure that EVERYONE must have access to. Let’s work together to give it to them.
+So many of the important issues Coloradans face today boil down to opportunity. The opportunity to grow and start a business. The opportunity to enjoy Colorado’s special way of life, our majestic outdoors. The opportunity to get a great education that leads to a successful future.
+But for Colorado to be a place where these opportunities are available for all, and not just some, we need to make our economy work better for middle-class families.
+One way we’ll do this is by working with you to make our tax code more fair, so that we can reduce rates for Colorado families and small businesses. Our tax code gives too much power to the special interests who can afford expensive lobbyists, while forcing ordinary families to pay more. As legislators, I know that many of you find these tax giveaways offensive.
+Unlike budget expenditures, which you vote on every year, these tax expenditures are on autopilot, some since the 1930s. We need a tax code that reflects today’s realities rather than yesterday’s distortions. Let people keep more of their hard-earned money rather than give it away to special interests.
+The Legislature and the Auditor, thanks to your efforts, have gotten off to a good start by closely examining which deductions are benefiting our economy, and which are being exploited by corporations at Coloradans’ expense. I want to work with you to close these loopholes and pass the savings on to families by lowering the income tax rate.
+For instance, many of the changes in President Trump’s tax law were giveaways to the most influential corporations in the country. Some big businesses pay less, while many families here in Colorado have to pay more. We should not blindly copy President Trump’s policies into our state tax code. We do not need to take the bad with the good. Instead, we should reflect the good in our tax code and change the bad to put families and small businesses ahead of special interests as nearly every other state has done.
+Also, 90 percent of the retailers in our state are small businesses. It's time to cap the vendor fee, which is a giveaway to the largest and most profitable retailers in the nation, and use the savings to lower rates, which will benefit small businesses and millions of working Coloradans.
+That’s extra money Colorado families can use on home repairs, a college fund, or any of the other innumerable expenses that folks are having a harder and harder time keeping up with as the cost of living keeps going up.
+We want to make Colorado better for everyone. Broadening the base while lowering rates leads to more growth and a stronger economy. We look forward to working with you to seek tax efficiencies and clear-eyed policies that make everyone better off.
+Our tax reform proposal will not change how much money the state collects or affect investment in public priorities one way or the other. It simply asks the largest, most influential corporations to start paying their fair share so that individuals, families, and small businesses can pay less.
+As we address the inequities in our tax code, so too must we address the inequities in our criminal justice system. That means tackling discriminatory practices that make people of color, individuals living with mental illness, and Coloradans experiencing poverty more likely to face incarceration. And it means working to make sure Coloradans who do serve prison or jail time are able to live a dignified and fulfilling life after they’ve paid their debt to society.
+Criminal justice reform is an economic necessity and a human-rights necessity. We won’t follow on this issue. We’ll lead.
+It’s not easy folks, but it is simple: every Coloradan wants the opportunity to earn a good life. And we can break down the barriers that hold them back by bringing high-quality early education to every family, lowering health care costs, creating good-paying jobs here, and saving families money on their tax bill.
+What makes Colorado unique isn’t just the boldness of our ideas. It is the resilience and the spirit of our people, who make change happen, who bring these bold ideas to life.
+Our shared responsibility is to turn challenges into opportunities and ideas into action.
+So, now is the time to unite in our common purpose and move Colorado forward.
+Together, we will build a Colorado that works for ALL.
+Let’s get to work.
+Thank you.
+God bless you.
+And God bless the great state of Colorado.
+

state-of-the-state/speeches/Connecticut_SOTS.txt

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+Greetings
+Mr. President, Mr. Speaker, Senator Fasano, Representative Klarides, my fellow state officials, members of the General Assembly and the Judicial Branch, Lt. Governor Bysiewicz, honored guests and the people of the great State of Connecticut.
+Thank you for welcoming me to the room where it happens.
+I am especially proud to be here with my family, Annie, Emily, Lindsay and Teddy – sometimes it gets pretty feisty at the Lamont dinner table, we are not shy. But at the end of the day we are family. I feel the same about the State of Connecticut.
+To Dan Malloy: Many thanks for your decades of public service and leadership to our state.
+And to Nancy Wyman, we’re going to keep you busy, that’s for sure.
+I see my friend George Jepsen in the front row – you will be right across the street, so I know where to find you.
+Because we are just getting started.
+A few weeks ago, Susan and I joined a couple thousand Connecticut high school students at the Bushnell for a performance of Hamilton. Before the curtain went up, we discussed with the students the meaning of my favorite song, “My Shot” sung by a young Alexander Hamilton, an immigrant teenager from the Caribbean, “young, scrappy and hungry” like the nation he is joining – and how he is not going to throw away his shot.
+What I love about America is that in every generation we get a chance to reinvent ourselves, and every election gives us a fresh start. This is our chance to reinvent Connecticut, to think big and act boldly.
+And it starts right here in the room where it happens.
+The Connecticut We Once Were
+Connecticut has always been the state where it happens.
+Connecticut is inventive:
+* We shaped the defense industry with the invention of the world’s first submarine in Old Saybrook, and then reinvented it with the world’s first nuclear submarine in Groton.
+* We revolutionized multiple industries through the invention of rubber that could withstand both heat and cold in Naugatuck.
+* We redefined the workplace with the invention of the portable typewriter in Stamford.
+* The world’s first helicopter was designed and piloted by Igor Sikorsky right here in Stratford.
+A century later, Sikorsky’s factory is still here and Electric Boat remains the largest submarine manufacturer in the world, and they are two of Connecticut’s largest employers – a proud piece of Connecticut’s history.
+But over the last generation, Connecticut’s entrepreneurial zip has slipped. We are no longer a place that is viewed as hospitable or encouraging to new businesses.
+Connecticut, it’s time to return to our inventive and entrepreneurial roots. Our future lies in doubling down on what makes us great and reimagining our unique potential. And it starts with the best educated workforce in the world.
+I always made it a point to visit our schools, because it was important to me to keep my eye on the future.
+My first stop in Bridgeport was Harding High, where I helped out many years ago, and whose band just lead our parade to the State Capitol. Their old high school was pretty beat up, but you should have seen the excitement in the eyes of the students, and their parents and teachers, on opening day at the new Harding High. The custodians told me something interesting – the old Harding was a mess at the end of the day, but the new Harding was still pretty neat by day’s end.
+In showing the students that we believed in them, they showed pride in themselves, and their school.
+I saw the same optimism and pride at the new Career Academy in Waterbury, where nearly 98 percent of the students graduate. Many of these students go on to great colleges, but many go on to apprenticeships in healthcare and advanced manufacturing. These are Connecticut jobs for Connecticut students.
+And I saw that same sense of optimism in the eyes of the students that I taught at Central Connecticut State University for 12 years.
+My favorite day during the campaign was at UConn, where we saw three Blackhawk helicopters flying low overhead. We all ran to check out the action and saw the choppers landing at the School of Engineering. It was a Sikorsky job recruitment drive, encouraging Connecticut students to start their career right here in the state.
+None of this would be possible, without the dedication and devotion of Connecticut’s teachers – the finest in the country.
+Connecticut – we do not have silicon, we don’t have natural gas, but we have always had the best educated, best trained, most productive, most inventive workforce in the world. That is our strategic advantage and it is more important in the 21st century than ever before.
+Companies roam the globe looking for talent. Look no further, you can stop right here.
+The Connecticut We Can Be Again
+Let’s Fix this Budget Once and For All
+So at this point, you’re probably thinking, “That’s all well and good, gov. But the budget is a mess.”
+How can we be a laboratory of democracy when we have such a hard time paying our bills?
+We cannot afford to let the next four years be defined by a fiscal crisis. The fate of our great state is on a knife’s edge. If we choose inaction and more of the same – we fail. But if we choose creative and bold leadership, a commitment to make the hard and difficult choices necessary to right the wrongs of the past – we will succeed.
+Let’s fix this damn budget, once and for all!
+In six weeks, I will present to you a budget which is in balance not just for a year, but for the foreseeable future; so that mayors and first selectmen, business and labor leaders, teachers and police officers know what to expect. And we will deliver on what we say – on time and on budget.
+However, I want to be clear – no more funny math or budgetary gamesmanship. I come from the world of small business where the numbers have to add up at the end of the month or the lights go out.
+Don’t tell me some consultant says there are $1 billion in easy spending cuts; show me the money or I will show you the door.
+Unlike in DC, our government doesn’t shut down – we don’t play those games here. We can’t tell students school is closed today, police or fire departments can’t say we’ll respond later, and we don’t tell our most vulnerable that the services they depend upon will reopen at a later date.
+Lastly, I refuse to invest any time in the blame game of who’s responsible for this crisis. It’s real, it’s here and it’s time to confront it head on.
+And, please don’t tell me you’ve done your share and it’s somebody else’s turn. It’s all of our turns.
+Fix the budget, invest in the future, and nothing can stop us.
+A Bigger Table and an Open Door
+Fixing the budget requires a bigger table and an open door. I am ready to listen to any good idea, and I will take the heat and share the credit. The budget vote will be a tough one, no doubt. It will be easy to vote no, but I have a responsibility to get us to yes - and we only get there by working together.
+Business leaders: Some of you have already stepped up and are ready to take the lead when it comes to workforce development and positioning Connecticut students to take Connecticut jobs. A special thanks to my Business Advisory Council, which is already reaching out to new companies that may be a great fit for Connecticut.
+Philanthropic leaders and volunteers: Giving back is the highest form of citizenship. I am excited about your willingness to partner with us to invest in our future. I am confident we will do great things together.
+State employees and labor leaders: I have been so impressed by the quality of the folks who work for the State of Connecticut. I am a strong believer in labor, and now is the time to show that collective bargaining works in tough times, as well as good times. As our liabilities continue to grow faster than our assets, together we have to make the changes necessary to ensure that retirement security is a reality for our younger, as well as our older, state employees, and do that without breaking the bank.
+Mayors and first selectmen: Nothing will compromise your feisty independence, but so many services and back-office functions can be delivered at a much lower cost and much more efficiently if they are operated on a shared or regional basis. We need to break down silos and engage in the bulk purchasing of everything from healthcare to technology. The taxpayers of Connecticut can no longer afford to subsidize inefficiency.
+Economic Revitalization
+Connecticut is the land of steady habits, and while we need to return to the habits which made us such an economic powerhouse a generation ago, we also need to change the game – and create new habits, that capitalize on our strengths.
+Our great state is strategically positioned between two super-cities. Connecticut needs to harness its prime location, its highly educated workforce, and its business community to create the Connecticut of tomorrow.
+To achieve this, I will be focusing on four areas:
+First, I will take the lead by investing in the first all-digital government, and reverse engineer every transaction from the taxpayer’s shoes. The entry point to Connecticut will be through its digital front door, a one-stop-shop for everything current and prospective citizens need from their government. We will be online, not in line. It won’t be done overnight, but let’s start today.
+Second, to attract millennials, top talent and leading companies, Connecticut will need to invest wisely in its urban centers – making them affordable and lively, where families want to live, work and play. That means great schools, safe streets and by making our cities the first with 5G in New England. The telecommunication companies are ready to start building – let’s harness that excitement, and get WiFi access into every rural town.
+Third, none of this is possible if we don’t have a 21st century transportation system. When the Merritt Parkway opened in 1940, it wasn’t uncommon for people to pull over and picnic on the side of the road. Those of us who spend a good deal of time down in Fairfield County have contemplated the same idea today because we’re so darn frustrated by bumper-to-bumper traffic. Gridlock causes headaches and costs us jobs.
+So what can we do? 30/30/30 – I want the following to be a reality: 30 minutes from Hartford to New Haven; 30 minutes from New Haven to Stamford; and 30 minutes from Stamford to Manhattan with spurs to New London and Waterbury. This isn’t a pipedream, this is a necessity: a modern infrastructure by rail, road, air and water – to unlock the full economic potential of our beautiful state.
+Fourth, Connecticut’s economic revival cannot only be about creating opportunities for just some of our people. It must be an economy that works for everyone. We must bring our workforce into the 21st century, closely aligning it with job training, starting with STEM and coding in K-12, and access to higher education, vo-tech and apprenticeships that will result in access to good paying Connecticut jobs.
+That also means bringing the workplace into the 21st century, including paid family leave to make sure that parents don’t have to choose between the child they love and the job they need. It also means a $15 dollar minimum wage, responsibly and over time, so that those same parents can afford to provide for their children without working three jobs.
+As one of the first Governors who comes from the business world, I will be hyper-focused on job creation. My primary objective is to get this economy growing again.
+How do we extend opportunity for those being left behind? Growth!
+What’s the long-term fix to the budget? Growth!
+How do we attract the next generation of talent to Connecticut? Growth!
+Now all of that economic growth takes time to nurture, but it starts today!
+Blueprint for the Future
+I’m a new Governor, and you’re a new legislature. Even for those of you who have been here for a few years, this is a new day.
+What you can expect from me is the following: I’m a straight shooter, an honest broker and a good listener. I know what I know and I know what I don’t. I do have a strong sense of where we need to go and of what the people of Connecticut expect from us.
+Last November, thousands of voters waited in the rain, in some cases, for hours to vote. They believed that we can make a difference; we will and we must.
+Let’s work together and produce a budget for the people of Connecticut that doesn’t borrow from the future, but instead invests in the future.
+Like those kids at Harding High, who believed in themselves, I believe in Connecticut. You are here because you believe in our state. Let’s get Connecticut growing again.
+As they say in Hamilton, history has its eyes on you, on all of us. Let’s do this. Together.
+May God bless you, and may God bless the hardworking people of this great state!
+

state-of-the-state/speeches/Delaware_SOTS.txt

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+Lt. Governor Hall-Long, Mister President Pro Tem, Mister Speaker, Members of the 150th General Assembly, Members of the Cabinet, Distinguished members of the Judiciary, invited guests, and my fellow Delawareans: 
+Thank you for inviting me into the chamber today. 
+I want to take a point of personal privilege here at the beginning. The Carney clan is a big one and is well-represented in the room today. My wife Tracey, my mom, Ann, my sister Liz and brother-in-law Brendan, my brothers Mike and Joe and my sister Claire. And a special thanks to the most famous Carney for making the trip down here today – my nephew Brian O’Neill, who just finished his rookie season as the starting right tackle for the Minnesota Vikings. 
+Before I start I want to recognize all of the new faces in the room, and there are many. This is an exciting year for Delaware, and for public service. Never before has our General Assembly better reflected the people of our state. We will all benefit from the new perspectives, and new ideas, here in our Legislature. 
+Senators Lockman, Brown and Sturgeon. 
+Representatives Chukwuocha, Seigfried, Kendra Johnson, Griffith, Cooke, Dorsey-Walker, Minor-Brown, Bush, Smith, Morris, Shupe, and Vanderwende. 
+The class of 2018: Join me in welcoming them to Legislative Hall. 
+As you criss-crossed your districts this past election, I know you heard the same thing I did. 
+Delawareans are tired of the fighting in Washington, D.C. They’re tired of gridlock and negativity, and of politics as usual. They want us – they’re asking us – to be different. To be better. 
+They think it’s a “win” when we get something done. Not when we score political points. They don’t want us to shut down the government. They want us to make the government work for them. 
+Working hard, and working together, we can do this. We can make the people who sent us here proud of what we do. And they can be secure in the knowledge that their elected representatives are fighting for them, and not fighting for sport. 
+So before I say anything else from this podium today, I want to say this. Here in Delaware, we can do better, and we must do better. And I believe that working together these next six months, we will do better. 
+When I ran for office in 2016, I promised that our number one priority would be to strengthen our economy to create good jobs for Delawareans. And that we would focus on making Delaware a place where businesses would want to locate, and grow. 
+Over the past two years, and thanks in large part to the work of many of you, we have 10,000 new jobs in Delaware. Our unemployment rate has fallen to 3.8 percent for the first time since 2008. 
+Working with you, we signed an agreement to bring hundreds of millions of dollars of new investment to the Port of Wilmington, and dramatically expand Port operations. The deal will create hundreds, if not thousands, of new jobs. As our former Vice President would say, this is a big ** deal. 
+This would not have been possible without an incredibly strong partnership with the workers at the Port, and the vision and leadership of people like Bill Ashe and Kimoko Harris, who are here in the chamber with us today. Bill and Kimoko, please stand up and be recognized. 
+We also passed the Angel Investor Tax Credit. So we have new incentives to support investment in technology-focused small-businesses that want to create jobs here in Delaware. 
+The Delaware Prosperity Partnership has done eight successful transactions, representing 1,900 jobs. And we’ve got many more potential deals in the pipeline. 
+Led by Representatives Osienski and Heffernan, we amended the Coastal Zone Act to open up 14 abandoned industrial sites that will create good-paying blue-collar jobs. The Delaware Prosperity Partnership is already marketing these Coastal Zone sites to developers. 
+We’re aggressively pursuing developers to take advantage of Opportunity Zones created by the new federal tax law. That could mean new jobs at the Nylon Capital Shopping Center in Seaford, the Star Campus at the University of Delaware in Newark, areas in Dover and Milford, and the old steel mill in Claymont. 
+The Downtown Development District program has supported projects like the Stitch House Brewery and the Midtown apartment complex in Wilmington, and the House of Coffi just around the corner here in downtown Dover. 
+In the coming weeks, we’ll expand this program to more towns across our state. We’ll also direct more funding to the Housing Development Fund and the Strong Neighborhoods Housing Fund. These programs will help lift up distressed neighborhoods and communities across our state. 
+By the end of next year, we’ve pledged to eliminate broadband deserts in southern Delaware, and provide universal high-speed internet coverage for all Delawareans and businesses. 
+We’re investing in Delaware State University, Delaware Tech, and the University of Delaware, so that we can meet the workforce needs of future employers. 
+And we continue to make historic investments in our infrastructure – with over $3 billion to upgrade our transportation system through 2025. That means less traffic, safer bridges, and more pedestrian friendly streets. 
+This year, I’m proposing to create a new Transportation Infrastructure Investment Fund that would help the state to react quickly to important economic development projects. We’re going to invest $10 million in this new fund. 
+It’s an investment in the jobs of tomorrow. But I hope you’ll join me in funding these investments today! 
+Together, we have done good work these past two years. And I’m confident to report today that the state of our state is strong, and getting stronger. 
+A strong economy means more jobs, and more tax revenue, which means more money to educate our children. Improve our quality of life. And keep our communities safe. 
+But while a rising tide lifts a lot of boats, there are too many in our state who have not benefited from the economic recovery. These are the people who need our help the most. 
+So let’s help them. 
+We’ll start with the most important investments we can make: in our children. 
+All parents want to see their children succeed. But in Delaware today, we have too many children who are not thriving. 
+Despite the best efforts of dedicated teachers, principals and many others, it’s no secret that we are not seeing the student achievement in math and reading that we should. All across the state, we know that many of our children are not getting the education they need to be successful in today’s world. 
+We also know that children from disadvantaged backgrounds need additional resources -- resources they aren’t getting now. 
+The status quo isn’t working, and we can’t let it continue. Our goals are very clear. 
+Every third grader should be reading at grade level. 
+Every 8th grader should be proficient in math. 
+And every student should be graduating high school ready for college, or a career. 
+It’s time to begin a new chapter in Delaware’s public education. And here’s how we’ll do it: 
+With a focus on early childhood education, supporting teachers, and getting children to perform on grade level. 
+We all know that the earlier we can reach children, the better their chances of success. We’ve heard from many of you about the need to strengthen our early education system. 
+And so over the next year my administration will work with educators and stakeholders to take a hard look at how we prepare our youngest learners for kindergarten. In the meantime, I plan to recommend increasing Purchase of Care rates so that low-income parents have access to the best childcare centers in our state. 
+We will also continue to target additional resources to our highest needs schools. In my budget, I will more than double the funding for student loan repayment for teachers in high needs schools. Last year, that program provided student loan assistance for 200 teachers in over 100 schools. Next year, we plan to reach 700 teachers. 
+These initiatives are only part of the solution. Last year, we worked with all of you to target funding, for the first time in our state’s history, to schools serving the highest percentage of disadvantaged students. This Opportunity Funding, as we called it, is making an impact in 46 schools across all three counties 
+Next week, when I release my budget, I will propose a new Opportunity Funding program – Delaware’s first real weighted funding plan. It will direct $60 million over the next three years to low-income students, and English learners across our state. 
+The funding will pay for the type of help disadvantaged students need: more reading and math supports, counselors, smaller class sizes, and after school programs. 
+Let me tell you how this will be different from efforts tried in the past. 
+Over the course of the next three years, the Department of Education will work with district and charter leaders to review plans for spending this new funding, and track the results for students. 
+We will also create a new statewide commission of community leaders. They’ll evaluate this plan, track results, and shine a light on best practices. They’ll also recommend new steps that will help our most disadvantaged students succeed. 
+We can all agree that we need to do something dramatic to help these students. But here’s what we can’t do. 
+We can’t just throw money at the problem. Simply spending more is not a guaranteed solution. We’ve seen what schools are doing right now to close achievement gaps and set students on a path toward success. From North Laurel Elementary to Fairview Elementary in Dover, to Etta J. Wilson in Newark, educators, school leaders, and communities are showing us what’s possible today. 
+Delaware is one of only a handful of states that doesn’t provide additional funding for disadvantaged students. I am prepared to invest in better education programs that actually achieve real results for children at risk. 
+Join me in helping these children reach their potential and realize their dreams. 
+We also need to stay focused on the good work we’re already doing for students with disabilities, and I want to thank Senator Poore, Representative Williams and many others for their relentless advocacy on behalf of these children. 
+While students across the state need our help, students in the city of Wilmington are especially vulnerable. We’ll continue to work with the Christina School District to bring smaller class sizes, critical capital upgrades, an early learning center and parent supports to Christina’s Wilmington schools. We know that many of these students have suffered trauma at home and in their communities, and struggle to get their basic needs met. 
+I want to take a minute here to thank my wife Tracey for her work on behalf of these children. 
+In partnership with the Family Services Cabinet Council, and with support from Casey Family Programs, Tracey has been leading an initiative called First Chance Delaware. First Chance has been a vehicle to convene our state’s leading experts to combat childhood hunger. To promote school readiness and grade-level reading. And to improve our recognition of, and response to, childhood trauma. 
+The goal of those efforts is to give every child in Delaware a first chance to succeed. That’s also why I signed an Executive Order requiring all state agencies to train their employees in trauma- informed care. 
+Thank you, Tracey, for your good work! 
+Too many of our kids who don’t succeed end up as adults who struggle. And some end up committing crimes. When that happens, it’s in everyone’s interest that we rehabilitate these individuals, and send them back into the community stronger, and better prepared to contribute. 
+That’s why I signed an Executive Order to help ex-offenders more successfully reenter their communities. We’re creating individualized plans for each inmate incarcerated in Delaware. The goal is to give them the drug treatment, education, and job skills they need to survive on the outside. 
+Bottom line is really quite simple: over 90 percent of inmates will eventually leave prison. They’ll be standing next to you in line at the Wawa or at the Mall. 
+We need to make sure they’re better off when they leave prison than when they got there in the first place. 
+All this will help keep communities safe. And that’s a basic requirement for attracting businesses to our state. It’s also a minimum standard our constituents expect us to meet. 
+That’s why this year, we provided schools with new resources to make them safer, and passed responsible gun safety legislation. This included the Beau Biden Gun Violence Prevention Act, led by Representative Bentz. Our success was thanks in large part to a group of advocates – mothers and students – who made this their mission last year. I’ll ask Sarah Stowens and Meghan Walls from Moms Demand Action, and Wyatt Patterson, a student at Caesar Rodney High School, who are here with us today, to stand and be recognized for their work. Thank you. 
+We have more work to do, though, to keep our communities safe. This year, working with Representative Mitchell and others, we’ll propose legislation to ban guns made by 3D printers, and so-called ghost guns, where you can get a gun with no serial number and no background check. 
+And I want to thank Senator McBride for pledging to put the assault weapons bill up for a full, open debate. It’s the right thing to do. 
+In the city of Wilmington, we’re working closely with Mayor Purzycki and Chief Tracy to combat gun violence. Through the Family Services Cabinet Council, we’re working to share data on populations most at risk of violence. And to target resources toward getting our most violent offenders to put down their guns. 
+We have the Delaware State Police and first responders throughout the state to thank for the safety of our communities. We also owe a debt of gratitude to the men and women of the Army and Air National Guard. They’re citizen soldiers who make enormous sacrifices to keep us safe, here and around the world. I want to recognize my newly confirmed Adjutant General Mike Berry, and thank the Senate for confirming him yesterday. 
+Maintaining a good quality of life in our state is one of the most basic things we can do for the citizens we represent. In addition to keeping communities safe, that means protecting the natural heritage that makes Delaware such a great place to live, work, and raise a family. These are the things that attract a strong workforce to our state. 
+As Governor, I get to spend a lot of time outdoors, touring the places that make our state special. 
+Over the past year, I kayaked the Broadkill River and hiked the Edward H. McCabe Preserve in Milton. 
+I met with business owners at the beach along Rehoboth Avenue, and visited with oyster farmers at Delaware Cultured Seafood in Millsboro. 
+We opened the new Auburn Valley State Park in Yorklyn, and dedicated $20 million to the preservation of open space and farmland across our state. Since the program’s inception, Delaware has preserved almost 125,000 acres of farmland. That’s approximately 25 percent of all farmland in the state. And that’s something we can all be proud of. 
+And just in case all that doesn’t sound exciting enough, I’ve got gifts here for our Pro Temp and Speaker to help us spread the good word. We’ve got one for the rest of the legislature on your way out of the chamber. 
+Our natural heritage matters to Delawareans. It matters to visitors. It matters to businesses looking to locate where there’s cool stuff to do, and to young people looking to move back home. And it matters to future generations. 
+As we all know, protecting our natural heritage is not a partisan issue. Speaker Schwartzkopf, Senator Hansen and Senator Lopez joined me in Rehoboth last summer as I signed legislation to ban drilling for oil and gas in state waters off Delaware’s coast. 
+As a low-lying state, sea level rise and climate change pose an existential threat to our bay and coastal communities. Despite Washington’s refusal to act, we’ve joined with 16 other states to form the U.S. Climate Alliance. 
+We’ve committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 2025 to at least 26 percent below 2005 levels. And we’ve committed to accelerating policies to reduce carbon pollution and promote clean energy. 
+This issue is too important to the health of our economy and the natural beauty of our state to let Washington politics get in the way. 
+Each of the last two years, we’ve made a strong push for cleaner water, investing tens of millions of dollars to maintain this vital resource that’s important to all of us. 
+There is nothing more fundamental to our quality of life as Americans than having access to the voting booth. Right now, Delaware lags behind in making it easy and convenient for people to exercise their right to vote. We’re going to change that. 
+Working with all of you, I want to sign into law legislation allowing early voting, and same day registration. 
+Yesterday, led by Representative Longhurst and Senator Hansen, you made history by adding an Equal Rights Amendment to our state constitution. We have here in the chamber Suzanne Moore, who represents the thousands of women over the past four decades who have been working for this cause. Help me thank them for their tireless work. 
+Part of having a good quality of life is making sure Delawareans can access and afford quality 
+healthcare. Delaware consistently spends more than most other states on healthcare costs. 
+Unfortunately, despite that high spending, Delawareans are not healthier than those in 
+surrounding states. This all needs to change. 
+That’s why I signed an executive order setting both quality and spending benchmarks for the 
+entire healthcare system. We’re doing this, first and foremost, by improving transparency around 
+the cost of health care services. We need to know what factors are driving these higher costs and 
+how we can change the trends. 
+We know the health of our state begins with the health of our people. And that starts with tackling the most critical public health crisis we face -- addiction and mental health. Too many families have personally experienced addiction and the tragic loss of loved ones. Too often, families don’t know where to turn to get the help and support they need. Last year in Delaware, nearly 345 people died from a drug overdose. That’s up 12 percent from the previous year. We all know someone who has been affected by this terrible crisis. 
+The Behavioral Health Consortium, led by Lieutenant Governor Hall-Long, is taking action to reduce mortality rates and improve access to treatment. That’s why we worked with Representative Bentz and Senator Townsend to create the nation’s first Overdose System of Care. This past year, thanks in part to the work of the Behavioral Health Consortium, naloxone was administered over 3,000 times in Delaware, saving countless lives. Through a peer-support initiative and better data-sharing, we’re doing more than ever to get the right treatment and support for the people who need it. 
+Living healthy lifestyles is probably the most important thing we can all do to lower healthcare costs in the long run. We know that forming good health habits early in life increases the chances you’ll be a healthy adult. That’s why I intend to support Senator Townsend’s proposal to raise the age for purchasing cigarettes from 18 to 21. Please join me in getting this done. 
+This year, we made investments in our state employee workforce that were years overdue. 
+Two weeks after I was sworn in, a riot at James T. Vaughn prison took the life of Lieutenant Steven Floyd. Since that day, Commissioner Phelps and our team have spent every day trying to make sure that nothing like that ever happens again. 
+This past summer, we concluded a year-long process of implementing the recommendations of the Independent Review Team. 
+We hired outside experts to help us fix our prison healthcare system, and make the inmate grievance system more fair. 
+We’ve revamped our recruitment efforts. 
+We’ve raised pay for correctional officers and moved inmates out of state temporarily to give us time to hire more officers, reduce forced overtime, and make the prisons safer. 
+This is an ongoing process. There’s no quick fix. But we are dedicated to the work, and to making sure that Lieutenant Floyd did not die in vain. 
+Thanks to Senator McDowell and others, last year, state employees in every agency got a pay raise. 
+And in my budget next week, I’ll propose that we continue these investments in state employee pay. 
+I believe strongly in the importance of our state employees, and believe we need to continue to invest in them. 
+I also believe strongly, though, that all of our spending, on state employees and throughout the state budget, needs to be sustainable. We all remember the painful task in 2017 of cutting our way out of a $400 million budget crisis. 
+I don’t believe it does any good to spend money on ongoing expenses that we know we can’t pay for in the long-term. That’s why, at the end of last session, I signed an Executive Order committing to a budget that limits our spending and creates a Budget Stabilization Fund to use in an economic downturn. We will follow these principles in the budget I propose next week. We will propose to use one-time money for one-time expenses, like infrastructure, nutrient management, water and wastewater treatment, and facilities for higher education. Making responsible budget decisions now will let us fund the services Delawareans rely on when money gets tight in the future, and we know it will. 
+Being fiscally responsible requires a long-term commitment to operating more efficiently and effectively. Many of you joined me in February 2017 at the launch of the Government Efficiency and Accountability Review – what we simply call GEAR. Today, agencies and employees in every branch of government are working together on dozens of projects – reducing our leasing costs, launching online services, leveraging federal funding opportunities, and streamlining how we do business. This year, with support from the Delaware Business Roundtable, we’ll offer monetary rewards to state employees who come up with and implement innovative, cost-saving initiatives. 
+Strengthening our Economy
+Improving our Schools for All Delaware Children Protecting our Quality of Life 
+These are priorities we can all agree on. 
+Over the next six months, there will be plenty to distract us from these priorities. 
+It’s our job to stay focused. 
+That means making sure teachers have the resources they need to be successful. 
+It means making sure businesses have a climate where they can grow and create jobs. 
+It means making sure parents who are working can get affordable childcare. 
+It means making sure our roads are plowed so people can get to work. 
+It means making sure children can play in the park without fear of gun violence. 
+It means making sure correctional officers are safe when they report to work. 
+It means making sure families can afford healthcare for their children. 
+Government can’t solve every problem, and we shouldn’t try. But we sure can make a real difference in the lives of our friends and neighbors. 
+Working hard and working together, we can choose a path of progress and civility. Of hope and a better future.
+Of making the tough choices and doing what we were sent here to do. 
+Thank you, God bless you, God bless the state of Delaware, and God bless our great United States of America. 
+

state-of-the-state/speeches/Florida_SOTS.txt

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+OPENING
+Mr. President, Mr. Speaker, members of the House and Senate, Cabinet members and Supreme Court Justices:
+Mindful of the economic opportunities that lie before us,
+understanding the environmental challenges that require our attention,
+and conscious of our obligations to education and public safety,
+I consider myself blessed to stand before you, at this particular moment in our history, as Florida’s 46th governor.
+I’m grateful for your willingness to serve,
+I’m proud of the accomplishments of our state and its citizens,
+and I’m optimistic that this legislative session provides us with a unique opportunity to advance needed reforms in a variety of different areas that will strengthen our state and benefit the people now and in the future.
+Having spent three terms in a different legislature, a prison known as the US House of Representatives, it is quite a privilege to be able to work with a legislative body that has demonstrated the ability to get things done and to lead.
+I’ve already seen it firsthand.
+Two years ago, the Florida Legislature unanimously passed a resolution acknowledging and apologizing for the “gross injustices” perpetrated, in the middle of the last century, against four African-American men — Charles Greenlee, Walter Irvin, Samuel Shephard, and Ernest Thomas – known as the Groveland Four.
+The resolution requested that the Governor review their cases and issue pardons for these men.
+Upon taking office in January, I took action.  Joined by our cabinet members, I approved pardons for all four men a few days into my term.  It’s never too late to do the right thing.
+In the gallery today is Carol Greenlee, the daughter of Charles Greenlee.  Her father passed away in 2012 but I hope he – as well as the rest of the Groveland Four — is looking down with some satisfaction that justice, however imperfect, eventually prevailed,
+And
+that we here today are united in insisting that the constitutional protections central to a free society are honored for all of our citizens.
+Members of the House and Senate, thank you for leading the way.
+I observed during my inaugural address that, in the words of Alexander Hamilton, energy in the executive is the leading character in the definition of good government.
+I believe it and I’ve worked to exemplify it.
+In less than 60 days, my administration has taken bold action to address issues that Floridians care about:
+reorienting our environmental policy around the goal of cleaning up our water;
+announcing far-reaching education reforms designed to make Florida #1 in skills-based education by 2030;
+securing hundreds of millions of dollars for storm-ravaged parts of NW Florida;
+bringing accountability to entities ranging from the Broward Sheriff’s Office to the South Florida Water Management District;
+and appointing three spectacular justices to our Supreme Court.
+And this is just the beginning.
+I’m proud to recognize the efforts of my wife Casey.  She has been by my side as we have toured the state and has also blazed her own trail on issues like education, disaster relief and freedom for the people of Venezuela.  She has worked so hard and one thing is clear: we have a great First Lady.
+I’m convinced that this whole Governor thing is just a way for the people of Florida to have Casey as their First Lady.
+Our kids Madison and Mason have taken over the Governor’s mansion but the baby-proofing has been successful – I can report that no artifacts of Florida history have yet to be destroyed.  But stay tuned – Mason will be walking very soon.
+Just last week, Casey traveled to NW Florida to survey the Hurricane Michael recovery efforts.  We have both been to the region several times over the past few months.
+To the people of NW Florida: we pledged to stand with you as you work to rebuild your communities stronger than before – and we have followed through on that pledge.
+I’ve already traveled to Washington, DC and secured a historic commitment from the Trump administration to provide assistance to the communities that Michael battered.
+My administration has worked to cut through red tape to expedite relief efforts and, thanks to the leadership of your former colleague Jared Moskowitz, we are making great progress.
+Here with us today is Mayor Al Cathey and Administrator Tanya Castro from Mexico Beach, which was ground zero for Hurricane Michael’s wrath.  They and many others affected by the storm have displayed remarkable resilience in the face of huge obstacles.  They deserve our admiration – and our support.
+These communities will not be rebuilt in days, weeks or months, but they will be rebuilt.  They will be rebuilt because we as Floridians will answer the call as we always do.  God bless the good people of NW Florida.   Executive energy and leadership are necessary to meet fully the challenges that are before us – but they are not sufficient.  In a constitutional system with separated powers, we – the political branches – must work together so we can build off the foundation that has been laid and set the stage for the future success of our state.
+How can we accomplish this task?  I answer simply: be bold –
+be bold in championing economic opportunity,
+be bold in protecting Florida’s environment,
+be bold in improving education,
+be bold in defending the safety of our communities,
+be bold because while perfection is not attainable, if we aim high we can achieve excellence.
+ENVIRONMENT 
+Florida is blessed with some of the nation’s finest natural resources.  We are the fishing and boating capital of the United States.  Our beaches bring millions of tourists to our state each and every year.  The state’s unique natural environment is central to our economy, our quality of life, and our identity as Floridians.
+I’m proud to have taken swift and bold action to protect our natural resources and improve Florida’s water quality.
+We are repositioning our water policy to meet the needs of our citizens, by, among other things:
+expediting key projects like the EAA reservoir and raising the Tamiami Trail;
+establishing a blue-green algae task force to develop policies to fight algae blooms, fight red tide and improve water quality; and
+appointing a Chief Science Officer to better harness scientific data and research in service of Florida’s most pressing environmental needs.
+I’ve requested $2.5 billion over the next four years for water resources projects and Everglades restoration.  This represents a $1 billion increase compared to the previous four years and will allow us to bring major projects to completion.  Given the persistent water problems we have seen over the past several years, now is the time to be bold.
+We cannot leave for tomorrow that which we can do today.
+Because the people of Florida should have confidence that their interests are being reflected in policy implementation, I asked and received the resignations of all members on the South Florida Water Management District.  We needed a fresh start and I’m pleased to report that I’ve appointed a number of good people to this board.
+We have a bold vision, we have good folks in key positions, and with your support for these initiatives, we will restore and preserve the beauty of Florida for generations to come.
+ECONOMY/JOBS
+It is often said that states serve as laboratories of democracies and we are in the midst of a great experiment among the states regarding taxation and government spending.
+The result has been a migration of wealth from states that tax heavily, spend profligately, and regulate excessively to states, like Florida, that tax lightly, spend conservatively, and regulate reasonably.
+In the face of these trends, some of the states that have hemorrhaged businesses and taxpayers have decided to double down by raising existing taxes and imposing new taxes. As George Harrison once observed:
+If you get too cold, they tax the heat;
+If you take a walk, they tax your feet.
+We are a mobile, highly-connected society and as taxes become more onerous and as the business climate deteriorates in these states, people vote with their feet.
+Taxpayers and businesses leave.
+The tax base erodes and the fiscal situations of these states gets more ominous, yielding massive budget shortfalls.
+It is a vicious cycle.
+We won’t repeat those mistakes in Florida.
+We will always remain a low-tax state.
+And we will never have an income tax!
+I have proposed more than $330 million in tax relief for Florida families, including a property tax cut.
+We must keep our economic momentum going!
+To those doing business in states that have a bad business and political climate, my message is this: come to Florida.  We will maintain a healthy economic environment, we welcome your success and we won’t chase jobs away through economic ignorance and demagoguery.
+We are also committed to modernizing our infrastructure, and I know President Galvano is focused on making that happen. Thank you, Mr. President for your efforts.
+There are areas where Florida can do better.  I hope the Legislature passes legislation to reform the issue of AOB, which has become a racket.
+And its clear we need reform of our occupational licensing regime, which borders on the absurd and primarily serves to frustrate opportunities for Floridians.
+You can become a sniper in the Marine Corps by completing training for 79 days, which equates to 632 hours; becoming a licensed interior designer in Florida requires 1760 hours.
+You can earn jump wings by completing Army Jump School in three weeks, or about 168 hours; Florida law requires 1200 hours to become licensed as a barber.
+Our DBPR secretary and your former colleague Halsey Beshears has identified a number of these requirements that need to be streamlined, rolled back or eliminated.  This project merits your support.
+EDUCATION
+Maintaining low taxes and a healthy economic climate are important, but the most important factor regarding Florida’s economic potential is human capital.
+If we support our university system, our state colleges and primary and secondary education, as well as the reforms needed to improve educational opportunities across the board, then we will be setting the stage for future economic success that will be the envy of the nation.
+As we sow so shall we reap.
+I’m proud that Florida’s university system is ranked #1 in the nation — ahead of Texas, California and New York.  This wasn’t always so; the climb atop the rankings has been remarkable.
+I’m not sure how many people outside Florida realize this, so I’m doing my part to spread the word.  I was in New York last week meeting with business leaders and stressed this fact and pledged that we will do even more to build a world-class talent pool.
+We are poised for growth in finance, technology, health care, aerospace and more – let’s support the continued ascent of our universities so that these industries can grow by employing our own graduates in good, high-paying jobs in our low-tax, business-friendly environment.
+Attending a traditional four-year brick-and-ivy institution is one way to get the advanced knowledge and skills necessary for achieving economic success, but we must recognize that it is not the only way – and for many it is not the best way.
+Skills-based education offers a focused, and often more cost-effective means, by which students can acquire the tools they need to be successful.
+Working with your former speaker and our Commissioner of Education Richard Corcoran, I have proposed a plan to take Florida from middle of the pack to number 1 in workforce education by 2030.
+Earlier this year, I visited Tampa Bay Technical High School to observe a successful example of workforce education first-hand.  I met Glenn Wester III, who is with us here today.  Glenn is a junior in the welding program and, even though he is not quite old enough, has already received job offers – good paying job offers!  He is also taking Advanced Placement courses and will have to choose between multiple pathways for success.
+Glenn, keep working hard, we wish you continued success and I applaud the Hillsborough County School District for giving students like Glenn these opportunities.
+Our workforce education initiatives include grants to place students in apprenticeships, money to train teachers in computer science and funds for workforce programs within our state college system.  These reforms will make a difference and deserve your support.
+Florida has made strides in primary and secondary education since I graduated from public school in Dunedin in 1997, but we have a lot more to do.  For years, I’ve heard from parents and teachers about the problems with a system of standards, testing and curriculum modeled after common core.  Parents have been especially frustrated by not being able to help their kids with basic math problems.
+So I have instructed Commissioner Corcoran to spend the rest of this year engaged in consultation with parents, teachers, school administrators, and employers so that we can replace common core with high-quality curriculum, streamlined testing and a new emphasis on American civics.  We want a system that demands excellence and that also engenders public confidence.
+We also need to do more to recruit, retain and reward great teachers.  To this end, I have proposed replacing Best and Brightest bonus program with a revised $423 million program that will reward more than 40,000 teachers with bonuses approaching $10k.
+I’m also requesting $10 million for a tuition and loan forgiveness program for as many as 1,700 teachers who commit to teaching in Florida schools for 5 years.  Attracting and keeping great teachers in our classrooms should be a high priority.
+Education opportunity shouldn’t be limited by parental income or zip code.  One way Florida has expanded opportunity has been through the Tax Credit Scholarship program for students from low-income families.  More than 100,000 students – nearly 70% of whom are African-American or Hispanic, with an average family income of roughly $26,000 per year – are utilizing the scholarship.
+The results have been positive: the Urban Institute recently released a study that found tax credit scholarship students are 43% more likely to attend a four-year college and up to 20% more likely to obtain a bachelor’s degree.  Students who use the scholarship more than four years are up to 99% more likely to attend college and up to 45% more likely to earn a bachelor’s degree.
+More low-income families would like the opportunity to obtain a scholarship for their kids.  There are currently 14,000 students who qualify for the scholarship but are stuck on the waiting list.
+Shareka Wright is a single mother of three who supports her family by driving a garbage truck for the city of Orlando.  While one of her sons is doing well in an Orange county district school, her two younger boys needed a different environment, as one struggled academically and the other was bullied.  But because her boys are on the waiting list for the tax credit scholarship program, Shareka might not be able to afford to keep them in this more favorable environment.
+Shareka is doing her best to give her boys a better future.  I’m not satisfied to see hard-working parents like Shareka mired on a waitlist, and so I’m proposing to eliminate the waitlist by creating a new Equal Opportunity Scholarship that is similar to the tax credit scholarship.
+We are a big, diverse state and one size doesn’t fit all when it comes to education.  Lets stand with working moms like Shareka and empower them to choose the best learning environment for their kids.
+We also need to stand by students with special needs and their families.  That means eliminating the waitlist of 1,900 students for Gardiner Scholarships.
+Donna and Michael Holt are here with their son Levi, who has Down syndrome.  Levi is on the waiting list for a Gardiner scholarship.  Students like Levi have unique abilities that require a customized learning environment that the Gardiner ESA can provide.
+The Gardiner scholarship is our way of saying that everyone counts and that these are lives worth living.
+And while we are at it, I wholeheartedly reject the callous disregard for human life displayed by the Governors of Virginia and New York.  We won’t allow that to happen in Florida.
+HEALTH CARE
+We need to enact policies to make health insurance, prescription drugs and medical care more affordable for Floridians.
+As you are aware, health care is being hotly debated at the national level, so let me say:
+Any proposal that seeks to eliminate the private health insurance policies of millions of Floridians is unacceptable. Government has no right to take away the policies that Floridians earn through their jobs or purchase on the individual market.
+I want Floridians to be able to purchase prescription drugs from Canada at lower prices.  There is an avenue under existing federal law to accomplish this; the President is supportive of this effort and has asked me to plow ahead, which will require navigating an institutionally hostile bureaucracy.
+This could save money for individuals, reduce costs for businesses and relieve pressure on our state budget.
+I’m also open to any ideas that the Legislature has to tackle this problem.  One thing is clear: Floridians need relief from the rising costs of prescription drugs.
+Bringing price transparency to health care can also help reduce costs, and I have instructed Secretary Mayhew from AHCA to expedite the price transparency database that the legislature required.  To make the tool effective, we need legislation to provide for shared savings policies so that patients receive a financial benefit when they choose a more cost-effective option.
+I’m supportive of Speaker Oliva’s call to foster innovation and competition in our health care system.  We can’t just continue doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result.
+PUBLIC SAFETY
+Last year at this time, the state was still reeling from the massacre at Marjorie Stoneman Douglas High School.  Out of that tragedy grew the MSD Commission, which earlier this year outlined a series of recommendations to improve security at Florida schools.  I support the recommendations and ask that you enact them into law.
+These reforms are a testament to the tenacity, courage and character of the families of the Parkland victims.  The hard work of those like Ryan Petty and Hunter Pollack, who is with us here today, has already helped save lives and has made our state stronger.  They should be commended for their efforts.
+I have gotten to know a number of the families and one thing that has stuck with me is something I’ve heard a number of them say: that this was the most preventable school shooting in history.
+When I took office, many of the Parkland families felt that there had not been any accountability – at the school district or at the sheriff’s office – for the string of failures that culminated in the massacre.  So, I acted by successfully petitioning for a statewide grand jury investigation into school security failures in Broward County and other jurisdictions.
+I also suspended Scott Israel as the Sheriff of Broward and replaced him with Gregory Tony.  That suspension will come before the Senate soon and the failures of the former sheriff are well-documented.  Why any senator would want to thumb his nose at the Parkland families and to eject Sheriff Toney, who is doing a great job and has made history as the first African-American sheriff in Broward history, is beyond me.
+But I judge not, lest I be judged.
+ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION
+Florida will not be a sanctuary state — we won’t allow someone here illegally to commit criminal misconduct and simply be returned to our communities.  And we won’t tolerate sanctuary cities that actively frustrate law enforcement by shielding criminal aliens from accountability at the expense of public safety.
+Here with us today are two angel parents, Bobby and Kiyan Michael from Jacksonville.  Their son Brandon was killed by a foreign national who was illegally in our country and who been deported on two prior occasions.  Brandon was a young man engaged to be married, but instead of planning a wedding Bobby and Kiyan had to plan a funeral.  Had our laws simply been enforced, Bobby and Kiyan might not have had to bury their son.
+Lets do right by the Michael family; lets prohibit sanctuary cities in Florida.
+FOREIGN AFFAIRS
+International events usually have a particular resonance in Florida.
+Earlier this year, I had a meeting in the Oval office alongside Senators Rubio and Scott as well as Congressman Diaz-Balart about the dire situation in Venezuela.  To the President’s credit, he heeded our advice and recognized Juan Guaidó as the interim president and made clear that the dictator Nicolás Maduro has got to go.
+The tragedy in Venezuela is a result of a failed socialist experiment – a system that is hostile to human liberty and contrary to human nature.  The tyranny that has resulted is the natural outgrowth of trying to impose this failed ideology on the people of Venezuela.
+To the Venezuelan exile community here in Florida, we stand with you and with the people of Venezuela who are seeking freedom and a better future for Venezuela.  The eyes of the free world have descended upon Venezuela, and it is imperative that freedom prevail.
+We also know that the despair in Venezuela wouldn’t be possible without the nefarious influence of the Cuban government.  I applaud the President for allowing the application of Title III of the Libertad Act and support additional efforts to hold the Castro regime accountable.
+I would like to see the Castro regime go the way of Maduro and to see a free and democratic Cuba take its place.
+I offer my thanks to the Legislature for defending the U.S.-Israel relationship by enacting anti-BDS legislation.
+I reject attempts to target Israel for disfavored treatment and will enforce the anti-BDS provisions vigorously.  This whole enterprise of targeting Israel for economic harm is such a fraud and merely a cover for antisemitism.
+In Florida, rest assured that BDS is DOA.
+We will be taking a delegation to Israel in May and I look forward to furthering the relationship between Florida and Israel.
+CLOSING
+[Personal story]
+The lesson I learned from this is that sometimes it pays to be at the right place, at the right time.
+I think we here in this Chamber are the right leaders at the right time.  After all, many are called to serve in elected office, but only a few are actually entrusted with authority by the voters.  Fewer still are presented with the opportunities we see before us today.
+Let’s fight the good fight, lets finish the race, lets keep the faith so that when Floridians look back on the fruits of this session, they will see it as one of our finest hours.
+

state-of-the-state/speeches/Georgia_SOTS.txt

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+Lt. Governor Duncan, Speaker Ralston, President Pro Tem Miller, Speaker Pro Tem Jones, members of the General Assembly, constitutional officers, members of the Judiciary, Mayor Bottoms, members of the consular corps, my fellow Georgians: 
+
+During the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus tells a parable about two builders. The wise builder built his home on the rock. As the parable goes, “The rain came down, the floods came, but it didn't fall, for it was founded on the rock.” 
+ But the second builder was foolish. He built his house on sand. There was a great storm, and his house washed away.  
+ As a builder, this story always resonated with me. You have to pour concrete before you can frame a house. You must build on solid ground. 
+
+Over the last sixteen years, our state has experienced incredible growth and economic opportunity. Wages are rising, and the unemployment rate is the lowest in eighteen years. Thanks to the hard work of the legislature, Georgia is the top state for business – six years in a row. With low taxes, a business-friendly government, and access to logistics hubs like the Port of Savannah and Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, Georgia is the epicenter of job growth, the Hollywood of the South, and soon to be the Cyber Capital of the World.   Through our state’s oldest and largest industry, Georgia farmers are also feeding millions of people in countries across the globe. Thanks to the leadership and wisdom of Governors Sonny Perdue and Nathan Deal, Georgia has a solid foundation. The State of the State is rock solid. 
+
+Over the last eight years, we saw 800,000 brand-new private sector jobs created in Georgia. These investments touch every industry imaginable: in agribusiness, with machinery manufacturers like Caterpillar and Kubota and food processing companies like Perdue Farms and Harrison Poultry; in aerospace and aviation with Gulfstream, Pratt & Whitney, and TravelSky; in healthcare with Athena Health, Greenway Medical Technologies, and Kaiser Permanente; in cyber innovation with AirWatch, Honeywell, and Unisys; in manufacturing with Precision Products, Toyo Tire, and SK Innovation; and in transportation and supply chain infrastructure with Hapag-Lloyd, and Norfolk Southern Corporation. 
+
+I applaud Governor Deal, Economic Development Commissioner Pat Wilson, and department officials for working to create economic opportunity, not only in Atlanta and the metro area but in every corner of this great state. As governor, I will continue to work with state and local officials to recruit industry leaders to Georgia. 
+Through the Georgians First Commission, we will review regulations that make it difficult for job creators to hire, expand, and invest. We will work to make government more efficient and put hardworking Georgians first.  
+I am confident that we can build a stronger, more diverse economy. We can add a new designation to Georgia’s resume: #1 for small business. With conservative budgeting, Georgia has maintained a triple-A bond rating. 
+Our Rainy Day Fund stands at $2.5 billion. Our fiscal house is in order. Last year, the Legislature lowered state income tax rates and fully funded public school education. I am confident we can do it again. 
+To enhance educational outcomes and build a 21st century state, we must invest in those who educate, inspire, and lead our students. 44% of Georgia teachers leave the profession in less than five years. To recruit and retain the best and brightest in our schools, we must remove heavy burdens in the classroom and keep teacher pay competitive. 
+
+My 2020 budget proposal includes a $3,000 permanent salary increase for certified Georgia teachers. This is the largest pay increase for teachers in Georgia history and serves as a sizable down payment on my promise to ultimately raise pay by $5,000. We also include a 2% merit increase for all state employees. These hardworking Georgians play a vital role in serving our families and crafting Georgia’s future. We must continue to reward their efforts.   
+In addition to investments in personnel, we must also prioritize school safety. In the amended budget for 2019, I have included $69 million in one-time funding for school security grants. All 2,294 public schools in our state will receive $30,000 to implement school security priorities determined by local school boards, administrators, teachers, parents, and students.  
+
+But to keep our classrooms safe, we must also address the mental health issues that often lead to school violence. With $8.4 million in additional funding through the successful APEX program, we can focus on mental health in Georgia high schools. These professionals will engage with struggling students and provide critical resources to prevent disruptive and aggressive behavior. They will inspire, mentor, and keep our students safe. Together, we will secure our classrooms and protect our state’s most treasured asset – our children. 
+With your help, we will continue to build. While places like Atlanta, Augusta, Savannah, and Columbus continue to grow and thrive, it still feels like the Great Recession in parts of Rural Georgia. Businesses are closing. Opportunities are drying up. People are losing faith. 
+As governor, I will work to ensure that someone’s potential is not determined by their zip code or county. By working with the House Rural Development Council and their colleagues in the Senate, we can expand access to high-speed internet, quality healthcare, and good education. 
+Through strategic partnerships, we can ensure that every part of our state has access to opportunity – that kids can graduate and raise their families where they were raised, that local companies in Rural Georgia can thrive, that farmers and agribusiness leaders can get their Georgia Grown products to the marketplace, and that every Georgian is equipped with the right tools to succeed. 
+By working across party lines, we can – and we will – stand with those impacted by Hurricane Michael. In the aftermath of the storm, I witnessed firsthand the devastation in South Georgia. The storm damaged forests, groves, and fields. It ripped up homes, churches, and livelihoods.   
+Today, we are joined by a hardworking farmer who runs his family’s cotton, soybean, and timber farm in Donalsonville, Georgia. He represents one of countless Georgians who took a severe hit from Hurricane Michael but is determined to move forward. This farmer and family man, Greg Mims, sits in the gallery today, and it is my honor to recognize him.
+I want to thank President Trump, Vice President Mike Pence, Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue, Governor Deal, members of the General Assembly, and Georgia Agriculture Commissioner Gary Black for their solid leadership in the wake of this disaster. 
+I also applaud the efforts of officials at DNR, GEMA, the Georgia Forestry Commission, Georgia National Guard, Department of Public Safety, Department of Public Health, Department of Corrections, Department of Community Supervision, and all of the first responders who provided necessary aid after the hurricane. We will continue these recovery efforts. Let’s revive, rebuild, and renew hope in Rural Georgia. 
+There’s no doubt that criminal justice reform will be a lasting legacy of the Deal administration. Without question, the leadership of Governor Deal and the General Assembly has changed our state for the better. I look forward to supporting initiatives that save costs, strengthen communities, and give non-violent offenders a second chance at life. To keep all Georgians safe, we must build on these reform efforts. 
+Today, I am honored to have one of Georgia’s most distinguished members of our law enforcement family with us. He is a fighter in the strongest sense of the word – a true hero among us. Last year, he was wounded in the line of duty and nearly lost his life. While chasing a criminal, he was shot right between the eyes. After multiple surgeries, I am proud to tell you that he’s in the gallery next to his wife, Kristen. Join me in welcoming - and thanking - Covington Police Officer Matt Cooper. Coop, we continue to pray for you. 
+As Georgians, we must never forget the sacrifices of our law enforcement community. Last year, six officers paid the ultimate price in protecting and serving Georgia’s communities. To the loved ones of Locust Grove Police Officer Chase Maddox, Savannah Police Officer Anthony Christie, Ludowici Chief of Police Frank McClelland, Jr., Gwinnett County Police Officer Antwan Toney, DeKalb County Police Officer Edgar Flores, and Henry County Police Officer Michael Smith, you remain in our thoughts and prayers. Their service will never be forgotten, and we are forever grateful. 
+
+Fellow Georgians, it’s time to build. It’s time to renew our commitment to public safety. It’s time to honor those we lost by taking action. As governor, I am committed to addressing the rise of gang activity in our state – a growing threat requiring our immediate attention.
+According to a recent survey conducted by the Georgia Gang Investigators Association, there are over 71,000 validated gang affiliates and 1,500 suspected gang networks in our state. These gangs are pawns for Mexican drug cartels – pushing opioids and drugs, buying and selling children for sex.  
+My budget proposal includes $500,000 in initial funds to form a gang taskforce within the GBI. This highly qualified group of experienced law enforcement personnel and prosecutors will work with local district attorneys and law enforcement to stop and dismantle street gangs. By utilizing the Criminal Gang and Criminal Alien Database, which will be funded with existing resources from the Criminal Justice Coordinating Council, we can track and deport drug cartel kingpins who are terrorizing our communities. By working with Attorney General Chris Carr, federal, state, and local partners, we can undermine organized crime. Together, we can build a safer future for all Georgia families.    
+Finally, while different parts of our state have unique challenges and concerns, all Georgians deserve a patient-centered healthcare system that puts families first. The status quo is unacceptable. Seventy-nine counties have no OB/GYN. Sixty-four counties have no pediatrician. Nine counties have no doctor. Insurers are leaving the state, and hardworking Georgians are struggling to pay their premiums. 
+We have included $1 million in the Department of Community Health’s budget to craft state flexibility options for Georgia’s Medicaid program. We will expand access without expanding a broken system that fails to deliver for patients. We will drive competition and improve quality while encouraging innovation. I will work with the legislature to grow the rural hospital tax credit, tackle the doctor shortage, and build a healthier Georgia. 
+As we envision and plan for Georgia’s future, we should not forget how we got here – the road travelled and the people who stood with us. Today, my wife, Marty, and daughters, Jarrett, Lucy, and Amy Porter, are with us. I wouldn't be here without their support. Marty and I built businesses and a family together. She’s solid as a rock, and I know she’s going to make a fine First Lady. Today, Marty is in the seat where her late father, Representative Bob Argo, once sat. 
+Thank you, Representative Hugley, for allowing Marty to share your seat today. You are incredibly kind.
+Mr. Bob was a good ole Southern Democrat who never met a stranger. He loved the University of Georgia and worked across the aisle to deliver for his district. Representative Argo raised Marty to be a fighter and a public servant. When I was a frustrated business guy who wanted to make a difference, he encouraged me to run for office. He stood with our family through thick and thin. His legacy inspires us daily. Representative Argo was a wise man and knew that building is faster when there’s more people involved – that we have more that unites us than divides us. 
+So join us, and let’s put hardworking Georgians first. Pick up a hammer and nails. Together, we can build a safer, stronger Georgia. Thank you, God bless you, and may God continue to bless the great State of Georgia. 
+

state-of-the-state/speeches/Hawaii_SOTS.txt

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+Mister Speaker, President Kouchi, former governors, distinguished justices of the courts, representatives of our congressional delegation, members of the Hawaii State Legislature, elected officials, military leaders, honored guests, and all of you who took the time to be with us this morning. 
+Aloha. 
+Like the start of each new year, the State of the State address offers us an opportunity to both look back at where we’ve been and forward to where we want to go. 
+The decisions we make today touch all of our lives. They are informed by our past and will affect the lives of many far down the road. 
+As I look around the room and see these former governors, I am reminded of the hard choices they made during their tenure and how much we benefit from those decisions today. 
+Yet the view from this crossroad is often obscured by our busy schedules and the day- to-day concerns we face as parents, students, employees and community leaders. 
+But it’s a view that we need to pay close attention to—and perhaps look at from other perspectives. 
+
+About a minute past midnight on January 1, 2019, Alekah Obra Garcia was born to Clarissa and Johnson Garcia of Kona—the first baby of the new year for the state of Hawaii. 
+In 2037, when she and her classmates graduate from high school, some of us will be long gone. 
+Perhaps one of your grandchildren will be among the Class of 2037. 
+How will they view the decisions we make today? 
+How will they grade the schools and education we provided for them? 
+How will they assess the job and career opportunities that will be available to them? 
+What will they say about the condition in which we left our ocean, beaches and rain forests? 
+How will they view their past and their children’s future? 
+Will they look back with reverence the way we do at our parents’ generation, or will they look back with disappointment and regret? 
+Too often, when we talk about the future we speak in macro-economic terms. But for me, the future is personal. 
+In many ways, it has to be—if we want to make good and wise decisions. 
+The future has a name and it is the name of a son or daughter; grandson or granddaughter. 
+But whether you have children or not, I know many of you feel the same way about Hawaii. 
+The future is personal because it is about home. 
+We choose one path over another, believing it will lead to a better, more secure, more nurturing Hawaii. 
+We make choices for Alekah’s sake; We make choices for our children’s sake. Fortunately, we do so at a time when our foundation is strong.
+Hawaii is once again ranked the healthiest state in the nation. 
+
+That’s due in part because our health care coverage is among the broadest and most enduring. 
+Our unemployment rate is among the lowest in the country. 
+Our visitor industry is moving toward another record setting year, and both individual personal income and the state’s gross domestic product have been steadily growing. 
+The state of the State of Hawaii is sound. 
+More importantly, we are positioned to meet the challenges -- both good and bad— because we have proposed a prudent budget that does not spend all that we project to bring in. 
+I am mindful that the world around us has changed since we began this journey four years ago. 
+Indeed, it has dramatically changed since I delivered my second inaugural address just a few weeks ago. 
+In my remarks, I talked about how we are no longer limited by our geographic isolation, freed by the wonders of technology. 
+But that’s also a double-edged sword. 
+The very thing that makes us more connected with the rest of the world, also makes us more vulnerable to its slings and arrows, including what happens in our nation’s capital. 
+More than ever, we need to take control and shape our own destiny through education and innovation. 
+And we need to protect those things which mean the most to us—our natural resources, our way of life, our values, and our children’s future. 
+For four years, we have worked hard to put the state on sound financial footing by building our reserves and by paying down our unfunded liabilities, including those to our employee pension and health benefit systems. 
+We now have the highest bond rating in the state’s history, resulting in lower interest rates when we need to borrow money. 
+And, as President Kouchi noted in his opening day remarks, we will continue with that prudent stance even as we take care of the current needs of our people. 
+It is, as you might guess, a delicate balancing act. 
+Together, we have done much in the last four years: 
+* In 2015, we were the first state to set a 100 percent renewable energy standard, the most aggressive clean energy goal in the country. 
+* In 2016, we were the first in the nation to enroll firearms owners into a centralized information system. 
+* In 2017, we were the first state to enact legislation that aligns with portions of the Paris Accord. 
+* In 2018, we were the first state to ban pesticides containing chlor-pyrifos to protect our children’s health, and the first in the world to ban certain sunscreens to protect our environment. 
+The road ahead remains clear and so do the reasons why we need to press on with the progress we’ve made over the last four years: 
+* In transforming our schools with a new education blueprint that is school and community based; 
+* In reshaping our economy using technology to drive innovation; 
+* In addressing homelessness in a compassionate way; and 
+* In short circuiting the underlying cause of homelessness by building more affordable homes. 
+As a state, we have always been “outward” looking in our values, goals and actions. We have always put others first. 
+In today’s “me-centered” world, that is what I am most proud of as your governor. 
+That is the gift that we pass on to little Alekah Garcia—that compassionate spirit that I believe resides in all of us: the spirit of aloha! 
+Concern for our children and the future of our island community is one of the most important ways we show our compassion for others. 
+In 2023, Alekah will be ready for preschool. But will a preschool be available and ready for her? 
+Our public school system begins with kindergarten, but early education specialists tell us how important it is to prepare young children for a lifetime of learning. 
+Research also tells us that early childhood education, such as preschool programs, are critical for brain development. 
+It contends that children’s early years set the stage for how well they learn for the rest of their lives. 
+Yet in Hawaii, we have left that important task to others and only for families who can afford private preschool tuition. 
+It doesn’t have to be that way. 
+First and foremost, we must create a universal, statewide high-quality public preschool system that will give every child in Hawaii a head-start on learning. 
+Ultimately, we will need more than 300 public pre-K classrooms. 
+Clearly, this is a long-term goal.
+But we don’t have to wait until we have funding for all of it. 
+We can start to fill this significant gap in our education system by being smart about how we use existing space. 
+But I don’t want to just add pre-kindergarten classes. I want us to do much more. 
+I am proposing to the Department of Education that we look at our elementary schools in a whole different light; 
+That we reinvent our elementary education by making early learning an integral part of our children’s overall elementary curriculum. That’s what good beginnings are all about. 
+That’s why I am proposing to the DOE that we restructure those schools presently composed of Kindergarten through grade 6 to pre-K through grade 5. 
+Grade six in those schools would then become a part of our middle schools, where the added classes could be more easily and financially accommodated. 
+Presently, about half of our elementary schools still include sixth-grade classes—most are located on the neighbor islands, where preschools, both private and public, are lacking. 
+That provides us with a tremendous opportunity to kick start this effort, initially in communities where they are most needed. 
+In addition, the phasing in of our public preschools will give us the time to ensure that we have well qualified preschool teachers to staff these classes. 
+
+We also want to apply “best practices” learned from our own Public Pre-Kindergarten Program and from other states who have added preschools to their public education system. 
+Of all the initiatives upon which we’ve embarked, I believe this one will make the greatest difference in preparing our children for the future and in creating a 21st century workforce. 
+Moreover, this is an initiative we can and should begin now. 
+My thanks to Lauren Moriguchi, Director of the Executive Office on Early Learning, and DOE Superintendent Christina Kishimoto for spearheading this initiative. A recently released strategic plan details the state’s vision for early learning in Hawaii. 
+And so -- in 2033 -- when Alekah Garcia is a freshman in high school, she’ll be well prepared to take advantage of the state’s Early College and Hawaii Promise programs if she so chooses—a choice made possible because of the partnerships we’ve established with the DOE, UH and its community colleges. 
+That’s why we’re working hard to ensure that Alekah will have good teachers throughout her education; 
+That’s why we need to expand our pool of teachers in some of our most difficult-to-staff schools. 
+And we’re doing so in partnership with UH, HSTA and the DOE, and with the help of education advocates like State Senator Michele Kidani and State Representative Justin Woodson. 
+On an island where land is scarce and the cost of living high, providing affordable homes for our families has been one of the most challenging aspects of caring and looking out for each other. 
+Widespread homelessness across the state is a symptom of how steep that challenge is. 
+I don’t have to tell you it is a complicated one. And one that will take a “village” to solve. 
+But more than any other place in this country, Hawaii intimately understands the village concept, because it is embedded in our values of ohana and aloha. 
+With the help of the Legislature, our congressional delegation, the counties, federal agencies, business and community service organizations, we have made significant strides in addressing homelessness in Hawaii. 
+
+Together, we have reduced our homeless population for two consecutive years, for a total reduction of 18 percent. 
+This includes decreases in every county, as well as decreases in key homeless sub- groups, such as families, children and veterans. 
+We have also seen an increase in people exiting homeless programs to permanent housing. 
+Two years ago, only a third of those exiting homeless services went to permanent housing. That number has now increased to over 50 percent. 
+In addition, this year’s budget includes $35 million for homeless programs. 
+More importantly, we have addressed this challenge as a community and not left it to government alone. 
+For example, the Queen’s Medical Center has seen what the impact of homeless patients has had on its overall mission. 
+Without appropriate housing, recovery was a hit and miss affair and many became repeat patients with prolonged stays. 
+Hospital officials knew that if they didn’t treat the whole patient that the process would become frustratingly repetitive for both patient and doctor. 
+That’s why they became the first hospital in the nation to place its most medically fragile, homeless patients into housing as part of the recovery process. 
+In the last year and a half, the Queen’s Care Coalition team has worked with 112 individuals, placing 75 percent of them into stable housing. 
+The hospital estimates the program has generated savings of more than $5 million and, at the same time, lightened the burden on its emergency rooms and ambulances. 
+More importantly, it has changed the lives of those they have treated. 
+With us this morning is Dr. Daniel Cheng, who heads the Queen’s Care Coalition, members of his Coalition team, and the president and CEO of Queen’s Health Systems, Art Ushijima. 
+I would like them to stand and be recognized for their outstanding work. Thank you for reminding us that we can all take on a role in helping others. 
+I should also note that Lieutenant Governor Josh Green will be the state’s new point person on leveraging private sector partnerships to address the chronically homeless, which includes some of the most difficult situations to resolve. 
+He will be working closely with Scott Morishige, the state’s homeless coordinator, who will continue to lead the state’s overall homeless efforts. 
+I strongly believe that our response to homelessness must address both immediate concerns and its underlying cause: the lack of adequate affordable housing. 
+That’s why this year’s budget includes $315 million for housing over the next two years. 
+In the past four years, we’ve produced a total of 6,600 units with over 7,100 in the pipeline, 90 percent of which will be rentals. 
+We have also struggled with the reality that the lack of affordable housing affects more than just families at risk. It impacts all of us. 
+For many in Hawaii homeownership has always seemed like a far-fetched dream. 
+The high cost of land will always be a significant barrier to making more homes affordable. 
+And on an island with little capacity to expand, demand will always outpace our limited supply. 
+It seems like a no-win situation. Perhaps until now. How do you make homes in Hawaii affordable? 
+I believe you do it by thinking outside the box—by looking at what you DO have and not focusing on what you DON’T have. 
+We need to use public resources and public authority to break the cycle of speculation and profit-taking that has turned affordable housing into an unreachable goal for our people. 
+That’s why we will be submitting legislation to build condominiums for sale on state lands utilizing 99-year leases. 
+These will include parcels along the transit route as well as on other underutilized state lands. 
+This legislation will be critical to unlocking the potential for thousands of new affordable housing units to be built on state lands on all islands. 
+
+The state will retain ownership of the land under these condos and determine the terms of resale if the owners decide to sell at a later date. 
+In this way, we will be able to keep the units affordable, plan growth, create jobs, and make the most of unused state lands. 
+We can turn a no-win situation into a win-win. My thanks to State Senator Stanley Chang, whose input went a long way in helping us shape this initiative. 
+We have long talked about transit-oriented development, as one of the benefits of rail: as a way to build communities and provide housing for our families. But it’s not just about rail. 
+On Maui, we have a great example of how the state and county are working together to build a new transit hub at the Kahului Civic Center. 
+Together, we are transforming underutilized state land into a vibrant new mixed-use project with plans for a major bus hub, multi-family affordable rental housing, senior housing, and office space. 
+It’s a good example of the collaboration happening between state and county. 
+In addition to controlling and directing growth, planned development allows us to accommodate other priorities as well. 
+Our future requires that over time – we, as a state, acquire and preserve more and more land – either as state land or in the hands of partners like the Trust for Public Lands and the Nature Conservancy. If we want green spaces... if we want to grow our own food... if we want places for recreation... if we want clean, fresh water... if we want the environment that has been so central to Hawai‘i’s life... we need to have special lands in public hands. 
+Take, for example, the new state Helemano Wilderness Recreational Area. 2,900 acres of former plantation and conservation land now dedicated to protecting our watershed and wildlife habitat and providing outdoor recreational opportunities for all. 
+In October 2018, the Trust for Public Land and the state completed the purchase of four parcels of land from Dole Food Company, using a creative combination of private, federal and state funding. 
+In an earlier time, those lands might have been sacrificed to uncontrolled development. 
+To a certain extent, this project was made possible because we have a plan for future development on Oahu, with growth directed to our urban core and along our fixed transit system. 
+
+That lessens the pressure for development on other areas, including important agricultural and preservation lands. 
+It also allows us to initiate discussions with other private landowners, who have expressed an interest in developing lands in places like Kaneohe and Maunawili. 
+We would prefer to negotiate acquisition agreements with them so that we can realize similar benefits to our natural resources and recreational venues. 
+For those unfamiliar with the neighborhoods, Kaneohe and Maunawili both include areas that the landowners have proposed for housing development. 
+But they also contain the mauka source of freshwater streams that feed ancient lo-i and flow into vital coastal waters of Kaneohe Bay and Kawainui Marsh. 
+They contain some of the richest agricultural lands on Oahu and have been farmed by ancient Hawaiians for centuries. 
+They are irreplaceable natural resources and part of the economic, ecological and cultural heritage of Ko-o-lau-poko. 
+These places are worth saving for us and for future generations. 
+That’s why we are requesting increased funding for land conservation, by removing the $6.8-million cap on the 10-percent conveyance tax to the Legacy Land Conservation Program. 
+And I’ve also instructed DLNR to prioritize a strategic plan to help us better identity and coordinate the acquisition of such parcels of land going forward. 
+In addition to the preservation of important conservation and agricultural lands, we have established strong guidelines to: 
+* Protect our watershed forests, 
+* Better manage our oceans, 
+* Strengthen invasive species prevention through our bio-security plan, 
+* Double our local food production, and 
+* Achieve 100 percent renewable energy by 2045. 
+Our budget includes $3.9 million over two years for Sustainable Hawaii initiatives, to support our biosecurity plan, watershed protection and our Agricultural Loan Revolving Fund. 
+And speaking of sustainability, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention that last November, Hawaii was designated one of the United Nation’s first Local 2030 sustainability hubs— the first and only such forum in the Pacific. 
+I would like to thank Hawaii Green Growth and The Kamehameha Schools for their work in achieving this designation. They are highlighting our achievements and helping to establish Hawaii as a leader in sustainability in the Pacific. 
+In addition, private companies are investing in Hawaii to help us meet our sustainability goals. 
+For example, Ampaire has a memorandum of understanding with Mokulele Airlines to deploy an electric airplane on Maui. 
+CarbonCure is working with the Hawaii DOT, HC&D, and Hawaii Gas to develop carbon infused concrete to lower the carbon dioxide emitted during the construction process. 
+Our public utilities have also made great progress in transitioning to a renewable energy future. 
+Earlier this month, Kauai Island Utilities Co-op announced it has reached 50 percent renewable generation and believes it can reach 70 percent renewable energy a full 10 years ahead of schedule. 
+In the last 10 years, Hawaiian Electric Companies have reduced fossil fuel use to generate electricity by 26 percent—that’s 48 million fewer gallons of imported oil a year. 
+The companies have also pioneered technology to integrate more renewable energy into the electrical grid, and delegations from around the world are coming to Hawaii to learn from our experience. 
+In agriculture, we are entering a new age of innovation, one that will bring new jobs and opportunities and decrease our reliance on imported foods. 
+The future of agriculture relies on producing crops more efficiently and with less impact on the environment. 
+Farmers are constructing cutting-edge greenhouses, using automated production systems, and analyzing data to increase crop yields. 
+These modern practices will require new skills and a workforce grounded in science- and math-related education. 
+Companies like Costco want to build high-tech greenhouses and use these new agricultural techniques in Hawaii to complement the food production of local farmers and replace fruits and vegetables from out of state. 
+Just as the nurturing of our natural environment is critical to the future of these islands, so, too, is the nurturing of those who, together, make up our human resource, including those who are incarcerated. 
+There are some who hold fast to the old notion of crime and punishment and scoff at the concept of second chances. 
+But correctional facilities today need to be more than just secure holding cells. 
+They need to be places where an individual can take stock of his or her life and seek a second chance at become a contributing member of society. 
+If we don’t, then our jails will become just a place for repeat offenders, at a terrible cost to them and to all of us. 
+We are seeking to continue the process of replacing the outdated correctional center in Kalihi. 
+The relocation gives us a chance to provide enhanced services and program opportunities that would aid in rehabilitation. 
+I agree with Representative Gregg Takayama and Senator Clarence Nishihara who head the committees on Public Safety. It’s a chance to rethink how we design and build correctional facilities. 
+If we are legally obligated to carry out judgments of the courts whenever confinement is ordered, then let’s do it in a way that doesn’t make matters worse for those incarcerated. 
+If we disagree on the location, how big it should be, or the programming offered—fair enough. Let’s work together. 
+Let’s take this initiative and move it forward, with thoughtful planning and with purpose. And let me add one more thought on the matter. 
+For several generations now, the community of Kalihi has, with little protest, hosted OCCC in its own back yard. 
+While it is not the primary reason to relocate Oahu’s outdated jail, the chance to revitalize the community of Kalihi by using that vacated space to create new economic and social opportunities is another good reason to relocate OCCC. 
+
+Concern for others—whether they are homeless, incarcerated, disadvantaged, our children, or the community at large—that is the hallmark of who we are. 
+Concern for others is why we are submitting legislation to bring our minimum wage closer to a real “living wage.” 
+Concern for others also underlies the reason why we work so hard to provide economic opportunities for all to realize their dreams, whatever they may be. 
+But to translate those concerns into meaningful action takes resources. That’s why we must also be cognizant of the needs of the counties. 
+To help them do their jobs better, we will be asking the Legislature to remove the current $103-million cap on the TAT and return the tax to how it originally functioned: allocating to the counties a straight percentage of TAT funds collected. 
+In other words, the counties’ share would rise and fall based on the amount of money collected—without any cap on the high side. 
+There is a fairness to that formula that speaks volumes not only about our concern for others, but about our willingness to work with the counties as equal partners in moving the state forward. 
+It’s a change in the whole notion of revenue sharing whose time has come. 
+Let me add that the bill we’re submitting would also increase from three to ten million dollars, monies earmarked to maintain our state parks, trails, beaches and waters to the benefit of both residents and visitors. 
+In 2018, mother nature threw a lot our way: historic volcanic eruptions, hurricanes and floods. And yet, I find that we, as a people, are amazingly resilient and resourceful. 
+We should all applaud those on Hawai‘i Island who faced devastating volcanic eruptions and others on Kauai and Oahu who were buffeted by damaging hurricanes and floods and who refused to be defeated by those events. 
+We will work with the Legislature to continue our support of those families affected, as they put their lives back on track. 
+Finally, we have spent the last four years implementing frameworks that will help guide us along a continuum that will extend far beyond the next four years: 
+* Our blueprint for education, 
+* Our clean energy portfolio, and 
+
+• Our sustainability roadmap. 
+The major initiatives that I’ve highlighted this morning—on public preschool education, affordable leasehold condominiums and the TAT adjustment–are built upon these and other frameworks. 
+But to realize our goals, it will take more than just this administration, more than government, more than the private sector, or community service and nonprofit organizations. 
+It will take all of us.
+In my inaugural address, I talked about the need to work together. 
+Little did I expect that our leaders in Washington would underscore my point by shutting down the federal government. 
+That, my friends, is what gridlock looks like. Tragically, it has been devastating for the many federal workers caught in the middle, and increasingly for the general public. 
+I began my remarks this morning with the notion that the future is personal. Leadership is also personal. And it has a name and it is Us. 
+We have a duty and responsibility to do our jobs and do them in partnership with each other. 
+That is the least those folks up there in the gallery—the people we all work for—expect. But I know we can do so much more—if we work together. 
+And it begins with me. And it begins with you. 
+That’s why we have been meeting with the Senate and the House -- to see if we can establish a common ground from which both houses can better shape a budget that best serves all the people of Hawaii. 
+After four years in this office, I know what I am asking is not an easy task. It never has been. 
+But it becomes easier, if we remember that little girl who was born in Kona in the very early morning hours of January 1. 
+She’s the reasons we do what we do. She is the real source of our strength, our determination and our commitment to Hawaii. 
+
+She is the one who will carry on the values that were passed on to us from our parents: 
+* Reverence for our kupuna, 
+* Love for family, 
+* Respect for each other, and 
+* Love for the aina and this place we call home. 
+We are here to protect and nurture her. In turn, she enriches our lives. We have much to teach her and she has much to teach us. 
+I hope and pray that one of the most important things that we instill in her is empathy and compassion for others— 
+Empathy for those who are homeless even while she sleeps safe and warm in her own bed; 
+Compassion for those who go hungry even when she is generously nursed and nurtured; 
+Compassion for those who cannot make ends meet even if she thrives with a career that meets all of her needs; and 
+Empathy for those who find themselves without a country and face a wall that is far more daunting than any physical one we could ever build. 
+Empathy and compassion are no strangers to those raised in these islands or to those who embrace our shared values. 
+We do not often speak of them by those names, but rather by the one word we hold above all others: aloha. 
+Alekah Obra Garcia is our future and we welcome her with loving open arms.
+We have a job to do to prepare these islands for her, so let’s get started---shall we? Thank you and aloha. 
+

state-of-the-state/speeches/Idaho_SOTS.txt

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+Mr. Speaker, Mr. Pro Tem, Madam President, honored legislators, my fellow constitutional officers, Mr. Chief Justice and members of the judiciary, my family, friends, and my fellow Idahoans. 
+Before I begin, let me acknowledge our new First Lady, Teresa, and our family – Adam and Angela, and David and Kelsey. A friend of mine refers to his wife as gravity, for her ability to keep him grounded. Teresa serves that purpose for me as well as the whole state of Idaho. 
+It is humbling to address you as Idaho’s 33rd Governor. I’m used to a slightly different vantage point during this speech. I was here more than 42 years ago as a legislative intern. 
+Legislators – I look forward to working with you to achieve our shared vision of making Idaho the best possible place to live for this generation and future generations of Idahoans. 
+I stand on the shoulders of great men and women who have mentored me along my way. Many are in this room today. Thank you for guidance and support. 
+As Idaho’s new commander-in-chief, I want to thank the men and women serving in the Idaho National Guard. Last summer, our Idaho Army Guard deployed three Blackhawk MEDEVAC helicopters and their crews to Afghanistan. Godspeed, and I look forward to welcoming them home this spring. 
+Please join me in thanking Adjutant General Mike Garshak, all members of the Guard, and Idaho’s veterans – past and present – for their service to our nation. 
+Let me say something about my predecessor and partner these past 10 years. Governor Butch Otter led Idaho during a challenging time in our history, facing down the worst recession in 70 years. Now, Idaho is the fastest growing state in the country. Let us honor his legacy by keeping our budget balanced while investing in the future. Thank you for your service, Governor Otter. 
+I stand here today not to reminisce about Idaho’s past, but to look to our future. As Governor, I will seek to reflect our shared Idaho values and aspirations. 
+This means making decisions through one lens: the lens of ensuring the best possible opportunities for us, our children and grandchildren to remain in Idaho and enjoy our unparalleled quality of life. 
+Making decisions with a long-term perspective means staying focused on creating a regulatory and tax environment where Idahoans can get good-paying jobs. 
+1 
+It means having world-class schools.
+It means delivering accessible and affordable healthcare. 
+It means giving citizens a reason to be confident in state government, by making government responsive, transparent, and accountable. 
+My team of agency directors and administrators is mostly in place. A requirement for each of them is a commitment to implementing our shared vision of creating the best possible opportunities for Idahoans to prosper. I’m humbled by their willingness to serve Idaho. I’d like them to stand and be recognized. 
+From Boundary to Bear Lake counties, and Letha to Leadore, I can tell you with confidence— the state of our state is strong. 
+Idahoans’ incomes are the fastest growing in America. We have the highest number of people employed in our state’s history. 
+Due to the good work of the folks in this room, Idaho remains a model for fiscal responsibility. 
+There is no shortage of success stories that reflect the strength of our state’s economy. 
+Woodgrain Millworks, a Fruitland-based family-owned company operates sawmills and manufactures doors and windows. Under Kelly Dame, the company recently expanded in Nampa. They acquired and modernized the old sawmill in Emmett, assisting in our efforts for forest health. 
+The Dame sons— Brooks, Taylor, and Tanner— created Proof Eyewear. They took a small company they started in their garage and now sell wooden sunglasses in more than 20 countries. The family typifies the entrepreneurial spirit that thrives in Idaho. 
+In Idaho Falls, Brad LaPray founded BiologiQ to create a useful plastic from the excess starch produced during potato processing. BiologiQ has grown from a simple concept into an industry-leading, sustainable bioplastics provider. It is another example of an innovative Idaho company using waste and turning it into a thriving business. 
+In Coeur d’Alene, Cody Peterson and Andy Huska founded Rohinni, a homegrown micro-LED manufacturer that’s become a leading technology company. They design robots that install lots of tiny LED lights on everyday electronic gear. Their business is diversifying Idaho’s economy, adding to our growing tech sector, and providing high-wage careers. 
+In Arco, Dragon Fly Tarps manufactures custom tarps for the outdoor industry. The company just moved from the local business incubation center and continues to grow. 
+These companies and many others across Idaho ultimately offer our kids more opportunities to stay home or come back to Idaho. 
+Our state is on an incredible trajectory. With your help, I intend to lead us to the next level. 
+Making decisions with a long-term perspective means state government is fiscally sound and invests taxpayer dollars wisely. 
+2 
+Last year, we delivered one of the largest tax cuts in state history. As a result, state income and business tax rates are the lowest since 1934. Idahoans are enjoying bigger paychecks. 
+Even though sales tax and corporate tax revenues have been robust, our personal income tax receipts are falling short. The federal tax code changed recently, but few Idahoans know they need to update their tax withholdings. I am ordering the Tax Commission to do all they can to better inform taxpayers of what they need to do to avoid a surprise income tax bill. 
+My team is following this issue closely, confident revenues will eventually match the rapid pace of economic growth. Though we are confident, in true Idaho fashion, we will not spend money until it’s in the bank. 
+My budget recommendation will balance our books and fulfill important promises. 
+I propose working together with you to set the stage next year – using our budget surplus – to eliminate the grocery tax once and for all. 
+Additionally, any new tax exemption should be tied to a proportional reduction in state spending or real income generation. 
+As a conservative, I will utilize all other mechanisms to ensure our state remains fiscally sound over the long- term. 
+It is prudent to live by the advice of Speaker Bedke’s grandfather: It won’t be the bad years that put you out of business; it’s what you did in the good years that sets you up for failure or success. 
+As we review our state budget—we must ask key questions: 
+Is there too much spending on autopilot? Are we putting off maintenance that will cost our children more tomorrow? Do we have adequate rainy-day funds? How do we structure the surplus eliminator? 
+These measures and my proposed budget ensure we avoid the short-term fiscal mistakes that other states and the federal government continue to make. 
+Let’s talk about my number-one priority for our state budget: education. Education policy requires long-term planning and commitment. 
+These past four years, with the hard work of stakeholders and many legislators in this room, Idaho has a successful record of responsible investment in education. We have increased the budget for our schools by 32 percent. This past year, Idaho teachers received one of the nation’s largest year-to-year pay increases. 
+As Governor, I will continue our momentum and be an unrelenting advocate for educational excellence in our state. 
+To amplify the voices of those on the front lines of education, I will create a Children’s Cabinet to advise me throughout my term on a variety of education issues. My Children’s Cabinet will consist of traditional education stakeholders, parents, and groups across our state dedicated to advocating for children. 
+3 
+Our Task Force on Public Education and its five-year plan has been the envy of other states. It has been the force behind an unprecedented, sustained effort to improve Idaho education. 
+My budget recommendation implements the fifth year of the task force recommendations. This investment puts in place the next phase of increased teacher salaries. I’m also recommending an increase to the popular Advanced Opportunity program, which saves Idaho families in tuition costs and provides stepping stones for students wanting to go-on to post-secondary opportunities that best suit them. 
+Now that we’ve agreed on a new Idaho Reading Indicator, I want to boost our efforts for literacy. My budget recommendation proposes that we double literacy program funding to $26 million. 
+The school districts will decide the best ways to use the funds to raise reading scores among their students. They will choose from a variety of proven intervention methods such as full-day kindergarten, reading coaches, and summer reading programs. The variety of methods recognizes no one kid is the same and that Boise may not have the solution for what works in Bonners Ferry or Blackfoot. 
+Our goal must be to ensure all kids begin at the same starting line in life. By the third grade, our students must learn to read so they can read to learn. 
+Our state still has many challenges when it comes to recruiting teachers. 
+In addition to supporting the next phase of teacher salary increases, my budget recommendation fulfills my promise to raise starting teacher pay to $40,000 a year. 
+As we reward our educators we expect school districts to continue working with us on reporting measurements that Idahoans need to validate increased education investments. 
+We are proud of these efforts but there is still more to do. 
+Drawing on the successful model we’ve been using, I invite you to join me in creating an initiative I’m calling Our Kids, Idaho’s Future. The charge of this broad-based task force will be to look at our education system holistically and prioritize where we should invest the next available dollar. 
+This initiative will provide Idaho’s next five-year blueprint for education investment and reform. 
+I will continue to focus on increasing Idaho’s go-on rates and accomplishing our goal of having 60-percent of our 25- to 34-year olds with a completed degree or a professional certificate. To do that, we must expand career technical opportunities. 
+Further, my budget recommendation increases funding for Opportunity Scholarship applicants, providing a market-based approach to higher education funding, with money following the students and allowing them to choose the institution and degree that best fits their needs. 
+In my work on economic development, I know there’s a strong correlation between our education system and the attractiveness of our state to entrepreneurs and businesses. 
+Most importantly, a strong education system helps ensure we keep our best and brightest here in Idaho. 
+4 
+From the roads you drive to take your children to school to the hunting licenses you purchase, like it or not, the state has a monopoly on many services citizens cannot provide themselves. With this role, comes responsibility and accountability to Idahoans. 
+As your Governor, I pledge to champion citizen confidence in state government. 
+I’ve been frustrated with the major shortcomings in customer service at the Division of Motor Vehicles. The issues stem from contracting procedures. I have asked my new director at the Department of Administration to identify critical lessons from the DMV situation and provide a thorough review of our state purchasing and contract administration processes. Idahoans deserve an action plan for better results from government. 
+State government has a duty to protect the data citizens entrust to us. I chaired the Cybersecurity Task Force three years ago and we have made progress on this important issue. 
+Following these efforts, my budget recommendation lays out a plan for IT and cybersecurity modernization. This effort will significantly reduce our cyber vulnerability and provide long-term savings with the ultimate goals of protecting citizens’ data and building public confidence. 
+There are other areas where we must maintain the trust of Idahoans. 
+On election day over 60% of voters approved Medicaid expansion. For months I made it clear I would honor the will of the people. I intend to work with you to implement Medicaid expansion using an Idaho approach. 
+We need spring in our safety net so that there are multiple pathways for the gap population to move off Medicaid and onto private coverage. 
+While making health care available to low-income individuals we should also do what we can to make affordable, accessible, quality health care available to all Idahoans. 
+An unintended outcome of the Affordable Care Act is that too many people are priced out of health insurance coverage. In the past two years, the number of uninsured Idahoans increased by 125,000 – almost double the gap population. As Idaho continues to enjoy the fastest-growing economy in the nation, the number of insured Idahoans should be increasing not decreasing. 
+We must pursue strategies that contain health care costs. 
+That’s why I joined with Governor Otter last year in issuing an executive order on state-based individual market health plans. As Governor I will continue these efforts. These health care plans are comprehensive and provide our citizens more affordable choices. 
+The fact is we have a proven track record of delivering Idaho solutions on health care. When Idaho opted for a state-run health insurance exchange, we created an Idaho solution instead of adopting a federal one-size-fits-all mandate. 
+Your Health Idaho has since been recognized as one of the best exchanges in the country.
+I intend to continue developing Idaho solutions that bring health care costs down for all Idahoans. I have met 
+with federal partners to pursue alternatives for affordable health care plans. 
+I will fight for state flexibility and state control to develop Idaho solutions for Idaho families. 
+5 
+Public safety is one of the pillars of state government. Idahoans enjoy a high quality of life in part because we live in one of the safest states in the nation. 
+We must hold those who violate our laws accountable, but we also must invest in changing their behavior, so our communities will be safer once offenders pay their debt to society. 
+My budget recommendation takes on this challenge in a way that provides not only an increase in our prison capacity but also the resources needed to reduce the flow of inmates to our prisons. This will be done by expanding the St. Anthony Work Camp in eastern Idaho and opening a community reentry center in northern Idaho. 
+In addition to providing timely relief to Idaho’s overcrowded prisons, these combined 220 beds focus specifically on helping those in custody acquire critical skills to successfully transition back into society after release. 
+Former offenders cannot be successful after reentry and on parole if we don’t have the necessary bed space and programs – such as drug courts – to halt the revolving door. 
+Help for substance abuse is often only available once a person becomes an offender. There is a clear nexus between mental health and substance abuse. We must intervene in these areas prior to individuals entering our criminal justice system. 
+Communities across Idaho face the scourge of opioid addiction and other substance abuse problems. Fortunately, there is a solid foundation of work on this issue. Two years ago, the Idaho Office of Drug Policy and the Department of Health and Welfare convened a stakeholder group that put together a strategic five-year action plan on tackling the issue of opioid addiction in Idaho. 
+We know the challenge is larger than just opioid addiction. Many problems that begin with opioids evolve into heroin and fentanyl. 
+Looking ahead, I will issue an executive order on substance abuse – formalizing this existing opioid plan, broadening these efforts, directing future resources, and creating non-offender programs for substance abuse. 
+This makes the most sense because treating addicts and those with mental health problems in prison is expensive and often too late. 
+As we seek ways to reduce health care costs and protect the public, we also must make sure state government is reducing all unnecessary barriers to prosperity. 
+One barrier is the daunting financial reality facing first-time homebuyers, particularly young people just starting their careers and families. 
+One specific proposal I will champion to help more Idahoans achieve the American Dream is the First-Time Home Buyer Savings Account. This account will encourage young families to set aside part of their pre-tax income to make a down payment on their first home. 
+Idaho is seeing unprecedented economic growth in many parts of the state. However, that growth has not been matched in all our communities. In my travels, I constantly hear how the absence of adequate broadband 
+6 
+infrastructure is a deterrent to growth and economic development. The Idaho Department of Commerce spent the past year analyzing the statewide challenge of inadequate broadband. 
+To ensure Idaho can adapt to the rapidly evolving digital world, we must actively work to improve Idaho’s broadband access, pursuing all options to increase broadband connectivity. I will work with the Legislature to ensure both rural and urban Idaho are connected and well-positioned to attract and create maximum success. 
+I am also committed to knocking down other barriers to independence and prosperity. In May 2017, I issued the Licensing Freedom Act executive order. 
+Late last year, I finalized a report that outlined the scope of occupational licensing in Idaho and provided key recommendations. Working closely with the Legislature I intend to fulfill all recommendations from the Licensing Freedom Act – reducing regulatory burdens and improving customer service while protecting the public. 
+My first executive order as Governor will put in place two of those recommendations: sunrise and sunset processes for future occupational licensing laws. 
+To reduce overall regulatory burdens on our citizens and businesses, I will issue another executive order requiring state agencies to revoke two regulations for every new regulation they want to implement. This commitment to cutting red tape will ensure we are governing with the lightest possible hand. 
+Looking long-term, we must address transportation deficiencies. I ask you to join me in looking at these long- term needs – specifically, the safety of our roads and bridges and the necessary improvements to preserve our citizens’ most precious commodity: their time. It is critical that we provide the needed road capacity to get our people and products to their destinations in the most efficient manner. 
+All these efforts will help Idaho remain a beacon for prosperity and opportunity in America. 
+Agriculture remains the backbone of Idaho’s rural economy. As is often the case, agriculture is coping with the effects of significant challenges, from commodity prices to transportation and trade. 
+As they have for generations, progressive farmers and ranchers meet these challenges by increasing their production and efficiency. Idaho’s wheat yield was up 15 percent and set a record this year. The barley yield is up 10 percent from last year, and alfalfa is up 19 percent. Idaho jumped Oregon to become the number two hop producing state in the nation. In the past 16 years, Idaho’s dairy production has doubled. 
+Idaho remains a heavily trade-dependent state, with around $2 billion in agricultural exports. When markets are open, agriculture makes the most of those opportunities. When markets are disrupted, we feel it. 
+The profitability of Idaho agriculture and its ability to compete nationally and internationally is dependent upon the time and cost of getting our products to consumers. 
+I look forward to working with you to increase rail access, address truck shortages, and reduce the burdens of federal regulations. 
+You all know water is Idaho’s lifeblood, and we’ve made great strides in protecting it. 
+7 
+Under the leadership of the Water Resource Board, we have doubled our goal of refilling and replenishing our critically important Eastern Snake Plain Aquifer, adding more water this year than was removed. While this is an impressive accomplishment, this must be an ongoing effort. 
+Regardless of the water year, we must focus on expanding the water infrastructure across our state. 
+If water is Idaho’s lifeblood, our public lands are surely one of our state’s greatest assets. Idaho-based collaboration is key to addressing the many issues facing public lands. Together, we must responsibly manage and protect the special places that make Idaho unique. As Governor, I will work to expand access and tackle threats to our public lands. 
+This work will protect important industries for our economy. From motorized recreation, rafting, skiing, and hunting, to hiking, fishing, and camping, Idaho’s outdoor recreation industry generates billions in consumer spending each year and supports 78,000 jobs across the state. Iconic companies like Smith Optics, Buck Knives, CLIF Bar, Vista Outdoor, and numerous guides and outfitters call our state home. 
+Idaho’s lands and waterways provide unparalleled outdoor recreation opportunities, enhancing the quality of life for Idahoans and attracting visitors, which in turn power urban and rural economies across our state. 
+There are threats to our public lands that must be confronted. Wildfire is a part of living in the West. 
+Several factors contribute to the increasing frequency of catastrophic wildfires. These fires threaten public safety and pump millions of tons of pollutants into the air, harming the health of our citizens. They damage wildlife habitat and contaminate our pristine waters. They disrupt our economy and cost taxpayers millions of dollars every year. 
+One of those threats is the buildup of fuels on our public lands closest to where we live, work, and play. 
+A few weeks ago, I signed a first-of-its-kind agreement between Idaho and the U.S. Department of Agriculture. This collaborative agreement will reduce wildfire risk, improve forest health and enhance wildlife habitat, by actively managing more acres of federal forests. 
+The new “shared stewardship” approach unifies land management activities that are now disjointed across federal, state, and privately-owned tracts. We’ll use all the tools available to us to reduce fuels around communities, including timber harvest, prescribed burns, and other activities. 
+We’re already seeing a return on our investment in the Good Neighbor Authority, a program that utilizes state employees and contracting processes for restoration work on federal lands. 
+Idaho is leading the country in our fresh, collaborative approach to land management. Other states have already reached out to Idaho for the Shared Stewardship blueprint we created with the Feds. 
+In addition, there are now over 300 ranchers and farmers who are members of nine rangeland fire protection associations across southern Idaho. The initial attack and intel they provide on more than 9 million acres of Idaho’s rangeland have given Idaho significantly improved chances against the devastation of large wildfires. 
+I want to carry over this successful wildland firefighting model to Idaho’s forestlands by expanding the initial attack capabilities of our loggers. 
+8 
+The Idaho National Laboratory (INL) is one of our state’s largest employers. It is a national asset dedicated to our energy and security interests. 
+I have been impressed to see collaboration between the lab and our state’s universities. Those enhanced ties will result in a more secure nation, a thriving laboratory, and strengthened university programs. Most importantly, it presents opportunities for our state’s best and brightest students to work and raise their families right here in Idaho. 
+With that in mind, I am pleased to announce that I am authorizing the continuation of the Leadership in Nuclear Energy (LINE) Commission. The LINE Commission will remain dedicated to advising us so we can promote the advancement of nuclear energy and ensure the vitality of the INL. 
+There is an incredible opportunity for Idaho, its businesses, and its institutions of higher learning to lead our nation, and the globe in pushing the new frontiers of safe, clean nuclear energy development. 
+In addition to world class research, Idaho has one of the most affordable and sustainable energy supplies in America. It’s clean, with a mix of hydroelectric, wind, and solar. This energy mix and low cost make Idaho competitive in attracting new industries. 
+I am intent on seizing this moment. 
+Through the free market and the innovations at the INL, Idaho will continue to expand opportunities for clean and affordable energy for our citizens and the world. 
+Idaho is ready to lead. 
+My friends, if we create an environment that brings about economic prosperity, if we continue to invest and modernize education, if we do what we can to make healthcare accessible and affordable, if we invest in our infrastructure, if we protect our natural resources, and if we assure citizen confidence in government, we will keep our best and brightest here in Idaho. 
+It is an honor to offer this State of the State to the interns, pages, young viewers, and our children and grandchildren. When they eventually occupy these seats here, in the People’s House – if we do the job before us now – I am confident they will thank us in the decades to come. 
+Thank you and God bless Idaho. 
+

state-of-the-state/speeches/Illinois_Both.txt

@@ -0,0 +1,66 @@
+I want to begin today by thanking my family. First, my partner, my best friend, the love of my life, and now the First Lady of Illinois, MK Pritzker. My wonderful children Teddi and Donny. I love you more than life itself. And my parents Sue and Don Pritzker, who departed this world too soon more than three decades ago but who left behind a set of values around honor and decency that will endure as long as there are good people in the world. 
+And please join me in giving an ovation for my partner and your Lieutenant Governor, the incomparable Juliana Stratton. 
+I want to acknowledge the other distinguished guests here today: Chief Justice Lloyd Karmeier, President John Cullerton, Speaker Michael Madigan, Leader Bill Brady, Leader Jim Durkin, Attorney General-elect Kwame Raoul, Secretary of State Jesse White, Comptroller Susana Mendoza, Treasurer Mike Frerichs, Members of the General Assembly, Members of the Congressional delegation, Governor Jim Edgar, Governor Pat Quinn, Governor Bruce Rauner, Governor Jim Thompson, Mayor Rahm Emanuel, and National Guard Adjutant General Richard Hayes. To all of you, on behalf of the people of Illinois, thank you for your service. 
+Ladies and gentlemen, for 200 years Illinois has proudly stood as the beating heart of our Republic... a place whose people have high hope and clear vision. This is where Lincoln found the mettle to grip a warring nation in both hands and hold us together. This is where Obama came to organize and to witness the courage that runs deep in our communities – in whom he found the fortitude to launch his bid to make history. This is where the 13th and 19th Amendments to the U.S. Constitution were first ratified, ending slavery and guaranteeing a woman’s right to vote. 
+This is where, on the Sunday morning after the Great Chicago Fire, Reverend Robert Collyer, pastor of the First Unitarian Church, an immigrant, an ardent anti-slavery abolitionist, and a 
+women’s suffrage advocate, stood amidst the broken ruins of his once grand church and brought hope and vision to his devastated congregation. His parishioners gathered around him, the sun peeking through gutted walls and splintered beams, an overturned column serving as his pulpit. 
+His words that morning have survived the 147 years since he delivered them...a testament to their power and truth: 
+“What is lost?” he asked. “First, our homes. Second, our businesses. But these are temporary. ... We have not lost our geography. Nature called the lakes, the forests, the prairies together in convention long before we were born, and they decided that on this spot a great city would be built. ... We have not lost our hope. ... The fire makes no difference to me. If you'll stay here, I will. And we'll work together, and help each other out of our troubles.” 
+Since Reverend Collyer’s time, Americans have often had to gather in broken cathedrals – some of stone and glass – some of aspirations and promises – to reaffirm our faith in one another. 
+We find ourselves at such a moment now. 
+We contend every day with an economy that gives little and takes too much... that allows passion and work ethic to be overwhelmed by student loans, unexpected health emergencies and the rising cost of living. 
+We want strong families, but we have yet to embrace more robust policies supporting paid parental leave and affordable child care that will sustain them. 
+We watch 100-year storms that now come every year – and yet we don’t allow the science of climate change to guide our decision making. 
+We fail to hold accountable leaders who sacrifice truth for personal gain – who substitute pageantry for patriotism. 
+We are a nation founded on fearless ideas - and yet we move away from those drawn to that vision. 
+We want better roads, better schools, better wages – but we vilify anyone who dares suggest a workable path to those things. 
+We allow our schools, our movie theaters, our hospitals, our neighborhoods to become battlefields – legally accessible by the weapons of war. 
+Our abdication of responsibility must end. 
+Just a few weeks ago, I went to Mercy Hospital to attend a vigil honoring the victims of the murderous shootings there: 
+To honor the police officer who ran into gunfire and not away.
+To honor the doctor – a University of Illinois graduate – who raised money for disadvantaged kids and led her church choir.
+To honor the pharmacist who went into medicine because she had struggled with health problems herself. 
+These are the very best of Illinois. 
+As a public servant, it’s hard to bear witness to violence such as this. 
+But this job also exposes you to the people who stitch us back together time and again, to the Illinoisans who remind us what amazing capacity we have to change. At the Mercy Hospital vigil, Sister Barbara Centner read a Franciscan prayer that speaks to who we are in Illinois: 
+“May God bless us with tears to shed for those who suffer from pain, rejection, hunger, and war, so that we may reach out our hands to comfort them and turn their pain into joy. And may God bless us with enough foolishness to believe that we can make a difference in this world, so that 
+we can do what others claim cannot be done, to bring justice and kindness to all our children and the poor.” 
+At 200 years old, Illinois is still a young promise. Our time here has been but a blink. In 2019, we must begin a new century with new maturity...and enough foolishness to believe we can make a difference. 
+That starts with leadership that abandons single minded, arrogant notions. No. Everything is not broken. 
+Our history is a story of leaps forward and occasional stumbles back - and a promise renewed with each generation that we will try harder...that we will do better...that big breakthroughs are built of centuries of selfless effort by unheralded heroes ...that big change rides on what we can do together, not what one person attempts alone. 
+Neighbors working side by side in Taylorville lost their homes and worldly possessions in the recent tornadoes. They know that what Reverend Collyer said after the Great Chicago Fire was right – we work together to help each other out of our troubles. 
+So today, with all the challenges Illinois faces, Democrats and Republicans will work together, and we must begin with our most basic responsibilities. We will propose, debate and pass a balanced budget this year. 
+It won’t be easy, but let’s confront this challenge with honesty. Our obligations as a state outmatch our resources. Our fiscal situation right now is challenging. And the solution requires a collective commitment to embracing hard choices. 
+We need to bring real efficiencies to state government. Our information technology systems are outdated and cost more to maintain than they do to replace. Inexpensive healthcare prevention programs were decimated, causing higher spending to treat diseases that could have been cured. 
+
+Balancing the budget means lowering the cost of government while delivering the high quality services Illinoisans deserve. 
+But be clear about this: I won’t balance the budget on the backs of the starving, the sick, and the suffering. I won’t hollow out the functions of government to achieve an ideological agenda – I won’t make government the enemy and government employees the scapegoats. Responsible fiscal management is a marriage of numbers - and values. 
+Which is why it’s time to start the earnest work of creating a fair tax system here in Illinois. Our regressive tax system, including property taxes and sales taxes, currently has the middle class paying more than double the rate the wealthy pay. That’s not fair, and it also doesn’t pay our bills. Today our state’s fiscal instability affects every single person who lives and works in Illinois...whether you earn millions or the minimum wage. It means that our government wastes tens of millions of dollars paying higher interest rates than almost any other state, and we scare businesses and families away because they fear our uncertain future. 
+The current tax system is simply unsustainable. Others have lied to you about that fact. I won’t. The future of Illinois depends on the passage of a fair income tax, which will bring us into the 21st Century like most of our midwestern neighbors, and like the vast majority of the United States. 
+I’m not naïve about what it will take to do this. All who enter a discussion about our state’s budget and a fair tax system in good faith will be welcomed to the table. But if you lead with partisanship and scare tactics you will be met with considerable political will. 
+It is time to update and repair our state’s aging infrastructure. Railways, roads, bridges and fresh water arteries are on the verge of collapse. Crumbling bridges mean people’s lives are in danger. Deteriorating rail systems mean goods and services take longer to deliver and cost more. We are the nation’s supply chain hub and we must be built like it. 
+Let’s remember too that an aging highway system is not just concrete and steel. It’s a longer commute home. It’s missing those golden hours between dinner and bedtime when your kids are young where you spend a few minutes reading a book together and talking about their day. 
+The seemingly dry acts of government really do affect the richness and joy of our lives. 
+We must treat the decisions we make together – the decisions of our elected officials to champion a cause and the decisions of our citizens to embrace or reject those efforts – with an eye to the pursuit of their happiness. 
+As we enter Illinois’ third century, we must bring a renaissance to downstate Illinois which has been deprived of some basic resources for education and business building that are taken for granted elsewhere in our state. To begin, we will work to deliver high speed broadband internet coverage to everyone, in every corner of Illinois. Today every new job and every student is dependent upon connectivity, and no part of our state should be left out. 
+Our future depends upon our actions today. That’s why we must embrace a broad vision of environmental protection, or else decisions are going to be forced upon us in ways that will offer us little control and catastrophic outcomes for our children. 
+I believe in science. To that end, as one of my first acts as Governor, Illinois will become a member of the U.S. Climate Alliance, upholding the goals and ideals of the Paris Climate Accord. 
+Working men and women deserve to have a governor and a Department of Labor that will enforce laws protecting workers’ wages and workers’ rights. And they deserve a $15 minimum wage. It’s good for the working families of Illinois and good for our economy. 
+As your governor, I’ll be committed to helping us become the fastest growing big state economy in the nation. I will be our state’s best Chief Marketing Officer to attract jobs and businesses to 
+Illinois. We will bring capital, technical assistance and mentorship to help Illinoisans across our state start and build new businesses and new jobs. Our economic success depends upon it. 
+In the interests of keeping the public safe from harm, expanding true justice in our criminal justice system, and advancing economic inclusion, I will work with the legislature to legalize, tax and regulate the sale of recreational cannabis in Illinois. 
+We will approach education with a holistic mindset – recognizing that students do best in community schools where teachers are paid well and where kids start learning at the earliest ages. And our economy grows when vocational training, community colleges and universities are strong. 
+We will do all of this with the most diverse set of voices and perspectives that Illinois has ever seen. I have built a cabinet of people who bring with them experiences I don’t share, from communities I did not come from, with expertise I don’t have, because to lead well, all of Illinois must be represented in the decision making. Furthermore, I want all the children of Illinois to see someone who looks like them in my government. 
+High hope and clear vision are what have built this state. Despite all the turmoil in this world, Illinoisans continue to build, innovate, create and dream. Our agriculture sector is built on some of the most fertile soil in the world, and it’s expanding, employing nearly a million people in every part of the state. We have nearly 13,000 manufacturing firms in Illinois that employ more than 580,000 people – many of them proud union workers with the best training in the world. One out of 10 computer science degrees in the nation comes from Illinois colleges and universities. 
+Our entrepreneurs continue to be tireless dreamers, whether it’s Jamie Gladfelter creating a software development incubator in Galesburg, Jeremie Draper shaping glass in Peoria or Leif Anderson still using his grandfather’s original recipes to make and sell candy in Richmond. 
+That’s the Illinois I see...one of possibility and promise. That’s the Illinois I know, one whose people are fearless and audacious. That’s the vision I have for our state...another century of boundless opportunity. When your faith in this future flags, I urge you to remember Reverend Collyer and his ruined church – how he was the vessel for his parishioners’ burnt hopes. How he saw the natural beauty of Illinois and knew nothing could steal that from them. 
+I see the natural beauty of Illinois every day – in our people. More than anything else I see it in our capacity to be kind. 
+Consider the story a few weeks ago of Casey Handal and Zadette Rosado. Casey and Zadette moved to Barrington last May and they proudly flew a rainbow flag behind their home. And then someone snuck into their yard and stole it, replacing their pride flag with an American flag – ironic because the thief doesn’t understand that you rob the American flag of meaning when you steal a person’s symbol of self-expression. 
+That could have been the end of the story, but Casey and Zadette’s neighbor Kim Filian wouldn’t let it be. She put a pride flag in her yard in solidarity. And then she kept buying them because her neighbors kept asking for them too. Soon there were pride flags everywhere – a place that hate had tried to fill was conquered by love instead. 
+As Kim noted: “Frankly, I’ve grown weary of this, of all this hate. And I gotta say, it just seemed like there was one thing that I could do that I had control of." 
+Remember that our ability to grow weary of hate fuels our enormous capacity to be kind. The bright moments of our past...the North Star of our future...are all lit not by ambition, partisanship or greed...but by kindness. 
+A willingness to be kind is a virtue often overlooked in life...a commitment to be kind in politics can change the world. Over a century ago, public policy grounded by kindness offered a penniless immigrant to Illinois a bed to sleep in, a public school education and the opportunity to 
+succeed. 130 years later, his great grandson just took the oath of office to be Governor of this great state. 
+So thank you Illinois, for your faith in me. I promise to live up to it every day. Together let’s go into this new century with enough faith to help each other out of our troubles, with enough foolishness to believe we can make a difference in the world, and with enough kindness to find the courage to change. 
+Thank you. God bless the state of Illinois. And God bless the United States of America. 
+

state-of-the-state/speeches/Indiana_SOTS.txt

@@ -0,0 +1,122 @@
+Mr. Speaker, Mr. President, Madam Chief Justice, Lt. Governor, members of the General Assembly, my fellow Hoosiers.
+It is indeed an honor to stand before you for the third time to discuss the state of our state and the work we'll do to make life better for all Hoosiers.
+I can tell you this much. It doesnt get old.
+For I know just how fortunate we are to occupy our respective offices and to therefore have the opportunity and duty to make a positive impact on people's lives and the state we all love.
+That's why I'm pleased to report that, thanks to the energy and hard work of Hoosiers from Angola to New Harmony, from Henryville to Hammond, Indiana is on a roll and the state of our state is strong!
+There are more Hoosiers working today than at any time in our state's history.
+Our labor participation rate remains higher than the national average while our unemployment rate is lower – lower than any state we touch.
+We've tripled the foreign direct investment in our state over the last three years, and we've broken records two years running now for new job commitments coming our way.
+Statewide tourism is up, wages are up, in-migration is up, home sales are hot, building permits have surged, and our tech ecosystem is growing.
+As important as these facts are now, we're planting seeds to ensure that Indiana's harvest will be bountiful for years to come!
+This two-part mission – making the lives of Hoosiers better today while building for the future – has been and will remain my administration's focus.
+My aim – to coin a phrase – is to take Indiana to the Next Level.
+This isn't a slogan on a billboard or bumper sticker to me. It's an action-oriented aspiration that Indiana can be one of the leading states in the country by any measure.
+To achieve it, we must bring the same strength and vitality to our quality of life that we have to our economy. So tonight, I'll dig a little deeper into what I mean by "the next level" and what it will take for us to get there.
+Because when I think back to not so many years ago, when our "ship of state" was taking on water fast, when our economy was weak and narrowly focused, when we had no reserves and we were outspending our revenue year after year, we were dead in the water.
+But thanks to you and our predecessors, we turned Indiana 180 degrees and set sail on a course to sustainable growth, fiscal strength and a more efficient government.
+Thanks to this continuity, Indiana has been transformed from having one of the worst financial conditions of any state to now having one of the best.
+Now, I chose to focus on "cultivating a strong and diverse economy" as the first pillar of my ongoing agenda because the first step to the next level must be a vibrant, growing economy. If our private sector isn't doing well, then surely our public sector will be first to be strained.
+That's why we can't stop now.
+Global connectivity, robotics, artificial intelligence, big data, machine learning and non-stop technological advances are permanent features of the future of work, workers and the work place. And that offers an exciting way forward to those who embrace change as an ally, not as an adversary.
+We simply cannot just maintain our course. Instead, we must throttle up.
+Two years ago, we burst off the starting line and kept the pedal to the metal ever since.
+We've operated within an honestly balanced budget, protected our Triple-A credit rating, and set aside nearly $2 billion in our state's savings account.
+We've been ranked best in the Midwest, a top five state in the nation for doing business, and number one for small business.
+But to stay ahead of our competition and keep breaking those jobs records, we must keep sharpening our economic development tools to give us the flexibility to attract more capital investment and more people to locate here.
+So, yes, I will once again pursue exempting military pensions from our state income taxes so we can attract and retain talented patriotic veterans – who we know are some of the most experienced, focused and loyal workers anywhere.
+Speaking of veterans, we are fortunate to have a few heroes with us this evening.
+In April, the Navy christened the fourth USS Indianapolis. The second ship of that name was lost at sea in 1945. The new vessel will be used for mine-clearing and anti-surface warfare.
+That ship will join the new USS Indiana, the most modern, sophisticated, fast-attack Virginia-class submarine in the world – longer than a football field and capable of 25 knots when submerged. For those of you Googling right now, that's 28.77 miles-per-hour. Pretty fast for a football-field-long boat under water.
+You'll be especially pleased to know the sailors on board the USS Indiana are officially called Hoosiers.
+Ladies and gentlemen, please help me recognize two great Americans: Commander Colin Kane of the Indianapolis and Commander David Grogan of the Indiana. Sirs, we salute you and your crews.
+We are justifiably proud of our Hoosier connections to those who defend our nation. Let their service inspire us to reach for that next level when it comes to our quality of life, education and workforce pursuits.
+Because, just as with our economic gains, we will not reach our destination in these other critical areas without changing our past ways.
+But when we set the right course to steer by, we will make progress here every day.
+And that's precisely the role and goal of the other four pillars I introduced two years ago.
+For example, we're making real progress building and rebuilding our infrastructure – something that's essential for us to remain the undisputed Crossroads of America.
+We're accelerating regional road projects like completing I-69 three years ahead of schedule. We're pursuing transformational rail projects in northwest Indiana, a fourth water port in southeast Indiana, and we're working to make Indianapolis the Midwest destination for nonstop international flights.
+But we're about more than ports, planes, trains and automobiles. The internet is just as essential to our prosperity today as highways were a century ago, and we have far too many Hoosiers without access to affordable high-speed broadband.
+When I was visiting one of our towns, someone said to me, "Eric, if you come by our Starbucks between 7 and 9 at night, you'll see parents with their kids doing their homework, because they can't get wi-fi at home."
+Another Hoosier told me, "Kids in my town go to McDonalds to go online."
+Nothing against large coffees and Big Macs. I'm a fan of both. But all students should be doing their homework at home. So, we're making the largest single investment in broadband in our state ever.
+To help more people enjoy the diverse outdoor beauty of Indiana, we're also making the single largest investment in our state's history to expand our hiking, biking and riding trails. Because we all know that today, people often choose where to live before they choose where to work, and these amenities matter.
+And to that point, reaching the next level requires strengthening our human infrastructure.
+Last year, I said that developing a 21st century workforce is the defining issue of the decade. Nothing has changed my opinion or my focus on building a Hoosier workforce that can outcompete anyone, anywhere, any day.
+Our efforts and investments are designed to meet the goal of ensuring 60 percent of Hoosier adults have a high-value credential beyond high school. To do that, we must get our kids to start thinking about their career paths earlier in their lives. So we will introduce every student to career and apprenticeship options in Indiana's key opportunity industries.
+We'll support students who seek a four-year degree and those who don't, so that everyone has a pathway to a fulfilling career.
+Earlier this year, I met a trailblazer who is doing just that: Mary Roberson, the superintendent of Perry Central Community Schools.
+Perry Central is a small school, all grades K-12 under one roof, nestled in the middle of the Hoosier National Forest. Through partnerships with local manufacturers like Jasper Engines and Waupaca Foundry, they've created a business on the school grounds.
+Students get hands-on experience in advanced manufacturing, product research and development, and also learn soft skills like a good work ethic. The kids learn and earn money. Their parents are delighted. Jasper Engines and Waupaca help students further their education and train potential employees.
+When we talked, Mary insisted, "Our kids can be just as successful as anybody," and she's proving it. Thank you, Superintendent Roberson!
+A strong economy depends on a world-class workforce. That workforce depends on a great education. A great education depends on great teachers.
+I'll bet everyone here had a teacher who had a profound impact on your life. I've had several. I've come to appreciate and respect them more and more each day.
+And one way to attract and retain more of those teachers is to make teacher pay more competitive.
+In my budget proposal last week, I requested K-12 education funding increases of 2 percent for the next two years. That's a 4 percent increase and equates to $432 million more than today.
+But we can and we must do more.
+We're in a financial position to use surplus dollars to pay off a pension liability that local schools currently pay.
+Just like paying off your mortgage frees up money in your personal budget, this state investment will save all local schools $140 million over the biennium with continued savings thereafter.
+These two proposals would result in $572 million new dollars to K-12 schools over the biennium.
+I believe local school districts should allocate 100 percent of the $140 million to increasing teacher paychecks.
+That's what we'll be doing to make an immediate impact. And over the long term, I am creating the Next Level Teacher Pay Commission – chaired by Hoosier businessman and community leader Michael L. Smith – to identify resources that can be made available to make sure our teacher compensation is competitive with neighboring Midwestern states and ready to act on by the 2021 legislative session.
+Once again, Indiana will show the way we solve challenging issues together.
+Along with improving K-12 education, we must also skill up and re-skill our adult population.
+The good news is that we're making encouraging progress. From 2016 to 2017, Indiana's post-high school credential attainment rate grew at nearly double the national growth average and even faster among Hoosiers between 25 to 44 years old.
+The number of Hoosiers with a STEM-related bachelor's degree also grew a healthy 8 percent.
+But we can and must do more here, too, which is where our Next Level Jobs program comes in.
+In 2018, nearly 9,000 Hoosiers enrolled in Workforce Ready-eligible certificate programs. Another 17,000 who previously started college came back to finish their post-secondary educations.
+That's why we'll expand our Workforce Ready Grant program to continue our push to get more adults to complete degrees or certificates in high-demand industries.
+And that's why we'll double the funding for the Employer Training Grant, which provides financial support to Indiana companies to hire, train and retain Hoosier adults to fill our job openings.
+Last October, we announced that the Markle Foundation, along with Microsoft, made Indiana only the second state in the country to land its Skillful program, which helps connect Hoosiers to fulfilling careers. They said they chose Indiana because we're doing, not talking.
+Given the urgency around strengthening our workforce, we can't afford to overlook anyone, especially those who want to earn a second chance.
+In 2018, we began enrolling Department of Correction offenders in programs to train them for high-wage, high-demand jobs – everything from welding to computer coding.
+I said last year we'd graduate 1,000 by 2020 and we're already there, a year ahead of schedule.
+We became the first state outside of California to introduce a new program called The Last Mile into our prisons. Its founders, Chris Redlitz and Beverly Parenti, are here with us tonight.
+In less than a year, we already have coding programs in two of our facilities, and Google.org recently announced it would invest $2 million into this proven program that has a zero percent recidivism rate. And thanks to Steve and Cathy Simon, we'll soon be announcing further expansion. Chris and Beverly, Steve and Cathy, thank you all for believing in Indiana.
+I also attended the first graduation of a different workforce program. This one at the Madison Correctional Facility.
+The graduation speaker was a young woman named Brittany, who had been in prison for five years.
+While there, she got training in welding and manufacturing, got the skills she needed, and got a job. That's enabled her to move into her own home and she's now helping her seventh grade nephew and her mom. And one year into her new career, she's earned a promotion. If I had to guess, the first of many.
+The best thing, Brittany told us. She said, "I get to wake up every day not looking at bars but looking at family!"
+Brittany is paying it both forward and back a generation.
+Brittany, will you please stand up, so we can stand for you?
+I'll tell you another group I'm not giving up on. In fact, we will continue to put our full force behind attacking the drug epidemic throughout our state because, ladies and gentlemen, we'remaking progress.
+Our new 2-1-1 OpenBeds program has made more than 4,000 referrals for treatment services and support groups, connecting people quicker than ever, which can mean the difference between life and death.
+The number of opioid prescriptions is down, communities are forming their own systems of care, and we are getting drug data faster and more accurately than ever before. But better data means we have more information about the extent of the issue, and it shows we still have a long way to go.
+To get there, this year we'll improve access to quality treatment, expand recovery housing, and provide better services for pregnant women who are substance dependent.
+We will keep working 24-7-365 to get more of our Hoosier neighbors on the road to recovery.
+We'll continue to be transparent and accountable on pressing issues like child welfare, infant mortality and student safety.
+Last spring, I convened a group to examine school safety and the resulting report led to recommendations that will enhance mental health services in schools, provide more funding for safety equipment, and require active shooter training and threat assessments in our schools, because that is the world we live in now.
+We are putting all of our efforts into implementing this entire plan.
+But I have heard from Hoosiers who say we need to do more, and I agree.
+Several pieces of legislation related to school safety have been introduced, and I look forward to working with you all, with moms and dads, and schools, as the days ahead unfold.
+Ladies and gentlemen, I stand before you tonight proud of the progress we're making in our Department of Child Services.
+A year ago we had just started a top-to-bottom review of DCS. Now, we are moving full speed ahead on addressing all those 20 recommendations that not only protect children but recognize the difficult work of those who protect them.
+It's still early, but the investments we've made to increase caseworker salaries and improve the workforce culture are making a difference. The ratio of supervisors to case managers has improved, so there is more time for supportive supervision and coaching. Turnover among frontline staff is down and retention is up, which means more stability between caseworkers and the families they work with. And fewer children are re-entering the DCS system after their cases close.
+Now is not the time to pull back resources, right when we're starting to see such progress.
+I also challenged our social service agencies to become the best state in the Midwest for infant mortality by 2024, a tall order considering where we've started.
+You all approved our "Levels of Care" program to assure that the highest-risk babies are delivered at hospitals with the right facilities to meet the needs of moms and infants.
+Now we're seeking to implement two more programs that aim directly at reducing infant mortality: A navigator program to help guide high-risk pregnant women and a program to verbally screen all expecting mothers for substance use disorder so those who need it will be connected to treatment.
+These are the kinds of efforts it will take to get more babies to celebrate their first birthdays, regardless of their zip codes.
+Finally, we will not slow our efforts to modernize state government to better serve our citizens and businesses alike. But, truly serving all our citizens requires more than increasing our efficiency.
+Indiana is one of five states that does not yet have a bias crimes law. It's time for us to move off that list.
+I look forward to working with the General Assembly to achieve this goal so that our state law reflects what's already in my administration's employment policy.
+Businesses interested in Indiana care about this issue, but it's not just about business. At heart, this has to do with people's dignity and how we treat one another.
+Standing strong against targeted violence motivated to instill fear against an entire group is the right thing to do. So let's strengthen our state laws by ensuring judges can sentence more severely when a group is targeted, even though there may be only one actual victim.
+With your help, and only with your help, we can do this.
+Now I said earlier that a strong economy is essential to determining our desired destiny. To truly reach the next level, our quality of life must be equally strong.
+You can see a good example of both just off I-65 in northwest Indiana at Fair Oaks Farms.
+Over the past 50 years, Mike and Sue McCloskey went from running small dairies in California to bigger dairies in New Mexico. When they wanted to expand their business, they chose Indiana because our prime location enabled them to reach the most customers.
+Today, Fair Oaks has 30,000 cows and is recognized as the sustainability leader in the U.S. dairy industry.
+They also transform their cow manure into power for their farms and trucks and have started building affordable housing for their growing workforce.
+Mike says this success couldn't have happened anywhere else. He said, "I gotta tell you, there's no better state to work in than Indiana."
+Mike and Sue, thank you for planting a field of dreams in Indiana.
+So, we have business innovators who could have gone anywhere, but chose Indiana as their launch pad because we occupy the best location in the nation, core to shore.
+They stayed in Indiana because rather than hold them back with high taxes and regulations, we cheer on their success.
+They're turning a profit, contributing to their community and they never stop thinking about ways to convert have-nots into haves.
+Whether it's businesses like Fair Oaks Farms or Forest River, Genesys or Infosys, Lilly or Indiana Limestone.
+Whether it's people like Mike and Sue, Chris and Beverly, Steve and Cathy, Mary or Brittany.
+Or whether it's commanders and sailors in places we'll never know.
+Hoosiers across Indiana and beyond are leading our state into the future – the Indiana way – growing glo-cally and finding creative ways to make lives better, and in the process, taking Indiana to the next level.
+I'm going to focus every day on supporting them and steering our great state onward and upward.
+May God continue to bless you and our great state!
+
+

state-of-the-state/speeches/Iowa_SOTS.txt

@@ -0,0 +1,294 @@
+Mr. Lt. Governor, Mr. President, Madam Speaker, legislative leaders, senators, representatives, justices, judges, elected officials, distinguished guests, family, friends, my fellow Iowans:
+
+The job of government, above all else, is to provide for the health and safety of its citizens.
+
+So I want to begin this address by thanking the people who are on the front lines of providing that protection: the men and women who serve in military, law enforcement, and as first responders.
+
+They risk their lives for us. And some of them give the ultimate sacrifice. It was with great sadness that, last week, we laid to rest Clinton firefighter Lt. Eric Hosette. And it is with prayerful hope that we watch Firefighter Adam Cain recover from the same tragic event.
+
+For these men and women, service isn’t just part of their job. It’s who they are—whether the uniform is on or off.
+
+Take Billy Fox. After graduating from Central College, he enlisted in the Army and joined the special forces. After almost eight years of active service and tours in the Middle East, Billy returned to civilian life.
+
+He began his job search through Home Base Iowa and eventually landed at Vermeer, back home in Pella. He started on the production line and quickly became the head of security, where his instincts to serve and protect would be put to use—in ways that no one would have imagined.
+
+On July 19, a tornado ripped through Vermeer’s campus, completely destroying one factory and heavily damaging others. It was devastating. I saw it first-hand the next day. Metal was everywhere; cars were piled on top of each other; and brick walls were leveled.
+
+Yet there was not a single fatality. Not one.
+
+Thanks to Billy’s calm and experienced leadership, the 3,000 employees and visitors attending Vermeer’s customer appreciation day were safe. Even though an “all clear” was issued by a paid weather service, Billy and his team kept everyone sheltered—and in doing so, saved their lives.
+
+Billy, please stand so that we can recognize your service, leadership, and bravery.
+
+On the same day a tornado struck Vermeer, separate tornadoes ripped through Bondurant and Marshalltown, destroying homes and businesses in their path.
+
+In the days and weeks after, hundreds of volunteers showed up to help clear debris and rebuild.
+
+Last year, we saw the same thing play out again and again across Iowa. In times of need, Iowans came together. Neighbor-helping-neighbor. And often, stranger helping stranger.
+
+Whether it was cleaning up after a flood or a tornado, looking for a missing loved one, or bringing in a harvest after a tragedy, Iowans showed up.
+
+It’s who we are, and it’s why I am so proud to be your governor.
+
+Join me in recognizing the Iowans who, every day, show acts of kindness, and who truly make this the greatest state in the nation.
+
+For those of us who have the honor to represent these Iowans, it’s our job to live up to the example they set.  And there’s no better time than the Condition of the State and the days that follow to set aside our differences and forge a common vision.
+
+
+Iowans expect no less.  
+
+Working across the aisle isn’t an impossible task; we’ve done it. And by continuing to put Iowans first, we honor four public servants, whose belief in diplomacy, principles, and bipartisanship made an incredible difference in millions of lives.
+
+In 2018, America lost a great leader with the passing of President George H.W. Bush. A man whose legacy is one of service, statesmanship and values, and whose commemoration served as a reminder to all Americans of the nobility of public service.
+
+Iowa mourned the passing of Gov. Robert Ray whose civility, courage and common-sense style of governing set the highest standard for those who followed.
+We grieved the passing of Congressman Leonard Boswell, a proud veteran and public servant who willingly reached across the aisle on many issues to make Iowa a better place.
+
+And three weeks ago, we lost legendary Sen. John Culver, whose energy, passion for politics, and timeless wit highlighted the best of Iowa.
+
+If we’ve learned anything from the passing of these public servants, it’s this: Working together, with deep resolve, we can achieve more than we ever dreamed possible.
+
+Last year was another year of significant accomplishments. Together, we: passed the largest income tax cut ever as part of a groundbreaking tax reform package; continued making education a priority by investing a record amount in K-12 schools and our children’s future; enacted a collaborative water-quality bill, my first as governor; protected the sanctity of life; provided affordable insurance options to thousands of Iowans; and—with unanimous support—enacted comprehensive mental health reform and the Future Ready Iowa Act.
+
+Indeed, it was a historic year.
+
+As we begin a new general assembly, I’m proud to declare that the condition of the state is strong. Our budget is balanced and our cash reserves are full; wages are going up while unemployment is at an all-time low.
+
+Because of our people and the power of their ingenuity, Iowa is soaring.
+
+I know, however, that not everyone feels that success. I know that in family rooms, workplaces—and even in this chamber—there are Iowans who are struggling, sometimes in silence.
+
+Today, I am asking this Legislature to work with me again to fight for those individuals. To make sure that Iowa’s success is every Iowan’s success.
+
+One year ago, I stood at this podium and told you that my vision for the future is an Iowa overflowing with opportunity—opportunity for our working families, young people, and our communities, both rural and urban.
+
+A place where it doesn’t matter if you’re rich or poor, young or old, male or female.
+
+Where your last name and zip code aren’t nearly as important as your ability to dream and willingness to reach for it.
+
+A place where, if life got in the way of those dreams, you can make a new start.
+
+And if you’ve made mistakes, you can find a second chance.
+
+My vision for the future of Iowa hasn’t changed. But the future I see isn’t around the corner, or after the next election. The future is now. The time is now to deliver on the promises we’ve made to Iowans looking for a way up.
+
+It starts by taking the next step to prepare Iowans for dynamic careers and lifelong learning.
+
+That’s Future Ready Iowa.
+
+At its core, Future Ready Iowa recognizes that there is dignity in meaningful work, that Iowans yearn for the opportunity to better themselves, and that those opportunities exist right here in Iowa.
+
+It directs resources where we need them most. Identifying high-demand jobs like computer programmers and electricians. Educating Iowans about those great opportunities while providing support for individuals seeking those rewarding careers.
+
+We’ve already started putting the policy into action. Last fall, Future Ready Iowa summits were hosted in 18 communities across the state.
+
+We brought together employers, educators and local leaders, to discuss how communities could use the Future Ready Iowa Act as a springboard to propel Iowans into new careers.
+
+In fact, after one of the summits, the North Scott superintendent decided to launch a Registered Apprenticeship program for advanced manufacturing. Local employers like John Deere and Eagle Engineering already have expressed interest. And  students, like Myah Harrington, are eager to sign up.
+
+To encourage education and training beyond high school, Fareway has started a program to help employees pay down their student debt. And Ruan Transportation started a technology apprenticeship program that will give young Iowans yet another great career path.  
+
+We will see this play out again and again over the next few years.
+
+Future Ready Iowa is a powerful tool to grow family incomes, meet employer needs and strengthen communities.
+
+The time is now to invest in Iowans and their future. Today, I’m calling on the Legislature to take the next step, to appropriate $20 million to fund the plan we put in place last session.
+
+This investment will take Iowa to the next level. And more important, it will give more Iowans an opportunity to find a rewarding career.
+
+Of course, the road to finding a rewarding career doesn’t start after high school. A strong K-12 education system is the foundation of any state, and Iowa has a solid foundation to build upon.
+
+Our schools are filled with innovative teachers, who are making things happen; we have the most extensive teacher leadership and compensation system in the country; a nationally recognized STEM initiative; and we’re getting closer to our goal to have students reading proficiently by the end of third grade.
+
+That’s just a sample of the critical work that is underway in our state. But there is always more to do.
+
+Kids today are growing up immersed in a world of digital technology. The workforce is continually impacted by innovation and globalization. And we need an education system that adapts to those changes.
+
+Because of our investment in STEM, apprenticeships, work-based learning and computer science, it’s happening now across our state.
+
+In August we launched a new program called Computer Science is Elementary. Through STEM grants, this public-private partnership will transform six high-poverty elementary schools into models of computer science instruction by weaving computer coding into the class lessons.
+
+We’re also seeing other elementary schools expanding or creating computer science programs.
+
+Clear Lake is expanding coding and other fundamentals for fourth- and fifth-graders; Kingsley-Pierson is training teachers to teach computer science; and Indianola is teaching coding to kindergarteners, first- and second-graders.
+
+Iowa students are getting amazing real-world learning experiences.
+
+Like Central Campus in Des Moines, where this week, high-school students will start a semester-long program called NeuroSMART. Through a partnership with Kemin and Des Moines University, and with the support of a STEM Council award, these students will get hands-on experience in the fields of neuroscience and business.
+
+In the gallery today, we have students from Central Campus. Please stand to be recognized. We are excited to see what the future has in store for you.
+
+The budget I’m submitting today proposes over $93 million in additional funding for preschool through high school education, which includes a 2.3% increase in per pupil funding.
+
+I’m also requesting $11.2 million to help districts with disproportionate transportation costs.
+
+And I’m asking  for a $1 million increase in STEM funding.
+
+In total, that will bring our preK-12 investment to almost $3.4 billion this year.
+
+That’s an investment we can be proud of.  But Iowans also know that a quality education can’t be reduced to a dollar figure or a percentage increase.  It’s about one thing and one thing only: How well we prepare our children to succeed.
+
+Over the last eight years, I’ve been fortunate to travel the nation and the world on behalf of Iowa.
+
+These trips have provided ideas on what we can do better, but they’ve also given me perspective on what makes Iowa so unique.
+
+From river to river and border to border, Iowa is speckled with vibrant communities, each with its own character and story to tell.
+
+Every 10, 15 or 20 miles, there’s another town, with another school brimming with pride, and another Main Street filled with excitement and hope.
+
+These welcoming and unique communities motivate thousands to ride their bikes from the Missouri to the Mississippi each year. They’re what gives Iowa its character.  
+
+Unfortunately, in some places, that character is fading. We cannot let that happen.
+
+Our communities and Main Streets tell a story to the outside world. My question for each of you is this: How do we want our story to read?
+
+That we’ve given up, or that we have hope for the future?  That we’re tired, or full of energy? That we’ve lost our vision, or are innovative and creative?  That we’re fading or growing?
+
+As I travel all 99 counties, I’ve seen the story that many Iowans are writing and the potential to do more.
+
+That’s what led me to create the Governor’s Empower Rural Iowa Initiative, a partnership between my office and the Iowa Rural Development Council.
+
+Led by Lt. Governor Gregg and Sandy Ehrig, the initiative  focused on connecting, investing and growing our rural communities.
+
+I want to thank the Lt. Governor and Sandy for their leadership. And I want to thank the members of the Empower Rural Iowa Initiative for their work in providing the initial recommendations.
+
+It’s no secret, we need to keep our rural communities connected if we hope to keep our young people or attract others to Iowa. Over a century ago, a town’s proximity to the railroad was key; over the last 100 years, our focus has been on highways and interstates.  And, by the way, it’s that focus that finally gave us a completed four-lane Highway 20.
+
+Now, though, it’s virtual connectivity that has become essential. Businesses, schools, hospitals, and even our combines, rely on high-speed internet.
+
+We have come a long way already. U.S. News & World Report  says “the Hawkeye state leads the nation in efforts to bring ultra-fast internet access to every city block and every rural acre.” But there’s still more to do.  
+
+To ensure that every part of Iowa has the same opportunity, I am requesting $20 million, split over two years, for broadband infrastructure. This funding will accelerate expansion and leverage an additional $120 million in private investment for high-speed internet.
+
+Rural communities also can’t thrive without access to housing. Businesses in rural Iowa are growing and hiring, but the employees they need won’t make the move if there’s no place for their family to call home.
+
+I am therefore requesting that we double the amount of workforce housing tax credits that are set aside for rural communities, putting the total at $10 million.  I’m also asking that these tax credits be competitive, meaning that they will go to those projects that are well planned, not just first in line.
+ 
+When it comes to building strong communities, the talent is there. The drive is there. And often, the programs are there, but the coordination isn’t.
+
+That’s why I’m announcing the establishment of a Center for Rural Revitalization within the Iowa Economic Development Authority. This center will focus on making rural Iowa an even greater priority and give our Main Streets a roadmap for success.
+ 
+In places like Jefferson, Iowans are already showing that, with ingenuity and drive, our small towns can be as vibrant as they’ve ever been.
+
+Since 2012, over 100 Greene County residents volunteered more than 29,000 hours to raise funds, write grants and work on committees.  
+
+They’ve transformed downtown Jefferson, attracting 14 businesses and rehabbing dozens of buildings. And recently, voters overwhelmingly approved a bond referendum that will build a new high school that will house a career academy that will feed a new downtown business called the Forge.
+
+The Forge, which is owned by Pillar Technologies, will employ 30 technology consultants, many of them just out of high school.  Pillar has successfully brought this same concept to Silicon Valley, Columbus, Ohio, Ann Arbor, Michigan, and recently Des Moines.
+
+And now it’s coming to downtown Jefferson.
+
+Why? Because even people in our nation’s largest cities can see what rural Iowa has to offer. People like Kevin Scott, the chief technology officer of Microsoft and a group of technology investors who paid a visit to Jefferson just last month.
+
+Not every Iowa town will be home to a new technology consulting firm. But we should help ignite every community with the passion of the people of Greene County, some of whom are with us here today. Thank you for being that spark. Please stand up and be recognized.
+
+Since taking the oath of office, one of my priorities has been to create an integrated and coordinated health care system. We made great strides on that effort last year.
+
+We passed legislation that gave Iowans affordable health care options.
+
+We worked diligently, and still are, to ensure the that our Medicaid program is sustainable and focused on patient outcomes.
+
+And we unanimously passed mental health reform, which built on the changes we began in 2013.
+
+And we’re seeing results. In a recent report, Mental Health America declared that Iowa’s overall mental health system is the seventh best in the nation, and third when it comes to the adult system.
+
+That’s before the legislation from last year has been fully implemented.
+
+This year, the mental health regions will continue developing new services. To help sustain them, I’ve set aside an additional $11 million in my two-year Medicaid budget.
+
+And I’m calling on the Legislature to extend the time the regions have to spend down their capital balances and to increase the percentage of their operating budgets that may be carried from one year to the next.
+
+There may still be more to do, so I’m asking everyone in this chamber to work with me to ensure that we have sustainable funding that will keep our mental health system strong.
+
+Another essential piece of a strong mental health system is having adequate behavioral healthcare providers. To build on the existing psychiatric residency program, my budget proposes to fund four additional psychiatric residencies at the University of Iowa for doctors who will practice in rural communities. And I’m asking the Legislature to appropriate additional money to train nurse practitioners and physician assistants in mental health.
+
+Our efforts aren’t over yet. But by working together, we will have the best adult mental health system in the country.
+
+When it comes to our children and their changing mental health needs, we are not as far along.
+
+That’s not for a lack of talking about it. We’ve been doing that for more than 20 years.
+
+It’s time to move past the talking phase.
+
+There is no worse pain than that of a child who is suffering in silence. And there is no greater agony than that of a parent who watches helplessly—not knowing where or to whom they can turn.
+
+Diagnosing and healing illness is never guaranteed, but when it comes to physical pain parents know the path to get there. “The doctor will see you now,” is usually just a few minutes or hours away.
+
+When it comes to mental health, however, part of the fear and the pain is in not knowing where to begin. In being told “no one provides those services” or “your child is on a wait list, we can see her in two to three  months.”
+
+We must create a children’s mental health system where the path to healing is clearly marked.  A system that lets parents know where to begin—and that their child can begin immediately.
+
+That’s why, at the end of last session, I signed an executive order creating a children’s mental health board. I asked this group of educators, mental health professionals, parents, legislators and children’s advocates to devise a plan and create a structure for a children’s mental health system.
+
+The board has completed its initial task, and based on its recommendation, I will be introducing a bill that finally creates a children’s system that will work in tandem with our adult system.
+
+I’m also calling on the Legislature to appropriate additional money for home- and community-based children’s mental health services so that we can eliminate the waiting list that currently exists.
+
+And I’m requesting $3 million to train teachers to better recognize early signs of mental illness.
+
+Creating a comprehensive children’s mental health system will take time. But we can and must take action. The days of merely talking are over.
+
+Three years ago, we began to offer apprenticeship programs in our state prisons. The concept isn’t hard to understand: Most of our inmates aren’t inmates for life. They will reenter society—and when they do, we want them to be successful. Those who can’t get a job often find their way back to crime and then back to prison.
+
+So from a public safety perspective, training our inmates is the right thing to do.
+
+But there’s more to it than that. As I said earlier, there is dignity in work. There is also beauty in grace.
+
+Talk with someone who, by their own actions, hit rock bottom but decided to turn their life around. Watch their face light up when they tell you about the person who offered them a helping hand. A family member, a friend, or maybe a stranger.
+
+There are few things as powerful as the  joy of someone who got a second chance and found their purpose.
+
+If you talk to Michael Willoughby or Steve Shewry, you’ll see it. Both men completed an apprenticeship program in prison: Michael prepared to be a computer operator and Steve prepared for a career in welding. Both men committed serious crimes.
+
+Today, both men are star employees at jobs they landed before leaving prison. They were offered a second chance, they took it, and they succeeded.
+
+Frontier Co-Op in Norway and Winger Companies in Ottumwa are the other half of this story. Those are the employers who saw something in Michael and Steve. They looked beyond the rap sheet and found high-quality employees for hard-to-fill jobs.
+
+Too often, employers overlook these skilled workers because of the fear of  lawsuits. Let’s take that off the table. Our correctional system and parole board are the  judge of whether an inmate is ready to be released. Let’s not punish employers for offering an offender a second chance. I am also calling on the Legislature to send me a bill that protects employers like Frontier and Winger who hire Iowans with criminal records.
+
+Michael and Steve are with us today. So are Megan Schulte, head of of human resources at Frontier, and Jim Keck, general manager of Winger. Thank you for showing us the value of second chances.
+
+Now, more than ever, we need people like Michael and Steve. We have a skilled worker shortage and prisons full of inmates, many of whom will soon re-enter society. Let’s get them the skills they need and place them with the Frontiers and Wingers of this state.
+
+To that end, I am announcing today that we are establishing a new home building program at the Newton Correctional Facility. In partnership with the nonprofit Homes for Iowa, this program will provide housing that is needed throughout rural Iowa. And it will provide training for jobs that are in high demand. It’s a win-win.
+
+There are other programs across the state that are working to ensure criminal offenders are finding a new purpose.
+
+Through a pilot program, the Department of Corrections is currently working with Iowa Central Community College in Fort Dodge to offer Pell Grants to prison inmates.  This program is one of the most successful in the country, with more than 420 students participating, earning an average GPA of 3.5.
+
+I also recently met with a group of Iowans, led by Tim Krueger, who are working to bring a nonprofit organization called The Other Side Academy to Des Moines. It’s a two-year residential rehabilitation program that is an alternative to prison or jail. And it operates without government funding, sustaining itself through the businesses run by its participants.
+
+These are just two examples. Together, I believe there is even more we can do.
+
+And we can start with felon voting. Our constitution takes away the voting rights of anyone convicted of a felony. Forever.
+
+Only two other state constitutions have a similar provision, and last November, the people of Florida voted to remove their ban.  
+
+Through the power of clemency, the governor can restore those rights, and I have done that 88 times since taking office.
+
+But I don’t believe that voting rights should be forever stripped, and I don’t believe restoration should be in the hands of a single person.
+
+After the election, an Iowan stopped me at my grandson’s basketball game in Waukee. I had restored his rights and he wanted to tell me, in person, how much it meant to him. How, when he stepped into the voting booth, he felt a dignity that had been missing, even after leaving prison.
+
+I don’t think this man and others like him who have completed their sentences should have to wait for my say or any future governor’s say before they get that dignity back.
+
+Our founders gave us a process to amend the constitution, should the passage of time change our view. Let’s begin that process now. I believe Iowans recognize the power of redemption; let’s put this issue in their hands.
+
+That’s not the only constitutional amendment we should consider.
+
+As it should, our constitution deals extensively with the rights of the accused and convicted. But it never mentions victims.
+
+In all of the focus on second chances and forgiveness, we should never forgot about the victims. I know each of you in this room believe that. So let’s show it. This year, let’s start the process of enshrining victim’s rights into the Iowa Constitution. Like 36 other states have done, let’s send victims a loud and clear message: We will protect you.
+
+Over the next few months, I look forward to working with all of you to enact these priorities and yours. Whether it’s looking for ways to further reform our tax code, or passing legislation that strengthens our health care system, I am excited for what’s in store.
+
+We have laid the foundation for a bright future.  Let’s build on it.
+
+The time is now to finish what we started.
+
+The time is now to cement Iowa’s status as the best state in the nation.
+
+The time is now to deliver on the promises we’ve made to Iowans looking for a way up.
+
+Thank you, God bless you, and God bless the great state of Iowa.
+

state-of-the-state/speeches/Kansas_SOTS.txt

@@ -0,0 +1,118 @@
+Mr. Speaker, Madam President, Chief Justice, Members of the Supreme Court, Members of the Legislature, Honored Guests, and my Fellow Kansans:
+What a profound honor to stand before you tonight to offer a vision for the state we all love.
+In the east gallery, I’m joined by the man I often joke about as “my long-suffering husband,” Ted Daughety. But he truly has been a pillar of support for me and my daughters for over 30 years – and especially the last 13 months.
+Our daughters, Kathleen and Molly, were here earlier this week.
+Every time I see them, I’m reminded of why Ted and I made our home in Kansas over three decades ago. What a wise decision that was. The upbringing we were able to give our daughters in this magnificent state helped mold them into two remarkable individuals.
+I’m very proud of them – and the strong, talented women they have become.
+My partner on this journey, Lieutenant Governor Lynn Rogers, is here with his wife Kris. Kansans will be hard pressed to find a more energetic, big-hearted, dedicated lieutenant governor. Lynn will be a true asset to our state as he works to cultivate growth in rural Kansas.
+I’m also thrilled to welcome members of my new Cabinet.
+From the beginning, I committed to building a strong, diverse, dynamic group to rebuild our state. You’ll recognize both Democrats and Republicans, women and men, a mix of seasoned veterans and fresh faces, all with a love for Kansas and a sincere desire to serve. And I thank them for their willingness to take on these new challenges.
+And to the Kansas Legislature: welcome back! It’s wonderful to see so many old friends and also so many new leaders. I know I’m in a new role, but I want to maintain my working relationship with you. We are all in this together, we’ve got to be pulling in the same direction. There’s so much at stake. And I look forward to working with you.
+It has been quite a week. I’m not usually one for ceremonial fanfare, but I’ve treasured every minute. From the day of service to the inauguration on the capitol steps to this incredibly surreal moment.
+But I’m also ready to get to work.
+My message to you this evening is both constitutionally-mandated and a time-honored tradition. Of course, the personalities and dynamics shift over time, but the backdrop, and the fundamental tasks at hand, never change.
+I am here, as your governor, to offer a blueprint for the year ahead. You are here, as lawmakers, to enact a budget. This has been done 157 times before.
+Yet, something feels different tonight.
+After a decade of crises – starting with the Great Recession, followed by a self-inflicted budget catastrophe – we found ourselves at a turning point. We were at times weary, frustrated and, sadly, untrusting of one another.
+But, in the end, it came down to a fundamental question. We had to ask, what is Kansas worth?
+This was not just a matter of dollars and cents. It forced us to re-examine some of our most deeply- held convictions, and it was a painful process.
+But as problems piled up, we had to accept reality. In 2017, we defied the odds, acknowledged the mistake, and hit “reset” in a historic act of bipartisanship.
+That is what it means to be a Kansan.
+Regardless of our state’s partisan breakdown, our crowning achievements have always been won on the middle ground.
+Now, tonight we will start a new chapter. We must unite around the values we share … we must always remember that the people who sent us here expect compromise and results.
+But we must also strike a delicate balance in the days ahead. It will require an acknowledgement of the entire Kansas story. Not just one fiscal year or one moment in time.
+It is with this renewed sense of purpose, appreciation for our past struggles, and optimism for our next chapter that I proudly report:
+The state of our state is improving.
+2019 offers an unmatched opportunity for Kansas to continue its upward climb. But for our fragile recovery to continue, we must resist running to our partisan corners. We must keep our eyes fixed on the task at hand – and the job we were elected to do.
+And all of that begins at the heart of our communities – in our public schools.
+Just a few weeks ago, a story in the newspaper caught my eye. It was about a young man named Braxton Moral. He will graduate from Ulysses High School and Harvard University. That’s right, Harvard, this year at the tender age of 16. He will graduate with a Bachelor’s Degree in government, and a minor in English. All while he is still in high school right here in Kansas.
+And he has big plans after graduation – he is looking ahead to law school.
+Braxton is obviously a uniquely talented student. But he also reminds us of what young people will accomplish when given the opportunity. Braxton is here today with his family in the east gallery – I ask you to join me in recognizing this amazing young Kansan.
+Students like Braxton exemplify the transformative power of our public schools. A place where all Kansas children who strive can reach their potential and overcome any obstacle, no matter where they come from.
+But only if we, as elected leaders hold up our end of the bargain.
+Unfortunately, throughout Kansas’ decades-long debate over school funding, we’ve fallen into a troubling pattern. It begins with a promise from elected leaders to fund our schools. Then a failure to follow through on that promise.
+That is going to change this year. This year, we will end this cycle of litigation and meet the needs of our students and teachers once and for all.
+The days of doing the bare minimum to fund our schools are over. It stops now.
+Remember, just a few short years ago, schools closed early because they literally could not afford to stay open. Test scores dropped for the first time in a decade. Class sizes grew – some with more than 30 kids in a single classroom.
+Superintendents and principals struggled to hold their districts together, often taking on multiple roles like counselor or bus driver. Sometimes they even refused to be paid, just to keep their budgets above water.
+Teachers fled the state. And those who stayed received an average salary that ranked 42nd in the nation.
+The consequences were tangible and the scars are lasting.
+Never again.
+We’re going to properly fund our schools this year. And next year. And the year after that. Every year, every month, every day that I’m governor. 
+And we’re going to make sure our schools prepare our children for a changing economy. Modern classrooms with modern technologies.
+Because at the end of the day, we need our children to graduate high school or college or technical school so they can find jobs right here in Kansas. So they can stay here and raise their families close to home.
+When I began work on the state’s budget last month, this was the very first decision I made. Budgets reflect our priorities, and my number one priority will always be our public schools.
+Now I’m calling on lawmakers to act on my proposal with equal urgency.
+To assist in the effort, I separated education funding from the rest of the budget. This will provide a vehicle for you to consider the matter cleanly and quickly.
+My friends, we have debated this issue in these halls, in the courts of law, and in the court of public opinion. Kansans flocked to the polls in record numbers last year to send a message about this issue specifically. Now, we must listen to them – our families, our teachers, our business leaders.
+We have a deadline to meet, so let’s get this done. If we act decisively, we can all share in a bipartisan victory.
+Because I assure you, we face plenty of other urgent problems – especially in our rural communities.
+This past July, I put forth a detailed plan to address the challenges facing rural Kansas. The majority of our 105 counties lost population last year and for many years prior to that. And whether it’s roads, broadband, housing, or agriculture – they need our support.
+Speaker Ryckman and Representative Hineman, thank you for recognizing this important challenge and creating a new committee to focus significant time and energy on this issue. We look forward to partnering with you and the committee members.
+Lt. Governor Lynn Rogers – along with our new Secretary of Commerce, David Toland, will head up this effort on behalf of my administration.
+In the coming days, we will build an interconnected, strategic plan for rural economic development that leverages our communities’ unique assets. That means developing infrastructure. Addressing the shortage of affordable housing and supporting agribusiness.
+We’re going to cherish our rural and small-town way of life – and we’re going to make sure that rural Kansans can get the support they need to thrive.
+One more important way we do that… by expanding Medicaid.
+Just two weeks ago – on December 31st – Mercy Hospital in Fort Scott closed its doors after more than 100 years in the community. This followed the closure of the hospital in Independence in 2015.
+Now the folks of Bourbon County will have to travel long distances for emergency care, to give birth, or just to get tests done.
+According to some reports, 30% of our state’s hospitals are considered financially vulnerable. In small communities across our state – these facilities are at serious risk of closure.
+Rural communities cannot survive without hospitals and affordable healthcare. Period.
+Young families, seniors, Kansans who suffer from chronic illness, Kansans who just want to stay healthy — no one can afford to risk their safety and wellbeing by living in a community without access to healthcare.
+Just by expanding KanCare – the state’s Medicaid program – we can help keep these important facilities stay open and provide affordable health care to 150,000 more Kansans – no matter where they live.
+I’ve made no secret that expanding this program is one of my top priorities. And 77% of Kansans agree with me.
+To date, our failure to act has cost Kansas over $3 billion in federal funding. That’s 3 billion in tax dollars we’ve paid to the federal government that has gone to benefit other states. It’s $3 billion that could have helped save Kansas lives, Kansas hospitals, and Kansas communities.
+Instead, we sent it to states like Iowa, Colorado, Indiana, and Arkansas or one of the 32 other states that have already expanded Medicaid.
+Child advocates support Medicaid expansion as a means of keeping vulnerable parents healthy. If low-income Moms and Dads can afford treatment for mental health, substance abuse, or just everyday preventive care, they can take better care of their children, and perhaps we can keep these kids in their own homes and out of our foster care system.
+Senator Jerry Moran recently noted that rural hospitals are – and I quote – hanging on by a thread – end quote. And he agreed that expanding Medicaid could help them.
+And just last fall, Governor Jeff Colyer’s Task Force to Address Substance Abuse Disorders and the opioid crisis also recommended expansion to ease the unsustainable burden on our hospitals and criminal justice system.
+We’ve seen Republican and Democratic led states across the country find consensus on this issue to benefit their citizens, their communities and their economies.
+For all these reasons and so many more, tomorrow’s budget will pave the way for Medicaid expansion.
+Next week, I will announce a bipartisan working group to finalize a path forward.?By Kansas Day, there will be a plan to expand Medicaid put before the Kansas Legislature.
+I can imagine no better way to celebrate our state’s 158th birthday than by embracing a policy that will make every Kansas community healthier, stronger, and more secure. Please join me in this effort.
+And finally, another critical challenge we must address immediately. A moral crisis in Kansas that troubles me every day. And sadly, it is a matter of life and death.
+Our foster care system is at a crisis point. It requires immediate and considerable attention.
+This is an issue I have been working on since I graduated from high school. I worked with troubled teens and children struggling with mental illness. It has been a lifelong mission to help our most vulnerable – and often forgotten – children.
+In the last few years, nothing has made me more angry than the callous disregard some agency leaders demonstrated towards our vulnerable children and their families. The incompetence and lack of transparency we witnessed in committee hearings 18 months ago … made national news. And it put a spotlight on this reprehensible crisis.
+Last year, when I found out 70 foster children were missing – I was beside myself. Not only that, the secretary at the time didn’t seem bothered by the revelation. But I demanded answers. And together with colleagues and advocates, we demanded change.
+In the last year, the Child Welfare Task Force has done great work studying the problems and working towards accountability. But there was only so much we could do without full cooperation and transparency.
+The number of Kansas children in foster care has skyrocketed – up 45% since 2011. We’ve seen the programs, charged with helping families, overwhelmed by the sheer numbers in need. And the caseloads of dedicated social workers are absurdly high – making it challenging to provide the services needed by our most vulnerable children and their families.
+There is not an easy answer. But we must do what we can to protect our kids.?This is an emergency. These are our children in our communities facing abuse, neglect and worse. Let’s remember Evan Brewer… Jayla Haag… Mekhi Boone. And many more who needed our help. These were our children… in our communities. And I refuse to forget them.
+We must fix this now.
+My budget provides funding for the Families First Prevention Services Act, a landmark piece of legislation approved by Congress last year. It will inject millions into efforts that strengthen vulnerable families and prevent children from entering the foster care system.
+My budget includes funding to hire more, qualified social workers and reduce their caseloads. We will restore funding cuts to our prized Children’s Initiatives Fund, where we know our investments have the greatest impact on our youngest children.
+We will prioritize SCHIP – the State Children’s Health Insurance Program – to accommodate federal changes so that low-income Kansas children don’t lose their access to healthcare.
+Finally, working in partnership with my new Department for Children and Families Secretary, Laura Howard, we will rebuild an agency decimated by ideology and mismanagement. In November of last year, I said that “in order to fix something, you have to know what’s going on. You have to be able to get under the hood, see what is working and what is not.”
+My team is already at work – and we will be transparent about what we find and we will make it right.
+I know that each of you is committed to protecting all God’s children. And that begins with our most needy. I ask you to join me with this fight.
+Tonight, I’ve laid out a few of our priorities for Kansas.?We must restore funding to Kansas schools and end the cycle of litigation.
+We must expand Medicaid so we can create jobs, keep our tax dollars in Kansas, save our rural communities, and protect our most economically fragile families.
+We must fix our broken foster care system and do absolutely everything in our power to ensure that our most vulnerable children are protected from neglect and violence.
+Yet, there are so many things we haven’t discussed. Our crumbling roads and bridges. Public safety. Higher education. Mental health. Meeting the demands of our rapidly changing economy. I could go on and on. And I know many of you are worried I will…
+But this is just the beginning.
+Tomorrow morning, my budget director, and your former colleague, Larry Campbell, will walk you through the details of my first state budget recommendation – delivered three weeks ahead of the statutory deadline.
+And later this week, I will convene my first official cabinet meeting, during which time I will instruct each member to complete a thorough audit of her or his respective agency – so we can increase effectiveness and efficiency. And we can eliminate waste and improve transparency by ending “no-bid” contracts
+But we have one more thing to cover tonight. And it brings us back to where we started.
+Those breathtaking years of crisis have left Kansas on the brink of collapse. Kansas lost more revenue in the first year of the Brownback tax plan alone than we lost in the entire Great Recession.
+While the time for finger pointing is over, we’re not off the hook for the long-term consequences of past policy decisions.
+I’m proud to honor my promise to balance the budget without raising taxes.
+If we are going to succeed, I need your help to protect both sides of the budget equation until our fiscal health stabilizes. As many of you have already said, we must show restraint. Because ultimately, we do not know what lies ahead.
+Kansas has endured two historic national recessions in the last 20 years.
+Another recession will soon be upon us. It’s not a question of “if”. It’s a question of “when” and “how bad.” Unlike the last two record-setting downturns, Kansas finds itself now completely unprepared. We have no margin for error.
+That is why we must be cautious, conservative and fiscally responsible. We must live within our means. Prioritize what matters most. Always look for ways to save. And always make sure our children come first.
+And we must work together to write this new chapter – as Kansans.
+Throughout my time in the Senate, I’ve worked with all of you. As governor, that will continue. My door will be open. I will listen.
+But, I was elected to rebuild our state. And I take that responsibility very seriously.?Kansans want us to work together to make our state better. To provide more opportunities for our
+children. To grow our economy. To make it possible for our rural communities to thrive again. And as your governor, I plan to do just that.?That means cooperation, compromise, and bipartisanship.
+No one person – not even the governor – can act alone to achieve consensus. That’s the whole point… working together.
+And in that spirit, I’ll promise you this: I will do everything in my power to set the right tone. I will listen every day … to leaders from both parties and to the people of this state.
+We’ll take the best ideas no matter where they come from – and we’ll work together.
+It won’t be easy. We all know we have a very long, challenging road ahead of us.
+These past eight years have been a hardship, no doubt about it.
+But we’re united by a common set of values. That spirit of neighbor-helping-neighbor. Respect for one another. And always doing right by our children.
+Those are the values that brought my family here more than three decades ago. And they are the values that will guide me as your governor.
+Kansans are no stranger to hardship or hard work. We don’t want things handed to us. We don’t expect life to be easy. That raw grit – our fierce determination – is part of our history. It makes us who we are. And if we work together… if we put partisanship aside and Kansas families first….
+Then we can truly live up to our motto, Ad Astra Per Aspera.?
+And the story we write together – will be one of cooperation and prosperity.
+God bless you all. And may God bless the Great State of Kansas.?
+Now, let’s get to work.?
+

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+I guess you all expect me to say something about now. Thank you so much. Please do have a seat. I’m grateful for the opportunity to be here with you tonight. I want to start, as is often the case, by thanking those of you that are gathered in this room, for starters. It hasn't been easy today weather- wise for a number of you to make your way here, and yet you've done it, so thank you for doing that. Thank you for making your way here. 
+For those of you for whom it is your job during this time of year, thank you. I'll come back to that in a moment. 
+I want to thank those of you that are watching this as well, on some form of video stream. Thank you for taking the time to check in with us here in Kentucky and find out what's happening as we talk about not only the state of commonwealth, but the state of the budget, and they are one and the same, inextricably intertwined in a time like this. 
+I want to thank a couple of groups in particular. You always run the risk when you start thanking groups, but when we come through the weather we have had in recent days, I’m mindful of a couple of groups who I truly think are worthy of our thanks throughout the commonwealth and frankly in the first group throughout the country. 
+I want to send a special gratitude to the men and women who mine the coal that produces the electricity and the heat that keeps so much of America warm at times look this. Truly grateful to you. And while there are fewer of you working now than there have been in years past, your job is no less critical, no less important, and certainly at times like this, no less necessary than it is or has ever been. 
+I want to thank the men and women also who have been plowing the roads that have made it possible for us to get here. From every corner of the commonwealth. I stopped into -- I stopped into
+One of our state garages last night and it was fairly slim there. A couple people there sort of managing schedules, but the vast majority of folks were out on the road. I’m grateful to you for the job that you've been doing. 
+I want to thank a group that so often we don't tend to think of except from time to time, even though in reality they're the ones who make everything work, and that is all the state employees. Every single one of them. The tens of thousands of you who come to work every day on so many fronts to do so many things to make the commonwealth work. I want to thank you very much for all that you do and for the 2,000 of you, for the more than 2,000 of you who responded to the email that went out asking for your input, asking for your thoughts on things that we've been doing well but things that we could do better. And while I often in the past have read some of the those notes I’m not going to do that this time but I am going read a few names. 
+These are just some of the 2,000 names who wrote thoughtful, informative, thought-provoking responses to us. People like Michelle Shipley, Chris Tatro, Sandy Whisman, Anna Kelley, Scott Boroughs, John Watkins, Jerry Willis, Stuart West, Jeff White, Kristen Alexander Wilcher, Leslie Bates, Christina Mason, Elizabeth Vasati, Thelma Blair, Damon Preston. 
+Yours are some of those I thought about weaving into this conversation. I’m not going to but in the days 
+and weeks ahead I am going to take some of those emails and respond to them probably one-on-one directly in the form of a video response to the questions that you raise. I want to thank each and every one of, you again more than 2,000 who took the time to weigh in. 
+I want to thank the cabinet secretaries. It is nearly unprecedented that you would have a cabinet that two plus years in is in its entirety the same group that is still here. I don't know where they're all sitting. There they are up here. I want to thank you for the work that you have done. How about a round of applause for our cabinet secretaries? 
+The fact that they still all sit together and like each other, spend time together inside and outside of work, truthful grateful to each and with every one of you for what you do to lead the commonwealth forward. 
+I want to thank our lieutenant governor who has been my right arm through the last two years and change and a year before that. I thank you for the job you do to represent Kentucky so well day in and day out in so many organizations and throughout our schools, et cetera. Thank you to our lieutenant governor. Appreciate it. Thank you. 
+I want to thank the person for whom it would be possible for me to do this, I want to thank my wife and our children who have put up with tremendous sacrifice in order to allow me the opportunity to serve alongside those of you in this legislature. So thank you to my wife, the First Lady. 
+I want to thank another group that often perhaps doesn't get thanked enough. We get excited about new companies coming, as well we should. We get excited about new jobs being created, as well we should. But there are any number of other companies that have already been here some for many years, and I want to put up on the screen and, Gary, I don't know where you went but I’m going to ask you to do it because I didn't really learn how to use the clicker. 
+That is a group of about 68 companies that employ at least a thousand people in Kentucky already. And I want to thank these companies who employ so many of our fellow citizens. It doesn't even include some companies like GM that employ hundreds down at the Bowling Green Corvette plant and hundreds more in various dealerships. It doesn't include companies like a Papa John's that has 500 some people at its headquarters and hundreds more around the state. This is just that have these many people located in one or two facilities. It doesn't include those with retail franchises. So there's even other companies perhaps that aren't on this list but it is many, many dozens who employ so many of our fellow Kentuckians and I’m grateful to you. 
+I want to say three things before we start, and I’m going to touch tonight on just looking briefly back at 2017. I want to look back briefly on 2017. But I really want to look forward to 2018. And the three things that I want to say before we look either back or forward is this: first of all, I love Kentucky. I genuinely, passionately, sincerely love Kentucky. And I know that that is not an emotion that I alone share. And I’m grateful for the fact that so many in this room and so many watching feel the same way. And so much of what we have done and what we are doing and what we intend to do going forward is driven by that fact. 
+I want to say secondly, especially to those of you in this room, those of you legislators in particular but then also to the people of Kentucky, I want you to know that I pray for you. I pray earnestly for you. I pray individually for you. I pray for you as a group. I pray for the people of Kentucky. I pray for the 
+commonwealth that we will be blessed, that we will be preserved from so much that has potential to harm us. I’m a person who believes in the power of prayer, and I want each and every one of you to know that I pray for you. 
+I also want you to know thirdly that I’m I excited for the future of Kentucky. I’m really excited. One of the greatest compliments I got was recently speaking to a reporter who said to me, "You always seem enthusiastic about things." 
+I’m enthusiastic because I believe in the upside possibility here. The future of Kentucky is bright indeed. I love Kentucky. I pray for you and I’m excited about the future of the commonwealth. I want you to bear those things In mind as we take a brief look backward at 2017. 
+The reason I’m excited, the reason that I truly believe in the future is because I believe In the American dream. The American dream is a real thing. It truly is. I've lived it. I've experienced it. So, too, have many of you. So, too, have many of you who are watching. And I want that opportunity for the children yet to come in the Commonwealth of Kentucky. 
+The American dream doesn't come in a box. It doesn't come in some form of a government program. It comes as the result of opportunities that people like us make. That people like us influence the outcome of what people's futures look like. 
+If we look back at 2017, we've had a couple of challenges. We've been left with a whole lot of things that we need to clean up. Literally and figuratively, some physical things to clean up. Others more figurative. Things of a policy nature. Things of a financial nature. One of the things we've talked about in the briefs that we have shared with some of you is that the real budget focus this year is getting our financial house in order. And this is something that we have talked about for quite some time. But looking back at 2017, I want to show you something here. 
+This is a slide, those in blue are the top 50 job announcements in 2017 in the counties that they are going to. And some of them, of course, will pull from people in other surrounding counties, but that's where the jobs themselves will be located. 
+The ones in orange in the top 100. The ones that appear to be kind of gray because they're striped are counties that have companies both in the top 50 and the top 100. I share this with you because I want you to understand that when people talk about economic development, they talk about jobs, everybody wants them in their neighborhood and so even when there's an announcement made, people say, well, it's only happening here but not there. This was just this past year. It covers a pretty amazing amount of Kentucky. It literally covers the northernmost, southernmost, easternmost and westernmost counties of the Commonwealth of Kentucky. 
+The job opportunities are coming, but these are seeds we're just putting into the ground. We're putting these seeds into the ground now, but they will bear fruit for many, many years to come, and I wanted to put that up there for you as a reminder of that which we have, in fact, done. 
+I want to show you this next slide as well. This is a before and after of our own state capitol, the very building that we sit in right now. Take a look at the difference. So many of us have seen this building, worked in this building, spent time in and around this building over the last years, in some case decades. Do you realize this building had never been cleaned since it Was built? Ever? 
+We're going to clean up Kentucky. We're going to do it in any number of different ways. But this is the embodiment of what we're talking about. The only part that is yet to be cleaned is the dome, and you can see it still has a lot of the same discoloration that the entire building used to have. 
+When we talk about the future of Kentucky, the potential of Kentucky, I want to recognize the fact that we have it in our power to make this possible by picking up trash after ourselves, by opening doors for one another, literally and figuratively, by looking out for our neighbors, by taking care of one another, by beautifying the Bluegrass and taking care of our own communities. By looking for things that need to be cleaned, should be cleaned, have not been cleaned, and then cleaning them, we change the perspective have how we view ourselves, how others view us. It changes our whole mindset, our whole attitudes. Gives people hope and encouragement. This is what we're trying to do. 
+The policies that you have put into place, you in the legislature, those of you who have passed legislation last year, the policies you put into place have led to the kind of record breaking investments that we've had. Previously, the best year we ever had in Kentucky: $5.1 billion of capital invested in our state in a single year. This past year: $9.2 billion. Directly the result of policies that you put into place last year. Things like right-to-work. Things like repealing prevailing wage, things like all the other things we've done to make it clear that we're getting our house in order. These are the types of things that have attracted people to our state. 
+17,000 plus jobs were created last year. The most since 2000. Things are changing but these again are seeds that are just now going into the ground. I want to take a look at this next slide real quick. I want to speak briefly. 
+This is how many of you are in elected office in these two chambers. I want to speak to each of you but I also want to speak to those of you that are watching before we start talking about 2018. What happens in 2018 is going to be driven by 138 men and women. 138 out of 4.5 million people. That's 3/100,000 of the population of Kentucky will make the laws, will make the rules, will spend the money, will make the decisions that affect every single bit of every single life in the Commonwealth of Kentucky. Three out every 100,000. 
+I want to speak to those of you who have this responsibility yourselves. But I know for a fact some of you are not going to be running again. Some of you are retiring. Some of you are going to be pursuing other things. That's going to leave open opportunities. And I want to speak directly to those of you who are not this chamber. Those of you, perhaps you're in this chamber but perhaps you're somewhere at home and you've thought about serving at some point in time. I want to encourage you to step up and throw your hat in the ring. The greatness of Kentucky and the greatness of the political process in America as a whole is if fact that men and women who understand how wealth is created, who have created payroll, who understand how to budget, who understand how to spend their own money easily and thoughtfully than they would want to spend others’ money. Those are the men and women that we need to run. 138 is all we need. So many are already here and so many will be back, and I’m 
+Grateful for that fact. But for those that are not going to be coming back, for those where there's an improvement to be made, I would truly ask if you're out there to think about throwing your hat in the ring, because those that come here every day to serve the commonwealth, led by these men behind me, our Speaker David Osborne and our President of the Senate, Robert Stivers, they need 136 other people with them, and I want to challenge you please to throw your hat in the ring. And for those of you who 
+are not even sure if you're going to do it again, thank you for serving. Thank you for your willingness to be public servants. It is at times a thankless task, but we need that 3/100,000th to do the job. 
+I want to read you a quote that was written. We're in an interesting time right now where the weather causes us to kind of hunker down inside, and on a similarly cold December night in 1776 there was a man not even 40 years old who hunkered down inside a house, took a pen out, sat at the paper and wrote these words, the first line of which you all know. The next lines of which you may not. Not even 40 years old, this man, Thomas Paine, wrote: 
+"These are the times that try men's souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will in this crisis shrink from the services of their country, but he that stands by it now deserves the love and thanks of man and woman." 
+These, too, are the times that try our souls here in the commonwealth. We may not be at war as our nation was when those words were written. But the battles, the divisiveness, they continue. We find ourselves under assault. We find ourselves divided on issues of morality, on issues of spirituality, on issues of politics, on issues of ideology, on economic issues. These too are the times that try men's souls. And again, it is the 138 that will be here through this session and the 138 that will follow them into the next session and into the next generation and into the next century that will always be 138 Kentuckians that whenever the times are tight and trying will step up and stand in the gap. 
+I want to take a look at what we're talking about in 2014. -- or 2018, I’m sorry, as we look forward, so long we have had issues that have been ignored, and I want to put a graphic up here that will be perhaps a little bit of an amusement to some but speaks to the truth of about we’re about to discuss. This is the truth about our challenges. 
+We have in the commonwealth lined up for many, many years, some intentionally, some not, realizing that's this were in this line being told a whole lot of comforting lies, especially about financial issues. When in reality nobody wants the unpleasant truths. The unpleasant truths are a-plenty. And they need to be discussed. And I want to briefly take you through some of the things that we need to talk about as we look forward. 
+One of the things I want to make clear is this, and you can leave that up on the screen. One thing I want to make clear to you is that we are going to fund our pension system. 100 percent of the obligation that is owed. That is going to happen in this budget that I will be presenting that's going to be released publicly after this. 
+I'll come back to that in a moment. We're going to fend fund our pension. We're going to fix our foster care and adoption system. We have 8,500 children in foster care, 2,400 plus eligible to be adopted right now. Those numbers are only growing. We are going to fix that. You're going to see those efforts reflected in this budget. We're going to fight this opioid crisis. 
+There's only five more, so I’ll pace you guys. We're going to fight this opioid crisis. 
+There are seven of them. There are seven things I want to make sure you understand, among the others that will be reflected in this budget. 
+This opioid crisis is exploding. It's not getting better, and we're going to spend the money, the resources and the attention necessary to address this problem in Kentucky like it's never been addressed before. 
+We're going to invest in education and workforce development like we never have before. We're going to continue to invest as we have done in the last two years, the first two years of this administration, by investing more money per pupil in SEEK than has ever been invested in the history of Kentucky. 
+That number is not going to be changed. The amount that's being spent in the classroom is still there in the budget. We'll come to specifically where there will be change as we move forward. But education in the classroom, education with workforce development, these areas are going to continue to be a priority as we move forward. 
+We're going to reform entitlements in this state. Kentucky is going to lead on this front. You have seen this of late. We did us have our 11-15 waiver approved and Medicaid for able-bodied working aged men and women without dependents is going to change. The expectation and the opportunity and the incentive for people to do for themselves is going to change. We are going to see the impact of that as we move forward. That's going to be implemented starting in July. And the opportunity to connect people to the dignity and the opportunity associated with doing for themselves is going to start happening, and I want to thank those who have worked tirelessly to get us ready, and for Kentucky to be chosen as the first in the nation for this, to be a model for the rest of America is a high compliment to the tremendous works that has gone into making that possible. 
+One of the primary roles of government is public safety and we are going to remember roles of government. We're going to opt to keep the KLEF funding at $4,000, the highest it's ever been. We're going to continue to invest in our law enforcement. 
+We're going to buy new automobiles so that these law enforcement officers, our state police, are not driving around in cars with 200,000 miles on them. You see so many of the accidents and problems that we have had come from that. We're going to get them modern weapons so that they're able to protect us. 
+That is one of the roles of government, and we are going to invest in our law enforcement officers in 2018. 
+We're also going to at the same time, as part of that, focus on our prisons and prison reform. I want to make one commitment to you. Certainly no budget that I’m ever going to be putting my stamp of approval on, we're not going to invest another dollar in building another prison here in Kentucky. 
+We’re not spending any more money building prisons to warehouse people. We are going cut down on the recidivism, we're going to find ways to pour into people who have screwed up, who are in prison so that we rehabilitate and re-assimilate them and don't have them recidivate back into the system over and over again. We can do this as part of the way in which we focus on protecting and serving our people. 
+The final thing I’ll say is this: tax reform is coming. It is coming.
+Whether it comes as a part of this session time will tell. It depends on the band width and the appetite and the opportunity that beholds us. 
+But we will in 2018 address tax reform, and it's not simply going to be, and it's not simply going to be, as some would have it to be just raising taxes.
+It's not a simple function of raising a tax here and raising a tax there “and that’s tax reform.” It needs to be comprehensive, it needs to focus on making us competitive. It needs to be focused to make sure we compete with states around us all over this country as well as those that border us, to make businesses want to come here. 
+These are the things that we're going to be focused on in 2018. 
+As I said a moment ago, the focus of this budget is to get our financial house in order. I want to speak to a few of the specifics of that. 
+A few of the specifics that I want to speak to are things that relate to things that we're calling for, and I’m just going to read a few of these. 
+I talked about funding the pension like we've never funded it before. In this budget that's being presented for you all to consider, there is for state employees, there are currently over $1 billion being funded in the biennium that's going to be put into our state retirement system, our KRS.
+$1.1 billion. This is fully funding not only the ARC as it has been called.
+But -- fully funding what has been owed.
+By fully funding it we now have an understanding of how much is truly owed, our obligation.
+I want to make it clear to some of those in this room, certainly those watching don't necessarily understand. You hear we're 13% funded. 
+What does that mean? What 13% funded means, is that if you're a state worker in the krs non- hazardous plan which is 13% funded, which it is, and you're expecting to retire some point, if there's 100 of you, 13 of you will get what you think you're going to get. ,87 of you won't.
+That's what 13%-funded means. 87 out of 100 will not get the retirement they think they're going to get. 
+And for those of you in other plans, maybe the KTRS plan, teachers, that after a strong year in the markets last year, people are appropriately feeling good and happy that we're more funded than we were and yet we're still only 56% funded. What does that mean? That means that 56 out of every 100 teachers that retire will get what they think they're going to get and 44 of you won't. 
+It's not as simple as that, of course. It could also mean that everybody gets 44% less than you think you're going to get. 
+But the bottom line is, the money's not there. So whether it's the KTRS, whether it's the KRS plan, we are going to be funding these like we never have. Never in the history of Kentucky, the whole idea of an arc was put into place back in 2006, '07, '08 because 12, 15, 20 years ago we were fully funded. 15 years ago we were still fully funded for most of the plans. 
+Starting about 15 years ago, that began to change, and so about 12 years ago there was the realization that something needed to be done, and so this Arc was -- this actuarially required contribution was put in place, and it was then suggested to the legislature that certain amounts be contributed. 
+Never once since then, never once in the history of Kentucky has the arc been fully funded for all of our pension systems, not one time, which is why we now find ourselves in the situation where they are all so severely underfunded. 
+This year they will be funded in their entirety for the first time in the history of the commonwealth of Kentucky. 
+[ applause ]
+For the teachers’ retirement plan, that means nearly $2.3 billion in the biennium is being put into the ktrs pension system, $2.3 billion.
+14-1/2% of the general requirement goes to -- of the general fund -- goes to retirement. 
+And it's very difficult, though, at a time like this when you're putting this kind of money into the retirement system to be able to protect all of education, so let's talk about what this looks like as we move forward. 
+We are going to continue in this budget to fund seek classroom dollars at $3,981 per pupil. It's the same as it was the year before. It's the highest it has ever been in the history of Kentucky. 
+Never have we put so much into that.it would be fantastic if we could put still more, but the reality is we don't have enough money to meet the obligations that this state has. So the $3,981 is not going to be touched because frankly we've got to take care of making sure that we don't rob our students. 
+So where then is the money going to come from? It's going to come by cutting administrative overhead that's where it's going to come from. And we can go into specifics, some of which you'll see in the budget. I'm not going to go into that now. 
+Want to encourage to you look at our two largest school systems, in Jefferson County and Fayette County. In Jefferson County alone there have been articles, you have seen, more than 600 administrators making $100,000 a year or more. That's more than $60 million. Conservatively. And a lot more than that if you factor in the true numbers. 600 people making $100,000 a year or more who don't touch your students, who don't teach in the classrooms, that’s administrative overhead. That's where the cuts are going to come from. 
+We're challenging -- I’m telling you we need to clean that up in a big way. [ applause ] 
+In Fayette county, Fayette county, well over 120 that are in a similar category. The bottom line is we have far too many people that are not teaching our students that are sucking up the dollars that are intended, that you all budget for our students. That is going to change. 
+We're going to expect the local school districts to contribute -- local school districts to contribute to transportation. More than they have in the past. It still needs to be done but they're not going to be funded to the same degree by the state as they have historically and we're going to ask them to get their overall administrative costs down significantly, the specifics of which are spelled out and you'll see in this budget. 
+But i want to make something clear because there are certain districts, and some of you know who you are, where you're already cut pretty thin, and yet 
+In Kentucky there are nearly $1 billion currently being held in cash reserves by our school systems, nearly $1 billion. 
+I'll bet that's news to many of you legislators. I know it is to many out there in the general public. It's over $950 million that are currently being just held in the reserve fund. 
+We're going to ask these school districts to tap those reserves. This is exactly what it was intended for, for times like these that try men's souls.
+This is how we are going to get through this budget crisis. This is how we are going to fund the obligations that we have. 
+We are going to continue to dedicate 100%, 100% of all of our lottery money to education. 100% of the proceeds are going to go to scholarships, just as they have, to ensuring that young people have educational opportunities.
+While it would be tempting and easy to think we should sweep that money to offset things, the people agreed to that lottery under the assumption that those monies were going to that purpose, and that's exactly what we're going to do, and we owe them the obligation of keeping that promise to them and to the young people and not so young people that will benefit from that. 
+[ applause ]
+We're going to go ahead and put another $100 million in there for another workforce bond pool, and i'll tell you why we are. Two years ago we did this for the first time. And in the course of doing that, we weren't sure whether we would even have enough in terms of applications. We did.
+$540 million worth of applications for that $100 million potential investment from the people of Kentucky. We got to choose the best 18% of those.
+But guess what? We didn't fund anything that was requested at 100%. In fact, on average we requested them less than 50%. We funded them less than 50% of what was requested. 
+The net result was the state of Kentucky invested $100 million, and those local jurisdictions and local businesses invested another $150 million.
+Allowing the investment $100 million that you supported last time we had a budget to turn into $250 million worth of investment the in Workforce Development. That's the kind of investment, we're looking for when we spend the taxpayers' money. 
+So many of the emails that we received came from people that are involved in our criminal justice, in our criminal defense, in our prosecution.
+We have received a lot of thought, some of those names that I read, you'll recognize. You know what you wrote to us. That was heard. 
+We have caseloads that are insufferable. We are losing good people. People that we can't afford to lose and don't want to lose. People who don't want to leave their jobs because it's coming at a toll on them and their families and their health in ways that's not fair to expect of anybody. 
+So you're going see us investing money like we never have any time in the history of Kentucky in not only people on the prosecutor's side but people on the public defense side, and you're going see money in this budget to hire 75 new prosecutors and 51 new public advocates in this budget that's going to be presented to you. 
+[ applause ] 
+This investment will make a profound difference in terms of the backlog of cases that we have. This will allow people the opportunity to get out from underneath that. This is money that will be well spent. 
+We're going to leave the cleft money alone, as I suspected we're going to continue to – as I said. We are going to continue to use those monies to provide a $4,000 stipend to our top certified law enforcement officers. The details of that you will see if there. 
+Also as I said we’re going to take care of funding things like cars and weapons and other things that are needed by our law enforcement officers. 
+Medicaid I talked about already as it relates to the 11-15 waiver and the changes that'll be coming. 
+In this budget you are going see an additional $34 million being applied to the battle against the opioid drug crisis. That's a significant sum.
+We have put significant money in before and it sadly isn't even enough. But $34 million will go a long way. Many of the specifics of where and how that is being applied you will see in the details of this budget. But 34 additional million dollars we're going to additionally put in millions more focusing on pregnant women that are addicted to drugs because the cost on the children that are born to an addicted woman and the cost on society financially, emotionally, sociologically, communally is too high. Far higher than any a money we're going to spend on this. 
+[ applause ]
+Another area where people are just plain overworked, absolutely swamped, you walk into any DCBS office in Kentucky and you will hear the same story, I don't care which part of the state you're in. You will meet some of the strongest, most passionate, most well-intentioned, hard-working thoughtful people you've ever imagined but they're broken down. It's destroying them to be suffocated by a caseload that continues to grow. So we're going to invest tens of millions of dollars into DCBS and into hiring new people and increasing pay, the likes of which has never been seen. Let me give you some specifics. 
+[ applause ]
+The first thing I want to say is this. Not everybody who works in the state government are the kind of people we need for the long term. That's a fact sadly. Most are. The vast majority are. What we want to do is make sure the people that are there, when this takes effect on July 1st, 2018 and beyond, that the people who are there are the right people, the supervisors are the right people, the workers are the right people, that they are here for the right reasons. We will do that over the course of the next six months, make sure we have the right people in the right seats on the bus. 
+And then what you will see from people who are caseworkers to people who are supervisors, you will see pay increases that range from 10 to 20 percent. We're not 1 and 2 per-centing people. 10 to 20 per cent. Significant pay raises to make sure with the right people we're able to keep them in place and cut down on this turnover that costs us far more money than we save by not investing in this. 
+So we're going to see changes in people's compensation. We're also going to have funding in there to be able to hire significant new people. We already have positions that are unfilled right now that are open that have been budgeted for previously. We're going to focus now with increased pay on attracting those people and making sure that we have more caseworkers and that they're more properly compensated. That will change in 2019-20 and beyond. 
+[ applause ] 
+You're going to see a program $10.8 million for a new program specifically targeting adoption and foster care. Nearly $11 million specifically for that purpose. You think about what is the role of government. It's to protect. It's to take care of those who are vulnerable, for those who truly need our help. It should not be as bureaucratic and insufferable as it is. 
+I want to show you another slide here that will speak to the heart of what we're talking about. I want you to take a close look at the back of these t-shirts. 
+This is the derringer family from Louisville. The mother and father, 1218 Days. That is how long it took them from the time they tried to adopt a child in Kentucky to the time that that was first possible.
+I want to show you three other t-shirts. 437, 937 days. 1,043 days. Et cetera. These are the numbers of days it actually took these children to be adopted. I want to ask this family if you guys could come on up here, I want you to meet this family. 
+[ applause ] 
+This is the face, this is what government is here for. It is only three, as Ashley has said, but I’ll tell you what, it's three fewer. There's any number of people that are out there watching that might be able to take one, two
+Or three children. We are going to invest in like never. We have said we're going to do it. 
+We're going to do it and we're going to put $10.8 million toward making sure that we accelerate this because the idea that a couple like this, who Want as desperately as they do to be part of the solution, have to wait between three and four years to even be able to do so is a “shame on us.” 
+And we're going to fix this and we're going to focus on this with the efforts of the first lady and so many others in health and family services and dcbs specifically, and so many outside groups for whom i am grateful and won't even start to mention them all. I'll forget some. 
+But there folks inside and outside of Kentucky that are going hope to us address this make sure that we find homes for the most vulnerable among us, that we take care of everyone in Kentucky. 
+We're also going to be focusing on doubling in this budget -- it's a small number in absolute dollars but I think it's important many -- in light of all that's happening both in this state and outside of this state, so much attention to all the things that are happening that should or should not be happening in government. We're going to be doubling the budget for the Executive Branch Ethics Commission. They've been boot strapping it for a long time and we're going to double that money so that they have the ability to do the job that they need to do going forward. 
+A couple other things I want to touch on. 
+One of the ways that we make this happen, obviously to be able to fund the things that we are funding, something has to give. 
+Where does this money come from? If you put billions of dollars, more than 20% of the budget into the pension because that is the cost of making sure that pensions for teachers like Ashley actually get paid -- if those teachers 
+[Editor’s note. At this point, the governor recognized a Jefferson county couple who adopted three 
+children, but had wait more than 1,000 days for one child to clear that process. Ashley Derringer talked 
+about the long process and she asked the legislators to do whatever they can to make the process 
+smoother and quicker for potential foster and adoptive parents.] 
+and others expect to actually get their pensions we need to fund that and if we do where is the money going to come from? There's only a finite amount of it. 
+So in the budget you will see that we have actually eliminated 70 entire programs, the specifics of which you will see. There's others, arguably, that could be and perhaps ultimately should be as well. 
+But you have to take the money from somewhere, and so there are 70 absolute programs for which zero funding is included in this budget, and they're scattered throughout state government. 
+We've been thoughtful about it, not indiscriminate. But had we not done so, then the next number I’m about to give you would be the number that so many of you have been expecting and anticipating and that I’ve heard hypothesized on. I've heard a thousand ideas of the double digit cuts that are going to come, and indeed if we did not do the things that we just talked about, they would be. 
+But the net result of all this that is overall cost in reduction is 6.25%.
+Everything else in state government other than those areas that I’ve not mentioned before that are going to be, that are going to be cut, any other areas that we've kept uncut before and the areas that i just talked about with the seek formula for the classrooms and for law enforcement and things of this sort, veterans' affairs, et cetera, there are certain things that we are going to do our best to make whole, but for state government across the board, you're going to see a cut in the next biennium of 6.25%. 
+It's a whole lot less than it would have been had we not been as intentional in this budget. And it's less than what some were expecting but that's still a significant cut. 
+That's what it's going to take to balance our budget. We don't have any alternative. The only alternative we have is to generate more revenue, and that's a topic that will ultimately lead to our conversation on taxes. 
+I want to talk about debt though, because another solution I’ve heard from the past, I’m going to be very blunt here, there are people that are in this room who have many criticisms about the pension bill, they have many criticisms about tax bills that they've heard discussed who’ve never
+In their entire lives, and some have been here for decades, never had a solution of their own, not one, they have plenty, they love to go on TV and talk about everything that's wrong with what other people propose. But they have never had a solution. 
+In fact, some of them supported the idea that on the tax front, for example, or the pension front, I should say, that borrowing money to pay off the pension obligation was a good idea. 
+That was floated a couple of years ago. It didn't end up happening. It's like using your MasterCard to pay off your American express. It doesn't make sense.
+It's a bad idea. For those individuals, I’m asking to you get real, to be real, to step up and make honest decisions about the kind of ways in which we have to balance this budget because we have to do it by law. 
+But we're for the going to borrow inordinate numbers of dollars. Once again, we are keeping the amount of bonding in this budget to a much lower level than it has been historically. The ten-year average is over 6 and a half per cent. The ten-year average has been 6.58% of our budget has been associated with debt services. 
+In this budget it will be 5.63%, the second year in a row that it's below 6%. 
+And yet I will say, I will say this, that also includes a tremendous amount of money to take care of things like the amazing amount of deferred maintenance on our college universities. Our college university campuses have a tremendous amount, $6 billion worth of deferred maintenance, and there is debt service allowed in here for that to start to be taken care of in conjunction with those 
+Universities using their own resources to make it a priority if they choose to do so. 
+So we're taking care of again similar to the picture you saw of cleaning up physical things, we are going to invest in things look our university campuses.
+We're going to invest this in things like our bridges and the buildings that we operate in, cleaning things and improving things and repairing things. 
+This is an obligation that we have, not only to those in the commonwealth now but for those that will come for years to come. 
+We also have got to put money in our rainy day fund. We are on trend right now, we're going to end our year, this fiscal year, and as you know we've had to cut the budget in order to make it fit inside of this year's actual dollars. We've had to cut the budget in an emergency cut just in recent weeks. 
+We're going to end our year with zero dollars in the bank. Think about that.
+How many of you would recommend having nothing in reserve? Nothing, no matter what you earn. 
+You have nothing in savings, nothing in a checking account, something for an emergency. What if something happened like we have seen happen in other states in our country in the past six months happened here? 
+We wouldn't have the resources to be able to pay for it. 
+I'm putting in this budget half of the bare minimum we should have.
+All credit rating agencies and others have said that we should have at least $550 million in our rainy day fund. That's about 5% of our total operating budget. I'm putting in this budget half that amount. It's a fraction of what it needs to be. 
+It won't be looked upon as favorably as it might otherwise be by credit rating agencies but it's better than nothing. 
+And again I want you to bear in mind that we have universities that have hundreds of millions of dollars in cash reserve. We have school districts that have hundreds of millions of dollars in cash reserves. 
+Jefferson county school district has hundreds of millions of dollars in reserves. Why should one school district in our state have hundreds of millions of dollars more for an emergency but never be expected to use those, than the commonwealth of Kentucky itself does and the idea that we have nothing in our reserve is bad why and it's going to be, and I truly challenge those of you in this legislature to make sure we do not shortchange the possibility of something happening in this state and our ability to deal with it. 
+The last thing I’ll say is just on the tax front. Modernizing our tax code is something we've got to do. It has to be brought into the 21st century. It just does, to be more competitive with states around us. And that is something that you are going to see proposals coming from me. And I want to hear any and all proposals coming from you. 
+I have put out emails asking every single legislator to weigh in with your ideas. I've heard from very, very few of you. 
+Some of you I’ve heard from, I appreciate the fact that you've weighed in, but the idea that just simply raising everybody's taxes isn't the solution. 
+But there are so many of you from whom I have heard nothing but complaints, nothing but comments about how your voice isn't being heard, nothing but plenty of negative commentary after 30 something years of being in this body and never having a solution. 
+We deserve better than that. For those of you that that might apply to I would say this. I want to show you one final picture here. And I’m going to actually hold off on that. I'm going to come to this in a moment. 
+I want to talk about at the end of the day why this matters. This matters because it's the responsibility of our state to take care of its people, to pay its bills, to educate, and provide infrastructure. 
+It's interesting you often hear of people that want to get a piece of the pie or people saying they get too much of the pie or we need to grow the pie.
+I find it ironic and I noticed as I was writing about the actual role of government that it's actually an acronym, as I was writing out these three words in that order I noticed that they spell P I E: protection, infrastructure, education. 
+That's the role of government. That's what we're here for. If we provide for the protection of our people, the infrastructure needed to get goods and services to market and for the education of our people, that's the pie. 
+That's what this budget is intended to do. 
+I want to encourage you please to take this seriously. These are serious times. These are the times that try men's souls. 
+I'd love to sit here and give you lots of rah-rah. Nobody likes the idea of having to cut budgets. Nobody likes the idea of having to make these difficult decisions. 
+There is not enough money, and it's easy to throw stones without coming up with solutions. But now is the time where we need people who are experienced, people who are capable of coming up with solutions to do exactly that, to not just give lip services to working across the aisle but to truly work together to find what is best for Kentucky. We owe this to the people of Kentucky. 
+We need to actually balance our budget in a way that takes care of our obligations. So many of the things that we need, the protection, the infrastructure and the education, can barely be paid for even with this budget that we've put forward. 
+Then there's all the things that we want. If we want more of what we want, then we're going to ultimately have to have the resources to pay for it. 
+And that's going to come by continuing to put seeds in the ground, getting a tax structure and resolving our pension crisis and balancing the budget in a way that will attract other businesses, that when you have $9.2 billion worth of investment going into the ground, that the jobs, 17,000 plus and growing, That will come from those investments alone will take root and germinate and the fruit will be borne for generations but it will take an environment in which we continue to fertilize the ground. 
+That's your job. I'll work with you and I look forward to it but I need and want your support and your help in order to do it. 
+Every year I’ve shared with you as part of my address a book that i would encourage you to read. The first year I recommended that you read a book called "Dreamland" and if you haven't read it i would still recommend it to you. “Dreamland.” It's about the opioid crisis. 
+Last year I recommended you read a book called "Hillbilly Elegy." while it's salty and you may not want to have your young children read it, nonetheless, it's a powerful tale of what grips so much of our eastern part of our state in particular but frankly other parts of our state as well. If you have not read that i would encourage that you do. 
+This year i want to encourage to you read a different book and you see it up here the on screen. This was published a couple years ago by David McCullough. "The Wright Brothers." you say ‘why that book?’ this is a book about people who dream big. This is a book about people who believe in bigger possibilities. 
+My high school quote yearbook was by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow,: “lives of great men all remind us we can make our lives sublime and in passing leave behind us footsteps on the sands of time.” 
+The footsteps that this legislature is going to lay down that our administration is going to lay down in conjunction with you, that we collectively are going to lay down for the people of Kentucky as someone's going to follow in them. 
+I want you to encourage to you read this book. It's a powerful story about
+People that you've heard about but maybe don't know much about, about the father and the sister who helped to make everything that the two brothers we've heard of, able to do the things that they did. 
+It's an incredible story. It's not long, 300 pages maybe. But I encourage you to read it and to dream big dreams, to think about the possibilities ahead of us here in Kentucky. 
+There is no reason why we cannot truly lead the nation. We're doing it now with Medicaid reform. We're doing it with prison and criminal justice reform. We're doing it on pension reform if we will pass the bill that you have the capacity to pass and that I know the votes exist and i look forward to having that done. 
+So many people are turning to our state when it comes to red tape reduction.
+I just gave my pin away to the young man that was here. I did warn his mother it was sharp if he took the back off it. 
+But the fact is we're leading the nation on things like that. And on so many things. Why not on economic development? Why not on what it looks like to 
+Have a rich environment for people to create jobs for future generations? 
+This is my challenge to you. Read this book. Dream big dreams. Let Kentucky aim high and disregard the ridicule as these two brothers did. 
+Disregard the seemingly overwhelming odds as these two brothers did. Disregard all the naysayers and all the dollars that seem to be lined up in other pockets working against you. 
+We do have limited resources. So, too, did they. They were so outgunned it wasn’t even funny. But the bottom line is this, if you dream big dreams and you pursue them and you don't quit, what is possible is almost inconceivable. 
+I want to thank each and every one of you for your willingness to serve. We do have differences of opinion on any number of things but we need every single person to be at the oars. 
+We need every single one of you to step up and to serve like you never have in this session because we are going to lay down footsteps. They're going to lead one way or they're going to lead the other way. 
+And the great men and women who comprise this legislature are going to be followed and the things that you do are going to be followed by 4.5 million and growing other Kentuckians. 
+So let's lay down deep, bold, straight footprints for others to follow in the years to come. And let's dream big dreams. 
+I thank you for the opportunity to serve you. I thank you for your attention to this. I thank you for your thoughtful consideration of the budget that will be presented to you. 
+It is a realistic budget. It is one that is not wishful thinking. It's one that we must pass. And it will set us on course for to get our house in order so that the future will be bright and so that our excitement that we have will continue to be as real as it is today. 
+Thank you for your time and attention, for your service to the commonwealth. May god bless you and may god bless the commonwealth of Kentucky. 
+

state-of-the-state/speeches/Louisiana_SOTS.txt

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+Mr. Speaker, Mr. President, members of the Legislature and distinguished guests:
+I am honored to join you for the start of what I hope to be our only legislative session this year. We have spent a lot of time together in these chambers over the past 3 ? years, but because of our willingness to come together and put the people of Louisiana first, our state is finally moving in the right direction.
+Before I begin, I would like to take a moment to speak with you about the recent disturbing fires at four churches across our state. Three of them have been at historically African-American Baptist churches in St. Landry Parish - Mt. Pleasant, St. Mary and Greater Union - and one in Caddo Parish at Vivian United Pentecostal.  I’ve been in contact with the pastors of all four churches, and I have directed the State Fire Marshal to aggressively investigate these tragic fires alongside our local and federal law enforcement partners. I want to especially thank State Fire Marshall Butch Browning for his leadership in this investigation.
+Churches are sacred places, and no one should fear for their safety in their house of worship. And no one should be concerned that their house of worship would be destroyed.
+Right now, there are more questions than answers, but hopefully the investigation will yield information we can share with the public in short order.  Until then, I am asking everyone to please join me and Donna in channeling all frustration, fear and anger into prayer and support for the congregations that have lost their churches.
+With that being said…
+This is going to be a very different speech than you are used to me delivering the opening day of session because the budget crisis that for years held Louisiana hostage is over. What was once a $2 billion budget deficit is now a surplus that will lay a foundation for us to continue to move the state forward.
+You won’t hear me talk about a fiscal cliff.
+Funding for higher education is stabilized. TOPS is fully funded. And health care services aren’t on the chopping block.
+Together, through partnership rather than partisanship, we restored fiscal stability and put an end to the greatest budget crisis in our state’s history.
+I have said before that there is no challenge too great for us to overcome if we work together in good faith, and we have proven that to be true time and time again.
+It wasn’t easy. Hard choices and compromises had to be made. But today, I can stand before you and say that the state of Louisiana is much stronger and in a much better place than we were just a few years ago.
+And our people agree. LSU’s Reilly Center recently released the 2019 Louisiana Survey, which notes that more people think our state is moving in the right direction and fewer think it’s going in the wrong one.
+Now, there’s still lots of work to do, but we are putting this state back on a path to more prosperity, more opportunity.
+We just recently announced that personal income in Louisiana is the highest it has ever been. That’s more money going directly into the pockets of our workers. At $252 billion, our GDP is the highest it’s ever been. It means that more people are working and our businesses are doing better. It means that the state is producing more than ever before.
+And make no mistake – Louisiana IS open for business. In just the past few years, we’ve landed more than 128 new economic development projects that are resulting in more than 27,000 new jobs, retaining over 21,000 jobs and resulting in over $33 billion in new capital investment.
+This means more people will be going to work for the homegrown companies of Waitr and LHC Group in Lafayette. Up in Monroe, CenturyLink, the only Fortune 200 company headquartered in Louisiana, is extending its commitment to our state through 2025. It means in Baton Rouge, Exxon is investing in a polyolefins plant and that in Shreveport, out-of-state company SuperATV is developing a manufacturing and distribution facility. In New Orleans, it means landing the largest economic development deal in our state’s history with DXC Technology, and in Lake Charles, it means that hundreds of folks are working for Citadel Completions at an aircraft center. In Central Louisiana, it means Hunt Forest Products and its joint-venture partner have opened a state-of-the-art sawmill in LaSalle Parish.
+What’s the secret to this success? An improving economy and an attractive business climate are essential. But the true key to our economic progress is our workforce. When businesses come to Louisiana, they do so because we have the talent to get the job done. This would not be possible without our renewed commitment to funding our top-notch universities and technical colleges. By partnering with local businesses, they are creating a pipeline of talent that fuels both established industries and new emerging industry.
+This is how Louisiana has become a global leader in cybersecurity. I am proud to say that next month, the National Governors Association’s summit on cybersecurity will be hosted in Shreveport-Bossier. It’s the first time since 1975 that the NGA has brought a meeting to our state.
+Representatives from all 50 states will be coming here, to Louisiana along the I-20 corridor, to learn about threats to cyber safety and the cutting-edge technology and the workforce being used to combat it.
+Another key to having a truly productive workforce is having a healthy workforce.
+We know beyond a shadow of a doubt that Medicaid expansion is saving lives. Because of expansion, about 480,000 low income people now have health insurance. Nearly 65,000 women have received mammograms. 35,000 adults have had colonoscopies. Expansion is also helping with two of our nation’s most critical health challenges. 31,000 of our citizens have received treatment for substance abuse. And nearly 100,000 individuals have received mental health services. Expansion has cut the number of uninsured in half. We’re generating $3.5 billion in economic activity every year.
+What’s more, employment in the healthcare sector is at a record high. While other states that did not expand Medicaid are seeing rural hospitals close, Louisiana has not had a single rural hospital shutdown over the past four years. In fact, Louisiana has led the nation in the growth of community health centers. For thousands of Louisianans, having access to a hospital or health care facility is the difference between life and death.
+Even in our larger cities, access to affordable care is crucial, which is why I prioritized bringing an emergency room back to North Baton Rouge and ensuring that the LSU medical school and University Hospital in Shreveport have been stabilized and strengthened.
+True measure of success is not in the dollars we’ve saved but the lives we’ve made better.
+One of those individuals with a better life is here today. Her name is Elayne English.
+For many years Elayne, who is a college graduate, was gainfully employed, until the bottom fell out of the economy in 2009.  She was struggling and had to pull money out of her retirement to pay for her $1000-per month medication.
+But Elayne’s story doesn’t end there. While seeking treatment for substance abuse, Elayne filled out the paperwork for Medicaid. And, under the Medicaid Expansion, she was able to get coverage and get her life back on track. She is working and on her way to becoming a paralegal.
+Elayne’s story is about second chances and taking responsibility for yourself. It’s about getting back up when life knocks you down. She credits a strong support team with helping her to get to where she is today. I am proud of Elayne and I proud that Medicaid could be part of that support team.
+Elayne, could you please stand up to be recognized?
+Expansion is not the only way we’ve improved access to care. I want to take a moment to point something out…Session after session, the halls of the Capitol were filled with a sea of yellow t-shirts, symbolizing parents and children whose livelihoods depend on waiver services.
+Those yellow T-shirts reminded us that a 10-year wait for services was not care. And I want you to know something.
+We saw you, we heard you, and we acted to end the waiting list for developmental disability waiver services after 25 long years.
+To the parents and advocates, while you may be able to retire your yellow shirts, I know we can still count on you to be here fighting on behalf of citizens living with disabilities and helping us to create a more inclusive Louisiana.
+Ending the waiting list is a reminder that the greatest responsibility we have is to care for Louisiana’s children, OUR children.
+We have taken many steps to ensure the well-being of our most precious natural resource. This is an issue that our First Lady, and my wife Donna, has worked especially hard on, and I am so proud of the difference she is making for children throughout our state.
+Working with Secretary of the Department of Children and Family Services Marketa Walters and her committed staff, for the third year in a row, we have broken the record for the number of children adopted out of foster care.
+We have revolutionized our approach to foster care through the Quality Parenting Initiative, and we have taken steps to extend the age of foster care to 21 so that young people aren’t automatically forced out when they turn 18, like the 150 who aged out last year.
+As all of you know, I am strongly committed to protecting human life, but no matter your position on the issue of abortion, we should all be able to agree that reducing the number of abortions in this state is a good thing.  I am proud to say that abortions are at a 10 year low in Louisiana.
+Also, we’ve established the toughest laws against human trafficking in the nation and have made huge progress in prevention as well as the way we treat victims.
+More law enforcement officers and people in our communities are becoming educated about identifying victims. When they see something they say something, which is exactly what we want to happen. That’s what it will take to stop the traffickers and rescue the victims.
+Earlier I spoke of what we can accomplish when we come together to achieve a common goal.
+From fixing the budget to passing historic criminal justice reform, we have proven that we are at our strongest when we work together regardless of party to put Louisiana first.
+The truest example of this, however, came three years ago when Louisiana was hit with not one but two devastating floods. No one can question the resiliency of the people of Louisiana. Our willingness to help one another in times of need is unparalleled.
+Another prime example of working together is our securing federal funding for the Comite River Diversion Project, which had been in limbo for 30 years. This would not have been possible without a unified effort from local, state, and federal officials. I especially want to thank our Congressional delegation.
+The folks over at CPRA have been hard at work securing funding for other critical projects to help mitigate flooding, restore our coastline, and protect our incredible Sportsman’s Paradise. In fact, there will be more investment and more coastal restoration and protection projects underway in 2019 than ever before.
+Remember: we did all this in spite of simultaneously resolving the largest budget deficit in the history of the state left by the previous administration.
+But we know there’s still much work to do.
+I imagine many of you share my frustration that fixing the budget impeded our ability to pursue some of the other priorities. So much damage had been done, and we knew it would take years to recover – and in some ways we still are recovering. But now, we have the opportunity to begin making real, lasting change that will positively impact the people we have sworn to serve.
+This is our chance to continue moving Louisiana forward.
+Now, I know we’re not used to hearing the word “surplus” around here very often, but I have checked with economists and it turns out surpluses are actually better than deficits.
+Unlike in the past, today, we have the opportunity to put our names on a budget we can all be proud of. All we have to do is recognize the revenue right in front of us. And then we can get to work on making real progress for our state.
+For the last year, you have heard me say that giving our teachers a pay raise is my number one priority. This is well deserved and long overdue.
+We are all here today in great part because a dedicated teacher believed in each of us. I was blessed to have many amazing teachers growing up. And I certainly wouldn’t be standing here today if not for my favorite teacher, who has been by my side for more than 30 years, my wife Donna.
+Unfortunately, fewer young people are choosing to go into the teaching profession because they see the underfunded classrooms, lack of appreciation, and stand-still pay. We have teachers preparing our children for the future while struggling to provide for their own.
+They are frustrated, and they have every right to be.
+Our teachers are so committed to the success of their students that most, 94 percent in fact, are paying out of their own pockets for school supplies.
+I want to bring our teacher pay up to speed with other southern regional states starting with a $1,000 pay raise this year. This would be the first step in a multi-year process.
+Because our teachers deserve more.
+Teachers like Ms. Chantelle Roussel, who has been in the classroom for nearly 20 years. Chantelle recently returned to a school that is no stranger to her, Duplessis Primary in Ascension parish, to be a kindergarten teacher…or so she thought.
+Chantelle was asked to fill a position in special education that had been vacant for a month. It’s a story we hear much too often these days – teachers having to fill multiple roles due to shortages. Teachers having to work multiple jobs just to make ends meet. But Chantelle stepped up when her school and those students needed her, and now it’s time for us to step up for her and for all teachers in this state.
+It is also important that we value the efforts of each person working in the school building, from those feeding students in the cafeteria to those ensuring that our classrooms are sanitary.  As such, I also support a $500 raise for school support personnel.
+The people who work in our school buildings are just as dedicated as the teachers in our classrooms. A perfect example of that is Patrick Landreth who is a custodian at Mooretown Elementary School in Shreveport. Patrick arrives to work at 4 a.m. every morning. He mows the lawn early so that students won’t be distracted by the noise. He keeps the classrooms spotless so that students have a welcoming place they want to come back to every day.
+Simply put, he makes educating students possible, and he does so with enthusiasm and with a smile on his face.
+Ms. Cathy Braden also works at Mooretown as a paraprofessional while also working to attain her teaching certificate. Her supervisors say that she goes above and beyond to make lesson plans better and brings a wealth of knowledge from her background of teaching early childhood special education. She is an Army veteran, a grandmother, and a caregiver for her mother.
+I am proud to say that Chantelle, Patrick, and Cathy are all here with us today. So if you will please stand to be recognized.
+Thank you for your dedication to our students.
+Make no mistake – the pay goes to the adults, but the investment is in our children.
+As with teacher salaries, the state’s per-pupil allocation has been neglected for too long. In addition to giving our teachers a pay raise, I am seeking to invest more in the classroom, an increase of 1.375% in the MFP, which would be the second MFP increase in the last ten years. 
+It goes hand-in-hand with the teacher pay raise, and that’s why we included this in our budget proposal.
+I am also committed to ensuring all high school students have access to dual enrollment opportunities at our colleges.
+Students who participate in dual enrollment are more likely to meet college readiness benchmarks and boast higher college completion rates. It’s a chance for students to get real college experience before they get there. And it could even be a chance for Louisiana colleges to have an edge on keeping high-performing students in state after they finish high school.
+Dual enrollment is a leg up that should be afforded to any student who qualifies.
+Sadly, this is not currently the case.
+That is why I support legislation designed to create a statewide framework to ensure all eligible Juniors and Seniors across the state of Louisiana have access to dual enrollment, no matter their zip code and no matter their ability to pay.
+We have a long road ahead before we reach true educational equity, but there are smart investments in education we can make today that will accelerate student success. Dual enrollment is one of them.
+Our teachers aren’t the only ones suffering from inadequate pay.
+Every year, I stand here and make the case for why we should increase our minimum wage and pass equal pay legislation. And every year that goes by without action, we are falling further and further behind. I challenge everyone in this room to look at your family’s finances and try to imagine making it on $7.25 an hour. For thousands of Louisianans, that is their reality.
+While we refuse to act, our neighbors in Arkansas have raised their minimum wage three times, most recently with an $11 an hour ballot initiative that passed with 68 percent of the vote.
+I believe it’s time to look outside the walls of this building and let the people of Louisiana decide if raising the minimum wage is the right thing to do.
+Therefore, I support a constitutional amendment to provide for a state minimum wage of $9 per hour effective July 1, 2020. For three years now, I have asked you to support an increase in the minimum wage in this state, and yet, many workers in Louisiana are still no closer to a wage that can support a family or bring them out of poverty.
+So I ask you today, even if you have in the past not supported a minimum wage for our workers, give the people of this state a right to decide.  I ask you to support this constitutional amendment to let the people of our great state use their voices - and their votes - to determine if we should join the other 44 states that have enacted a minimum wage.
+Additionally, Louisiana continues to have the highest gender wage gap in the country. The gap exists in all fields, regardless of profession or educational background, and jobs predominantly filled by women are paid less than jobs mostly filled by men.
+As I’ve said before, there’s no point in talking about family values if we aren’t actively valuing families.
+I am advancing legislation to eliminate pay secrecy by prohibiting employers from taking action against employees for inquiring about, discussing or disclosing their wages or another employee’s wages.
+Do you really believe someone should be able to be fired for discussing their salary?
+This is the right thing to do, and we know it will help close our wage gap.
+The health of our people should also be a priority this session.
+Medicaid expansion was a huge leap forward in improving health outcomes, but it is far from the finish line.
+I am committed to ensuring that every applicant for health insurance in Louisiana is not denied access to coverage because of a pre-existing condition.
+We all know the Affordable Care Act is flawed, but we should not have to fight to protect a provision that is overwhelmingly supported by most people in this state and throughout the country.
+This is personal for me. I know what it’s like being a young, first time parent hearing the doctor tell you that your child will likely face life-long medical challenges. And I know many parents like us would also spend their last penny to see their child get care.
+But it shouldn’t have to be that way.
+There are 850,000 other Louisianans who have found themselves in a similar situation.
+When you look at the list of conditions that qualify as “pre-existing,” either you or someone you know has been personally impacted.
+I hope as we move forward through this session that there is a very robust discussion about how we can continue to protect those, like my daughter and like so many other family and friends, with pre-existing conditions, and why that coverage is now at risk.
+I do not want the nearly one million Louisianans living with pre-existing conditions to get caught in the middle of Washington-style politics. They deserve better than that. Therefore, let’s all work together to find out what really works to maintain coverage for people with pre-existing conditions, while ensuring that insurance costs do not go up.
+In 2017, we scored a major victory in the fight against the opioid epidemic by enacting a seven-day prescription limit for opioids, and this year, I propose that we continue to chart a new course in addressing opioid-related harms.
+I support legislation to enhance data reporting of fatal and non-fatal drug overdoses where opioids are suspected or present. This will create a mechanism for rapid surveillance of overdoses in the state, which will help better inform us on how to prevent, intervene in and treat opioid addiction. It will allow us to continue to find better ways to fight this problem, which is ripping so many of our families apart.
+We are also taking aggressive measures to address Louisiana’s deteriorating rural water infrastructure. Water is something we so often take for granted, and yet it is as essential to life as breathing.
+Over half of the water systems in Louisiana are more than 50 years old. The situation is especially critical in rural areas. When water systems fail, emergency actions on the part of the state are required.
+When I took office in 2016, the water coming out of faucets in St. Joseph looked like this.
+Now, it looks like this. But the town of St. Joseph is not alone in facing challenges with its water system.
+Last year, I launched a working group to address the water infrastructure needs of rural communities across the state. Our goal is to bring existing resources together in a coordinated and collaborative effort.
+Already, we have secured $10.8 million in Delta Regional Authority investments, which were leveraged with other public and private dollars to bring in a total of $131 million for projects in the 56 distressed DRA parishes.
+By creating a permanent body, we will be able take a more long-term, robust approach to address these immediate needs.
+Last, but certainly not least, let’s do more to support Louisiana veterans.
+Already, we have expanded the Military Family Assistance Fund, established a Women Veterans Outreach Program, and announced the opening of 30 new veterans centers on higher education campuses across the state. In fact, the veterans center at LSU in Baton Rouge was named best in the nation last year.
+We know that our veterans don’t stop serving when they come home. They continue to play an integral part in our communities and in our economy. Therefore, I support legislation establishing the Veterans First Business Initiative. This statewide initiative is designed to identify veteran owned businesses in Louisiana, create a veteran owned business designation that they can use, and develop a website for Louisianans to search for various goods or services from veteran owned businesses.
+For example, one of the veteran-owned business that would be featured on this website is a Baton Rouge restaurant called BRQ. The co-owner, Justin Ferguson, is an Army veteran who completed two tours in Iraq. Justin makes it a priority to hire other veterans who, like him, face the struggles of returning to civilian life.
+Justin is here with us today – Justin, will you please stand?
+Thank you for your service to our country. And I want to thank you for supporting other veterans with jobs and training. You represent the best of the spirit of the military, of working hard and of never leaving anyone behind.
+And, folks, I’ve had his food before and he doesn’t just know how to lead and inspire, he can cook too.
+Here’s what I think is so important to remember, we have made tremendous progress in the last three and a half years, not because of one person or one party, but because many people from different parties have come together to make it happen.
+We live in a time where it seems like people are becoming ever more divided. We work to one up each other instead of fighting together for a better Louisiana.
+But let me tell you. I’ve learned a lot in my time traveling the state.
+ I’ve been fishing off the coast with our fishermen. I’ve been to National Guard ceremonies to honor our soldiers and airmen as they are deployed all over the world.  I’ve enjoyed a pea cookout with farmers in Bastrop while listening to their concerns about the future of agriculture. I’ve prayed with families who lost everything in the floods. I’ve celebrated with new graduates and their proud families from Northwestern State to Delgado and from Grambling to SOWELA.
+And no matter where I go across this state, I am more and more convinced that there is far more that unites us than divides us.
+Today, I am standing here before you in a room full of people who care about this great state and her amazing people. That breeze of hope I spoke of in 2016 is still blowing. It has gotten us this far, and it can carry us into the future we all want for our children and grandchildren.
+I am standing here in a room of Louisianans. I am proud to stand with you. And, together we can continue moving Louisiana in the right direction.
+God bless you and God bless the great state of Louisiana. 
+

state-of-the-state/speeches/Maine_SOTS.txt

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+Mr. President; Madam Speaker; Chief Justice Saufley; Chiefs Francis, Nicholas, Sabattis, and Paul; Ambassador Dana;
+Secretary of State Dunlap; Treasurer Beck; Attorney General Frey; Auditor Buckley;
+Honorable Members of the 129th Legislature;
+Three months have passed since the general election.
+Two months since the Legislature was sworn in.
+Nearly all our cabinet members are confirmed, sworn and qualified. They are here tonight.
+We are getting to work.
+I want to take a moment to thank the people of Maine for the outpouring of warmth you have shown me in the last month.
+I have felt in my heart the very best of Maine from all over Maine – the energy, the strength, the hope of Maine people.
+Today we dig out from tunnels of snow, finding the light of our days to be longer, our dark nights shorter, and we sense that nature and the world are moving toward spring.
+We care for our neighbors, old and new, frail or strong.
+We care about those who need the most, those who work the hardest and those who pay the most.
+Today we take account of the past and plan for a new, and better future.
+Our unemployment rate is low. But our economy has grown more slowly than that of the United States and New England since 2010.
+Our poverty rate is below the national average. Still 1/6th of our children live in poverty.
+Our per capita income is growing; but it is still the lowest in New England, as is our average household income.
+Maine’s public high schools rank fifth in the country. But the percentage of our adult population with postsecondary degrees is well below the New England average.
+The quality of our health care ranks 10th in the country. Yet the public health of our citizens is ranked 33rd in the country.
+Maine has many assets.
+But it also has many challenges.
+We cannot afford to stand still.
+This budget moves us forward.
+The budget is about Health. It is about Opportunity. It is about Prosperity. It is about Education.
+It is, in sum, about HOPE.
+Health care is a major focus of this budget, and it is a vital part of moving our economy forward.
+You may have heard that more than 4,000 people are newly enrolled in MaineCare since January – people from all across the state.
+We intend that expanded MaineCare will help up to 70,000 people who now lack affordable health insurance, so that they can obtain preventive care, they can obtain early treatment for disease, they can remain in the workforce, and they will never again have to face the choice between medical care and bankruptcy.
+These individuals are not the only ones who will be helped.
+Expanding MaineCare and enabling people to have health insurance will also help our rural hospitals – which are some of the largest employers in their communities, often the only source of care, and often on the edge of financial collapse – because expansion will reduce the amount of uncompensated care they are asked to provide.
+In turn, this will lower the inflation pressures on private health insurance policies.
+We expect that this in turn will reduce the cost of health insurance to small businesses, self-employed individuals and employees – whose insurance rates are essentially making up the difference for hospitals’ uncompensated care.
+But that is not enough. We will work with the Bureau of Insurance and the small business community to find additional ways to lower the cost of health insurance for small business.
+Finally, MaineCare expansion will help Maine’s economy.
+It will bring $500 million in federal funds to Maine. That is like getting a new contract for a ship at Bath Iron Works every year – except that the jobs will be statewide.
+This influx of funds is projected to create 6,000 additional jobs from Sanford to Calais to Fort Kent.
+All of these workers will pay income and sales tax, which will in turn help the state’s bottom line.
+This is economic development on a large scale.
+To support MaineCare expansion, we include $147 million in the state budget over the next two years – a figure arrived at based on the independent, nonpartisan analysis of the Manatt report.
+We are also budgeting for a Medicaid Reserve Account of $29 million to cover any contingencies.
+These budget items are funded by normal income and sales tax revenues as predicted by the independent Revenue Forecasting Committee.
+That means no new taxes or fees.
+That $147 million will trigger around a billion additional federal dollars for Maine.
+It is the bargain of a century.
+As good stewards, we will continuously review and manage the MaineCare program and evaluate the effects of expansion on:
+* Health outcomes for our citizens,
+* Hospital finances,
+* Private health insurance rates, and
+* Job creation.
+This budget also addresses other public health challenges facing our state.
+Among the most critical of these challenges is the opioid epidemic.
+This week Attorney General Frey released statistics showing 282 drug overdose deaths for the first nine months of last year. That is one overdose death per day.
+But the numbers do not tell the whole story.
+One of those individuals was 21-year old Sean M. Yankowsky of Bangor.
+He died ten months after his brother, his only sibling and his best friend, 25-year old Adam Yankowsky, died from ingesting heroin laced with fentanyl.
+Adam had overdosed before.
+He had been revived, Narcaned twice on one occasion, and sent home without any guidance about what he could do next or where he could get help.
+Adam’s and Sean’s father, Maine State Police Detective David Yankowsky, and their mother, Shelly Yankowsky of Glenburn, join us this evening.
+They now work with the Bangor Area Recovery Network to help others battle the illness that claimed their two children.
+I want to thank them for their courage — the courage to carry on, the courage to speak up, the courage to help so many others. They are saving lives.
+Oxford County Sheriff’s Deputy Matt Baker also joins us.
+Matt is a 30-year veteran of law enforcement.
+He has told hushed audiences of how he tried to revive his own 23-year old daughter, Ronni, after she overdosed on heroin.
+Coming home at 2:30 a.m. after working the late shift one night in 2015, Deputy Baker found his daughter in the bathroom, slumped over the toilet, not moving.
+Her face was blue and she was unresponsive.
+"I felt her heart beat once and I started CPR," Baker said. "Basically, my daughter died when I was doing CPR on her."
+"About three hours later,” he said, “I watched them wheel my daughter out on a gurney. This was the daughter who used to sit on my lap and talk about fishing with me. Now she sits on my mantle.”
+Today he is sharing this terrible experience in the hope that others will listen and learn, as he brings up the little girl Ronni left behind.
+Matt, we are listening.
+Also here tonight are Robert Fickett and Sharon Fields from Bangor. Both of them are in recovery. Bob coordinates the Recovery Coaches and Sharon coordinates the volunteers for the Bangor Area Recovery Network or BARN.
+They are success stories. They are giving back to their community. They are helping others and saving lives. Thank you, Bob and Sharon.
+For David and Shelley, Matt, Bob and Sharon, and so many families like theirs around the state – help is on the way.
+In addition to making more services available through MaineCare, and with federal monies currently available and with $5.5 million in non-tax dollars in this budget, we will provide:
+* Training of recovery coaches for our emergency rooms;
+* Treatment based on a regional “hub and spokes” model,
+* Purchase and distribution of Narcan at every appropriate venue,
+* Medication Assisted Treatment,
+* Resources for friends and families of persons with substance use disorder, and
+* Robust prevention and education efforts to stem the tide of this epidemic.
+I am pleased with the progress to date on these initiatives under the leadership of our Director of Opioid Response, Gordon Smith. Thank you, Gordon.
+These initiatives supplement the vigorous efforts of law enforcement at all levels to stem the tide of drug trafficking into Maine.
+We propose other public health measures:
+* expanding access to low cost drugs for the elderly and disabled –This is only the first step of many we will take to help our seniors in the coming years;
+* investing $10 million from the Fund for Healthy Maine for tobacco and nicotine prevention measures. It is critical to address the dramatic increase in vaping and other nicotine use among our young people.
+* filling the vacancies in our public health nursing corps, as the Legislature already directed us to do;
+* filling the longstanding critical vacancies in the Maine Centers for Disease Control and Prevention – an agency that has seen a 25 percent reduction in staff in recent years;
+* And for our veterans, we fully fund the Bureau of Veterans Services outreach program to prevent homelessness and hunger among those who served our country with distinction. To those heroes I say, we will never forget you.
+In these ways and many others, we are rebuilding our public health infrastructure.
+We are also rebuilding our education infrastructure.
+The Department of Education has suffered from years of neglect.
+As of last December, it took up to six months for the understaffed Department to simply certify new teachers who were waiting to start work or to recertify those already working.
+That is unacceptable.
+With staffing adjustments this past month we have already reduced that wait time to less than six weeks.
+And we will not stop there.
+The Maine Department of Education will once again be a place that leads, inspires and fully supports our schools, teachers, and students.
+This budget begins making pre-kindergarten programs available to every 4-year old in Maine.
+This is a voluntary, four-year program, the initial phases are included in this budget.
+We also provide $18.5 million to Child Development Services to support the needs of our youngest and neediest children.
+For kindergarten through high school, we provide an additional $126 million over the biennium.
+This brings the state’s share of public education funding to nearly 51 percent of Essential Programs and Services (EPS).
+When you include the state’s payments toward the teacher pension fund, the state’s share of K-12 education is 55 percent.
+This budget invests in recruitment and retention to ensure that teachers in Maine will not be forced to leave the state for a living wage.
+It is time to treat our teachers with the respect and dignity they deserve.
+This budget ensures that no teacher in Maine will make less than $40,000 a year.
+Tonight, we are delighted that Maine’s 2019 teacher of the year could join us – Joseph Hennessey from Piscataquis Community High School in Guilford.
+Joe teaches English and has created imaginative curricula, literature-based, active reading, analytical writing, and public speaking.
+Thank you for your service, Joe.
+The budget also increases funding for adult education and career technical high schools so that every Mainer can compete for skilled jobs in an ever-changing economy.
+Tonight, we also welcome the 2018 Career Technical Education teacher-of-the-year in the gallery – Russell Clark from the Sanford Regional Technical Center.
+Russ teaches engineering and architectural design and exposes his students to the exciting things you can do with computer-aided-design (CAD) tools, 3D printers, and a laser cutter and engraver.
+Thank you, Russ, for inspiring Maine’s next generation of architects and engineers.
+Maine will not succeed if our graduates are burdened by debt and if adults cannot access continuing education.
+The budget therefore increases funding for the University of Maine System, for the Community Colleges, and for the Maine Maritime Academy.
+And it provides $3 million more for scholarships through the Maine State Grant Program to prevent students from going into debt.
+Our investments in K-12 education are intended to help local schools and to help local property taxpayers.
+But we propose to do more for taxpayers.
+The budget increases revenue sharing each year of the biennium.
+It also increases reimbursements to municipalities for the homestead tax relief program and for disaster assistance.
+It provides more money for county jails.
+Taken together – more local school aid, more revenue sharing, more homestead reimbursements, more disaster assistance, more money for the jails – the net result is relief for property taxpayers.
+We are also investing in infrastructure.
+Over the next two years, we will pave about 2,000 miles of roadway, fix or replace about 135 bridges, and invest in rail, public transit, and seaports.
+This will be supported by about $531 million of dedicated state Highway Fund revenue, leveraged federal revenues, and $200 million of state bonds.
+To expand the economy, the budget:
+* Invests $2 million in broadband, designed to draw down much larger amounts of federal money to Maine;
+* Funds $5 million for rural development; and
+* Directs funding to market all parts of Maine not just as a tourist destination, but as places to live and work and raise a family.
+Our Department of Economic and Community Development looks forward to leading in the creation of a long range economic plan for our state.
+The world is changing. We need to define Maine’s place in the new world.
+We will work with the private sector and with groups like the Maine Development Foundation to identify our state’s many assets and build upon them to foster and attract:
+* Sustainable farming, diversified fisheries and innovative forest products businesses
+* Clean energy producers
+* High tech industries
+* Data centers
+* Places for people to work remotely, and
+* A quality of life that will attract young working families back to our state.
+The budget also allows for bonding for such things as broadband and Land for Maine’s Future, and other appropriate investments, and we look forward to working with the Legislature on a bond package that fully meets the state’s needs.
+Climate change is a priority issue. Our Office of Policy Innovation and the Future is preparing a climate agenda which I will announce in the coming weeks.
+Suffice it to say, we will make every effort, without additional general fund dollars:
+* to assist the University of Maine in the research and development of offshore wind power;
+* to provide incentives for community and residential solar power;
+* to promote energy efficiency and weatherization;
+* to increase the use of heat pumps;
+* to build charging stations and incentives for electric vehicles;
+* and to help local and state government become “green.”
+Right now, Hannah Pingree, who leads the Office of Policy Innovation and the Future, is working with Efficiency Maine to develop a program to promote the installation of 100,000 heat pumps in businesses and houses by 2025.
+That alone would save $30 to $60 million annually in heating bills, and lower carbon emissions by 100,000 to 200,000 metric tons a year and wean our state off fossil fuels. We look forward to unveiling the details of this effort shortly.
+Our budget bolsters public safety:
+By beefing up security in courtrooms to ensure the safety of those seeking access to justice.
+By authorizing fifteen additional state troopers and sergeants to ensure a 24-hour police presence statewide, including in all rural areas.
+By adding seven positions to the Maine State Police Computer Crimes Unit. There can be no more important purpose of government than to protect our children from violent predators, whoever they are, wherever they are, whatever their evil techniques.
+By adding a new position in the Attorney General’s Office to train investigators to detect and pursue those who prey upon our seniors and steal their hard-earned savings.
+And we fulfill our promise to the good people of Washington County to fund a correctional facility there.
+We will continue to work with community groups to combat the scourge of domestic violence.
+We will no longer reject valuable federal resources for vital services — including funds for substance use disorder treatment, life-saving cancer screenings and Alzheimer’s treatment, nutrition assistance for hungry families, children’s health insurance, the forest legacy program, and transportation funding.
+By some estimates, Maine has turned down almost $2 billion in federal money in recent years. This is money that Maine people have paid in federal taxes that is not being returned to them, but is going to other states instead.
+My Administration will work with the Congressional delegation to identify every source of benefits to which the Maine people are entitled and make sure our people get their fair share.
+So this is our budget.
+There will be those who say this budget is government spending run amuck, and there will be those who say we ought to spend more and more. I respectfully disagree.
+Here is what I heard on the campaign trail last year.
+* Maine people want better health care.
+* Maine people want better schools.
+* Maine people want better jobs and greater economic opportunity.
+* Maine people do not want higher taxes.
+This is a pragmatic, common-sense budget that lives within our means and delivers what Maine people want.
+It is based on the projections of independent experts on the Revenue Forecasting Committee of the previous administration who also say that revenue beyond this biennium is expected to be $8.3 billion.
+That is hundreds of millions of dollars more than what this budget proposes. When taken in combination with the robust Rainy Day fund that we have protected, Maine is well-positioned in the years to come.
+In short, this budget is sustainable.
+This budget is balanced, as the Constitution requires; it makes responsible investments to tackle serious challenges facing our state; and it honors the will of the people.
+For you, the members of the 129th Maine Legislature, I welcome your thoughts, concerns, and suggestions in the coming months.
+Having sat in these chairs, I know that you will bring the concerns of your constituents to bear on this budget, and I look forward to that productive discussion.
+But keep in mind:
+* In this budget there are no tax increases.
+* In this budget there are no gimmicks.
+* In this budget there are no negative balances.
+This budget is pro-growth. It is pro-jobs. It is pro-people.
+This budget is for the small business struggling with health care costs and for employers seeking a skilled workforce.
+This budget is for the parents who have lost their children to overdose and who are now raising their grandchildren.
+This budget is for the families, children and seniors living without basic health care.
+This budget is for state workers who need the resources to get things done for Maine people.
+This budget is for the teachers who are paying for school supplies and food for their students out of their own pockets, while earning salaries that are not commensurate to the value of their work.
+This budget is for Maine’s towns and for the property taxpayers who have had to pick up the tab for things state government should have been paying for.
+This budget is about health, opportunity, prosperity, and education.
+It is about HOPE.
+It is about help for those who have been left behind.
+For teachers like you, Russ and Joe, it is about help for your schools, your students and your colleagues across the state.
+And for you, Shelly and David, for Matt, Bob and Sharon, and for thousands of other families, loved ones and unsung survivors, there is HOPE. I promise you. There is hope.
+Finally, thank you to all the people of Maine whom I love with all my heart.
+Thank you.
+

state-of-the-state/speeches/Maryland_SOTS.txt

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+My fellow Marylanders:
+I am humbled to once again stand before this general assembly after four years of bipartisan cooperation and historic progress to report on the state of our great state.
+Mr. Speaker, thank you for extending the courtesy of allowing me to give this address in the House chamber.
+President Miller, I can attest to how tough the battle is that you are facing, but I also know your strength and your never-give-up spirit.
+I want you to know that we are all praying that you come out of this stronger than ever. God bless you.
+I want to express my appreciation to all the members of the House and the Senate from both sides of the aisle who joined together with us these past four years to change Maryland for the better.
+At my inauguration in 2015, I said that “the politics that have divided our nation need not divide our state.”
+I pledged to avoid the extremes of either political party and to instead seek that middle ground where we could all stand together.
+I believe it is because we kept that promise that I am standing here again today at the start of yet another term.
+We have spent the past four years working together to tackle our common problems by accepting our shared responsibility to solve them, and we have shown the rest of America that a divided government does not have to be a divisive government.
+President Kennedy once said: “Let us not seek the Republican answer or the Democratic answer but the right answer.”
+As a young man, I was proud to work for President Ronald Reagan who said: “There is no limit to the amount of good you can do if you don’t care who gets the credit.”
+I pledged four years ago to “create an environment of trust and cooperation where the best ideas rise to the top based on their merit, regardless of which side of the aisle they come from.”
+It is that kind of commonsense pragmatism that has guided our path forward.
+We didn’t demand Republican solutions or Democratic solutions.
+We sought out bipartisan, commonsense solutions that worked for the people of Maryland.
+We found a way to disagree without being disagreeable. We stood side-by-side, our different views clearly acknowledged but not obstructing our path forward.
+We did our very best to put the people’s priorities ahead of the current national obsessions with partisanship while striving to change Maryland for the better.
+As a result of those efforts, I am pleased to report that the state of our state has never been stronger and that the people of Maryland are more encouraged about the direction of our state than they have ever been.
+We pledged to put more people to work, to grow the private sector, and to turn our economy around – and we have done exactly what we said we would do.
+The very first budget that I submitted eliminated nearly all of the $5.1 billion structural deficit we inherited, and, in the latest budget I just submitted to you, we have managed to put $1.3 billion into savings for our future needs.
+Here in Annapolis, we have worked together to pass balanced budgets every single year.
+Heck, they haven’t passed a budget in Washington since 1996!
+We cut taxes, tolls, and fees by $1.2 billion, and we put all of that money back into the pockets of struggling Maryland families, retirees, and small businesses and back into our growing economy.
+We cleared away the tangle of regulatory undergrowth and paved the way for historic economic growth and record job creation.
+More businesses are open and more people are working than ever before in the history of our state, and we have had one of the best economic turnarounds in America.
+That success has enabled us to once again provide historic, record funding for education and to fully fund every one of Maryland’s other priorities.
+It has also made it possible for us to provide additional tax relief to Marylanders who desperately need it the most.
+We are introducing eight different legislative proposals that will provide more than a half billion dollars in additional tax relief over the next five years.
+Tax cuts to help retirees who I meet all across the state who say: “I love Maryland, and I don’t want to leave my kids and grandkids, but I can’t afford to stay here on a fixed income.”
+Tax incentives to help provide paid parental leave for those working parents struggling to live paycheck to paycheck.
+Tax cuts for the college graduates who worked hard to earn their degree, only to face the harsh reality of crippling student loan debt.
+And tax breaks for mom-and-pop shops and small business owners who are the backbone of our economy and who are struggling to keep employees on the payroll and keep their doors open.
+These hard-pressed Marylanders deserve a break for a change.
+Now that we have created such an incredible economic turnaround in Maryland, we can afford this responsible, targeted tax relief.
+Let’s do the right thing and give some of this money back to the people who have worked so hard to help make it happen.
+We’re also proposing tax incentives to revitalize some of our forgotten communities and to make our state’s 149 opportunity zones the most competitive ones in the nation.
+And tax incentives to encourage the creation of thousands of jobs where we need them the most and for job training and workforce development to give people the skills they need.
+Let’s come together to pass the “More Opportunities for Marylanders Act.”
+The previous governor said in a State of the State address that Maryland had crumbling roads and bridges and some of the worst traffic congestion in the nation.
+Well, we decided to finally do something about that.So we are moving forward on nearly all of the highest priority transportation projects in every single jurisdiction all across our state – an unprecedented and historic investment in our transportation infrastructure in both transit and roads.
+We began construction of the Purple Line, the largest public-private transit project in the nation.
+We came together with you and our neighbors in the region to finally provide a dedicated source of funding to save the Metro system.
+After decades of ignoring the problem of traffic congestion, we are making tremendous progress, but much more is still left to be done.
+So we proposed the largest P3 traffic relief project in the world because Marylanders are sick and tired of spending countless hours of their lives sitting in bumper-to-bumper traffic.
+Together, we have the opportunity to finally solve that problem for them.
+We pushed for landmark legislation that cemented our position as a national and international leader in combating greenhouse gas emissions.
+We expanded the Climate Change Commission and implemented clean air standards that are stronger than 48 other states and nearly twice as strong as the Paris Accord recommendations.
+This year, let’s work together to enact the “Clean Cars Act” and to support clean and renewable energy solutions and green energy jobs.
+But let’s ensure that these solutions are affordable and reliable and that they create those jobs right here in Maryland.
+When it comes to the Chesapeake Bay, we put an end to the practice of raiding billions of dollars from Bay Trust funds.
+We fully funded all Bay restoration efforts four years in a row and invested $5 billion, the most ever in history.
+As chairman of the six-state regional commission, the Chesapeake Executive Council, I stood up and led the fight to protect and restore federal funding for the Chesapeake Bay.
+And after years of the problem being ignored, we are pushing for action to address the problems of the sediment, debris, and pollution coming down the Susquehanna River over the Conowingo Dam and into the Bay.
+Maryland has made historic progress in Bay restoration, but we can not – and should not – have to do it alone. I intend to keep pushing our upstream neighbors in Pennsylvania and New York to do their fair share to protect this national treasure.
+For the fifth year in row, my budget provides historic, record-high funding for our schools.
+We have invested $32 billion in K-12 education.
+Every single school system in Maryland will again see increased investment by the state.
+The legislature’s funding formulas call for Baltimore City to receive $11 million less this year in K-12 education funding. And those formulas also call for decreases in funding for other school systems with declining enrollments.
+Our budget ignores those recommendations and fully restores all of this important funding.
+More than half of our entire capital budget goes toward education.
+And the casino lockbox, which we jointly supported, will provide an additional $4.4 billion more for our schools, the majority of which will go directly into the classrooms for critical things like teacher salaries, pre-K expansion, extended academic programming for at-risk students, and innovative career technology education programs.
+In Maryland, we are proud to have some of the best and most highly funded schools in America.
+Let’s continue making progress with upgrades and repairs to our aging schools by passing the “Building Opportunity Fund” to help us also put record funding into school construction.
+And with the billions of dollars in historic state investment in our local school systems, Marylanders are demanding more accountability.
+This isn’t about politics; this is about our kids and their futures – making sure that every single child in Maryland has the same opportunity to get a world-class education regardless of what neighborhood they happen to grow up in.
+This is about giving every Maryland child hope for a better future and giving them the opportunities that they deserve.
+It’s time to enact the “Accountability in Education Act.”
+In November, a panel of federal judges unanimously ruled that the boundary lines of Maryland’s 6th congressional district are unconstitutional and ordered that new electoral lines for the 6th district be drawn by next month.
+Free and fair elections are the very foundation of American democracy and the most basic promise that those in power can pledge to the citizens we represent.
+This unanimous ruling was a victory for those who value fairness and balance in our political system.
+For the past three years, our administration has pushed for comprehensive, nonpartisan redistricting reform that would remove partisan politics from the redistricting process.
+This is supported by an overwhelming majority of all Marylanders.
+Please do not hide this legislation in a drawer again this year.
+Listen to the will of the people of Maryland and finally bring this bill to the floor of both chambers for an up or down vote.
+We enacted the most sweeping criminal justice reform in a generation.
+Together we have worked to break the cycle of incarceration and reduce our prison population more than every other state in America.
+But stopping these repeat violent offenders will take a different approach.
+We were all heartbroken by the story of Taylor Hayes the 7-year-old second grader who lost her life after being shot in the backseat of a car in Baltimore City.
+Then, just a few months later, we were stunned by the jarring image of a child’s doll lying in the street surrounded by crime scene tape and horrified to learn that Taylor’s 5-year-old sister, Amy, was the one shot in that incident, caught in gang crossfire.
+People who live in Baltimore don’t feel safe in their own neighborhoods, and citizens all across the State are outraged by the daily reports of this rampant gang violence.
+We launched an aggressive, coordinated surge to back up the beleaguered City police force.
+We sent 500 federal, state, and local law enforcement officers into the City and made 1,900 arrests.
+A few weeks ago, we announced a new comprehensive violent crime plan, which includes the opening of a Violent Crime Joint Operations Center and a new strike force consisting of more than 200 additional law enforcement personnel from 16 federal and state law enforcement agencies as well as local partners from the City and surrounding jurisdictions. And, other proposals, including assisting the City in recruiting and putting more officers into the community.
+But all of these efforts won’t be enough if we can’t keep these repeat violent offenders off the streets.
+Sixty percent of those convicted of gun crimes in Baltimore City do not serve any serious jail time and are simply released to commit violent felonies again and again.
+That is completely unacceptable.
+Help us bring transparency and accountability to our justice system by enacting the “Judicial Transparency Act,” which will require the Maryland State Commission on Criminal Sentencing Policy to track and publish information on the sentencing by judges to those convicted of violent crimes.
+Last year, inexplicably, we were unable to get legislation passed to impose tougher mandatory sentences for those who repeatedly commit violent crimes with guns.
+We’re talking about taking our communities back and saving lives.
+Enough is enough.
+The time has come for all of us to take a stand together and finally, once and for all, pass the “Repeat Firearms Offenders Act.”
+Much of this violence is the result of the opioid crisis raging across our nation.
+I was the first governor in America to declare a state of emergency, and we committed $800 million toward fighting the heroin, opioid, and substance abuse epidemic from all directions with a multi-pronged approach focused on prevention, education, treatment, interdiction, and enforcement.
+While we have bent the curve downward on prescription opioid and heroin overdose deaths, an even more deadly drug, fentanyl, is infecting and poisoning America.
+Too many of us know the devastation caused by heroin and opioid addiction.
+Under the surface, this crisis is destroying lives and tearing apart families and communities.
+This is a fight worth fighting, but it will take all of us – federal, state, county, municipal, and community leaders – working together with an all-hands-on-deck approach in order to save thousands of lives.
+When it comes to the issue of healthcare, Washington has continued to fail, but Maryland has continued to lead.
+We launched what has been called “one of the most aggressive efforts in the country” to protect the insurance exchange from collapsing.
+We pioneered a Total Cost of Care Medicare Model Contract, the only one of its kind in the nation.
+Together, we enacted landmark legislation to stabilize the individual marketplace and to create an innovative reinsurance program in our state.
+Thank you for rising to the challenge and working together with us to stop the 50 percent increases in insurance rates to instead achieve lower rates for the first time in a decade and to protect the coverage of hundreds of thousands of Marylanders.
+Ladies and gentlemen, the problems we have faced and will continue to face are not easily remedied, but we have already faced and overcome more daunting challenges before as individuals, as a state, and as a nation.
+My experiences over the last four years have blessed me with optimism, not burdened me with dread.
+And I know from personal experience that hope – not fear – is the most powerful emotion and the author of humanity’s greatest achievements.
+While partisanship, dysfunction, and gridlock have become commonplace just down the road in Washington, here in Annapolis, we have chosen a different path.
+We have been standing up for that exhausted majority who are just sick and tired of all the angry and divisive politics.
+What they really want is for their elected officials in both parties to put an end to this culture of intolerance, intimidation, and inaction and just get to work and get things done.
+Four years ago when I first addressed you, I said that “no problem faces us that hard work, honesty, and courage cannot solve if we work together.”
+That remains as true today as it was then.
+So let’s keep putting the people’s priorities before partisan interests.
+Let’s continue to deliver real results for the people who sent us here.
+Let’s keep changing Maryland for the better and continue setting an example for Washington so that America can once again set an example for the world.
+Thank you.
+And may God continue to bless the great State of Maryland.
+

state-of-the-state/speeches/Massachusetts_Both.txt

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+“Mr. Speaker. Madam President. Members of the House and Senate. Fellow Constitutional Officers. Members of the Governor's Council. Mr. Chief Justice and Members of the Judiciary. Members of the Cabinet and my Administration. Sheriffs. District Attorneys. Mayors. Local Officials. Reverend Clergy. Distinguished Guests.
+“To our Lieutenant Governor Karyn Polito, my partner in leading this administration. I want to take a moment to extend gratitude, on behalf of all of us here today for your commitment to this endeavor and the sacrifices your family has made.
+“Members of my family who are here this afternoon, my brothers, Jonathan and Sandy. Our Dad, the best and smartest guy we’ve ever known, thanks for being an incredible role model for us.
+“Our wonderful children, Charlie, AJ and Caroline. 
+“And my wife Lauren, the first lady of the Commonwealth, the love of my life for the past 31 years.
+“And to my Fellow Citizens.
+“Let me begin by thanking the people of the Commonwealth for giving the Lieutenant Governor and me four more years to serve them. We remember election night in 2014. It was so close, it ended the next day. 
+“We had a lot to prove to the people of Massachusetts. About our vision for the Commonwealth. Our approach to governing. Our priorities. Our work ethic. And our capacity to get things done.
+“We said we’d work to build a state government that was as thrifty, hard-working and creative as the people of this great state.  And we’re grateful for your continued faith in us.
+“To the lawmakers returning to this chamber, we say welcome back. And we look forward to building on the partnership we’ve established and the progress that we’ve made. 
+“And a special welcome to those of you who are embarking on a new journey here on Beacon Hill. I’m quite sure you’ve heard about the good work that goes on here, as well as those areas in which we fall short. We all strive to build a Commonwealth of hope, opportunity and possibility.  
+“And we seek to do so in a way that ensures people are heard.
+“My advice? Spend time outside of the State House. Listen to your constituents. Lead with your head and your heart. And make the best decisions you can for those you serve.
+“And in this era of snapchats, tweets, Facebook and Instagram posts, putdowns and smack-downs, I’d ask you all to remember that good public policy is about perseverance and collaboration. 
+“Many times, it is a story written frame by frame by many players who write it over time, relentlessly pursuing an objective.
+“Think about the Commonwealth’s leadership on national issues.
+“We have the highest rate of health care coverage in the nation. But the story was written across two decades, ten legislative sessions, five governors and four Presidents.
+“We have best in the nation gun laws, a story that was written across multiple legislative sessions and several Governors and was almost always bipartisan.
+“We have a K-12 education system that, despite its limitations, is the envy of the country. 
+“This story was written by a large cast of leaders and contributors across decades of deliberation and action.
+“As we approach the third decade of the 21st century, we’re engaged in a number of difficult policy issues. Some will be with us long after our time on Beacon Hill is done.
+“But it’s incumbent on us to pursue these tasks with foresight, intelligence and commitment, so that we can rest assured that when our time is done, those who come after us will be able to build on the foundation we’ve established.
+“As I look forward, I’m grateful that we’re taking on difficult policy issues from a position of strength.
+“Massachusetts no longer has a structural budget deficit. In fact, we ended last year with a major budget surplus. Deposited over $650 million into our Stabilization Fund. And anticipate making another major deposit to that Fund at the end of this fiscal year. And we did it without raising taxes.
+“When we took office the annual growth rate in Medicaid spending was in the double digits, drastically reducing what funds were available to support other important programs. 
+“Today, it’s growing at a rate that is more in line with the increase in overall state spending.
+“We added 4,000 seats to our superb vocational and technical schools. And we invested $50 million in capital grants to upgrade equipment and expand programs in high demand fields.
+“With your help, the Department of Children and Families has made tremendous progress serving some of the Commonwealth’s most at risk children and families. Caseloads are at historic lows and virtually all of our social workers are licensed.
+“The Registry of Motor Vehicles implemented a new technology platform and the federal Real ID program at the same time. This was a big lift, and there were some bumps along the way. 
+“But this past fall, the Registry served 90 % of its customers in under 30 minutes and virtually everyone else in less than an hour.
+“We enacted the BRAVE Act and broke ground on a $200 million rebuild of the Soldier’s Home in Chelsea, proving once again that no state is more committed to delivering for its veterans than Massachusetts.
+“We doubled the earned income tax credit for 450,000 low income working families, invested over $100 million in new funding into our early education system and reduced the use of hotels and motels to shelter homeless families by over 95%.
+“We also worked with the Legislature on two procurements that will lead to 50% of our electricity being generated by clean resources. And then delivered a bid process that came in far below the prices people anticipated.
+“Think about that! 
+“We delivered huge environmental benefits and lower energy prices. And now everybody wants to duplicate our process.
+“Our regulatory reform project reduced the complexity of state government across the board, allowing our small businesses to become more competitive in a dynamic economy. 
+“And our ‘get stuff done’ approach with public private partnerships in economic development, advanced manufacturing, robotics and smart materials has created jobs and opportunity across the Commonwealth.
+“As a result, our economy is booming.
+“We have more people working than at any time in state history. Over 200,000 jobs have been created since we took office. Our labor force participation rate is at an all-time high. And people are moving to Massachusetts because we offer good jobs and opportunity.
+“Thanks to the hard work of so many, the state of our Commonwealth is strong!
+“By putting the public interest ahead of partisan politics, we’ve made our Commonwealth a better place to live for our residents. But there’s always much left to do.
+“Twenty-five years ago, Massachusetts wasn’t a national leader in public education. 
+“Since then, we’ve achieved remarkable success by working together on a series of education reforms. As a result, Massachusetts students have scored number one on the National Assessment of Educational Progress exams in English and math for much of the past decade. And last year finished first on the Advanced Placement exams as well.
+“But when it comes to the difference in performance between urban and suburban school districts, we can and must do better.
+“The Foundation Formula needs to be updated and we’ll propose updates when our budget is filed later this month. 
+“But progress isn’t just about money. 
+“Education Commissioner Jeff Riley proved during his time as Receiver in Lawrence that significant progress can be made in improving school and student performance by changing the way our schools operate. 
+“Before that, he transformed the Clarence Edwards Middle School in Boston from the lowest performing middle school in the city into one of the best.
+“With that success in mind, our budget will also include opportunities for underperforming school districts to invest jointly with the Department of Education in proven best practices like acceleration academies, professional development, after school enrichment and leadership development programs.
+“We all have an opportunity to give our kids their best chance to succeed in a 21st century economy. It’s up to us to come together and seize this opportunity and lay the groundwork for their success.
+“There’s also much to do in transportation.
+“I’ll begin with a quick shout out to our Transportation Futures Commission. Predicting a future where there is so much possibility is difficult. They did great work and I want to highlight some of their recommendations.
+“First, continue to invest in public transportation.
+“This is an area in which the Commonwealth sat on its hands for far too many years and we’re all paying the price for it. 
+“Over the course of the next five years, the T plans to spend over $8 billion on infrastructure, much of which will be invested in its core system. This is more than twice what has ever been spent in any 5-year period.
+“This will be no small task. 
+“One of the reasons previous administrations didn’t invest in the core system is the complexity of upgrading and modernizing a system that operates 20 hours a day, seven days a week.
+“The constant tug between getting people where they need to go and disrupting that system to make it better is a big challenge. But it’s one that must be identified, scoped and overcome.
+“The T also needs to leverage its automated fare system once it’s in place in 2020. For the first time, that system will give the T real time data on how its riders use the system. That creates huge opportunities to improve service. To think differently about fares, routes and pricing. And to modernize operations to better serve customers.
+“Second, we must make the investments in public infrastructure that will enable the next generation of zero emission and autonomous vehicles to thrive here in the Commonwealth. 
+“Getting this right will require unprecedented collaboration with local government and our New England neighbors, as well as innovative partnerships with the private sector.
+“Third, reduce greenhouse gas emissions within the transportation system.  
+“The work we’re poised to do with other Northeast and Mid-Atlantic states should produce a cap and investment system for transportation that mirrors our successful model for energy.  
+“It will create the largest program of its kind in US history.
+“Finally, we need to more fully appreciate the relationship between where people live and where they work and how state and local government policies affect their ability to get from one to the other.
+“I’ve spoken before about this housing crisis. 
+“For over 20 years, we’ve produced less than half the new units of housing that we produced like clockwork in the previous forty years. 
+“As a result, we have limited inventory. And the inventory we have gets priced out of sight, forcing people to live farther and farther away from where they work.
+“I believe that our housing bill was a strong step in the right direction to deal with this. It respected the need for communities to plan for themselves, but created incentives to tie development more closely to overarching strategies concerning transportation and land use generally. In the end, it failed because it was too much for some and not enough for others.
+“We shouldn’t let the perfect become the enemy of the good.
+“Building a stronger, more equitable, more resilient and more successful Commonwealth rests on several pillars. But one of the most important ones is delivering a big increase in housing production. We need to get this done.
+“We have also made progress on criminal justice.
+“Three years ago we enacted legislation that prohibited sending women who’d been civilly committed due to an addiction to prison. 
+“And two years ago we brought the curtain down on 30 years of shame and reformed the operations of Bridgewater State Hospital.
+“Last year, we worked together on an ambitious, comprehensive criminal justice reform package. One that among other things, gives us more tools to help the men and women who’ll someday return to our communities get the training, life skills and support they need to succeed upon their release.
+“But our work here is not done.
+“In deciding whether or not it makes sense to hold a dangerousness hearing, current law requires a judge to ignore any previous criminal history and to focus only on the crime before the court. Moreover, the list of crimes for which a prosecutor is allowed to make that request is quite narrow.
+“Too often, dangerous career criminals are arrested only to be released as soon as they appear in court. This sort of revolving door serves to undermine people’s faith in law enforcement and the courts. And it’s a threat to public safety.
+“Nobody wants to see someone’s life ruined over a small-time lapse in judgment. The law we worked on together last year addresses many of those issues.
+“But, we still need a common sense approach that provides the system with the ability to schedule a dangerousness hearing when individuals with violent histories come before the court.
+“Yarmouth Police Sergeant Sean Gannon, Weymouth Police Sergeant Michael Chesna, Auburn Police Officer Ron Tarentino and State Trooper Thomas Clardy all gave their lives carrying out their sworn duty, protecting the people of this Commonwealth.    
+“Here with us today are Yarmouth Police Chief Frank Frederickson, Weymouth Police Chief Richard Grimes, Auburn Police Chief Andrew Sluckis and Superintendent of the Massachusetts State Police Colonel Kerry Gilpin.
+“We owe it to them, to their brothers and sisters in law enforcement and to our citizens to ensure that we’re doing all we can to keep dangerous people off of our streets.
+“Massachusetts is also a national leader in health care. We’re one of the healthiest states in the nation. And we have the highest rate of health care coverage. 
+“Our health care cluster is a wonder, economically and clinically. It’s constantly delivering solutions to some of the most urgent and challenging problems facing patients and their families.
+“The flip side is the price we pay.
+“Small businesses in Massachusetts have among the highest health insurance costs in the country. The price for the same medical service can vary by as much as 300% depending on where it’s provided.  
+“Our community hospitals continue to struggle. And, ironically, some of the Commonwealth’s rules make it tough to practice modern medicine.
+“Later this year, we will file legislation to address these issues. By expanding the use of telemedicine, rethinking some of our scope of practice guidelines and dealing with the parity issues that have negatively affected individuals and families dealing with mental health issues.
+“On opioid addiction we’ve made great progress. But we didn’t get into this crisis overnight and we won’t get out of it overnight either. 
+“The members of this Legislature have been true partners on this issue, enacting two major bills that build on our four pillars of reform: prevention, education, treatment and recovery.
+“Not all that long ago, families, providers and first responders had virtually no hope. Today, we’re one of a handful of states that can say that overdose deaths have dropped since 2017. 
+“There are interventions and policy changes that have worked and others that show promise. 
+“We also added initiatives like credentialed recovery coaches that will be coming online throughout 2019 and beyond.
+“Dealing with opioid addiction is enormously difficult. Relapse is an inevitable part of the story. Helping people avoid becoming addicted in the first place remains a challenge.
+“And defusing the presence of fentanyl, which is now present in 90% of all drug overdose deaths, is an enormous challenge.
+“On behalf of the people of this Commonwealth and especially the families and family members who deal with this addiction every single day, thank you for your support as the Commonwealth battles this deadly disease.
+“On the afternoon of September 13th, a series of explosions rocked Greater Lawrence resulting in one of the biggest disasters in the history of the Merrimack Valley. Dozens of house fires broke out across the region and one young man tragically lost his life. 
+“Fire and police teams from across Massachusetts and New Hampshire raced to and spread out across Lawrence, North Andover and Andover, putting out fires and directing and re-directing traffic. They worked closely with the Red Cross, local non-profits, state officials and the leadership of the three communities to get people safely out of their homes and if they had no place to go, into a shelter.
+“For the next 90 days there was an army of operators, tradespeople, first responders, inspectors and state and local officials working throughout the three affected communities: to lay down 50 miles of new mainline pipe, replace thousands of service lines into houses, businesses and apartment buildings and repair or replace thousands of hot water heaters, stoves, dryers and boilers. 
+“It was an enormous and complex undertaking.
+“Throughout this ordeal, homeowners, families and businesses affected by this disaster showed a tremendous amount of patience, resilience, flexibility and fortitude. 
+“There were hundreds of local officials and elected leaders who went above and beyond the call on this one. 
+“But I want to give special mention and thanks to several local officials that are here with us today, Lawrence Mayor Dan Rivera, Fire Chief Brian Moriarty and Police Chief Roy Vasque. Andover Town Manager Andrew Flanagan, Fire Chief Michael Mansfield and Police Chief Patrick Keefe. And North Andover Town Manager Andrew Maylor, Fire Chief William McCarthy and Police Chief Charles Gray. 
+“These leaders really delivered and we’re honored to have them here with us today. 
+“It’s in moments like this that everyone remembers why committed and creative public service matters. 
+“At the same time, the day to day work often goes on without much notice. 
+“The fact that 351 cities and towns in this Commonwealth have worked with state government on over 800 best practices and now use that program to spread the word on other smarter ways to deliver services doesn’t make much news.
+“The work we’ve done together to invest billions of dollars in housing, downtown and regional economic development and public/private partnerships in communities across the Commonwealth are stories that come and go. 
+“The 16,000 trees we’ve planted and thousands of LED lights we’ve installed with our colleagues in local government is just doing our job.
+“Each day, the wheels turn, and when they turn well they build strong communities. Support great schools. Grow the economy. Clean up the environment. Promote justice. And give people a chance.
+“Those wheels create hope, opportunity and possibility .
+“Sure, there’s noise. Tons of it. Most of the time that back and forth is positive. It’s people offering a point of view with heart and intelligence in a democracy designed to encourage it. 
+“But these days, too much of what pretends to be debate is just rhetoric or character assassination. And every time someone joins that chorus they steal time, attention and focus away from finding common ground, creating solutions and doing the work that matters.
+“Whether it’s the grind of the day to day, or a crisis, we all need to work together because that’s what great public service is all about.
+“During the winter of 2015, I saw firsthand during the snowstorms how amazing this nation’s mutual aid programs between states can be. Other states bailed us out as the snow kept falling with no end in sight. 
+“And during the first chaotic and terrifying 24 hours of the Merrimack Valley disaster, the number of first responders who just dropped whatever they were doing and headed there was amazing.
+“That’s public service and people appreciate it.
+“Over the past four years, the Lieutenant Governor and I have heard time and time again that the way we all work together is a model for the nation.  
+“People like our collaborative approach to governing. And they say they’re proud to be from Massachusetts!
+“And so am I!
+“This state is bursting with talent, humor and decency. Boldness and common sense. Our abiding sense of patriotism, belonging and community has made us strong and has carried us forward for almost 400 years.
+“Let others engage in cheap shots and low blows. Let’s make our brand of politics positive and optimistic, instead of cruel and dark.
+“And instead of the bickering and name calling that dominates much of today’s public debate, let’s build on the work of those who came before us. 
+“And make our work about how we can make this great state better for the people who call this glorious place ‘home.’
+“God Bless This Commonwealth.
+“God Bless the United States of America.”
+

state-of-the-state/speeches/Michigan_SOTS.txt

@@ -0,0 +1,171 @@
+Acknowledgments
+Lieutenant Governor Gilchrist; Speaker Chatfield; House Democratic Leader Greig; Senate Majority Leader Shirkey; Senate Democratic Leader Ananich; members of the cabinet; my daughters, Sherry and Sydney; my husband, Marc; and my fellow Michiganders: Good evening.
+I am grateful for the opportunity to speak tonight about the growing challenges we face in Michigan, the steps we are going to take to address them, and my priorities for the next year and beyond.
+As you can imagine, over the past few weeks, I’ve gotten a lot of unsolicited input about what I should say tonight, and what I should focus on as governor. Someone even suggested, after the recent record-breaking cold, that I should, quote, “fix the damn weather.”
+I guess the cat’s out of the bag, now you know my campaign slogan for 2022.
+Joking aside, I want to thank all of the dedicated public servants who showed up for work in dangerous conditions to keep the rest of us safe.
+
+I also want to express my deepest gratitude to the Michiganders who keep us safe every day in the Armed Services, and all of the veterans who have risked their lives to serve the United States of America.
+One of those veterans — and one of Michigan’s greatest leaders — was Congressman John Dingell, who passed away last week at the age of 92.
+From his courageous service in World War II to his model leadership over 59 years in the U.S. House of Representatives, Congressman Dingell devoted his life to serving the people of Michigan. He will forever be remembered as “The Dean” of Congress – not simply for the length of his service, but for his crucial role in passing some of the most monumental laws of the past century. He was the epitome of what I think we in Michigan know: YOU DON’T HAVE TO BE MEAN TO BE STRONG. And those who live by this creed can get things done.
+I extend my deepest and most heartfelt condolences to Congresswoman Debbie Dingell and the entire Dingell family for their loss. We are a grateful nation and a proud state.
+I want to welcome the public servants who are either new to state government or who are in new roles.
+Like Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, Attorney General Dana Nessel, and all of the dedicated members of my cabinet – which by the way – is the most diverse cabinet in Michigan history.
+And the new leader of our state’s highest court is also here tonight: Chief Justice Bridget Mary McCormack. Today, for the first time in Michigan history, our Governor, Attorney General, Secretary of State, and Chief Justice are all women.
+Not to overlook our U.S. Senator and a record FIVE members of our U.S. House delegation.
+Finally, I want to congratulate the 52 members of the legislature who are embarking on their first term in office.
+I remember the excitement I felt as a 29-year-old freshman lawmaker. I sat where you are as a House member, and eventually as a senator, and watched three governors give the State of the State address. Back then, it never dawned on me that I would deliver this speech one day. I am eager to work with you on behalf of the people we serve.
+We have to work together. Because, as I have said before: Michigan’s problems are not partisan problems.
+Potholes are not political. There is no such thing as Republican or Democratic school kids or drinking water. Our challenges affect us all. And they will require us all, working together, to solve.
+Despite our challenges, Michigan’s greatest strength is — and always has been — our people. It’s no accident that Michiganders are a diverse, persevering, and innovative group. Just think about the people who built our state:
+Dutch immigrants who settled in West Michigan to work the land.
+Finns who came to mine in the UP.
+African Americans who came north for jobs in the auto industry.
+People from the Middle East who made Dearborn one of the country’s most vibrant, flourishing Arab-American communities.
+People from around the world came here for good-paying jobs,
+a high- quality education for their kids, and the right to live and worship freely.
+The diverse people who built our state saw Michigan not just as a potential home, but as a home for opportunity.
+Michigan’s Growing Challenges
+That is our legacy. Michigan has been a home for opportunity for 182 years.
+Of course, our predecessors overcame some big obstacles along the way. And now, it is our turn to ensure Michigan is a home for opportunity today and for future generations.
+There are some wonderful things happening in our state. There are also some serious challenges.
+Today, Michigan is confronting two major crises.
+The first is our failing infrastructure.
+Last year, the American Society of Civil Engineers gave Michigan infrastructure an overall grade of D-plus. Our roads fared even worse—a D-minus—with just 18 percent of Michigan roads in “good” condition. Another recent study found that Michigan has the worst roads in the country. The worst.
+Let’s be honest: we don’t need studies to tell us this. The evidence is impossible to ignore.
+Just a few weeks ago, I-75 was suddenly shut down in Oakland County because of dangerous potholes that flattened and destroyed tires sidelining dozens of cars. The potential consequences of course can be far more serious than a flat.
+Right now, we have crumbling bridges with hundreds of temporary supports holding them up. Buses of school kids and families travel over them—and under them. Chunks of concrete have slammed through windshields.
+By one estimate, the vehicle damage from our roads costs the average motorist $562 a year in repairs. We’re paying a road tax that doesn’t even fix the damn roads. That’s money that could go toward childcare, rent, college tuition, or retirement savings.
+And while it’s hard to imagine things getting worse, that is precisely what will happen if we don’t act boldly and swiftly. Because over the next decade, the share of Michigan highways and trunk lines in poor condition will more than double—worsening the severity of the danger and costing drivers across our state even more.
+It endangers our lives. And robs us of our time and our hard-earned money. It hurts our businesses’ bottom lines. It jeopardizes our edge in mobility. And limits our economic potential.
+Because no one will invest in a state that doesn’t invest in itself.
+And let’s be clear: Incremental fund shifts, like we’ve seen in recent years—don’t fix the problem. They only slow our decline.
+And I didn’t run for governor to manage the decline of our state. I ran to make sure this state is one where our kids stay and families thrive.
+Solving this crisis will not be easy. We didn’t get here overnight. This is a challenge 30 years in the making— the result of underinvestment across multiple administrations. We need to act now, before a catastrophe happens or the situation becomes truly unrecoverable.
+And we all have a role to play.
+So to everyone at home: Share your stories about what the infrastructure crisis means to your families. Take a picture of your damaged car or repair bill and post it with the hashtag #FTDR.
+I’m sure you know what that stands for by now.
+Michigan businesses: Quantify how it’s impacting your bottom lines and share it with us using #FTDR.
+And to the legislature: When you’re home in your districts, talk with local leaders and identify infrastructure priorities in the areas you represent.
+And then, let’s come together and pass a budget that actually fixes the damn roads!
+Of course, you can’t navigate any road if you’re looking at your phone. So in addition to better roads, we need safer roads, too.
+Car crashes are the number one killer of our young people.
+I recently met Steve Kiefer, who told me about his son Mitchel – a 2016 graduate of Detroit Catholic Central, and a member of the state championship hockey team. Mitchel was a freshman at MSU when he was tragically killed by a distracted driver on I -96. The family formed the Kiefer Foundation to carry on Mitchel’s legacy and end distracted driving – and they’re already making important progress.
+I’ve got to tell you, there is nothing more amazing to me than parents who channel the loss of their child into a cause that helps other people’s kids.
+Today we are joined by Mitchel’s parents, (gesture) Steve Kiefer and Paula Kiefer, as well as Mitchel’s brother and sisters, Blake, Julianna and Alexa.
+I know the Kiefers and I believe it’s time for Michigan to join the 16 states that have passed hands-free laws to keep our roads and our kids safe. So let’s make it happen.
+We also face serious problems with our water infrastructure.
+Last month, Flint’s water showed the lowest levels of lead and copper contamination since the start of the crisis four years ago. That’s good, but our work is not done.
+We are home to 21% of the world’s fresh water and yet too many families in Flint and across our state don’t have access to clean drinking water.
+Contamination from old pipes is not the only aspect we must address.
+Over the past year, toxic chemicals known as PFAS have been found in our lakes, our rivers, and our water systems in more than 70 communities spanning both of our peninsulas.
+This problem may not have commanded the same kind of national attention as the situation in Flint. But it is just as urgent.
+It is time to step up our efforts to protect the health and safety of all Michiganders.
+From our roads to our water, infrastructure is the crisis we see — we see it in on our commutes, in our communities, and in our homes.
+The second crisis is harder to see, but we all know it exists: it’s the crisis in education and skills.
+And, like infrastructure, it impacts every one of us — our employers, our workers, and all of our children.
+Today, third graders in Michigan rank in the bottom ten in the country in reading. The bottom ten.
+Since 2014, among states measured every year, Michigan has experienced the worst decline in childhood literacy. And the decline has been consistent across every racial and economic group in our state.
+Let’s be clear: This is not happening because Michigan kids are less talented. It’s not happening because our kids are less motivated. It’s not happening because our educators are less dedicated. It is happening because generations of leadership have failed them.
+In the past 25 years, Michigan has seen the lowest growth in the K-12 education spending of any state in the nation. During that time, our per-pupil funding revenue has actually fallen by 15 percent. And in the last decade, as our literacy crisis has grown, our predecessors have repeatedly raided K-12 education funding to fill gaps elsewhere in the state budget.
+Despite these challenges, we have incredible educators like Marla Williams – who is here tonight — Marla is a special ed teacher at Davison School in Detroit, where she is known as a tireless advocate for her students.
+In class, Marla ensures that her special ed students have all the same opportunities as their peers. But her work doesn’t stop when the bell rings at the end of the day. She goes to their birthday parties. She visits them when they're sick. She has even taken some of their laundry home and washed her students’ clothes herself. She changes lives for the better every day.
+That's because she – like so many Michigan educators – knows teaching is more than a career, it is a calling. I want to send a message to all of the devoted educators across Michigan: You’re not failing us. We have been failing you.
+Our educators deserve our support — not a funding crisis that undermines their work, weakens our schools and hurts our kids. We know that potential is universal, but right now opportunity is not.
+Our students are not broken. Our teachers are not broken. It’s our system that’s broken. We can’t fix it overnight. And greater investment alone won’t be enough.
+But we’re going to do it, because nearly two million kids are counting on us.
+Our education crisis compromises our workforce — this at the moment when the skills we need to compete for good-paying jobs are rapidly changing.
+At the Detroit Auto Show last month, I met with auto executives who said their number one challenge was attracting enough talent. They used to need auto engineers. Today, they need software engineers and developers and skilled trades people, too.
+The skills gap poses a serious economic challenge for us. And part of the problem is we have failed to prioritize talent and ensure everyone has a path to skills.
+The vast majority of today’s jobs require some form of postsecondary education, whether it’s a degree or a skills certification. But, as of 2016, only 44 percent of our workforce has such a credential. Simply put, that’s not good enough for Michigan to compete.
+I don't accept it. None of us should.
+As I said, these challenges affect us all. They make Michigan a harder place to get ahead. A harder place to raise a family. A harder place to run a business.
+And they are even tougher to solve because pressures on our state government have been building up for years. Departments that are understaffed, that lack diversity, and suffer from low morale. Outdated technology and IT challenges that impede both state employees’ ability to do their jobs and Michigan residents’ ability to access government services. Severe budget constraints that prevent badly needed investments in our roads, infrastructure, and more.
+Over the past month, the LG and I have visited every department in person.
+I met state employees who have served the public for decades and never even met a governor.
+I listened and learned about the obstacles they try to navigate on a daily basis to serve the people of our state. I promised I will do everything I can to support them. Because while many focus on what happens here at the capitol . . . the real work of state government — protecting the public, educating our kids, working with business — is done by the 48,000 people of our state workforce.
+And they don’t get the gratitude they deserve.
+People like Eric Oswald — who’s with us today. Eric was a Colonel in the Air Force when he retired in 2017, and he was “looking for a new challenge” when the Flint Water Crisis hit. So he stepped up again to serve his state — this time as the DEQ’s Director of the Drinking Water and Municipal Assistance Division.
+Eric said he sees the same qualities in his fellow state employees that he saw in the military: hardworking public servants committed to the mission of protecting and serving others.
+They deserve our thanks and support. And I’m proud to be in their ranks.
+These challenges aren’t the fault of any one politician or party. I spent 14 years in the legislature, so I know how tough it is to keep the government funded and functioning. But I also know this: turning a blind eye or passing phony fixes won’t solve problems.
+In fact, they make it harder. Filling potholes instead of building roads. Pretending that little increases can fix an education crisis. Playing a shell game with the state budget. Ignoring the potential of hundreds of millions of dollars from lawsuits against the last administration. Giving sweetheart deals to political insiders. Spending $1.3 billion on the last day of the lame-duck session in December.
+A government that doesn’t work today can’t get the job done for tomorrow. And that ends now.
+As a state, we must make the bold choices so we can build a stronger Michigan. And we need to work together.
+A Government That Works for Everyone
+I recognize that the tone starts at the top.
+And that’s why I took a number of steps during my first month in office to make sure Government works. So our employees, our businesses and our people can trust us.
+My first act was an executive directive so state employees know how and are empowered to alert us of imminent threats to public health, safety, or welfare.
+Valid concerns about public health and welfare will be acted upon.
+I also established stronger ethics rules for the executive branch, including a ban on the use of private email accounts to conduct state business.
+For too long, our government has been plagued by a lack of transparency. We have consistently ranked the worst in the country. We have the power to fix that: let’s expand FOIA to my office and to the legislature. It’s time to ensure that the sun shines equally on every branch of state government.
+I also signed an executive directive banning state government from discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity – without any exemptions.
+Now Michigan government is on the right side of history. Because nobody should ever be fired because of who they are or who they love. It’ll help build and attract a talented, top-notch workforce. That’s precisely why the business community has pushed to extend these rights to the private sector as well.
+If we want Michigan to be a home for opportunity . . . it should be opportunity for all, in all workplaces. We need to expand the Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act to include protections for our LGBT community.
+And I also mean equal opportunity for women.
+Today, women in Michigan’s workforce make 78 cents for every dollar that men make for doing the same job. Women of color make even less. It is time for that to change. That is why I signed an executive directive prohibiting employers in state government from asking women applicants about their salary histories. This ensures past discrimination doesn’t hurt a woman’s future earnings.
+Those same protections extended to all Michigan women would cut the poverty rate among working women in half. Think about that. It would cut the poverty rate among working single moms by even more. Michigan women’s annual income would increase enough to pay for, on average, nearly 14 months of rent or more than 18 months of child care.
+That’s how we build a stronger economy. That’s making Michigan a home for opportunity for women. Opportunity: also means a level playing field for small businesses from Marquette to Macomb to Muskegon Heights.
+I’ve opened up contracting opportunities for small businesses in designated opportunity zones across our state. That means small businesses in geographically disadvantaged communities will have a level playing field. Let’s keep Michigan dollars in Michigan.
+Let’s create more opportunities for companies like Open Systems Technologies in Grand Rapids, where I recently met president and CEO Meredith Bronk — who is with us tonight — and several women small business owners about leveling the playing field for entrepreneurs across our state.
+When we were in Grand Rapids we were joined by former Lieutenant Governor Brian Calley — or, as the newer legislators might know him, Rep. Julie Calley’s spouse.
+As the leader of the Small Business Association of Michigan, Brian has offered incredible support . . . It’s proof that, if we can put the election behind us, we have a great opportunity to work together and build a stronger economy.
+A Stronger, Healthier Economy
+A strong economy also requires a concentration of talent. And, as I said earlier, we must ensure that every Michigander has opportunity through a path to skills that lead to a good job.
+Today’s jobs, and jobs on the horizon, demand greater education and training than ever before. Right now, Michigan is one of only 9 states in the country and the only state in the Midwest that hasn’t even established a formal goal for post-secondary attainment. That changes tonight.
+I am announcing a new statewide goal of increasing the number of Michiganders between the ages of 16 and 64 with a post-secondary credential to 60 percent by 2030. It’s aggressive. But great expectations lead to great results.
+To get there, we need to start thinking differently about what it takes to succeed. We used to think about careers in terms of ladders. One way up. But, today, it’s more like rock-climbing.
+There are many paths to a good life, and we need to help people find the one that works for them. That’s why, tonight, I’m announcing three paths for workers and students across our state.
+The first is for Michiganders who have already started their careers.
+As workplaces evolve, many people will need to acquire new skills to advance—or even just to keep the jobs they have now. There are also displaced workers across the state who are looking for new opportunities. That’s why we are launching: Michigan Reconnect.
+By training adults seeking an in-demand industry certification or associate degree, Reconnect is a path for working Michiganders to up- skill. It will also connect Michigan businesses to qualified candidates for the growing number of jobs that are currently unfilled.
+This initiative is modeled after a similar effort that Tennessee’s former Republican governor, Bill Haslam, launched last year. And it is already surpassing expectations.
+The second path is for graduating high school students who want to continue their education, but who decide that a four-year college or university isn’t for them. A four-year degree isn’t for everyone, but everyone needs skills to get a good job.
+For them: the MI Opportunity Scholarship, will guarantee two years of debt-free community college for all graduating high school students who qualify. The scholarship will be officially launched this spring and available to students in the fall of 2020. And it will make Michigan the first Midwestern state to guarantee community college for all.
+The third path is for graduating high school seniors who are . . .as my friends in the trades like to say, “just not skilled trades material.” I’m talking about a path for students who do want to pursue a four-year degree, but who can’t afford to do so.
+A study last year found the average cost of tuition, fees, and room and board at a public four-year school in Michigan is almost $22,000 a year. That’s the 10th highest in the country. And it’s a complete barrier for a lot of people in our state.
+That’s why the MI Opportunity Scholarship will provide two years of tuition assistance at a four-year, not-for-profit college or university for students who graduate from a Michigan high school with at least a B average. Real Paths. Real Opportunity. Together, these paths will go a long way toward closing the skills gap, making Michigan’s economy more competitive, and creating real opportunity for everyone.
+If you’re willing to put in the work, you will have a path to succeed.
+But a strong Michigan requires more than a singular commitment to better skills.
+It also requires a commitment to the health of our workers, families, and communities. That is why we are taking several important steps to protect and improve public health.
+Last week, I announced the creation of a new agency that will bring sharper focus to addressing Michigan’s water safety and environmental challenges.
+The streamlined Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy will be tasked with ensuring that every Michigander has access to safe and clean drinking water. It will be charged with safeguarding our Great Lakes, and taking action to protect our state from the harmful effects of climate change. The agency will include the new offices of the Clean Water Public Advocate and the Environmental Justice Public Advocate. We’re going to make state government more efficient and more responsive to our environmental and public health challenges.
+The new department: “Eagle” has gotten bipartisan support from Michigan businesses and leaders, including Candice Miller — who’s with us tonight — as well as former Snyder administration DEQ Director Heidi Grether, and Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha.
+I also joined Michigan in the U.S. Climate Alliance, with a bipartisan coalition of governors from 20 other states that have committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions consistent with the goals of the Paris Climate Agreement.
+Two weeks ago we had wind chills: 50 below zero. Last week it was over 50 above. That’s a 100 degree swing – and a reminder that climate change and extreme weather are already putting Michiganders at risk.
+As a state, we must take that risk seriously. We cannot and will not wait to act.
+Everyone in my administration is also committed to ensuring that all Michiganders have access to quality health care they can afford.
+During my time in the state Senate, I worked across the aisle with Governor Snyder, and Leader Shirkey and Leader Ananich, to expand Medicaid and provide coverage to 680,000 Michiganders through the Healthy Michigan plan.
+As governor, I am committed to defending Healthy Michigan, and we are already doing so in two important ways.
+First: Last week, I sent a letter to the Trump Administration about my concerns that new work requirements slated for next year may hurt Michiganders. I wrote that I intend to work with the legislature to find ways that both promote work and preserve coverage for people who need it.
+Second: we have joined 19 other states to defend the Affordable Care Act in court. Hundreds of thousands of Michiganders’ health care is on the line, and I want to commend the Attorney General for leading on this vital issue.
+A Budget That Addresses Our Problems
+The policies that I have outlined tonight will strengthen the foundation for Michigan’s economic future. Next month, I will propose a budget for our state. My budget will offer a real solution to fixing our roads and rebuilding our infrastructure. It will give our frontline educators the tools they need to address our literacy crisis. And most of all, it will reflect my unwavering commitment to making Michigan the home for opportunity.
+The people of Michigan voted for people they believed could solve problems.
+There are legislative districts in our state where I won by double digits, and voters also supported Republican legislators. Let’s prove to them – and the country – that divided government doesn’t have to mean gridlock.
+I am eager to engage with any and all people of good faith about ideas and priorities, including your ideas on bringing down car insurance rates. I am committed to this state and to solving problems, therefore, I will reject anything presented as a “solution” that doesn’t really solve a problem — or creates a new one.I will not sign anything that resembles the budget gimmicks and band-aids that have failed us in the past. I will veto bills designed to cut out the public’s right of referendum. And I will stay faithful to the mission of fixing the roads, improving skills through education and training, and cleaning up our water. And I’ll work with everyone who wants to do that.
+And one more thing: I pledge to continue the new culture that Governor Snyder created in Lansing over the
+last eight years: Budgets got done before the break. And that was a good thing. Because just like every other workplace, we shouldn’t go on vacation until we get the job done.
+I would love to see a show of hands from my friends in the legislature — how many of you agree with me? I hope the press is taking pictures of those hands.
+Let’s make it happen—and let’s do it together.
+“Foundations of Faith in Michigan’s Future”
+Some will doubt our ability to find common ground; to make the bold choices needed to ensure Michigan will always be a home for opportunity.
+When you look at the dysfunction in Washington, that skepticism is understandable. Extreme partisanship, shut downs, and trade wars all put Michigan’s economy at risk. Those things are out of our control.
+Let us stay focused on what we can control. And let us strive to see the humanity in one another along the way. Because, when we do, it’s a lot easier to find common ground.
+You may know I am centered by my family and love for Michigan. . . the place I hope my kids will make their lives.
+Garlin Gilchrist is an engineer who moved back to Detroit with his wife Ellen to build a life for themselves, their twins Garlin and Emily, and a new member of the family due in June.
+Lee and Stephanie Chatfield are parents to five kids 8 and under. Four sons and a daughter. He, like I used to, lives next to his parents and he is guided by his faith.
+Jim and Andrea Ananich expanded their family through adoption a few years ago and they - like lots of Flint families - were worried about mixing baby Jake’s formula. Jim’s a teacher and has an affinity for giving nicknames.
+As dads of young kids . . . I bet they could get some pointers from the other two leaders:
+Mike Shirkey’s got 12 grandkids. He’s rarely spotted around town after hours because he likes to hightail it home to Jackson to have dinner with his wife, Sue.
+And Chris Greig, has three sons, loves tennis and when she gets home “Chef Bob” always has something amazing.
+We all have families. We all care about our kids’ and grandkids futures. We all want what’s best for our communities and our state.
+It’s important for us to remember that the enemy is not the person across the aisle. The enemy is apathy. The enemy is extreme partisanship. The enemy is self-interest.
+When we stand together as Michiganders — or Michiganians, for those of you who insist — we can get the job done for the people of our state.
+We can build bridges and ensure that Michigan is the home for opportunity for generations to come. After my inauguration, I received messages of support and encouragement from people across our state. One of them was the granddaughter of Governor G. Mennen “Soapy” Williams. A former labor leader sent me a Soapy Williams -era bowtie with green and white polka dots, and his commemorative coin from the opening of the Mackinac Bridge.
+Holding that coin between my fingers was a moving experience — especially when I read the inscription on the back. It says: “Built by the will of a great people, upon foundations of Michigan's faith in her future.” More than 60 years later, we are still a great people. We still have the will. We still have faith.
+The question is: do we have the wisdom to put partisanship aside and get the job done for the people we serve?
+I think we do.
+So let’s get to work.
+Thank you.
+

state-of-the-state/speeches/Minnesota_SOTS.txt

@@ -0,0 +1,81 @@
+Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
+Madam Speaker, and Members of the Minnesota House of Representatives, Mr. President, and Members of the Minnesota Senate.
+Madam Chief Justice, and Distinguished Members of the Minnesota Supreme Court.
+My fellow Constitutional Officers, my Cabinet, staff, Governor Dayton.
+To our Sovereign Leadership of our Indigenous Nations, Lower Sioux Vice President Grace Goldtooth, Prairie Island Indian Community President Shelley Buck, and Bois Forte Band of Chippewa Chairwoman Cathy Chavers. Lieutenant Governor Flanagan of the White Earth Nation.
+Escorts in the Minnesota National Guard, some of whom are with the Field Artillery, the 1 and the 125. Steel Rain.
+And to the First Lady, Gwen. My daughter, Hope. My son, Gus, who is absent as a 12-year-old with pinkeye.
+And my fellow Minnesotans, who serve as the foundation of this great state and the reason we're here tonight.
+Tonight, gathering together, for the first time all of us together, gives us an opportunity to reaffirm why we are here. I know for certain that we're not here to have petty arguments against one another. I'm absolutely certain we're not here to send out mean tweets towards one another. And I know, and I think this is especially true of our new members, we're not here to be actors in a story that is already written for us, one that tells us how we're supposed to act and this is the way it's always been done and we're supposed to butt heads on this, and then May 20th will come around and we will become friends.
+I am not naive, my friends. I served in the House of Representatives. I believe there's one other person in this room who has had the pleasure of serving both in the United States Congress and being here with the Attorney General.
+I will tell you, don't write that story.  Write this story right here. That's why you came here. That is why you worked so hard to come and bring your talents and bring your experience and more importantly, to bring the stories of your constituents.
+That's what this is really about. Those stories that inform who we are. The policy proposals that we put forward, those are not something that comes from us as our personal ideology. They are things that come from our constituents in the stories they tell us about their lives. Whether they tell us about health care and what they need or what could be done, or they talk about education and it's working and what's not, or they talk about what makes Minnesota such a special place.
+Tonight I'm going to tell you a few of those stories. You'll recognize some of them because the name might be different, but it will be the same story you're hearing. Some of them you won't know.
+Some come from friends. Some come from people who told me the story since I have become Governor, and like so many of you sometimes, you just step back when you hear the story and you think, that needs to be retold and something needs to be done.
+And tonight I've got a lot of stories mainly because I spent many, many years teaching and I taught thousands of students, two of whom are with us tonight.
+Will and Ross are here with me tonight. They're twins, if you can't tell. I never could tell you apart. It was the dirty shoes. The dirty shoes were the giveaway.
+Will and Ross were students of mine at Mankato West, and like tens of thousands across Minnesota, they came to our schools eager. They wanted to absorb everything. They took advantage of every opportunity and every club we had and they wanted to find out what life could give them. They went out and furthered their education and they decided they would pursue the two things that they were really, really excited about: Athletics and sport, and eating.
+And they came together and got three of their other friends, and since they're very literal people, they created a little company called Five Friends, so it made sense. And they decided that nutrition and granola bars were too expensive and they weren't made with a lot of natural ingredients.
+So the five friends who had everything from marketing degrees to sports science degrees came together, crafted, started cooking granola bars -- and they will admit, the first ones were terrible; you guys have told me that -- and stuck with it and finally got a store to carry them. Then they got the second store. Then they got the 100th store. Then they got the 600th store. That's the dream that Minnesotans want. An opportunity to get the background and go forward to create the life you want.
+When I asked them, what drove that? What made the difference? And they didn't blink. They said it was the teachers who had each of us believing that we could do anything we wanted to. That experience they had in that classroom and with those teachers and after school in those clubs inspired them to be the best they can. That's what we ask. That's what we want of every single one of our schools and our teachers. But unfortunately, it's not true across the state. All too often that success or that opportunity might be dictated by a ZIP code or it might be dictated by race.
+We've got a teacher here with me tonight. Amanda Fjeld is here from Floodwood. Amanda is one of those people that we need in the classroom. Amanda grew up and went to Floodwood schools. Some of you are familiar in here. I know there's some folks here that know Floodwood and St. Louis County, that they know where it's at.
+Floodwood is a town of about 525. Amanda and I were who-had-the-smaller-classing each other before this. She graduated with 38 students in her class. I had 24 in mine, 12 of whom were cousins. But I would not change that experience for anything. The ability and the teachers that I had influenced me in a profound way. They influenced Amanda enough she went off and got her teaching degree and went back to Floodwood to teach.
+But here's the problem. As Floodwood's demographics changed a little bit, the property tax base isn't big enough. And as Minnesota started to shift away from funding in the state formula to property taxes, it left communities like Floodwood -- they'll go to a ballot next Tuesday, and they've made it very clear, if their referendum fails, they will consolidate classes, close programs, and lay off a quarter of their teachers. They have no other option. Those are where we were putting people into those positions.
+What that does, it stops the opportunity that Will and Ross were given. It makes a difference based on geography for the outcomes we're going to get. It weakens our economic strength across the state. And we have the capacity to do something about it. That's the reason when we talk about education funding, it's not a game. It's not numbers. Local school boards have informed us about the decisions they need.
+I'm asking, and when we put a budget together, yes, it's a fiscal document, but it's a moral document. And what these schools have said is they need to get 3 and 2 percent on their funding formula. We can debate that, and we will. Healthy. But keep in mind, behind every one of the debates we have here are real people being impacted by them. Real people.
+Now, I want to be clear. We need to be smart on how we do this. We need to be creative on how we do it. And we need to stop seeing, as the Lieutenant Governor so often says, and my next guest who's with me -- Dr. Nathan Chomilo is with us in the audience tonight.
+Dr. Chomilo is a pediatrician and an internist and he has the same saying that the Lieutenant Governor always says to me: Children do not come in pieces.
+He has spent his lifetime providing care as a pediatrician, preventive care for those students -- for those patients. But he didn't see them just as patients. He also has a program where he gives a book to every single one of his patients because what he understands is that whole child, if they get to a good start where they have their opportunities to get their checkups but they're there in a place with someone and a professional that ties everything together, if that child is healthy physically and mentally, if that child is ready for kindergarten, if that child has a home, a safe home to put their head on the pillow at night, the chances of success in that classroom and going on and accomplishing what students do across this state increase greatly.
+Dr. Chomilo knows most of the children he sees in his practice are dependent on the Health Care Access Fund. So I come to you not with I think -- it's not my idea. I would like to claim credit for what Minnesota did. Nearly three decades ago we said it makes sense to get our children care before they get sick. It makes sense to put them into that place. And it is not by chance that because of what they did, and that was Republican and DFL and Reform Party Governor, and everyone in this room, some of you sitting here remember this, they crafted a system that not only provided and insured more people than any other state, our health outcomes rocketed to the top. What that does is provides the opportunity for that child for a good start, it saves us money, and it makes the sense that we know we can start moving in a direction where every single person, not just every child, has those same opportunities.
+So when I come to you and ask you, it's not to pick a fight. It's not because I believe that I have cornered the market on the Health Care Access Fund. I believe that it is the best solution that was out there and it gives us a foundation to work from there.
+And the reason -- and let me be clear, the respect I have, and I want to be absolutely clear about this, I know that every single person in this chamber wants every child to get that care. They want the outcome that Dr. Chomilo is getting to happen for every child. The difference might be in the approach that we go about it.
+What I am asking you, though, is, let us have this open debate about a 27-year-old program that is foundational to the health care of this state. It has survived countless administrations, countless members who have sat where you've sat come and gone and has still continued to deliver. And if we can get to that, then we can move forward about how do we talk about retaining and making sure that we keep costs down, we make sure that care is available in all of our communities, and we move forward to a better system. Because I am here to tell you, don't wait for a minute with a partner who is unreliable. The federal government has added more certainty and we were told today that there will be no movement on health care until after the 2020 election. And the reason that that is a problem, as my next guest will tell you, we don't have until 2021.
+Deborah Mills is with me tonight up in the audience. And Deborah I just recently met. Deborah is a dairy farmer from Lake City. I don't think she would have ever imagined being in this space or being thrust into this debate.
+Her family is the quintessential American and Minnesota dairy farmers. Three generations on the farm. They have about 280 head they milk. They raise corn for silage. Their daughter, Maggie, was a finalist for Princess Kay of the Milky Way. This is just what Minnesota -- yeah. It's just what people do.
+And this is not about ascribing blame. This is about outcomes that matter. Because of the way the system worked, and Deborah's playing by the rules, she does not have access to health care, so she has the stress of going without health care. Couple that with historically low milk prices. Couple that with catastrophic weather events that had Deborah to a point -- and those of you in here, I know many of you grew up on farms, you work on farms, you know agriculture, you come in different parts of -- different walks of life. But the one thing is this is a proud family who works hard and prides themselves not just on working hard but being tough.
+And then a day came a short time ago where Deborah knew she needed to make a really tough decision, and I can tell you the decision she made took courage beyond what you could only imagine. She picked up the phone and she called a mental health counselor and said, I am at wits end. What do I do?
+And the good news is there was somebody to pick up the phone. The good news was there was a plan to put in place. And Deborah started to come back from that.
+Now, again, I will leave it to this body and for us to debate where we're going to get to, but I think we could stand in agreement that all of our citizens should have the basic safety net, the basic security that comes with having access to health care so you don't get into a mental health crisis. We can agree on that.
+I promise you I've got a story that will get you on your feet by the end of this. I've got enough of them here. I'll keep arming them. I've got number of them.
+But I do want to be clear. I do not take that in any way as a judgment to the care and the empathy that you show and everyone in here shows to Deborah's family because we can get this right. We have to.
+And I have to tell you, I believe it will be in this body, the story that we are telling here, we need to tell it differently because if we go down the road and write the same story that's been written in Washington, we will get the same results.
+Everybody has talked about one state with divided government. Can one state rise up? I don't know about any of you. I told you you did not come here to be an actor in someone else's script. Let's write the new script. Let's write the new way this ends. Let's respect one another where it comes from. Because if you're sitting here and you're so cynical that it will end in the same place, look at what that does. Where do we go from there?
+And that includes me to ask the questions of what am I willing to do to try and find that? And the answer is to try and use our best ability and the facts available and the empathy that is central to this decision-making you make in here to ensure that that child gets off to a good start, that those students have the opportunity to learn, and that that family has the opportunity to make it on the land where they've been for over 100 years. That's what we know.
+But here's the good news. None of us are in it alone together. There's community leaders all across this state. There's great ideas out there. I think most of us come here with the sense of humility. Not all the best ideas are going to come out of this place and they're not going to come out down on Summit Avenue. They're going to come out of Minnesotans. That's why the stories that matter. We've seen this leadership out there.
+And I've got one that I've really come to depend on, and I know many of you as legislators come to depend on, and that's our local elected officials. I've got Mayor Ben Schierer of Fergus Falls here tonight with me right up here.
+And Mayor Schierer, first of all, he's the owner of a brew pub and a wood fire pizza place in Fergus Falls, right on Main Street. Yes. I recommend the Thai peanut. The pizza, not the beer. The pizza one, so -- you know where it's at.
+But Mayor Schierer understands, he can't debate these things. These are real issues that impact that. The streetlights have to be kept on. They need to be plowed. You need to have decisions about the pool. You need to talk about how do we keep businesses and how do we partner together.
+These mayors come with a very nonpartisan approach because they have to get results. They do not have the luxury of holding on to a tight ideological position and say I'm one of many. They are the mayor of their community, and the prosperity of that community depends upon them.
+So having a mayor, and I know many of you know this, funny how so many of them are so actively engaged in their community before they took that job. The first thing Mayor Schierer had me do after I was elected is come out to Fergus Falls on a cold November night last year and sit in a town hall that went about two and a half hours and hear the hopes and dreams and fears and critiques of the people in Fergus Falls and said, listen to this, listen to them, listen to their stories.
+And after I was done, a gentleman came up and he said, Tim, I did not vote for you and I do not agree with many, if any, of your positions, but it is apparent to me that just like me -- this is what he said -- that you love Minnesota just as much and we are going to have to find a way forward. I do not want you to fail because Minnesota will fail.
+Here's what I'm telling all of you: I do not want a single one of us in this building to fail because that means Minnesota fails, and that gentleman knew it.
+Thank you.
+And this is a place, and you can feel it. This is the sense of pride we come here to make a difference. So when we're putting out proposals, and I say this about community prosperity very clearly, the community prosperity piece that I'm putting out is to talk about local government aid, to talk about some of the things we can do on broadband, of working together, to put the tools back in the hands of Mayor Ben, or Mayor Roy in Waseca, or Mayor Peterson in Winona, across there, to allow local decisions to make a difference in people's lives because we know that leadership and those ideas are out there, but we have to be good partners.
+And that holds true with leaders who don't hold elected position. And my next guest tonight some of you may be familiar with because this is what leadership and community activity starts to look like.
+My next guest is Houston White. Those of you who don't know Houston -- and, Houston, in this moment, I share my deepest sympathies on your loss of Donise, and you and I have not spoken much since then.
+But one thing I can tell you, Houston owns a barbershop in North Minneapolis. He's a renowned clothing designer with his own retail store there, got a small restaurant/coffee shop. I'm convinced if I bring my car there, he can repair it. And that's -- but he's got a vision and he's got an enthusiasm and an entrepreneur spirit that is contagious, and he talks about ways that we can revitalize our communities.
+This is a man who went to school at North High School and he remembers walking down the street with his backpack and someone stopped him and said, what's in your backpack? He said, I've got a business in my backpack, sir. And he did. He was out selling and working and an entrepreneur that went into it.
+And he has a vision of making that Camden town area of where he's at a vibrant community, where people can come to live and create their job. And that's why we partnered together. Houston knows that's the strength of community prosperity. The mayors of these communities know that there. They're looking for a reliable partner in us.
+And I would ask us: Let's be that reliable partner. Let's don't model and wait on the unreliable partner we have in the federal government.
+But what Houston knows is, the community he's trying to make, we must make sure that the employees coming to him and the people there are able to bring their best selves. That means that this state needs to and has to tackle issues of inequity, whether they be geographic inequities or racial inequities. We have got to tackle the idea that people need affordable housing, that people need child care so that they can go to work. Those are things that are universal amongst us, and if we partner and lay the foundation, the mayors and the entrepreneurs like Ben and Houston will take it and run.
+Now, the stories we're telling are the story of us, the story of Minnesota, and they're the stories of communities. It's not by mistake that the proposals and the policy proposals and the budget proposals that I put in front of you center around some pretty clear themes because that's what came to me from people. We want to have health care, we want good education, and we want our communities to prosper. And the stories behind the people.
+And I say this because I have been blessed. My wife and I have our first house that we ever bought in Mankato, on the west side of Mankato. And like so many of you, my dearest friends that became family were my neighbors, where they butt up against them. Either they become your best friends or you build a fence. And in our case, we were best friends.
+And this is my neighbors, the Ingmans. Mary Ingman, her two sons, Ben and Jake are here tonight, their wonderful sister, Katie -- we'll get her back from Washington State – are with me tonight. We have shared countless Fourth of Julys, birthdays, refinishing my floors in my house when I would recruit the boys, the same thing all neighbors do. That this is how communities are built.
+And I had the privilege of not only teaching Mary's children, I had the privilege of coaching Ben. And I remember it very clearly. It was a Friday in December, headed towards the holidays back in 1996, and I had -- and was coaching middle school basketball. And I was downtown at the old Mankato Armory and we were in that floor and it was after school and it was right before Christmas break and it's a bunch of 12- and 13-year-old boys and we had a tournament coming up. And it's the excitement. It's the fun. It's life. Life is potential.
+And in walked in two state troopers with Mary, and she'd obviously been crying. And it was at that point that Ben found out and we found out that her husband, Charlie, had been hit head on on Highway 14 and killed, with three young children. That same highway has killed 145 people in the last three decades. It is the most dangerous in Minnesota.
+And so I say this with candid and baring my heart to you because each and every one of you, whether you live in Delano or whether you live in Mankato, you know stories of this happening. So my passion is not to pick a fight with you about transportation. My passion is to make sure what the results say when we've got D-rated roads, that we do something together. And I will gladly have the debate with you and a compromise to find how we do that, but here's what I'm telling you: In the 23 years since Charlie has died, that is still a two-lane dangerous road and the time has passed to fix them. We can do that. So we can do that.
+So I know amongst the challenges, and again, I remind many of you this, yes, I am a hopeless optimist, but as I tell many of you, I'm also a realist. I supervised the lunchroom for 20 years. I am not naive. I do not expect -- and as my wife, Gwen, says, and we believe so strongly in this, hope is the most powerful word in the universe. We named our daughter Hope. But as my wife says, and I know is true, hope is not a plan. You have to plan, not just hope that things get better. And all of us in here have to plan if we want to write a different story. The outcome will remain the same if we do not.
+And I say this to you because I take very, very seriously, and I think all of us see this, the incredible privilege it is to self-govern as free men and women. Literally billions of people around the world can only imagine of sitting where you are and making decisions and your constituents being able to come here.
+But let's all be very, very clear. That privilege was paid for with the blood of patriots. It was paid for in sacrifice to get there. Tonight we have one of them amongst us. World War II Veteran Gordy Kirk is with us tonight.
+Gordy served with the 3rd Army, the 4th Armor Division, Patton's Vanguard. He landed at Normandy, and he fought across Europe from '43 to '45. He did that while knowing that when he returned home, he could not sit at the same counter and eat the same food as someone next to him.
+But what Gordy did was come back to his community and say, I'm going to be the change, because what he knew was on those beaches of Normandy, that was the purest form of democracy. No one in there questioned where someone came from. No one questioned the color of skin. No one questioned their religion. They only knew they stood together in the face of tyranny.
+So Gordy came back, became the state commander of the VFW, changed how we deliver veterans benefits across this state, and continued to build in his community. He gave us the gift and modeled it for the way we need to treat each other.
+So I hold myself to that standard tonight. And if I fall down, I expect to be called on it. Of treating our differences with respect and treating these debates with respect, but with an understanding. We cannot allow ideology to get in the way of educating our children, for Will, for Ross, and for Amanda teaching. We cannot let ideology get in the way of stopping this state from providing basic health care to all of its citizens. We cannot let ideology get in the way of holding back our mayors and our entrepreneurs of getting things done. And we cannot let ideology get in the way of making sure that no one else has to go through what the Ingman family did. And when I look out my back window and I see those grandkids, my heart breaks for thinking that Charlie didn't get to see that.
+So here we go. What are we going to do now? There's already people that have written us off. You've seen the stories. Are we headed for gridlock? Are we headed for shutdown? Is it all just a fake? Are they getting along? Those are the people that want to see that. They're reporting some of them, but trust me on this, it's easier to cover the plane that crashes than the one that lands.
+But I'll tell you right now, I'll tell you right now the story that can be told, and the story that not just Minnesota needs but the country needs is a bipartisan and a split government that came together in the good of the people and moved things forward for Minnesota. That's what we can do.
+So I say to you, Minnesota, the state of our State is strong.
+And we are at a crossroads. We can choose to follow the same story that was written ahead of time, we can choose to decide who belongs and who doesn't, we can choose to let ideology drive us before people, or we can do what Minnesota has always done: Rise up and create a better way of life; lead the nation in how things could get done, making sure that all of our children -- black, white, brown, indigenous, rural, urban, suburban -- gets the opportunity to live what is truly a unique and incredible lifestyle of Minnesota.
+So here's my charge to you, and I walk hand in hand with you. Let's write our own story. Let's write a new story how this can end. Let's do this in a way that others can look at and say, that's the way out of this.
+And let's do it because Minnesotans, we've always done it before. We've never feared the future. We create the future.
+Let's go write the story. Thank you.
+

state-of-the-state/speeches/Mississippi_SOTS.txt

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+Thank you Mr. Lieutenant Governor. As always I appreciate your introduction, but more importantly, I am thankful for your support and friendship over these last seven years. Governor, you and Speaker Gunn have and continue to be exceptional leaders. I can only hope history will properly record your collective achievements for the people of Mississippi. I expect the members of each chamber will join me tonight in thanking you for your dedication and service.
+For the past seven years, another leader has sat upon this stage and endured one grand speech after another—a leader who exemplifies what it means to work not in ambition or conceit, but in humility and service. In the many days between each of these annual addresses, she has gone about her remarkable work being Mississippi’s First Lady: visiting the children of Blair Batson and working to build the most frail among them a forever home; reading to students in each and every county in the state and embracing them all.
+She has welcomed countless visitors to Mississippi’s historic Governor’s Mansion while directing its renovation and recovery from decades of erosion and decay. She has comforted storm survivors and has helped rebuild their homes. Many responsibilities fell upon her heart seven years ago. She has accepted them all with grace and the loving spirit of one who knows her Christian duty, to treat each person she meets with the dignity endowed upon them by their Creator. Her acts have not been completed for compensation, but rather given with a heart of love. She has been a caring mother and now a joyous grandmother, and for 42 years I have had the honor and privilege of having her as my First Lady. I am so very thankful for all she has done for Mississippi. Ladies and gentlemen, the First Lady of Mississippi, Deborah Bryant.
+Seven years ago, I stood before this joint session in unrestrained optimism for our state. I proposed that night we set aside our petty political differences and work for the good of all Mississippians. In doing so I believed we could then dedicate ourselves to the proposition that we fail separately, but collectively we can accomplish great things. I proposed that night we all Rise Together.
+Tonight, we can reflect on that theme as more than just a hopeful phrase or a wishful possibility. I assure you it was not used simply for effect but for purpose. I purposely called on each of you, and indeed all Mississippians, to join this administration not for merely another term of office, but an amazing journey. One that would see dramatic improvements in the lives of Mississippians and the national status of our beloved state among those of this united Republic.
+The question of the ages for Mississippi has been and must continue to be ever simple but profound—can we here, in this our Beulah Land, possibly Rise Together? Can a land woven within the depths of tremendous suffering and sorrow be propelled to soaring heights by the world’s great writers, musicians, and entrepreneurs and indeed chart a path to a new tomorrow? A tomorrow that forever casts aside our past of failure and self-doubt to instead accept the crown of achievement? A tomorrow where the world understands a place like Mississippi is a land of promise and possibility for all its people?
+My fellow Mississippians, I am pleased to say we have disappointed the doubters. Together, we have proven that Mississippi can harness our inherent goodness to achieve greatness. Tonight, allow me to show you how we are truly becoming the Great State of Mississippi.
+First, we have embraced the idea that effective public education is the most certain way to see a collective and universal improvement in the lives of all Mississippians. For every single year before our work began in 2012, the children of this state had suffered from an all-too-often failing educational system. Now let me be clear, our schools did not falter or fail from lack of teacher dedication. No one throughout our state’s history has sacrificed more to better the lives of Mississippi children than our teachers. That includes, I would suggest, all of the officials who have served in either the House, Senate, or Governor’s Office. Of all the educational reforms proposed by politicians and all the public posturing by those wanting to be the education champion, none has done more than the teachers. They alone have been there in the classroom, often challenged and overwhelmed by circumstances beyond their control, teaching still, inspiring still, and leading children to rise together.
+Our gratitude to these classroom heroes and the essential value of public education are why we passed a $100 million teacher pay raise in 2014 and why I now call on the members of this body to join me in giving teachers their second pay raise in five years. Send me a bill to authorize a pay raise for these most critical guardians of Mississippi’s future, and I will sign it.
+At the beginning of this administration, we knew equipping teachers with outstanding training would create historic results for students. That is why we have supported teachers to achieve National Board Certification. We now have nearly 4,200 National Board Certified Teachers, who earn an additional $6,000 per year as a result of this certification. Our support has placed Mississippi fourth in the nation for the number of National Board Certified Teachers.
+I am prouder still of the exceptional work of Mississippi’s students. For too long, too many people assumed our students were just not destined for success – that they could not or would not achieve. But we knew better. We understood the innate ability of all children to learn and grow and unlock their own potential if only given the opportunity.
+We also knew literacy to be the foundation of success. That is why we worked so hard together to pass the Literacy Based Promotion Act in 2013. The concept of the bill was basic but revolutionary. It required reading proficiency by the third grade in order to ensure the opportunity for continued learning and achievement both in the classroom and in life beyond the schoolhouse door. My fellow Mississippians, the numbers show us the policy is working—and to great effect. In 2011, only 54 percent of Mississippi third graders were reading with proficiency. With the implementation of the third grade literacy policy, we have dramatically improved student opportunity and thus the future of our state. In the last testing cycle, 93 percent of Mississippi’s third graders were reading proficiently. I believe that time and results will record your passage of this act as the single most successful reform to public education in Mississippi history.
+Further testament to the effectiveness of this policy is displayed by Mississippi’s third and fourth grade students who are performing so well we are now second in the nation for reading improvement.
+Older students are also improving their performance and are becoming better prepared to enter the workforce or further their education. As National Chairman of Jobs for America’s Graduates, I saw not just Mississippi but an entire nation struggling with high school dropout rates. When we first met here in 2012, our graduation rate was 75 percent. Today, 83 percent of our high school students are graduating--the highest percentage in Mississippi history.
+Moreover, our work in education hasn’t been limited to K-12 classrooms. Early childhood learning in Mississippi is becoming a national model. The majority of children across this state are in childcare, and for far too long there was little improvement in educating our youngest children. Each year, Mississippi spends $98 million on federally funded daycare to, all too often, simply house these children. The absence of any learning component in most of these childcare centers, especially in low-income communities, was unacceptable. Following the passage of the Early Learning Collaborative Act in 2013, we put the State Early Childhood Advisory Council to work. We implemented high quality standards for early education. We expanded on the good work of Mississippi Building Blocks and began to instruct childcare workers on a basic curriculum that was compatible with early childhood learning programs across the state.
+Today, community colleges throughout Mississippi are teaching child care workers, at no cost to the centers, a curriculum that was designed to support the skills young children need when entering kindergarten. This concept will ensure children begin to learn very early in life when their capacity to process information is at its greatest. We all realize that children learn early and retain those lessons and skills throughout their lives. Now Mississippi’s youngest students will be better prepared for school and successful careers by learning the soft skills necessary for any vocation. Mississippi’s workforce of tomorrow is in daycare today.  Together, we can help them become the best in America.
+By 2015, Mississippi was going a step further in helping to restore and support the entire family. Implementing a holistic system to provide more than just early learning, we began to interview parents of children in publicly-funded day care programs in order to match families with other needed services like Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program. We also began to offer additional education and workforce training opportunities for parents. This Families First platform has become a model of success for thousands of Mississippians and one that is being emulated all across America.
+There is little doubt that our education system is far better than it has ever been and headed in the right direction. We now have a more robust system of education opportunities for all Mississippi children including: public charter schools, dyslexia management programs, advanced distance learning, and now even a special needs scholarship program serving the most vulnerable of our children. I thank you for making that possible and challenge each member of this body to continue to support policies that will help us keep all our children rising together.
+Unfortunately, a problem exists in our schools today that threatens children of all ages.  It has become commonly known as the active shooter.  Our schools, which once were a haven of security, have become a place of potential violence.  To help protect our students and those who teach them, I will ask you to pass a comprehensive plan to keep our school children safe.  The recommendations come from a year-long study for effective results.  If you will pass and fund the Mississippi Safe School Act, our parents, teachers and administrators will be allowed to care for our children in a safe and protected environment.
+Since 2012 when this administration began, thousands of Mississippi’s high school graduates had begun college and left without completing their degrees. The challenges of life caused these students to leave higher education before receiving their diploma. In 2017, with the help of our community colleges and universities, we launched Complete to Compete. This innovative program encourages students to return to higher education and complete their college degrees. Thus far, more than 13,000 former students have responded, and almost 1,600 have returned to college to complete what they started.
+With us in the gallery tonight is one of many completers. A husband and a father of three who took up the call and has earned his Bachelor of Science degree from Mississippi State University. He is the Director of Transportation for the Starkville Oktibbeha School District. Please help me welcome Mr. Kelvin Gibson.
+Of course, the ultimate goal of these education reforms is to nurture prosperity in generations of young Mississippians. A wise man once said that, “the best social program is a job.” The simple dignity of work is transformational, and I have long proposed that a good job for all Mississippians would become a signpost to success. For that reason, we have assisted the private sector in creating more jobs in a shorter period of time than any in our state’s history.
+In January of 2012, our state’s unemployment rate was 9.4 percent. In 2017, we broke a record by dropping below 5 percent to the lowest unemployment number ever recorded. Today, it is 4.7 percent.
+The better news is the unemployment rate has been at or below 4.8 percent for 12 months in a row, and real median household income has risen by 8.4 percent since 2011. And just in case you’re not tired of winning yet, we have 80,000 more Mississippians working today than the day I took office.
+Our success in growing the economy is demanding that our focus on workforce be sharpened like never before. Workforce development must be and has now become our highest priority.  Dr. Laurie Smith, who has spearheaded most of the early learning innovations in our state, has now, along with Dr. Andrea Mayfield, Executive Director of our Community College Board, begun to transform our workforce development efforts.  Under their leadership, Mississippi was first in the nation to have a Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act approved by the U.S. Department of Labor. 
+Our plan utilizes every community college as a Workforce Center of Excellence.  Apprenticeship programs couple students with private companies to help them launch careers in targeted industries in their communities.  These partnerships are keeping Mississippi industries like auto, aerospace, the furniture industry, medicine, and shipbuilding strong. Younger workers are growing where they are planted and living the American Dream right here in their own back yards. These young workers have more opportunity than ever before now. Today, in Mississippi we have over 44,000 job openings just waiting to be filled.
+The opportunities created by our economic developers in Mississippi are impossible to describe in the limited time I have with you tonight. The work of the Mississippi Development Authority, with your help and support, has been nothing short of unprecedented. In the past seven years, your MDA team has competed with the nation and the world, and more often than not we have won.
+Your support in job creation and business expansion has been fruitful and has a clear and definable return on investment. In the past seven years, MDA has helped create 35,000 new jobs and attracted more than $7 billion of private investment to Mississippi. Ladies and gentlemen, help me thank the architect of Mississippi’s marketing and recruitment success, the Executive Director of the Mississippi Development Authority, Mr. Glenn McCullough.
+Once again, the constraint of time will not allow me to provide the extensive list of companies and corporations that have chosen Mississippi as their home or the number of local companies that have expanded. However, please allow me to remind you of some of the most recent.
+As we gather here tonight, Continental Tire Corporation continues to construct the largest plant in their universe right here in Hinds County. At its completion, this plant will employ twenty-five hundred Mississippians, with a corporate investment of $1.45 billion dollars.
+And, as you also know by now, Amazon will open its new goods fulfillment center in Marshall County and employ 850 Mississippians. This innovative company has changed the way the world shops, and its fulfillment center could have gone anywhere in America. I am proud to say Amazon chose Mississippi. Tonight we have with us in the gallery, Amazon’s Manager of Economic Development, Mr. Will Cowsert.
+I have assured presidents and prime ministers and chief executive officers that Mississippi works and they have listened. From Tel Aviv to Tokyo, we have traveled the globe seeking investment in Mississippi, and our efforts are paying dividends.  More than 155 international corporations now have a presence in our state. 
+Our exports have increased by more than 259 percent in the last decade, and over the last several years we have shown world leaders that Mississippi is more than just a river.  The results of these missions produce foreign direct investment and build international business relationships, allowing Mississippi to be a part of the global market.  With your support we have shown the entire world that Mississippi works.
+From the outset, this administration identified the value of healthcare for the wellbeing of Mississippians as well as our economy, and our effort to identify healthcare as an economic driver continues. Understanding that access to care must be the beginning of any good healthcare plan. Embracing the fact that a doctor generates a $2 million economic impact to the community, we endeavored to increase the number of physicians in our state. That is why we have put $12 million into badly needed primary care in the most medically underserved areas in our state with Rural Physician Scholarships. This has placed 33 practicing physicians in rural Mississippi, and that number will nearly double by 2020.
+By 2013, the need for an updated, expanded medical school was obvious. With your help, the University of Mississippi Medical Center opened a new state-of-the art medical school, increasing each graduating class to 165 physicians. This expanded campus anchors a growing medical corridor that stretches from the Jackson Medical Mall to Rankin County, and it is my hope that medical innovation within the corridor will continue to flourish now and for generations to come.
+In the piney woods of Harrison County, another medical community is emerging. It now includes a new William Carey University pharmacy school and a Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College nursing and simulation center. The presence of a National Obesity and Diabetes Research Center in partnership with the Cleveland Clinic is also a testament to our collective determination in making Mississippi’s own medical city. 
+The visionary who has invested much of his personal and corporate achievement into this growing medical city at Tradition is with us tonight.  His father was a Biloxi physician, and he has returned to help build this medical miracle in Harrison County.  Please welcome with me one of America’s great entrepreneurs, Mr. Joe Canizaro. 
+As I reflect on where we have dedicated our time and resources, I am happy to remind Mississippians the state of our state is financially sound and better than we could have ever imagined. State revenues are reflective of an economy that is gaining and expanding. Adhering to conservative budgeting principles, we have reserved nearly $350 million in rainy day savings. Revenue collections have already exceeded estimates by $90 million and corporate income tax is out-performing year-to-date estimates by nearly 16 percent.
+You will also be encouraged to know we have dramatically cut the cost of government by reducing the number of state employees in the last seven years by nearly 5,000. This effort has resulted in a savings of more than $64 million for the taxpayers of Mississippi.
+The 2018 special legislative session was the most successful in modern history. A state investment of more than $1 billion over the next five years will fund infrastructure improvements around the state, and a $38 million grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation will help complete previously unfunded projects in Desoto and Neshoba counties. Thanks to your actions, $50 million appropriated for local bridge repair is available to counties across the state.  This Legislature has given them what they need to replace and repair bridges today and has established a funding mechanism to do so into tomorrow. 
+I am proud to announce tonight that, along with our other 14 ports, the Mississippi State Port at Gulfport is finally complete. This $570 million recovery project was the largest and most complex recovery challenge remaining from the devastation of Hurricane Katrina, and it is now open for business.
+Last year marked Mississippi’s 200th year of statehood in this great Nation. We celebrated with vibrant local festivities and hundreds of events but also with the profoundly important opening of the Mississippi Civil Rights Museum and the Museum of Mississippi History. Within these buildings lies the story of our state’s rich, and at times dark history, there for us all to examine with clear eyes and hearts turned, full of hope, towards our future. Already more than 250,000 visitors have come to see and learn the true story of Mississippi. Our creativity and our strength; our sorrows and our joys; our richness and our perseverance are there for the world to see. But on this occasion, Mississippi would tell our own story.
+The young lady who has been the driving force behind these outstanding achievements is with us tonight. She has been a tireless advocate of the two museums and of the Mississippi Department of Archives and History. Her passion for preservation and for Mississippi set her apart, and we are so very grateful for her efforts. Ladies and gentlemen, the executive director of the Mississippi Department of Archives and History, Mrs. Katie Blount.
+Mississippi is recognized the world-over as the birth place of America’s Music, from the Grammy Museum to the MAX in Meridian, we continue to showcase the rich history of the Arts in Mississippi. In 2014, we celebrated a year-long recognition of our artists by declaring it as The Year of the Creative Economy. From the birthplace of the King of Rock-n-Roll in Tupelo to the final resting place of the King of the Blues in Indianola, we placed our marker at the center point of America’s music. Your dedication to the arts and entertainment in Mississippi helped draw more than 24 million visitors and brought in more than $6.5 billion in the last year alone.
+Seven years of work and dedication, and the resulting successes, are behind us, but our work is far from finished. One of our most pressing tasks is caring for Mississippi children in the foster care system.  We can and must do more to support the foster children of this state by providing the necessary funding to the Mississippi Department of Child Protection Services and ending the Olivia Y legal action against the State of Mississippi once and for all.
+Three years ago, you joined me in seeing the need to establish Child Protection Services as its own agency, accountable directly to the governor. This move has allowed CPS to focus on a single mission: providing foster children with safe, nurturing care while either working to reunite them with their families or placing them with a loving forever family through adoption.
+I can report to you tonight that CPS is making great progress. When Justice Jess Dickinson courageously agreed to lead Child Protection Services 6,100 Mississippi children were in the foster system. Today, that number is fewer than 4,900 all thanks to improved efficiencies in the adoption process and tireless work in healing and uniting families. We have much more work to do, but what a difference for these 1,200 children to be safe at home, whether with their parents, relatives, or with their adopted families. For those families who are reunited, CPS is working in proactive ways to better assist them, such as developing new methods to help parents released from incarceration better support their children. Perhaps the most incredible success has occurred with adopted families.  The number of adoptions has more than doubled in just one year.
+CPS also works closely with the Mississippi Department of Human Services. This year, child support collections are higher than they have ever been—more than $370 million, an $11 million increase over last year. By privatizing this critical service in 2016, we have assured those who owe child support in this state pay it.
+If we continue to show our collective support for the neglected and abused children of our state, I believe the federal courts will find favor with our actions. More importantly, so will God Almighty.
+Imagine, I asked in 2016, if we all worked together to better public education, from childcare to college. Imagine what we could do together if we took the economy to record highs and unemployment to record lows. Imagine if we had a new medical school, a medical city for research and healing and led the nation in telemedicine. Imagine if we could fund more infrastructure improvements and have another world-class port to ship our products around the globe. Imagine if we could help lead the nation in criminal justice reform, while reducing our prison population and saving more than $40 million for Mississippi taxpayers.
+Much work remains in this critical area, and this session I will ask you to take the next step in criminal justice reform.  As a former law enforcement officer, I realize some believe our innovations will somehow be soft on crime.  Nothing could be further from reality.  If we hope to ever lower our crime rate, we must start with the 33 percent that leave our correctional system only to return within three years.  If President Donald J. Trump can pass nationwide criminal justice reform through a gridlocked and hyper-partisan congress, surely we can do so right here in Mississippi.
+Working together we have accomplished these things and so much more. We have enhanced our beautiful state seal with America’s national motto. For this time and all time the world will know in no uncertain terms that in Mississippi, “In God We Trust.” Thanks to the leadership of the Speaker and Lieutenant Governor and many of you in this chamber, we have protected Mississippi’s religious freedom while not harming one individual or community.
+Our right to keep and bear arms, as assured by the Second Amendment to the United States Constitution, remains firm and steadfastly defended here in the State of Mississippi. And with your unwavering support, we will continue to make Mississippi the safest place in America for an unborn child.
+I can assure you all, this administration will not cease its efforts to rise to new levels of greatness, and before 2020 sees its beginning, we will have more accomplishments and more transformative change. We will go into a new decade filled with even brighter tomorrows. Tonight’s address is not meant to be a point of victory or final accomplishment, but another step, together, toward triumph. As President Ronald Reagan said, “the goal for all of us should be that one day, things will be done neither because of, nor in spite of, any of the differences between us.” Therefore I say to each of you, continue to work together to do the things that are best for Mississippi.
+As you know, this will be my last time to address this joint session.  This is a special place to me. I began my life in public service in this House chamber in 1992.
+I started as a young man, and I will finish as a grandfather.  Over these many years I have seen Mississippi make incredible progress. It may not have always been perfect, but the march of improvement and advancement in our people’s lives over the last 30 years is undeniable.  None of us can accept credit for all of it, but we can all claim the honor of toiling and striving to make our home a better place.
+Each of us gets only a finite amount of time to lead – a time determined by our conscience or by our constituents.  My time in leadership will be ending this year, but for many of you your journey has just begun.  Let us join hands and finish this year, and this decade, with a spirit of action and an eye toward the future.
+Tonight, I reflect on the wisdom of St. Paul.  I can only hope that, like him, “I have fought the good fight, I have run the race, and always keeping my eyes on the prize, I will press on towards the mark.”
+God bless each of you; God bless the people of Mississippi, and God bless the United States of America.
+

state-of-the-state/speeches/Missouri_SOTS.txt

@@ -0,0 +1,271 @@
+Thank you. Thank you very much.
+
+Thank you Lieutenant Governor Kehoe …
+Speaker Haahr… 
+President Pro-Tem Schatz…
+Judges of the Missouri Supreme Court … 
+Distinguished state officials… 
+Members of the 100th General Assembly…AND my fellow Missourians.
+
+I am honored and proud to stand before you this afternoon as the 57th Governor of the state of Missouri. 
+
+And, one of the highest honors I have as Governor is to introduce the First Lady of the State of Missouri Teresa Parson.
+
+I am so proud of her and the grace she brings to her position as First Lady.
+
+And...I look forward to the days when we have more time to spend with each other...our family...and our grandchildren… But, until that time, our dedication... will be to the people of the State of Missouri. 
+
+Months ago I came into office amid rare and unique circumstances, yet the focus from day one of my administration was putting the people of Missouri first… where they belong, ahead of partisan differences or personal gain. 
+
+We traveled to every corner of this great State…we listened… we heard...and...we learned. 
+
+I stand before you today to share a vision. A vision that will chart Missouri’s future into the next decade. Missouri is dear to my heart, and by working together, we can protect and build a Missouri that is successful for the next generation.
+
+The more we listened, the more it became clear that the people of Missouri are ready for bold solutions. 
+
+Even when times are good, Missourians still face many issues and have a frustration with government that often works to protect the status quo and is unwilling to take bold steps.
+However, to move Missouri forward, we must take bold steps and tackle big issues.
+
+I will commit to you that bold ideas and tough challenges will not be something we shy away from, but my administration is willing to work with this legislature in a disciplined and focused way... and together, we can achieve big results and lay a solid foundation for our state’s future.
+
+It’s time to have an honest conversation about the challenges we face and the solutions we need.
+
+The honest truth is that we have not been as efficient as we can be. We don’t promote our state, our resources, and our people as best we should, and we have not prepared our state well enough for the future… and every Missourian deserves better.
+
+Make no mistake about it, we have before us one of the greatest opportunities, by working together to improve Missouri and to be the BEST in the United States of America.
+
+The longer we delay and avoid tough decisions, the bigger our problems become.
+
+Many of us are willing to admit this, and I hope you can agree that we cannot afford to delay action any longer. I am asking for your help to move Missouri forward and deliver results… because after all … we are the Show Me State. 
+
+What this means in practical terms is that we have to be honest about our priorities and united in our focus. 
+
+As elected officials, we are good at declaring priorities. While some of our priorities may not be the same... when we try to make EVERYTHING a priority, the fact is… nothing is truly a priority. 
+
+So let me be crystal clear, cultivating and training our workforce for high-demand jobs and investing in critical infrastructure are the priorities we must address this session. 
+
+As I have traveled the state, I know these are issues important to every single one of your districts – whether republican or democrat, urban or rural, we have good reason to work together to achieve real results for ALL Missourians. 
+
+By addressing these issues now, we will make major investments for the next generations of the state of Missouri.
+
+There of course will be other issues that are important, like passing tax credit reform, working to make government more efficient and more accountable, protecting freedoms and promoting a culture of life, and passing regulatory and venue reform.
+
+ALL of which must be done.
+
+But our focus for the state of Missouri to thrive both now and into the future are on two key priorities … - workforce development and infrastructure. 
+
+Let me tell you a story about a young man with us today...
+
+Troy is an eighth grader from Eldon who has experienced some hardships in his life. Troy’s struggles are NOT unlike many families across Missouri.
+
+Quaker Windows is a Missouri based company that has developed a partnership with Eldon Schools to ensure students like Troy have a mentor all throughout high school...
+
+And, to make sure that he not only receives a quality education and training, but he is also taught valuable life skills… like, the importance of showing up on time and having a strong work ethic.
+
+Quaker Windows and Eldon Schools have a community partnership. This example should be a model of how we approach new efforts to train the next generation of workers.
+
+Please welcome Troy who is with us here today…
+
+We must consider making necessary changes to our education programs and update the training pipelines to ensure economic growth in Missouri. 
+
+Our true dedication should be to build and create wealth… NOT REDISTRIBUTE IT. 
+
+For example, Missouri’s high school graduation rate is higher than most states. This is something we should ALL be proud of...however, we fall behind other states when we look at post-secondary education. 
+
+We are well into the 21st century… and yes, extra levels of education are needed to meet the demands of our workforce… and these jobs are going to provide higher wages, which will benefit Missouri families. 
+
+This is why my budget calls for a total investment of nearly $75 million dollars into bold and innovative workforce development programs. 
+
+Consider those programs that build off the many projects we already have in place like NGA West, Boeing’s TX, Nucor Steel, and many others.  
+
+When combined with our current economic development tools… ALL can be tremendously successful. 
+
+In today’s world, a higher level of education should not simply mean getting college degrees. This is why I am advocating that we provide $22 million dollars to fund a program known as Fast Track. 
+
+Fast Track will allow Missourians to receive advanced training in high-demand areas largely taught at our community colleges, technical schools, and colleges and universities. This will open the doors for Missourians to have opportunities to earn more money for their hard work. 
+
+Fast Track...will benefit tens of thousands of Missourians from every corner of the state.
+
+But, to have a laser-like focus, we can’t stop there. 
+
+We must ALSO start integrating EMPLOYER and industry-led input into the needs and demands of the workforce, like increasing Industry Recognized Credentials as part of our high school curriculum. 
+
+To further workforce development, this focus must also extend into the economic development tools we use as well.
+
+As a result, we are going to consolidate, repurpose, and add flexibility to a series of incentives we currently offer into a more streamlined program called Missouri One Start. 
+
+That is why I am adding $10 million dollars to the Missouri One Start program, to help place a greater emphasis on building out the workforce needs and for job creation projects, so companies who use them are forced to plant deeper roots here in Missouri and become longer and more substantial partners.
+
+ALSO...we are providing $16 million dollars for Missouri Excels… a program for Missouri Higher Education Institutions to develop and expand employer-driven education, training programs, and initiatives to increase career readiness. 
+
+Finally, when looking ahead, we know that we are up against the clock… competing with every other state across the country… but Missouri will be ready, with the right tools in the toolbox… We’ll be ready to ensure our state will move forward in workforce development… and ALL Missourians will prosper!
+
+Not only is workforce development going to be a priority… but to ensure future success, we also need to take a serious look at long term investments in Missouri’s infrastructure. 
+
+When we talk about infrastructure, we can no longer just think about bricks and mortar, roads and bridges, but also the location in which people look to invest capital and operate the economy of the future. 
+
+One of those areas in Missouri is high-speed broadband access. We currently have about ten school districts and many rural communities that lack access to high speed broadband… and that is unacceptable. 
+
+Most recently, thanks to the President and our federal delegation … Missouri secured $255 million dollars for the expansion of broadband to connect our state. 
+
+With this exciting opportunity, it is also important we at the state provide funding to cover the gaps in delivering broadband. 
+
+That is why... my budget calls for an additional $5 million dollars in broadband funding to close the gap that exists in federal funds, and truly give the highest impact for Missourians.
+
+Another area of focus is to put a greater emphasis on our Missouri ports. Located in the heart of the country we are at the center of major opportunities, especially with the expansion of the Panama Canal. 
+
+Missouri’s agriculture and manufacturing industries have no better route to global expansion than delivering our high quality products to the world through our waterways. 
+
+In addition to our rivers…Missouri has one of the largest highway systems in the country, and since we sit at the nexus of east and west, this system receives a great deal of strain. 
+
+Nonetheless, we maintain this system with one of the lowest levels of funding in the country.
+
+Over the years, we have seen proposals go before the voters and fail, but this cannot… and… does not mean we are expected to do NOTHING. 
+
+This is why I am asking you to consider an infrastructure plan. While funded through our budget savings, it will give us the ability to begin immediate work on nearly 250 bridges across the state of Missouri… all in need of critical repair or replacement. 
+
+By doing so, we will be freeing up nearly $350 million dollars in state and federal resources… allowing us to accelerate MoDOT’s current list of state infrastructure projects.
+
+ALSO, we will be adding a $50 million dollar cost sharing program to assist our cities and counties to help address the most serious infrastructure needs in our local areas.  
+
+In fact, this raises the challenge for each of us to find even more creative ways to locate savings to make more substantial investments in our infrastructure without a tax increase to the people of Missouri.
+
+These priorities did not come without some tough decisions, but as I said to you before… 
+
+If we are to deliver on meaningful priorities to the people of Missouri, tough decisions... must... be... made. 
+
+As many of you know, the Department of Corrections is faced with many challenges. AND, we will NOT shy away from these challenges.
+
+As a former sheriff and law enforcement officer for over 22 years…  I understand, firsthand, the importance of re-entry programs and alternative sentencing… We need to be more efficient in these programs so we truly offer… a second chance… AND…As Governor, I am NOT interested in building more prisons.
+
+In fact, we’ve identified a plan to consolidate the operations at Crossroads and Western Missouri facilities in Cameron, Missouri.
+
+This decision is largely driven by our dedication to find efficiencies wherever we can in state government… and this can be done while ensuring safety… improving security… and delivering a MUCH needed pay raise.… ALL being done with no layoffs.
+
+NOT only are we making tough decision within the Department of Corrections, but… our budget recommends another major change to reorganize and streamline the efforts of the departments of economic development and higher education… a plan which will make OUR government more efficient. 
+
+We have to start focusing more on the importance of OUTCOMES in state government and less on arguing over the inputs.
+
+While this restructuring is important for the people of Missouri, I also want to be very clear that the problem is not our state workforce. 
+
+To the contrary, I have found overwhelmingly that we have a remarkable and dedicated state workforce.
+
+But, we as elected leaders MUST do a better job clearly identifying expectations and priorities, communicating and managing responsibilities, and providing better training to promote our success.
+
+Many of us in this chamber have programs in state government we think are important to our people, but as time goes by, Governors change… and legislators return home… and these programs grow with little oversight or accountability. 
+
+The result is an expanding bureaucracy which becomes less efficient for the people of Missouri. 
+
+Under my administration, we are going to fundamentally… 
+
+Restructure state government…
+
+Demand greater efficiency and accountability…
+
+AND improve our customer service to ALL Missourians. 
+
+I’ll admit… this is going to take some time, but we are not going to put it off any longer… IT WILL START TODAY!
+
+Just like families across Missouri… HAVING a responsible budget is important and a way of life. 
+
+For the first time in more than a decade, the Governor’s budget does NOT plan to SPEND…  EVERY…  TAX … DOLLAR.
+We have a business smart budget that saves nearly $120 million dollars to ensure we are prepared for any unexpected expenses.
+
+Our budget also proposes a reduction of nearly 430 government positions… all while maintaining our conservative approach to managing and streamlining government services. 
+
+In fact, our administration recently completed the state’s largest deregulation effort, eliminating nearly one out of every five state regulations.
+
+And, each of the initiatives I have laid out would not be possible without the drive, commitment, and dedication of the Cabinet because we will not be able to achieve the type of common sense conservative reforms and restructuring Missouri needs without the remarkable talent and leadership in THIS administration. 
+
+Please join me in recognizing the entire Cabinet seated in the upper gallery…
+
+It is important to understand that being a good leader is not about being the best, but rather about your ability to make those around you better. 
+
+Every day my staff and Cabinet are committed and focused to making all of us better, pushing one another to make MISSOURI a better place. 
+
+Just weeks after I took office quick decisions had to be made on over a hundred legislative items and the 28 billion dollar state budget had to be approved. 
+
+By working together, we were able to save millions of taxpayer dollars and implement the largest tax cut in Missouri’s history. 
+
+After taking the oath of office this summer, Missouri faced some tough and difficult times. 
+
+We experienced one of the worst droughts Missouri had witnessed for many years.
+
+I called the administration together, and we reviewed our options. 
+
+To no surprise, we learned that the typical state government response was a series of requests to the federal government for assistance. We believed that was simply unacceptable for the farmers and families of Missouri. 
+
+And instead of pushing paper… it was time for us to do more…
+
+Through the teamwork between the Departments of Natural Resources, Agriculture, and Conservation… we put Missouri state government to work for its people and delivered meaningful relief by working together.
+
+Again, several weeks later, we experienced tough times… when 17 individuals tragically lost their lives in the Branson incident… 
+
+It was through the efforts of both state and local officials, including nearly every state department… that Missouri was able to quickly respond, recover, and offer immediate assistance to those in dire need.  
+
+We had tough times when we lost three local law enforcement officers, and six others were shot in the line of duty. 
+
+Thankfully, by God’s grace, three members of the Kansas City Police Department are with us this afternoon after being shot in the line of duty. Please welcome these officers Matt Williams, Brent Cartwright, and Michael De-Laney.
+
+As a former sheriff, I understand what it’s like to lose an officer in the line of duty, and we owe ALL these brave men and women a debt of gratitude for their dedication to public safety.
+
+It’s only a matter of time before we again face tough situations… but by faith and working together, we can … and we will… move Missouri forward...
+
+I was proud that we were able to come together during a special session to finish YOUR legislative priorities and pass meaningful reform to our drug courts and create opportunities for STEM education in our high schools. 
+
+These are the successes I am confident we will be able to expect this legislative session because I am also willing to acknowledge no one person or party has a monopoly on good ideas, but the best ideas are those that will serve… the people of Missouri. 
+
+A key part of our efforts to improve Missouri’s workforce and infrastructure is improving our citizen’s health and healthcare by developing better access to providers and hospitals.
+
+Almost 40 percent of Missourians live in rural areas… and, we are committed to making sure they too have access to both preventive and emergency care.
+
+In addition, we will be providing a substantial increase to help those facing the challenges of mental health, expand tele-medicine technology, fight the opioid crisis, and better serve those in need. 
+
+I’d also like to introduce another very special guest here this afternoon, my great niece Zoey… who is one of thousands living with the challenges of Autism. 
+
+The First Lady and I are deeply committed to doing all that we can to learn more about, to promote awareness, and to advance Autism research.
+
+That is why we are advocating for $1 million dollars to ensure families and parents have access to the right resources and are equipped to deal with the challenges that come with caring for a loved one with Autism.
+
+Please welcome my great niece Zoey and her family to the chamber.
+
+And, while my focus this legislative session will be on workforce development and infrastructure… 
+
+We have already started intense planning for next session… because we must also… curb Medicaid costs, which accounts for over 10 billion dollars of the state budget, and … 
+
+That is the reason why I hired Director Todd Richardson… to lead this charge.
+
+Safeguarding the integrity of the Missouri Medicaid program is vital to the state of Missouri… nearly one-third of Missouri’s entire budget is devoted to the Medicaid program.
+
+It must be run with the highest level of integrity to ensure every tax dollar is accounted for.
+
+When I began this afternoon, I said it was time to have an honest conversation. 
+
+A big part of that conversation had to revolve around all of us recognizing we can do better, and as your Governor, I am committed to trying to get better every day myself. 
+
+I am willing to make the tough decisions that will put our state in a better position.
+
+If we truly care about the next generation … I am absolutely confident that by focusing on the major issues of workforce development and infrastructure… TOGETHER, we will have a successful legislative session… because, these are the issues that will benefit ALL Missourians. 
+
+In closing, I will leave you with a story about a young student that lives by these 10, 2-letter words:
+
+“If it is to BE, it is up to ME.” 
+
+“If it is to BE, it is up to ME.” 
+
+These words have stayed with me after hearing his inspirational story. This young man had reached rock bottom and considered ending his life, but chose to overcome his obstacles and instead … succeed in life. 
+
+When asked what motivated him, he mentioned those 10, 2 letter words … “If it is to be, it is up to me.” 
+
+Even as someone with my share of gray hair, I have to say that is wise advice. 
+
+If the American dream is to live on …I challenge all of us to remember those 10, 2-letters words with one change...
+
+“If it is to BE, it is up to US!” 
+
+“If it is to BE, it is up to US!”
+
+It is an honor and privilege to be the 57th Governor of the State of Missouri. 
+
+God bless you; God bless the great state of Missouri, and God bless the United States of America. 
+

state-of-the-state/speeches/Montana_SOTS.txt

@@ -0,0 +1,221 @@
+Mr. President, Mr. Speaker, Members of the 66th Legislature; Lt. Governor Mike Cooney, honored members of the judiciary, other elected officials and tribal leaders; members of the cabinet and my coworkers; my beloved wife Lisa, and our three kids - Caroline, Alex, and Cameron; and my fellow Montanans.
+ 
+Thank you for the honor of inviting me into the People’s House for my fourth, and final, State of the State address. As has been the case each of the previous times, it is a humbling privilege to stand before you as Montana’s 24th governor.
+ 
+Six years ago, I stood at this very spot and introduced myself by saying, “My name is Steve, and I work for the State,” I told you I would work hard every day, guided by my values, to protect the state that gave me the opportunity in life to go from delivering newspapers to the governor’s house as a child, to living and raising our three children in it.
+ 
+The sounds in the Bullock household have changed over those six years. The sounds of young children laughing and playing have turned into silent eyerolls and exasperated sighs of embarrassment, as those three children have grown into teenagers. While my Dad jokes are awesome... apparently being governor is no longer as cool as it used to be.
+ 
+Though the household sounds may have changed, they are still a constant reminder to me of the reason I show up for work each day. My family has always shaped my perspective in public office. Because as a father I want my kids, and all Montana kids, to have every opportunity I had growing up here and more.
+ 
+Six years after our family moved into the governor’s residence, six years after I first had the honor of standing before this body, I am pleased to report the state of our state is stronger than ever.
+ 
+***
+ 
+The first time I stood at this rostrum in 2013 I spoke of all the work we had to do, and also of the tremendous opportunities that lie ahead.
+ 
+At that time, our unemployment rate was 5.6%. Now it’s at its lowest in a decade, at 3.7. More people are working than ever before in our state’s history. We’ve added almost 34,000 private sector jobs since January 2013, while we have fewer state employees today than when I took office.
+ 
+And real wages are on the rise. Today, the average Montana worker earns 108 dollars more each and every week than they did six years ago. That’s real money.
+ 
+Families are climbing the ladder of opportunity to the middle class. Montana’s middle-class households grew more than any other state between 2013 and 2016. In 2017 our median household income grew nearly two and a half times the national average, at the fastest rate in the country.
+ 
+Business is booming, and it’s no surprise. Since 2013 we’ve repealed or revised hundreds of regulations and removed red tape. We cut the business equipment tax for every Montana business, and eliminated it for ? of the businesses operating in the state.
+ 
+We see Montana’s economic success directly in our communities. Fifteen months ago, we began working with ClassPass, a fitness tech startup, as they were deciding among 29 states where to expand their New York and San Francisco operations. They chose Missoula, Montana.  Originally planning to hire 50 people, we recently celebrated the hiring of their 100th. And the CEO tells me they plan to hire another 100 in Montana this year.
+This economic success is not just confined to the urban areas. We see it in our rural communities as well. Ticketprinting.com has 100,000 customers, and is the leading company in the world for event and raffle ticket printing, and it has a customer service team that works remotely from places like Columbus, Big Timber, and the suburbs of Two Dot. 
+ 
+We see it on our Native American reservations. In the past six years we’ve made it easier for businesses located within our tribal nations to work with customers and businesses across our state.  And we have funded nearly 120 businesses that have created or retained 220 jobs through the Indian Equity Fund.
+ 
+We also see it on our farms and in our forests. We rank near the top in barley, wheat and organic production, and lead the nation in pulse crops, doubling the acreage since 2013. Because of the Forests in Focus program, we produced nearly 200 million board feet of timber in the last 4 years, retaining over 3,000 jobs in the forests products sector, and are now working across landscapes, state, federal, tribal and private. 
+ 
+We see that economic success in our outdoors. Our clean air, clean water and public lands are our way of life and a key economic driver. Our outdoor economy generates over 7 billion dollars a year in consumer spending and sustains 71,000 jobs.
+ 
+And we see it in our vibrant towns. Since my time in office, we’ve helped over 15,000 small businesses expand their footprint through economic development tools created under Governor Racicot. These programs have supported more than 12,000 jobs and are up for renewal this year. I encourage you to continue and strengthen this legacy...for our small businesses, and for the long-term strength of our economy.
+ 
+Montana has extraordinary economic strengths. The fabric of our communities - our schools, our families, our outdoors, our Main Streets - contribute to our unparalleled quality of life. Together, we can do more to ensure all our cities and towns make up the best state to live, work, start a business and raise a family.
+***
+ 
+The most important investments we make as public servants will impact Montana long after we have completed our time in office. Foremost among them is ensuring that our kids, students and workers have a world-class education.
+ 
+Public education is one of our state’s great equalizers. I would not be standing here today if it wasn’t for our state’s public schools. No matter who you are, where you come from, or what your background is, our schools open the doors of opportunity to all Montanans. 
+ 
+When I first stood at this rostrum in 2013, I said that we not only needed better jobs, but better schools too.
+ 
+At that time, just 2500 students were taking dual enrollment classes. Today, more than 6,000 high school students are taking college classes, saving Montana families 5 million in tuition each year. And this past fall, with the assistance of the university system, I launched the “1-2-Free” Dual Enrollment Program so that high school students can take their first two college classes without paying a single penny in tuition. 
+ 
+Back in 2013, less than three-quarters of school districts had access to high-speed internet. Today 98% of districts are connected to high-speed internet, at less than half the cost. Teachers are using 21st century technology to prepare students in an increasingly technology-driven society.
+ 
+In 2013, Breakfast After the Bell was almost unheard of, and over 20% of kids across Montana were considered to be food insecure. Since then, over one-third more income eligible students are getting school breakfast. And we joined with private sector partners in expanding Breakfast After the Bell to well over 100 new schools.
+ 
+I want to thank those partners, and my wife Lisa, for all your efforts to end childhood hunger.
+ 
+In 2013, not a single one of our two-year or tribal colleges was offering apprenticeships with on-the-job training to connect students to good-paying jobs. We now have apprenticeship coursework in seven out of ten two-year colleges, and in five of seven tribal colleges.
+ 
+And for our veterans, we’ve expanded opportunities to get college credit for prior learning gained through their military service.
+ 
+In 2013, states around the country were slashing university budgets and saddling students with steep tuition increases. Instead, we have increased investments in higher education while freezing college tuition four of the last six years; leading to Montana having the fourth lowest tuition and fees in the nation.
+ 
+We have worked together - across the aisle, across rural and urban, and in partnership with communities, school districts and the university system - to make record investments in our educational system, offering students the tools they need to succeed.
+ 
+Let’s build upon the progress we’ve made, starting with our youngest learners. Last session, lawmakers from both sides of the aisle worked to provide 6 million dollars to establish the STARS Preschool Pilot.
+ 
+Part of the premise behind the pilot was to learn whether this would work in our smaller communities. Until Wibaux had a STARS Preschool option, even the closest childcare provider was 30 miles away. In Lewistown, I met a woman who told me she made too much money to qualify for Head Start but couldn’t afford to have her son in the kind of quality program that would give him a great start. If it weren’t for STARS Preschool, she’d have to drop out of the workforce to take care of her children.
+ 
+In the first year of the pilot - 17 programs serving our largest towns like the Head Start in Billings to some of our smallest like Troy Public Schools - 93% of the participating preschoolers walked out ready for kindergarten. And we know - not just from Montana’s experience but from the other 44 states prioritizing publicly funded preschool - that for every dollar invested there is a seven-dollar return, in reduced criminal justice and social services costs, and increased earnings. 
+ 
+Quality preschool is an investment in our children, in our workforce and for our business community. I’m pleased that the Washington Companies, First Interstate Bank, BNSF, Zoot Enterprises, and other major businesses are forming the Montana Coalition for School Readiness, and will be urging this 66th legislature to make a substantial state investment in quality pre-K.
+ 
+They, and we, know preschool works. I ask you to invest 30 million dollars over the next two years - 22 million for public schools through the school funding formula and 8 million for Head Starts and private and community providers through the STARS program. Let’s provide kids and families in rural and urban areas access to high-quality, voluntary, affordable preschool options.
+ 
+The future leaders of our state deserve no less.
+ 
+And let’s not stop there.
+ 
+Let’s once again freeze in-state college tuition and prevent what is effectively a tax increase on 28,000 Montana students and their families.
+ 
+And let’s finally join 49 other states providing state-funded, need-based financial aid for students and adult learners. If we are willing to provide 5 million dollars for need based-aid, the university foundations will match our investment, better opening the doors of access to higher education to all Montanans.
+ 
+These investments - from preschool to higher education - don’t just make a difference today, they will determine for decades to come the economic success of Montana students, workers and families.
+***
+ 
+Another opportunity we have to impact the lives of Montanans is improving the health of Montanans, our businesses, and our economy.
+ 
+When I first stood at this rostrum in 2013, I asked that we transform the way we deliver healthcare, so we can create jobs and take care of those who need our help the most.
+ 
+At that time, our state’s uninsured rate was at a staggering 20%; it is now the lowest it’s ever been at under 8%.
+ 
+In 2013, we were investing just 75 million dollars annually in community-based mental health, substance use treatment, and services for children, seniors and people with disabilities. Today, we are making record investments in these services, over 135 million each year, plus serving an additional 14,000 adults, children, and people with disabilities.
+ 
+We nearly doubled the number of Substance Use Treatment providers, while expanding access to 135 locations across our state.
+ 
+And Montanans now receive equal treatment under their healthcare plans for mental health, as they do for physical health.
+ 
+In 2013, there was no consistency in what the state was charged for medical care. At one facility, the State was charged 105,000 dollars for a knee replacement of a state employee - six times more than it would cost on Medicare. Through referenced based pricing, we’ve now made medical costs more predictable, consistent and comparable among facilities. As a result, taxpayers have saved over 13 million dollars in state health plan costs in less than two years.
+ 
+I will never forget a visit to Choteau for a community meeting during the 2015 session. I remember the hospital administrator telling me that 42% of the people that walked through their hospital doors didn’t have insurance. And the Chair of the County Commission, Joe Dellwo, telling me how that hospital had saved his life, and that, if they lost that hospital, they could well lose their community.
+ 
+In 2015 we came together and passed one of the most innovative Medicaid expansion programs in the nation. We require those receiving healthcare to have skin in the game and collect around 5 million dollars in premiums each year. And unlike every other program in the nation, we offer those receiving healthcare an opportunity to improve their lives and their employment by connecting with our Department of Labor.
+ 
+Just as our program is unique to the nation, so too are its results. No other state has increased labor force participation like we have because of our HELP-Link program. The work done in Montana - our work - is a national model that other states are looking to adopt.
+ 
+Now if I told you I had a business coming to Montana that would create between 5,900 and 7,500 jobs in every corner of this state - that would infuse over 350 million dollars of new personal income into our state - you would all tell me that sounds pretty darn good.
+ 
+Well, that’s exactly what Medicaid expansion has done and will continue to do.
+ 
+And it has also done so much more.
+ 
+That hospital in Choteau remains open today. In states that didn’t expand Medicaid, rural hospitals have been closing at a rate six times greater than those that did. We haven’t lost one, and uncompensated care is down 50% statewide. 
+ 
+Through the expansion we passed in 2015, we are providing more than just basic health care. Over 33,000 of our friends and neighbors have received mental health services. Almost 10,000 have been treated for substance abuse.
+It is that healthcare, physical and mental, that allows people to work.  We know in 2017, seven out of 10 Montanans on Medicaid expansion were employed while enrolled. Those who are not employed are growing in their careers through school or workforce training, caregivers for a family member, or are sick or disabled themselves.
+ 
+It doesn’t make sense to me that when we have a nationally-recognized model that is helping people succeed in today’s economy, we’d consider any measures that take health coverage away from working folks; measures that cost more to administer than provide the services in the first place; or measures that won’t pass muster in the courts.
+ 
+And Medicaid expansion benefits businesses in every county - all 56 across Montana - in every industry, and of every size. 
+ 
+Montana legislators reflect the businesses in our state. Some of you own restaurants, fast food chains, or grocery stores. Some of you own construction companies or hotels. And many of you own small businesses.
+ 
+Almost 9 out of 10 hotel and restaurant businesses here rely on Medicaid expansion to provide healthcare for at least some of their employees. Two-thirds of our Montana businesses in retail, and over half of our construction firms, rely on Medicaid. In total, nearly 18,000 Montana businesses had one or more of their employees enrolled in Medicaid expansion in 2017.
+ 
+I have listened to concerns from legislators on both sides of the aisle about the need to provide sufficient mental health funding. Without expansion, kiss those gains goodbye. I hear from you the need to support rural communities. The rural hospitals we are sustaining keep those communities viable. 
+ 
+I have heard about the need to support our businesses. With almost 3 out of every 5 of MT businesses relying on Medicaid to provide healthcare for at least some of their employees, you aren’t supporting our businesses big and small if you roll back the gains we made with expansion.
+It is critical that we remove the sunset on Medicaid expansion. That we protect the healthcare for 95,000 of our family, friends and neighbors. That we protect our rural hospitals. And our economy.
+ 
+Beyond Medicaid, Montanans hope and expect that being covered by health insurance will protect them from financial ruin if they are sick or injured. But sometimes, even having health insurance coverage isn't enough. We can do more.
+ 
+I am asking you to lower premiums by as much as 20% for Montanans covered by individual health insurance by passing Senate Bill 125 to create a state reinsurance program.
+ 
+And Montanans should expect to know what they will be paying for and how much the bill will be, even before they receive medical care. House Bill 152 would protect us from “surprise” medical bills that are all too frequent.
+ 
+Finally, it makes no sense that pharmacists can’t tell their patients when there is a different brand of medicine that would cost less than even their copay. That’s why we are proposing a measure to put this practice by pharmacy benefit managers to an end.
+ 
+We have the opportunity - not only to protect the progress we’ve made improving the health of Montanans and our economy - but to build on that progress.
+ 
+***
+ 
+The long-term health of our communities also depends on whether or not they are able to sustain the strong economic growth Montana has experienced in recent years.
+ 
+When I first stood at this rostrum in 2013, I asked you to take advantage of historically low interest rates, invest in infrastructure, and immediately create thousands of jobs across our state.
+ 
+We have now gone six years without passing a major infrastructure package. When you take into account increased inflationary costs and borrowing rates, 100 million dollars worth of infrastructure delayed from 2013 would now cost us 154.5 million. Don’t kid yourself, this will only increase over time.
+ 
+That’s not to say we haven’t made progress. Over the past six years we have invested 300 million in our communities and at our colleges to ensure, at the very least, we don’t fall further behind.
+ 
+Those investments have gone to upgrade water, sewers, schools and bridges in all 56 counties. Every single county in our state has gotten a piece of the pie.
+ 
+Yet, when it comes to a major infrastructure package, each time we have fallen a couple votes short. The failure isn’t because of lack of interest, or lack of need - it is because of the two-thirds vote required for bonding. This wasn’t always the case. Republican Governors Stephens, Racicot, Martz - with mostly Republican-led legislatures, all passed bonding measures. And it is time you do as well.
+ 
+What I’ve proposed is a 290 million dollar investment in infrastructure. 
+ 
+In crafting this proposal, I have listened to your concerns. I heard you tell me that too much goes to buildings and not enough to base infrastructure. I’ve proposed more money for horizontal infrastructure - water, sewer, solid waste disposal, bridges and broadband - than buildings.
+I have heard you tell me that not enough money goes to rural areas. I included a 44 million dollar grant program for Montana’s natural resource communities, largely, in Northern and Eastern Montana, that are impacted by fossil fuel development.
+ 
+Look, I understand some of you don’t like the idea of upgrading our historical society or Romney Hall, the university system’s number one priority. Yet, I believe you also understand that both upgrades are desperately needed and both are institutions that we - you and I - are responsible for taking care of. And, because of legislative inaction, both are frankly embarrassments.
+ 
+Even if, despite the demonstrated need, you don’t like those buildings, recognize this. If we are ever going to break this logjam, we have to provide for rural and urban, for our public institutions and for our smaller communities that cannot pay for their own water and sewer upgrades.
+ 
+We rank 47th in state debt, per capita. Other states have chosen to incur reasonable borrowing rather than passing on crumbling infrastructure to their kids. We are out of step with the rest of the country.
+ 
+Break the logjam. This session, let’s deliver infrastructure for Montana for now and for future generations of Montanans.
+ 
+***
+ 
+Now, you and I both know that the distance between Helena, Montana and Washington, DC is measured by more than the 2,150 geographical miles. We see each other as neighbors first. When making political decisions we still share a common set of facts. 
+ 
+By and large, we treat one another with respect, even when we disagree. Our politics are more than a sport, or a zero-sum game. You don’t have to hold a town hall meeting to hear what’s on people’s minds. I know, like me, you hear it wherever you go – at the grocery store, at church, at high school sporting events.
+ 
+And our campaign contribution limits are among the lowest in the nation and will stay that way, because the U.S. Supreme Court recently rejected a challenge to those limits.
+When I stood at this rostrum in 2013, I asked the members of this body to help me preserve the integrity of our elections and guarantee that our elections will never be auctions. Dark money and outside spending on our state elections was rampant in Montana, thanks to the 2010 Citizens United decision.
+ 
+Whether you supported it at the time or not, I hope all members of this body take pride in the fact that, because of the DISCLOSE Act of 2015, many of those dark money groups have folded up their tent and left our state.
+ 
+And, for those that remain, dark money groups can no longer hide behind their tax status and have to report their spending during the last ninety days of our state elections. We should all celebrate that our elections are more transparent, and closer to our citizens, than perhaps any other state in the nation.
+ 
+Just as Montanans now know who is attempting to influence our elections, Montanans should also know that the source of that money isn't coming from foreign countries.  I’m asking this body to pass a law expressly outlawing foreign spending in our state elections.  It’s a glaring omission that we don’t have a foreign money ban, as other states have already protected their elections.
+ 
+Montanans expect that their government will work for them - Montanans, Americans - not anyone else.
+ 
+***
+ 
+Education. Healthcare. Infrastructure. In these and other areas, Montanans elected us to govern and to serve. To make decisions that do good, rather than do harm.
+ 
+A little over one year ago, lawmakers were in the hallways of this Capitol for my first, and only, special session. You relayed to me in the months that followed that the cuts - which many of you in this chamber voted for, and made permanent - resulted in harmful, real-life consequences for Montanans all across our state.
+ 
+Just as I have every session, I’m eager to work with Democrats and Republicans to ensure we pass a budget that is balanced and fiscally responsible. But let’s make sure the consequences of 2017, and the resulting special session, will serve as lessons learned, not lessons repeated, moving forward.
+ 
+I will insist on a 300 million dollar reserve for unforeseen circumstances.
+ 
+The difference between reserving 300 million instead of 200 million is one bad fire season, or a 1.3% error in revenue estimating over the next two and a half years. It’s the impact of things we can’t control, like government shutdowns and trade wars, market volatility and investor anxiety.
+ 
+A 300 million dollar reserve - one that’s accessible, not requiring we decimate government services before these funds become available - safeguards us from those factors beyond our control, and from repeating past mistakes of eliminating services that our fellow Montanans rely upon.
+ 
+To make sure we have that money in the bank, I’m requesting changes that reflect Montana’s changing economy by increasing the revenue the state receives from hotel guests, car rentals, investment licenses, tobacco products, and hard liquor.  
+ 
+Let’s craft a budget that is balanced, funds the services Montanans expect, and leaves money in the bank for unexpected things that might come our way. Don’t send me a budget where the cuts aren’t realized until after you adjourn, and don’t send me a budget where I’ll have to make the cuts due to the failure of this legislature leave money in the bank. Because, if you do, I will send it back.
+ 
+I believe the budget I have proposed is a reflection of the values we hold as Montanans. It is a reflection of all of the progress we’ve made as a state these past six years and seeks to build upon that progress with responsible investments in areas Montanans expect.
+ 
+And it is a reflection of my optimism that we can create a brighter future for everyone fortunate enough to call themselves a Montanan.
+ 
+***
+ 
+I am an optimist. Six years ago, I walked into this job hopeful and determined. And tonight, I am no less optimistic than I was the first time I stood before you.
+ 
+In my very first State of the State I implored this body to act like our kids are watching and learning from our words and our deeds. Because they are.
+ 
+I’m optimistic...that we can be role models that inspire the next generation. And if some leaders fall short, I am optimistic that our friends and neighbors, our fellow Montanans, will demand better.
+ 
+I’m optimistic...that we can demonstrate while we may have our differences at times, Republicans and Democrats can still work together in Montana to get things done, without shutting down our government.
+ 
+I’m optimistic...that we can base our decisions not only on today’s needs, but with an eye toward improving the Montana our kids and grandkids - future legislators and governors - will inherit.
+ 
+I’m optimistic...because Montana...this place, its people, its purpose...built for me a world where the improbable was achievable. That’s a story each of us understands, because it’s our story.
+ 
+Every kid growing up in Montana deserves that same promise of opportunity.
+ 
+As we come together this session, the state of our state is strong. We as Montanans are strong. And by working together, by following the course we’ve set, we’ll ensure that the Montana our kids and grandkids inherit is stronger than ever before.
+ 
+Thank you, God bless you, God bless Montana, and God bless the United States of America.
+

state-of-the-state/speeches/Nebraska_SOTS.txt

@@ -0,0 +1,96 @@
+President Foley, Speaker Scheer, Members of the Legislature, Distinguished Guests, Friends, Fellow Nebraskans, and of course, our First Lady, my lovely wife, Susanne—good morning!
+ 
+Once again, congratulations on the commencement of the 106th Nebraska Legislature.  And congratulations to Speaker Scheer on your reelection.  I look forward to working with you.
+ 
+The Unicameral is a unique institution among legislative bodies in our nation.  Each of you has a solemn responsibility as one of forty-nine citizen legislators to represent the best interests of your constituents.
+ 
+As I begin, I want to take a moment to welcome the newest members of the body.  Each of you brings significant experiences and perspectives.  Senator Arch has a background in healthcare administration.  Senators Brandt, Murman, and Dorn will be voices for agriculture as we work to grow our number one industry.  Senators Cavanaugh and DeBoer have experience in higher education.  Senator Gragert is a 40-year veteran of the Air Force and Nebraska National Guard.  Senators Hansen, Hunt, La Grone, and Slama bring important perspectives as entrepreneurs, small business owners, and young professionals.  Senator Lathrop returns as a seasoned legislator.  And Senator Moser is a small business owner and a former local public servant as Mayor of Columbus.
+ 
+Let’s recognize this new class and welcome them again.
+ 
+In the coming weeks and months, each of us will use our experience as we shape public policy and work together.  Our republic works best when we find areas of collaboration where we can put Nebraskans first.
+ 
+As we begin our work this year, I am happy to report to you that the state of the state is strong and growing.
+ 
+Last week, I relayed in my inaugural address that Nebraska has achieved high marks over the past year.  We are the number one state for fiscal condition; number two for cost of doing business and regulatory environment; we have the third highest wage growth since 2014; we have the fourth best workforce participation rate; Forbes says we are the fifth best state for business; and we have the sixth lowest unemployment rate in the country.
+ 
+Over the past four years, we have strengthened Nebraska’s place in the world with our four pillars for growth, which include developing our people; cutting the regulatory red tape; controlling spending so we can deliver tax relief; and promoting Nebraska both nationally and internationally.
+ 
+This has led us to back-to-back awards for the most economic development projects per capita of any state in the nation.
+ 
+In our work this year, it is important to remember that even as the state is employing record numbers of Nebraskans, our number one industry, agriculture, is grappling with low commodity prices.  Since 2013, farm income in Nebraska has been cut by over 60 percent.  Think about that for a moment: When a family’s income falls by over half, you are forced to make tough decisions that have a significant impact on your way of life.  During this session and throughout the year, we must work to expand opportunities for our farm and ranch families.
+ 
+We are doing that in the area of value-added agriculture, so more families can bring the next generation home to the family farm.  Last year, we welcomed six new counties into the state’s Livestock Friendly County program for a total of 49.
+ 
+Layering livestock into the family operation is a game-changer for many families.  Take for example the Schulz family of Seward County.  Three generations of Schulzes have joined us today under the north balcony.  They recently received approval to build a barn to raise chickens for Costco.  Their new poultry operation will allow Joe, the third generation and a recent University of Nebraska graduate, to return to the family farm.  Please help me welcome and congratulate Joe and the Schulz family.
+ 
+As I worked on this two-year budget, I had one thing in mind: the people of Nebraska.  We have a responsibility to the people we care for and the people who pay the bills, the taxpayers.  Let’s put Nebraskans first as we work on this budget.
+ 
+In all my budgets, I have worked to keep the rate of growth at about 3 percent or less.  The budget I am presenting to you today is no different, and keeps the rate of spending growth to 3.1 percent.  A significant portion of this spending increase is attributable to Medicaid expansion and state aid to public schools.  In my budget, state agencies continue to control spending growth with an average two-year operations increase of just 2.3 percent.
+ 
+Even while controlling spending, we have prioritized new initiatives to help grow Nebraska, recognize the dignity of human life, and protect public safety.
+ 
+With this budget, we can do more to help grow Nebraska in three ways.
+ 
+First, we are doing more to help Nebraskans take great-paying jobs.  Job creators across the state name workforce as a top priority.  We have a low unemployment rate, a high labor force participation rate, and lots of great jobs. 
+ 
+With the right opportunities, the next generation of Nebraskans can find a pathway that gives them the career they need to stay in Nebraska and enjoy the Good Life.  Take for example the story of Chris Nightser.  Chris started high school with industrial arts classes.  After graduation, he took a job in a fabrication shop, which then led to a career with Miller Electric starting as an apprentice.  He has earned his Associate’s Degree, Bachelor’s Degree, and Master’s in Business Administration while working thanks to tuition reimbursement programs and scholarships.  This gave him over $100,000 worth of education with relatively little debt.  Today, he is the Pre-Fabrications Operations Manager at Miller Electric. 
+ 
+Chris’ story is important because he was exposed to opportunities in this field at an early age, and he was able to take advantage of them because of an apprenticeship, scholarships, and tuition reimbursement.  Please help me welcome Chris, who is in the north balcony.
+ 
+To help more Nebraskans like Chris find great careers, I am making two new proposals.  As previously announced, I am recommending the creation of the Nebraska Talent Scholarships program to help our community colleges, state colleges, and the university system attract even more students in targeted programs from engineering to healthcare with over 2,100 new scholarships. 
+ 
+Additionally, I am recommending the expansion of the Developing Youth Talent Initiative to connect more middle school students to opportunities in manufacturing and IT with an additional $1.25 million annually.  This program has already impacted 7,000 students, and this expansion will help reach even more.
+ 
+Working together to create more pathways, we can help connect more Nebraskans with the countless great opportunities available in communities statewide.
+ 
+Second, my budget also takes new steps to make state government more effective, more efficient, and more customer-focused.  Over the past two years, we have worked together to successfully create a Department of Transportation and a unified veterans’ agency.  This year, Senator Hughes and I are proposing to bring together the Department of Environmental Quality and the Energy Office.  Creating a Department of Environment and Energy that will allow the state to form a more unified vision and strategic plan for our work in these related areas.
+ 
+Senator Lowe and I are also recommending moving three key safety inspection programs from the Department of Labor to the State Fire Marshal’s Office to better align with its purpose of protecting public safety.
+ 
+The third priority we are working on in this budget is tax relief.  Thanks to our work on controlling spending over the last few years, we have been able to build new tax relief into this budget.
+ 
+Property tax relief is the number one priority Nebraskans want as I travel the state.  And many of you have shared similar stories with me from your districts. 
+ 
+I have three property tax relief proposals.
+ 
+First, my budget provides $51 million in new, direct property tax relief through the Property Tax Credit Relief Fund each year.  This is a 23 percent increase in property tax relief from this fund to all Nebraska property owners.
+ 
+Second, Senator Lindstrom and I are recommending that we establish a statutory floor of $275 million for the Property Tax Credit Relief Fund.  This will give taxpayers more certainty about future relief.
+ 
+Third, Senator Linehan and I are proposing to establish a three percent cap on property taxes levied by local governments.  Over the past decade, local property taxes have risen over 57 percent.  To deliver long-term, structural relief, it is important that we limit the growth of property taxes.  Our proposal comes in the form of a constitutional amendment, which must be approved by the people after receiving your consideration.
+ 
+These proposals, together, will help deliver immediate relief and structural reform. 
+ 
+Furthermore, I stand ready to work with all of you on additional property tax relief proposals, such as Senator Erdman’s income potential valuation bill, which would help deliver much-needed reform to our property tax system.  I know there will be many proposals introduced this year.  As we work on property tax relief, any proposal should help control spending, fit in the budget, and cannot raise taxes on one group of people to reduce taxes on another group.
+ 
+My last proposal in the area of tax policy delivers relief for Nebraska’s veterans.  Thank you to Senators Brewer, Blood, Bostelman, Clements, Crawford, Gragert, Linehan, and Lowe for your work on this initiative to help make Nebraska a better place to retire as a veteran.  Our proposal is a 50 percent tax cut for all veterans receiving military retirement benefits.  Five of our six surrounding states do not tax veterans’ retirement benefits.  This proposal is a step forward, which makes Nebraska more tax competitive, so we can keep more of our veterans and their families here after retirement.
+ 
+Numerous veterans and representatives from the Nebraska National Guard have joined us here today and are sitting in the north balcony.  Please help me recognize them!
+ 
+Another important area that will be addressed this session is incentives.  You all have already started an important conversation about the future of Nebraska Advantage and what the state’s tax incentives should look like.  Across the nation, incentives are an important tool for attracting new investments and jobs.  As you work to reform incentives, I encourage you to keep in mind these goals.  Nebraskans want tax policy that is simple; transparent; accountable; and attracts higher-paying jobs.
+ 
+Finally, there are a few more items that I want to highlight in my budget.  My budget implements Initiative 427, fully funds state aid to K-12 public schools, recognizes the dignity of human life, and protects the public safety.
+ 
+In November, voters approved Medicaid expansion, and my budget recommendation reflects the vote of the people of Nebraska.  Right now, the Medicaid team is working to fulfill the direction of the initiative to file a state plan with the federal government by April 1st.
+ 
+My budget provides new aid to K-12 public schools by fully funding the $103.8 million TEEOSA increase.  This means the formula will provide a record $1.1 billion in annual school aid.
+ 
+As I have noted before, Nebraska is a pro-life state. 
+ 
+My budget contains the pro-life budget language approved by the body last year.  Furthermore, I want to commend Senator Albrecht for her continued work to protect the dignity of unborn life.  I look forward to working with all of you this session as we represent pro-life Nebraska, and look for new ways to support expecting mothers and our unborn children.
+ 
+We must also continue to protect public safety and Nebraska’s communities.  Each year, we have collaborated to bring about important change in our Corrections system.  Together, we have completed sentencing reforms for non-violent offenders.  We have invested in our prisons, and are upgrading the physical plant of our facilities to help deliver the programming we need to reduce the recidivism rate.  We are assessing inmates more quickly to connect them to the right programming.  And we have invested in additional staff and staff retention initiatives.
+ 
+As you know, there is more work to be done.  While the sentencing reforms helped to control population growth in our prisons, new felony admissions mean our population has not decreased at the rate expected.  My budget recommends an additional 384 high security beds, which will help assist in bringing our prison population below the emergency level set by the Legislature.
+ 
+I look forward to working with Chairman Stinner, the Appropriations Committee, and the entire body to pass this budget.
+ 
+As we work together this session, many challenges and opportunities lie ahead.  Let’s roll up our sleeves to connect Nebraskans to great jobs, to control spending, to make government more effective, to deliver tax relief for our veterans, and to cut property taxes.
+ 
+This session and this budget present an opportunity to put the priorities of the taxpayers and people of Nebraska first.
+ 
+I ask for your help in enacting this vision to grow Nebraska.
+ 
+God bless you all and God bless the great State of Nebraska.
+

state-of-the-state/speeches/Nevada_SOTS.txt

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+Mr. Speaker, Majority leader, legislative leadership, Madam President, distinguished members of the Legislature, Honorable Justices of the Supreme Court, constitutional officers, Honored Guests ... 
+Thank you all for joining me here tonight. 
+To my family - particularly our incredible new First Lady: Thank you for standing with me on this journey... and for guiding me through this next chapter. 
+I also want to take moment to recognize a great Nevadan who passed away recently, but left behind a legacy of fighting for the Silver State, former Governor and U.S. Senator Paul Laxalt. 
+The start of the year, the start of a new legislative session, is a moment for reflection — a time to think about the progress we’ve made. 
+Tonight I speak to the legislators who will make up the 80th Session of the Nevada Legislature. And for the first time in Nevada state history — and in the history of the United States — it’s a Legislature that is majority women. 
+Tonight, we are joined by the newly-elected and appointed women who took the leap this past year — and together, made history. 
+Would you all please stand?
+Let’s give them a round of applause. 
+This is a milestone that’s been generations in the making -- thanks to women like Dina Titus, who not only served in this legislature, but has gone on to represent us in the halls of Congress. And tonight we’re joined by two of the pioneers who also helped make it possible: 
+Barbara Buckley, the first woman to serve as Speaker of the Assembly
+and Sue Wagner the first woman to serve as Lieutenant Governor in Nevada . 
+Barbara and Sue: Would you please stand as well? 
+To them... 
+To all the women here tonight... 
+And all the women who have served before — including the one and only Debbie Smith, who I know is smiling down on us... 
+This night belongs to you. 
+And as a dad of two daughters, I am especially grateful to know that every little girl in Nevada has role models in all of you. And let me just say, that includes our lieutenant governor, Kate Marshall. Kate - I look forward to working with you on behalf of the people of Nevada. 
+And that work is important because for the last decade our economy and our families have faced some of the hardest economic times. 
+Tonight, we can acknowledge the progress that’s been made. And that’s important to do. B?But before we get lost in celebrating., we have to remember our families who haven’'t felt the recovery? - who are still working two jobs, who are worried about paying for college for their kids or a medical bill for their parents.? 
+The budget and priorities that I will outline tonight are focused on this objective: making sure that Nevada’s economic recovery reaches ?every? family, that our schools prepare every? child to reach their potential, that our health care system is there for e? very Nevadan that needs it. 
+The time is here to ask what kind of state we want to be. It’s on all of us - Democrats and Republicans alike - to reach higher than we ever have and to ensure economic success makes it to e? very? dinner table in Nevada. 
+And so...While we have work to do, I stand before you and am proud to announce that the state of the state is full of opportunity. 
+Let’s start with some numbers. 
+We are anticipating General Fund revenue of more than 4.3 billion in 2020, up nearly 3 percent from 2019. And in 2021, it’s projected to rise even more — to nearly 4.5 billion. 
+Nevada’s economic growth happened under our current revenue structure — and as they say, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. That’s why this budget is presented w?without any new taxes.? Let me say that again. This balanced budget d?does not contain any new taxes?. 
+While revenue is up today, our history tells us what pain an economic downturn can bring. 
+At the height of The Great Recession, difficult choices were made including cuts to education, medical services, and job training, at the very moment people needed them most. 
+Then-Speaker Barbara Buckley sponsored legislation to require the Governor to reserve one percent of our total anticipated revenue for the Rainy Day Fund. 
+As she put it at the time: “Creating programs in g?good times? to slash them in b?bad times? is senseless.” 
+She’s right. This isn’t only the fiscally responsible thing to do, it’s the right thing to do. Besides, how can we tell our children to save their money for a rainy day if our government doesn’t even do it? 
+Last year marked the first time since the law passed in 2011 that Nevada lived up to that commitment... 
+...and today, I pledge to make this a pattern: My budget will include annual savings of $45 million for the next two years to preserve and grow our Rainy Day Fund for those dark days when we will truly need it. 
+As we saw in our latest jobs report: Businesses are propelling our economy. 
+We now boast of being home to companies like Tesla, Google, Apple and Amazon- just to name a few. We have welcomed Hyperloop One, and a burgeoning drone industry. And we have become ground zero for the Fourth Industrial Revolution that will come with blockchain technology. 
+Last fall, Tesla, Blockchains LLC and other high-tech neighbors in Northern Nevada became part of what is now known as Innovation Park – a place to incubate visionary thinkers, developers, and others who will design our future. 
+And just last month, several of our legislators formed a Technology Caucus, to review the needs of our growing tech sector, and promote the success of these ventures. 
+We are also working to ensure that we give our students the skill sets required to succeed in these industries, with STEM education being more important than ever before. 
+And when it comes to jobs, we are now one of the fastest growing states in the nation. Over the past year, non-farm employment has increased by more than 45,000, with gains in construction and manufacturing; education and health services; trade and transportation and more. 
+We have our business community to thank—not just large companies whose arrival in our state makes headlines , but small businesses too – including the over 78,000 employers in Nevada with 100 or fewer employees. 
+As Governor, I will work to make it easier for our small businesses to thrive by streamlining complicated processes, eliminating red tape and needless regulations, and putting a Small Business Advocate in the Office of the Lieutenant Governor. Let’s give our small businesses a hand! 
+One of those sectors is the rapidly growing marijuana industry. That’s why I’m announcing that next week I will sign an Executive Order creating Nevada’s first-ever Cannabis Compliance Board, which will ensure this critical part of our state’s future economy is positioned to become a gold standard for the nation. 
+We will manage and grow this new industry strictly and fairly and in a way the State can be proud of. 
+But with new jobs and economic growth comes an added challenge - making sure everyone who wants to live and work here can afford to do so. 
+To that end, I will be supporting the recommendation to create a new program which will offer $10 million of state tax credits per year for the creation and preservation of affordable housing. 
+I want to thank the Chair and members of the Committee that studied Affordable Housing this past interim for their hard work on this proposal. 
+This, alone, won’t solve our housing crisis — but it’s an important first step... and will make a real difference in the lives of low-income Nevadans who will have a safe and secure place to call home. 
+At the root of our affordable housing crisis lies another fundamental problem – too many Nevadans are making too little. 
+That needs to change and it needs to start by giving Nevadans a well-earned raise. Even as our economy improves, too many folks are still working two jobs to get by 
+— even more are living paycheck to paycheck. 
+That’s why I am committed to working with the legislature — and the business and labor communities — to raise the minimum wage in our state. It’s impossible for an individual, let alone a family, to live on $7.25 an hour. 
+And not only that - we need to ensure ?eqgual pay for eqgual work? and to find a consensus on? ?paid leave? for Nevada’s workers. It’s the right thing to do for our families. 
+At the same time, I’m recommending a 3% pay increase for our state employees — whose work enables us to provide medical and social services to our people, assist new businesses; and keep our roads and highways safe. 
+During The Great Recession, many of them took pay cuts — or went without salary increases -- but they continued to faithfully serve Nevada. Their skills, knowledge, experience, and devotion have been invaluable to our state. 
+We are in a position to give our workers a raise, and we expect great return on that investment. I also believe they should be empowered to bargain collectively in the years ahead. 
+And to our state agencies – we must open our doors. It’s time to let employees know what options they have. 
+And while on the subject of wages, I want to make one thing clear: 
+This session I will work to return prevailing wage to public construction projects--as it was before the 2015 session--including, and most importantly, for our children’s schools. 
+Not only do prevailing wage laws support highly skilled workers in Nevada, they guarantee our children are learning in well-constructed, high quality educational facilities. Let’s do this. 
+As we work to improve our wages and continue to focus on economic development, it’s critical that we invest in a workforce that will be job ready. 
+That’s why I plan to increase funding for graduate medical education by $2 million per year. Because the medical students of today will be the doctors of tomorrow. 
+We must continue to invest in our higher education system. In addition to funding for student enrollment growth, I am recommending funding for two new buildings: a health and sciences building at the College of Southern Nevada and a new education building at Nevada State College. 
+When we invest in building these places of learning, we create the educators and medical professionals of tomorrow. 
+And I appreciate NSHE’s efforts to improve our graduation rates and overall student success. 
+Obtaining that degree or certificate is challenging for many of our students. That’s why we will increase funding for Nevada's scholarship programs to open new opportunities for thousands of Nevada’s students to earn their degrees and workforce credentials. 
+But there’s another element of higher education that too often doesn’t get the respect it deserves....apprenticeship and job training programs. 
+Success doesn’t always have to start with a four year degree. Quality job training programs, apprenticeships, business partnerships, and community college degrees can help Nevadans of all ages get the skills they need for the jobs that are out there today. 
+That’s why I’m recommending increased funding for Career and Technical education to serve an additional 2,000 students. 
+So far we’ve talked about a number of important issues, but there is no issue more important to me than making sure ?every? child in e? very? classroom gets a great education. 
+And you know what? That starts with having a great educator at the front of the room. 
+These are the people we are entrusting to prepare our kids for the future. They need to be treated as the professionals that they are and respected for the job they do. Let’s show them our appreciation. 
+But our educators deserve more than that. They deserve a raise. 
+It has been over a decade since the state has directly funded a raise for our K-12 educators. Tonight, I want that to change. 
+Legislators, I am asking you to stand with me and stand with our educators by including them in the 3% pay raise for state employees for the first time in 12 years. 
+Right now, too many teachers have been forced to dig into their own pockets to make sure their students have basic supplies—like markers, erasers, pencils. It’s a beautiful sign of their commitment. But it’s also grossly unfair. 
+So I am proposing additional funding to reimburse teachers for supplies they need for their classrooms — raising the total from $100 to $180 per teacher. 
+I am also including a o?one-time? appropriation for Washoe County to correct an $8.6 million mistake that was made in the past. But to be clear, those kind of mistakes will not be tolerated under my watch. The time for band-aids and short-term fixes is over. 
+I also look forward to working with Legislative Leadership to review the decades old Nevada Plan to ensure that tax dollars for education follow the student. We have to make sure our statewide funding formula is equitable for ?every student? in ?every? ?county?. 
+My recommended increase in funding for the New Nevada Plan will increase from $36 million to $70 million per year meaning that an additional ?28.,200 at-risk students? will receive the academic support they need, no matter w?what? school they attend. 
+Additionally, I am recommending for the biennium: 
+$44.7 million to ensure access to quality pre-school development programs; $63.4 million for Read by Grade 3.
+Approximately $100 million for Nevada’s Zoom Schools.
+And $50 million for Victory School programs. 
+Because not only do we ask our educators to teach our students, we rely on them to keep them safe as well. The need for safer schools is a dark reality today, and we need to fund these initiatives. 
+I want to thank the Statewide School Safety Task Force for their hard work identifying key proposals to enhance security at our schools , including more police officers, and funding for additional social and behavioral health workers. 
+We cannot expect to successfully address violence and issues in our schools unless we invest in people like Arika Marquez, who is here with us tonight. Arika is a counselor at Clayton Middle School in Reno. 
+By doing her job every day, counselors like Arika are preventing violence, helping students, and saving lives. 
+Arika, please stand and be recognized for your work. 
+That’s why a portion the 10 percent marijuana tax will go towards preventing violence in our schools. 
+As Governor the safety and security of our families is my most important job. 
+Our country is plagued by the epidemic of gun violence —something Nevadans have come to understand all too well. We are still reeling from the losses we suffered on 1 October. And ?now,? a?at long last,? we’re going to take a?action?. 
+I am working with the Legislature to implement commonsense background checks on all firearm sales in Nevada. 
+We will outlaw bump stocks. 
+And we will address the threat gun violence poses to victims of domestic violence in this state. Those subjected to restraining orders should not be allowed to buy a firearm. 
+Back in 2016, Nevadans voted to close the dangerous and deadly loophole in our law that makes it far too easy for convicted criminals, domestic abusers, and others with dangerous histories to buy firearms at gun shows and online with no background check and no questions asked. 
+It’s long past time we listen to the voters, and enact these changes. Because background checks save lives. 
+Along with the need for a safe Nevada is a healthy Nevada. 
+As public servants, we have a responsibility to promote the health and wellbeing of the Nevadans who sent us here. 
+Let me start by saying: as long as I’m in office, Nevada will continue supporting and defending the Affordable Care Act, including all protections for those with pre-existing conditions. 
+That’s why I am proud that Nevada has signed on to an amicus brief asking the courts to prevent the Trump administration from rolling back the Affordable Care Act’s requirement that employers include birth control coverage in health plans. 
+As Governor, I am committed to adequately funding women’s health care. Currently, Nevada ranks last in the nation in the number of women who have a dedicated health care provider. We don’t fare much better when it comes to cervical cancer screenings or other forms of family planning. That’s going to change. 
+And that’s why we’ll be allocating 3 million dollars per year to provide more of these life saving services statewide. 
+Like the life of Reno-native Ann Mackey, who in her early 20s started to have health complications, so she scheduled an appointment at Planned Parenthood. During that visit, they found early signs of cervical cancer that had gone undetected. Today, 20 years laters, Ann is doing well and is certain that Planned Parenthood saved her life. 
+We have to make sure that quality health care continues to be offered to every Nevadan, not just those who can afford it. Our state took an incredible step when we 
+expanded Medicaid. It gave the chance for hundreds of thousands of Nevadans to go to the doctor and gain the coverage they need. 
+My recommended budget represents the largest investment of general fund dollars to the Department of Health and Human Services in Nevada history. 
+Here’s how. 
+---first, by increasing Medicaid reimbursement rates for Neonatal and Pediatric Intensive Care Units, we can provide for our youngest patients and make sure they have access to the health services they need. 
+---second, we’ll reduce the waitlist for children with autism to get assistance 
+---third, we’ll increase access to mental health services, upping the hours that our Mobile Crisis Units operate. 
+---and finally, too many individuals and families struggle with substance abuse. We can and should do more to make the healthcare system work for everyone. 
+People like Nikki and Kayden Yowell from Winnemucca, who are here tonight. Nikki lost her husband and Kayden lost his father to substance abuse. What Nikki and Kayden have faced is unimaginable--but it’s all too common. 
+We can no longer allow this epidemic to plague our communities and destroy our families. It’s time to fix it. 
+This investment will let Community Behavioral Health Centers expand from three to ten, allowing them to serve additional adults and children with substance abuse issues. 
+But it’s not enough to just put numbers on paper. 
+I am committed to working with legislators, the Department of Health and Human Services, and community stakeholders to ensure this funding gets down to the Nevadans who need it. 
+In the coming weeks, I will create a Patient Protection Commission. Our goal will be to take a comprehensive view of health care in Nevada--to evaluate what we’re doing well, 
+and more importantly, what we can do better including protecting Nevadans from being gouged on prescription drug prices. 
+Now let me turn to another important issue -- 
+I’d like to ask all of our active military and Veterans, including Brigadier General William Burkes and Lieutenant Colonel Retired Gary Utterback who led us in the pledge to please stand and be recognized. 
+The plight of our Veterans is too often ignored. These are the heroes who risk their lives for our country—and our state. And yet they don’t always receive the support they need when they come home. 
+For example, we have an estimated 5,000 underserved veterans in the Fallon and Pahrump service areas – a number that triples if we consider family members eligible for services. 
+And we know that Veterans – like others in rural areas – have difficulty accessing health services. They also face poverty, homelessness and substance abuse, but services are available only if they can access them. 
+That’s why we are adding additional Veteran services officers to help them access the federal benefits they deserve – more than $114 million in federal funds annually that will improve the quality of care and quality of life for our Veterans and their families. 
+We also need to look out for our fellow Nevadans who need a little help to get by. 
+From our elderly residents, who rely on food from Meals on Wheels to our foster families, I want you to know that you will not be forgotten. 
+This year, we will increase funding for Meals on Wheels by more than $?$800.,000?, allowing us to to feed over ?8,700? seniors and eliminate the current wait list. 
+And then, for the over 2,000 foster family homes across our state, we’re going to increase funding to help foster parents cover the cost of child care. 
+There’s another conversation that we need to have, and it’s about our criminal justice system. 
+We cannot continue to do the same thing and expect different results. We can be tough on crime...and still reduce recidivism. 
+We can lock up violent criminals...and work to identify the low-level offenders who are ready to earn their second chance. 
+That’s why I am recommending we add new staff who will focus on supporting mental health and substance abuse programs and handling the increased caseload in the Parole and Probation division. 
+This will be coupled with an increased investment in a pilot program aimed at providing education and skills training for inmates – first championed by then-Senator Aaron Ford. 
+In the first year of this program, over 80 percent of the inmates enrolled graduated with either credits going towards a traditional college degree or a pre-apprenticeship experience. 
+I’d like to recognize a special guest here with me tonight: Professor Kevin Mitchell, of the College of Southern Nevada. Professor Mitchell has years of experience teaching in the CSN prison education program and currently teaches at High Desert State Prison, which the First Lady and I recently toured. He has seen his students reintegrate into our community and start productive careers. Professor Kevin Mitchell, please stand. 
+This additional investment will reduce the recidivism rate, save our state tax dollars, and make our streets safer. 
+We are all lucky to live in the most beautiful state in the country. Hands down. But to keep it that way, we need to recognize the serious environmental threats facing our state. 
+Let me be clear: I will not spend a single second debating the reality of climate change. It is real, and it is irresponsible to ignore the science that proves it — and the lives it has already upended, especially across the West. 
+As Governor, I am committed to making Nevada a clean energy leader — not only to combat the effects of climate change for future generations, but also for the abundance of green-collar jobs we can create right now. 
+Nevada used to lead the nation in producing renewable energy. Sadly, we’ve fallen behind. Take our Renewable Portfolio Standard. We used to be number one, and now we’re not even in the top ten. 
+That’s why I strongly support the goal of achieving a minimum of 50% in renewable energy by 2030. And I know we can meet these standards without raising the cost of electricity for the ratepayers of our state. It’s time to make it happen. 
+In 2017, the Legislature proved they have the political will to reclaim our spot as the nation’s clean energy leader. When you send me that bill, t? his? Governor will sign it. 
+Because allowing Nevada to lead when it comes to renewable energy isn’t just good for job growth or energy rates, it helps preserve and protect Nevada’s incredible natural beauty. 
+We have some of the nation’s most amazing public lands in our state. These lands contribute to this state’s unique beauty, connect us to our past, and are the driving force behind our thriving eco-tourism industry. We must continue to protect these irreplaceable treasures. 
+And speaking of treasures, let me make something perfectly clear: ?Not one ounce of nuclear waste? will ever reach Yucca mountain while I’m Governor. Not on my watch. 
+We will work hand-in-hand with our congressional delegation and use every resource possible to stop the federal government from turning our state into their nuclear waste dump. 
+One thing remains clear across all these proposals – when you invest in Nevadans the return can be immense. 
+And it’s why I am opening a Governor’s Office for New Americans — which will support our newest neighbors, help them navigate government services, build new businesses, and let them know that they are welcome here. 
+It will also provide assistance to DACA recipients and applicants — like a DREAMer I met on the campaign trail named Deisy. 
+Deisy was brought to Nevada as a kid. She didn’t have documentation, but she cared for her community and worked hard. 
+When Governor Sandoval did the right thing and signed a bill in 2015 that allowed DREAMERs to obtain a teaching license, she jumped right on it. 
+Today, she’s a special education teacher at a public school in Clark County, helping children with autism realize their potential. 
+I know Deisy is watching on tv so let’s give her a round of applause. 
+The Governor’s Office for New Americans is for people like Deisy who invest in the future of our community every day. 
+We need to make sure each and every voice is heard. At the Capitol. In our communities. And at the ballot box. 
+This past November, Nevada made clear that they support Automatic Voter Registration. — and now, it’s on us to get it done. 
+So I look forward to making this a reality alongside Secretary of State Cegavske and the legislature. 
+Voting is a fundamental right, and we should be looking for even more ways to make sure eligible Nevadans can exercise it... which is why I am committed to working with the legislature and local election officials to expand early voting — and to implement same-day voter registration. 
+And I am committed to making sure every Nevadan is counted in our census. Because if one of us is left off, that hurts all of us. 
+That’s why I am recommending additional funding for in-state efforts to ensure all Nevadans are counted. 
+The proposals laid out tonight are presented with the goal of ensuring that e?very family?, sitting around ?every? ?dinner table?, sees the benefit of the economic recovery that those at the top have already felt. 
+Those in this room will not agree on everything. For example, some here might cheer for the Wolf Pack, and some might cheer for the Rebels...but we can all agree that the Golden Knights are the best hockey team in the state of Nevada... 
+These chambers were built to house debates worthy of the Nevadans we represent and the futures they have ahead. 
+But in those debates over the paths we take, we must not forget what can happen when civil discourse turns into partisan gamesmanship – it’s the people who ultimately lose. 
+Look no further than what’s happening in Washington D.C., where federal workers – including 3,000 across Nevada – have become pawns in a political battle. 
+Nevadans deserve better, and we owe it to them and this great institution to show the rest of the nation how it’s done. 
+So, I have a message for ?every? legislator in this chamber tonight -- whether you are a Republican or a Democrat. We’ve got a busy four months ahead, we’ve got a lot of work to do, and we’re going to be spending a lot of time with one another. 
+I want you to know that my door is open. We need good ideas from ?everyone?. That’s how we work together. That’s how we get things done. And that’s how we build an even stronger Nevada. 
+Because I know that when ?every Nevadan? has the opportunity to succeed, the state will reap the benefit. 
+That will be my mission as your Governor...
+...and the chance to see it through is the honor of my lifetime. Thank you all. 
+

state-of-the-state/speeches/NewHampshire_Both.txt

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+Good Morning — 
+Mr. Speaker, Madame President, honorable members of the House and Senate. Chief Justice Lynn and honorable members of the Judiciary. Members of the Executive Council, Commissioners, and of course, my fellow Granite Staters that are joining us today, Happy New Year and Welcome.
+It's an honor to be before you today and I want to begin by thanking you for placing your trust in me to serve as your Governor. 
+I want to acknowledge a few people, without whom, none of this would be possible. 
+My family: my kids, my parents and the one person who has sacrificed more than you can possibly imagine, but she does it because she really believes in the differences we are making, Valerie.
+And we can't discuss sacrifice without taking a moment to remember all those who are right now standing post, away from their families, whether in country or abroad serving in our military. And their families and our Veterans who have given so much.
+It is THEIR sacrifices that allow us to enjoy the freedom to be here today.
+In November, the voters of our state set us on a path that requires that we, as state leaders, come together, embrace a spirit of cooperation, and work together to get things done for the people of New Hampshire. They deserve nothing less.
+We were sent to Concord to fix the problems, create opportunities, and to embrace the power of the individual. Make no mistake — we've made great progress these past two years but there's a lot to be done to build on those successes. 
+In just the last two years, we established full-day kindergarten, signed the most comprehensive child protection and welfare bills this state has ever seen, provided tax relief for small businesses, and with the implementation of the Hub and Spoke Model this very week, we have begun to lead and serve as a model for the nation in creating long term solutions for the Substance Use Disorder crisis. 
+We worked together to keep the health care of 50,000 low income Granite Staters while instilling the dignity of employment and saving taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars. That's the New Hampshire Way — designing innovative systems that put individuals first, giving them a chance to thrive. 
+But when we look back on what we have accomplished, we cannot lose sight why we're here. 
+In Public Service, How you get there is just as important as the goals you achieve. 
+New Hampshire is best when we work together, and that's what we must do. 
+Whether you are a Republican or Democrat, Independent or Libertarian — we all share a passion for making our communities the strongest they can be. A commitment to making sure that New Hampshire remains the best place to live, work, and raise a family. 
+I have often said that we don't let the dysfunction of Washington define our success here — and It's true — politics does not dictate policy. We treat each other with respect and civility, not with the circus-like theatrics and zero-sum games that have taken over Washington.
+I traveled down to Washington a few weeks ago to spend some moments honoring and remembering one of America's true heroes and public servants.
+President Bush's passing was a reminder of the celebration of good public service. He was remembered for not just what he accomplished but how he did it. He treated people , as we say, the New Hampshire way — with respect, dignity, and compassion, even when disagreeing on policy. We must continue to uphold that tradition and rise above negativity and partisanship. 
+Public Service isn't about going after funding. And it's not about picketing and protests. It's about bringing people together. Getting out of your comfort zone to do the right thing. A very smart man once said "It is our choices that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities". And yes, that brilliant individual was Dumbledore from the Harry Potter books that actually said that, but it's true. It's all about choices.
+I recently saw an interview with Adam Sandler. A great NH native who when talking about his childhood said "I wasn't a kid growing up thinking 'One day I'll get and Oscar and make a speech. That wasn't on my mind." 
+[EXTEMPORANEOUS STORY]
+And I believe service to our citizens begins with management and customer service. The goal should be to create an all-inclusive welcoming environment where people can serve NH's citizens. To be able to say 'This is who we are and how can we help.
+Therefore the obligation is on us to push the limits, think outside of the box, get out of our comfort zones and simply to do more. It's one of the reasons I have been known to partake in a variety of "experiences". Whether it is jumping into the Atlantic Ocean in the middle of winter to bring awareness to the Opioid crisis, or repelling down the side of a 24 story building to raise money for the Granite United Way, or sleeping out on the streets of Manchester to raise money for the homeless. It's all part of highlighting the opportunities out there to be involved and help our communities. 
+Now there is one moment I'd like to share from one of those adventures. As many people know Valerie and I are involved with Best Buddies, a great organization that creates social opportunities and friendships for kids with disabilities. 
+Last year I put together a team to do a 50-mile bike ride for Best Buddies and two of those team mates that stepped up to join me were Christine Tappan, our new Assistant Commissioner of Human Services at DHHS, and Christine Brennan, the Deputy Commissioner of Education. 
+[EXTEMPORANEOUS STORY]
+Opening doors and being able to work with anyone that can help us should be a primary axiom that we all carry as public servants. Whether it be a qualified nominee brought before the Executive Council, or a new hire to assist the state with the Opioid crisis, or our willingness to work with political friends or opponents, it shouldn't matter as long as the public is being served. I travel to Washington a lot to advocate for our state. Many states pay to have their own lobbyists in DC. I don't. I believe that no one can advocate for a state like the personal relationships a governor can bring to the table. So I fly down from time to time and sit with Secretary's, or the Administration or the President himself when necessary. And I'm always baffled at those who would criticize for that but look at the results. Those personal relationship that we worked to develop ensured that 
+When the Manchester VA was in crisis, Secretary Shulkin was on the phone with me and responding within hours to send a team in to help. 
+When there was a threat of drilling for oil off of our coastline, Secretary Zinke sat with me to give assurances it wouldn't happen. 
+When we discovered the Vocational Rehab funds were mismanaged and the program was going to have to close for those kids with disabilities, it was Betsy DeVos that sat with me and agreed to provide gap funding to keep the programs alive across the state. 
+And when we had a new idea that needed significant funding for the Opioid crisis, I was able to hand a detailed plan to the President and his team and advocate for what would become the single biggest increase in Opioid funding in the country right here in NH. The list goes on, but I share these examples with you as a reminder that relationships matter and in public service Don't burn bridges. You'll be surprised how many times you have to cross the same river. 
+There is no doubt New Hampshire is better off today than it was two years ago. We have the lowest poverty rate in the nation, business taxes are at their lowest in decades, and more people are working than ever before. 
+But do not make the mistake of taking our successes for granted. It wasn't luck or happenstance that got us here. It was hard work, instilling sound economic principles, focusing on creating economic opportunities for individuals by providing employers across the state flexibility and financial opportunity that flows to the employees and their families. In New Hampshire we have made a choice. We don't want businesses making more investment into Government. We ask businesses to invest in their employees. And they do. Our neighbors in New England can't make the same claim, which is one of the reasons they are losing younger workers and businesses are flocking to New Hampshire. It is why we already have some of the highest household income on the country. Our model is a success and we cannot afford to go backwards. Tax relief is working. 
+Lowering the cost of doing business through tax relief has allowed businesses to reinvest in their workforce. That is a key factor in New Hampshire seeing significant wage growth because when a business can retain more of its revenue, it is able to increase pay for employees. Tax relief is a reason why more people are working in New Hampshire than ever before. 
+Look at the data. Revenues are rising. Costly regulations have been eliminated, and we are investing surplus funds into smart one-time investments.
+I implore this legislature to learn from the mistakes of the past. The last thing we should be doing is raising taxes or pushing a budget that does not live within our means. And it should go without saying -There will be no sales or income tax of any kind on my watch.
+And the state budget cannot and should not become a vehicle for political victories or policy-driven battles. The budget is a roadmap for responsible spending, not some partisan-driven political agenda. 
+Economically we sit as the envy of New England. We must continue to build on that success. The Budget cannot turn into an ideological battle of wills that would end up hurting the citizens we are sworn to serve. 
+And I want to revisit the concept of surplus funds, because it is a key area. Those are one-time funds that cannot and should not be spent on bigger government. That would only lead to long term liabilities we won't be able to pay for down the road. 
+Instead, look to the examples of last session:
+We did a one-time $30 Million investment into safe schools – the first of its kind in state history - over 500 schools received grants to make their schools safer. That is a big win for New Hampshire, especially our property taxpayers.
+We also returned over $35 million to cities and towns last year for critical infrastructure improvements. Every single town in the State of New Hampshire received a check for road repairs, bridge improvements, projects that otherwise would have been borne by property taxes.
+So stayed tuned. Next month, on Valentine's Day, I will submit a state budget that keeps our commitment to protecting our thriving economy. It will continue the current schedule of business tax reductions. It will use practical revenue estimates and ensure that we continue to make investments that will improve the lives of our citizens without jeopardizing our fiscal solvency. 
+[EXTEMPORANEOUS STORY]
+Now one of the priorities of the state I think we can all agree on is our workforce needs. And while New Hampshire is clearly becoming a destination for young workers, one of our immediate challenges will be how to retain and grow a thriving workforce.
+Many of you have heard me say this before, but there is a saying that goes "those of us born in New Hampshire are lucky, and those of us who move here are smart."
+Recently, a new study from the Carsey School at the University of New Hampshire was released that showed an increase in young families moving to New Hampshire. 
+Again, this isn't some kind of fluke, but by creating economic opportunity for families we've become a destination of success in the northeast. And whether it's the story of Hitchiner in Milford, or
+Lonza in Portsmouth, or
+BAE in Merrimack, or 
+Madeira in Gilford, or
+Allegro in Manchester, or
+Oxynova in Colebrook, or
+Hubbard Farms in Walpole. 
+The list goes on and the word is out about the environment we've created to move or grow your company in New Hampshire. 
+And that environment begins with workforce driven investments in education. Starting with early childhood education, full-day kindergarten and continuing through undergraduate education and workforce training — and next month, I will be proposing the state's single largest ever investment into workforce training — a $24 million one-time investment — to grow our states nursing and health care workforce and double the number of those graduates in New Hampshire schools.
+Another key component of growing our workforce is New Hampshire's work requirement for able bodied individuals, who are part of our Medicaid Expansion program. These provisions of Medicaid help lift people out of poverty by empowering them with the dignity of work and self-reliability. They help people gain the skills necessary for long-term independence, success and entrance into the workforce.
+We have designed a New Hampshire solution that was the result of a bi-partisan agreement - this legislature should not obstruct its implementation. I know that leaders of both parties stand united and committed to the compromise reached last year helping to ensure healthcare for 50,000 of our citizens. 
+In approving the work requirement, it was actually the Administration in Washington that insisted on MORE flexibility for our citizens. Volunteering, job training, part-time work, going to School, ALL count towards the work requirement, and it's even MORE flexible now than what we passed last year. That a win for New Hampshire's citizens.
+I also believe it is time to reform many of our public assistance programs to ensure they are a ladder out of poverty and not a road block to those who want to work hard and get out of the system. A common hurdle for both businesses and workers is the "cliff effect." 
+Last year I had the opportunity to spend a bit of time in many of our state's shelters visiting with individuals that needed a safe place to live to get their feet under them. They were looking to find independence for themselves and their families. You hear a lot of amazing stories in those situations. 
+And about a month ago Valerie had invited a group of shelter managers from across the state to come and visit at the Bridges House. This was an opportunity to bring the group together and talk about real they were being challenged with. I went over to visit with them as well and the single biggest issue they told us about was the fiscal cliff. 
+That these individuals, very often young single moms and some in terrible domestic violence situations, who rely on government assistance in times of real need, want to work their way off of those programs, they want independence, they want an escape but find themselves trapped and discouraged from job opportunities because their increased incomes will cut them off completely from assistance, in a moments notice. The results are that individuals decline promotions or better jobs, work fewer hours, remain in abusive relationships or hide their incomes to maintain their eligibility for these programs.
+Instead of encouraging employment advancement, the current system incentivizes people to remain on state support. This might make some sense in the short term, but in the long term, we end up harming the people who often need the most help. This dynamic makes no sense.
+Working together, I believe we can create revenue neutral reforms to end the Cliff Effect in our state. We can provide more reasonable "off-ramps" that encourages the dignity of work in a way that saves, rather than costs, our taxpayers. And gives those receiving benefits the greatest gift of economic stability – a good job that allows them independence and the ability to support their family. It won't be easy but I believe the pathway is there, and I'm calling on the Legislature to join me in tackling the issue head-on.
+I want to take a moment to discuss a specific and serious public health issue here in New Hampshire- Pediatric Cancer. 
+According to the Center of Disease Control — New Hampshire had the highest rate of pediatric cancer in the U.S. between 2003 and 2014. 
+That is unacceptable, and we cannot allow this alarming trend to continue. We must work together to find answers, create solutions, and lead the way out of this crisis. 
+So in my budget next month, I will use our surplus funds to commission a study to once and for all determine the extent of the crisis and provide solutions for our citizens. This study will not have a partisan agenda or pre-conceived notions. The mission is simple: figure out the truth and use data to develop sound policies that will help the children of our state. Answers will not come overnight, but starting today this crisis is a top priority of my administration and the state of New Hampshire.
+Another significant public health issue we are battling is of course the Opioid Crisis. 
+Last year, as overdoses went up nationwide, New Hampshire bucked the national trend — and for the first time in years, our overdose rate is going down. A good sign but we know there's a lot more work to do.
+This week New Hampshire's Hub and Spoke Model opened its doors for the first time across the state, now known as 'The Doorway'. This model will begin to take root and combined with our Recovery Friendly Workplace initiative and the newly fully funded Alcohol Fund, I have no doubt that we will continue to see our successes grow. We have created more tools to use at our disposal than ever before.
+I want to take a moment and talk about Recovery Friendly Workplaces which hit a milestone last month. Through this program, we utilize the support of the business community to create workplaces that become part of an individual's recovery. As of today 63 businesses, with over 40,000 employees, have signed up to join the initiative. 
+We are taking whole new approaches to fighting addiction. Public sector, private sector, you name it. We have innovative solutions and the country is taking notice. There's still a lot of work to do but let's stay focused and keeping building a system that wins this war.
+Just two short years ago, the Division for Children, Youth, and Families – DCYF – was in crisis. We needed new management. We needed more caseworkers. We needed funding. Children were at risk. 
+So what did we do? Turning around any operation begins with leadership. So first we brought in a world-class team, including the architect of New Jersey's dramatic and successful turnaround of its child protection system. It's not often that New Hampshire looks to New Jersey for best practices but they are the gold standard and our system should be nothing less.
+Then we put politics aside and brought everyone to the table so the best ideas could be implemented. And as a result, huge strides were made in reforming DCYF, and we passed the single most comprehensive child protection bill this state had ever seen. 
+We restored critical voluntary prevention programs, so the families in trouble today do not turn into families in crisis tomorrow. 
+We added over 30 new caseworkers and got funding where it needed to be.
+Bipartisan work is possible, and it can be done. But again, let's not rest on those successes, there's more work to do. This year, let's fill those open positions at the agency, work to attract more the best advocates for these kids and ensure our system never goes down that difficult path again.
+Along those same lines, I also believe we must reform our foster care system. We must ensure that the welfare and safety of children is preeminent. We must be their advocates and we will continue to stand up for them. This is who we were sent here to fight for: the vulnerable, the forgotten, the kids who through tragic circumstances and no fault of their own need us to help give them a fighting chance, an opportunity.
+Good families are the foundation of a healthy communities. And therefore, we must ensure that our system is one that attracts and retains those caring families who extend their homes and hearts to foster children. And once we retain them, let's get governmental bureaucracy out of their way so they can focus their attention on the children and not waste their time dealing with paperwork. We must do more to support them. And we will.
+These past two years we have made meaningful, sustained progress in addressing is our state's mental health crisis. For too long, it was the unspoken crisis of this state. 
+When something is clearly not working, you don't just keep pushing harder in the same direction, you don't just keep pouring taxpayer dollars into a broken system— you must have the courage to change direction. And that is what we did. 
+We started by engaging those on the front lines, the stakeholders and providers. And today in New Hampshire, -- as a result of their feedback – we are rebuilding and re-engineering the entire mental health system, and now are in greater compliance with the Community Mental Health Agreement than ever before. 
+We added mobile crisis teams — which help divert individuals away from hospital emergency departments, and allow them to be stabilized in their own communities. 
+We added 40 additional community residential beds with wrap-around services which will support individuals leaving New Hampshire Hospital. 
+But while we have made great strides the past two years to rebuild that system there is more work to do. In the coming weeks we will be releasing a new 10 Year Mental Health Plan. A practical roadmap to quality mental health care.
+And this year, we will accomplish something frankly it has taken far too long to achieve - We WILL move the State Psychiatric Unit out of the State Prison and treat our patients with the dignity they deserve. 
+You cannot discuss reforms within our mental health system without acknowledging the issue of suicide in our state. We know that suicide affects far too many of our communities. Too many lives are taken from us far too soon. 
+Suicide is the second leading cause of death for young people in New Hampshire. And while there is no single answer, there is more we can do. 
+Talking about suicide is difficult — It's heartbreaking. But sometimes, all it takes is one conversation to save a life. 
+A family from Boscawen, the Dickey's, know the pain of suicide more than anyone every should have to. Just over a year ago, Paul and Martha Dickey's son, Jason Dickey, took his own life. 
+I met the Dickey's at a FIRST Robotics competition over at UNH. And the story they told me was one where they are channeling their pain into hope, for all of us. 
+Today, I am proud to announce my support for legislation that Martha and Paul brought to me — it's called the Jason Flatt Act — named after yet another victim of suicide, who took his own life in 1997. 
+Under the Jason Flatt Act teachers in New Hampshire will complete 2 hours of youth suicide awareness and prevention training each year. Through the support of the Jason Foundation, this training can be provided at no cost to the state or local school districts. 
+We must understand that suicide is preventable, and it starts with us. 
+Today, 20 states have passed this law, and it is time New Hampshire join that list. 
+It goes without saying that students are experiencing new and more intense kinds of stress both inside and outside of the classroom. Helping students with the skills needed to successfully manage that stress, how to understand and manage their emotions, cultivate empathy and develop positive relationships is critical to keeping that student out of crisis or a mental health challenge.
+Scarlett Lewis works nationally to promote social and emotional learning (SEL) in schools through her Choose Love Enrichment Program. It provides educators with free learning tools through the 12th grade. Scarlett is the mother of Jesse, who was killed in his classroom during the tragedy at Sandy Hook in 2012. She is another wonderful example of someone using the power of the individual to make positive change. 
+We put an emphasis on SEL learning last year. My administration has been going to schools all around our state, explaining why this programming is so important. Several schools have stepped up to be leaders by example. One such school district is Inter-Lakes. Not only have they stepped up to be a leader for their schools, but they also want to be among the first to implement the program in an amazing community-wide model. Parents, teachers, counselors, resource officers, and school administrators have all welcomed this program with excitement and as a result, I am so proud to report that as of today, the Choose Love program is in over 200 schools in New Hampshire and I want to personally thank Scarlett who is joining us today for making this a reality in New Hampshire. Thank you! 
+There is so much possibility when it comes to untapped potential in our classrooms. New Hampshire's exceptional public education system can proudly boast to have some of the best teachers, administrators and schools in the nation.
+Getting education right will go a long way to maintaining our state's prosperity. It means more jobs for more Granite Stater's, less reliance on federal and state services, higher incomes and healthier citizens. There is no reason New Hampshire should not be the model for the rest of the nation when it comes to education.
+Over the past biennium, we have increased education grant programs to New Hampshire public schools by almost $50 million.
+I fully expect this legislature will have a rigorous and thorough discussion regarding funding for education. And I will be there with you in that important conversation. But it would be shortsighted to think that funding is the only discussion needed regarding education.
+We have big opportunities to expand a student's access to educational choices. We must provide additional pathways for students to harness their ability to learn. 
+Last year, I advocated for and signed legislation to expand the number of outside the classroom experiences and activities that can satisfy a graduation requirement. The "Learn Everywhere" initiative is a recognition that a 21 Century education system is not found only within the four walls of a classroom. 
+Consider a student who loves performing arts and participates in a local Boys and Girls Club performing arts program. That the Boys and Girls Club can now enroll its theater arts program as an approved 'Learn Everywhere' program. Once approved, that student now can receive high school credit for that program. This frees up the student's time to pursue other academic interests or free up time to take advantage of a dual or concurrent enrollment program. This is a huge win for students.
+In keeping with that principle, I am proud to announce today the creation of 'New Hampshire Career Academies'. Working with our community college system existing funds, our students can take advantage of an optional fifth year of high school that will be enable them to receive a high school diploma, a certificate and a College Associates Degree free of cost to the student. It also comes with something else, a guaranteed interview with a New Hampshire company for a job right here in the Granite State.
+This revolutionary idea for the New Hampshire Career Academy is the result of the good work of Dean Graziano, of the Rochester School District. Dean put together the program with the Great Bay Community College for Rochester high school seniors. It has put interested students on a career pathway with one of Rochester's premiere employers, Albany/Saffron.
+It also has to possibility of achieving what so far has eluded so many – a model that does not cost the taxpayers or the education system ANY additional money but makes a free college degree available to New Hampshire students.
+This innovative initiative is a win for students, parents and taxpayers. I want to thank Commissioner Edelblut for his hard work in helping to develop this exciting opportunity for New Hampshire's students.
+Both initiatives I've just discussed underscore an important principle, government is not the solution to every problem, but government can help ensure that the doors of opportunity are open at every level. 
+When I took office, it was my firm belief that the Government should be about empowering individuals, not just institutions. Just two years ago, I stood before you, and proposed the Governors Scholarship Program. The Governors Scholarship did exactly that. We invested in students directly so they could choose the path best suited for them, Community College, University System, Public, Private whatever the best path was, it was their choice. 
+In its first year close to 600 students from across New Hampshire received Governor's scholarships to attend NH schools with the program anticipated to expand 20% next year, it's simply more opportunity for our kids. 
+I want to take a moment a brag a bit about my amazing wife. One of the many brilliant ideas that Valerie has had to help bring people together was to really open up the Bridges House to make it a gathering place of ideas. She calls it "Building Bridges at the Bridges". It's been wonderful to be able to bring in non-profits, organizations and just regular citizens to be integrated in what's happening in the state. And as many of you know as a former school teacher she's been very passionate about bring students and initiatives together. One of those is Project Green Schools. It's a national program that awards grants to student-driven environmental projects.
+And on one afternoon, student groups from across the state came to the Bridges house and did a sort of "shark-tank" style presentation for a panel of us that judged the projects and awarded grants supported by corporate partners of the project. We had a project presented from a young girl to help reduce the amount of paper used in the classroom, a team from Portsmouth high school that was building their own outdoor learning space, there were a few others and it was great. It was great to see the innovation and initiative these students took. Not just for the sake of doing a project, but with real thought of the costs, outcomes and benefits. The How's and Why's of each project and I thought it was a wonderful testament to our schools. 
+You all know how passionate I am about energy policy in our state and how intertwined energy policy is with environmental policy. When you have some of the highest rates of electricity in the country, this issue must be at the forefront as it effects every citizen stuck paying a bill. It's why we need to continue supporting an 'All of the Above' energy portfolio, as outlined in the state's 10 year energy strategy. 
+I have always said we should view energy policy through the lens of the ratepayer. And I hear a lot of talk from legislators that say YES, they will fight for lower electric rates, but then vote for legislation that raises rates and burden our citizens. You can't have it both ways. If you want to talk about lowering rates than support legislation that does just that.
+It is the most vulnerable among us, seniors and individuals on fixed incomes, that are at the greatest risk of high electric rates. 
+I think it is time that we refocus our efforts on them, and I am advocating today that renewable energy initiatives should benefit low income ratepayers first and foremost. Whether it's solar, or wind, or battery storage, we need to ensure that the benefits of these well-intentioned programs deliver results to the people who are struggling to pay the bill each month. While other states have unfortunately decided to put developers' interests ahead of ratepayers, in New Hampshire we must put the people first. 
+We don't need to further raise electricity rates and tax our citizens to be good environmental stewards, we just need to be smarter about how we spend the money we have. When talking about climate policy, we must take a three-pronged-approach. We must look at the environmental, economic, and social aspect of any policy. We must be smart and responsible, and we must be willing to look at new ideas. 
+The Office of Strategic Initiatives and Public Utility Commission are currently working out a plan for the multi-million-dollar Clean Energy Fund which is being made available this year. I want to see renewable energy projects for low income families and communities to be a priority for those investment dollars. Let's make sure those that bear the brunt of the costs of renewable energy are the first in line to receive the economic benefits.
+New Hampshire has sent us here to Concord to deliver results. There will be times when we will disagree, without a doubt, but let's do so in a way that is free from and personal attacks and unnecessary political rhetoric. We are here for a greater purpose, to represent the needs of our constituents, disagree respectfully, focus on moving forward in areas where we can find common ground.
+And it isn't always easy, it takes constant vigilance to see some of these tougher issues to the end, but we all have to be up to the task. 
+[EXTEMPORANEOUS STORY]
+Thank you so very much for allowing me the honor to serve as your Governor. 
+Let's keep up the momentum we've built over the past two years.
+Let's keep serving as an example of bipartisan cooperation for the entire country, and
+Let's get to work. 
+God bless you, and God bless the great State of New Hampshire. 
+Thank you!
+

state-of-the-state/speeches/NewJersey_SOTS.txt

@@ -0,0 +1,269 @@
+Lieutenant Governor Oliver, Senate President Sweeney, Assembly Speaker Coughlin, Majority Leaders Weinberg and Greenwald, Minority Leaders Kean and Bramnick, members of the Legislature, Chief Justice Rabner and Associate Justices of the Supreme Court, former governors Florio, McGreevey, and Codey, distinguished faith leaders, honored guests, and fellow New Jerseyans.
+
+I had planned to give a very different speech today but, after reading the audit of New Jersey’s corporate tax incentives released last week, this is not a time for business as usual.
+
+One year ago, tomorrow, I took the oath of office as New Jersey’s 56th governor. Three days later, on January 19, 2018, I ordered a full and complete audit by State Comptroller Degnan of our tax incentive programs -- it was one of my highest priorities.
+
+My concern was that those programs were designed to do exactly what they were shown to do -- reward the well-connected while taxpayers and workers paid the price -- rather than actually create jobs and nurture innovative new businesses.
+
+This is about wasted money, phantom jobs, squandered opportunities, and misplaced priorities. This is about a failed status quo and a broken system.
+
+It’s time to fix it and, together, we can.
+
+Together, where there is greed we will restore opportunity. Where there is failure we will forge success. And together, we can replace narrow thinking with common cause.
+
+Between 2010 and 2017, $8 billion in corporate tax breaks were given away. More than $11 billion have been awarded over the past 13 years to lure companies to come to, or stay in, New Jersey. By the close of 2017 we were handing out tax breaks at a cost of more than $160,000 per job.
+
+The Comptroller could not prove that New Jersey got back benefits anywhere near what it handed out. Based on a sample, it could not even prove that 20 percent of the jobs promised to be created or retained actually ever were – meaning money flowed from taxpayers’ pockets into a black hole.
+
+Tax incentive programs should be about the best of what we do in government -- creating good jobs by investing taxpayer dollars with integrity, and subject to real oversight. That’s the test. And, it’s the test our system spectacularly failed.
+
+For the past year, this administration has fought to create a New Jersey that works for everyone. This is just the latest glaring example of what we are up against -- a system that has been rigged to work for a favored few.
+
+Let me be perfectly clear on two things.
+
+First, I do not oppose tax incentives. Carefully crafted, properly enforced, and transparent tax incentives have a place in a successful economic program.
+
+I am a “pro-growth” progressive, and proudly so. I am working every day to support companies and start-ups that want to grow, create jobs, and thrive in New Jersey – and that don’t need to have a “friend” on the inside. Incentives do help. But, we need to do this the right way, the smart way, and the honest way.
+
+Second, the overwhelming majority of companies receiving a tax incentive are good actors. There are many good corporate citizens with whom we want to work, with whom I talk every day, and alongside whom we are proving that New Jersey is the right place for innovative businesses. 
+
+Businesses like Mars, Teva Pharmaceuticals, and online retailer The RealReal. These three companies are using their incentives to create more than 1,500 new jobs right here in New Jersey while retaining hundreds more. Our welcome mat is out for them and every business or entrepreneur that wants to play by the rules.
+
+Likewise, a strong and focused EDA is crucial to our economic success. Under the new leadership of Chairman Larry Downes and CEO Tim Sullivan, the EDA is working hard to implement the forward-leading policies our economy needs to grow.
+
+However, the Comptroller verified one of our worst suspicions, that in the most egregious cases, past “business incentives” got turned into “crony capitalism.” 
+
+The audit revealed bad policy, badly run -- a program more likely to have been drawn up in a smoke-filled back room than created for New Jersey’s future. It showed that New Jersey did not implement a serious, strategic plan for creating jobs. It showed a stunning lack of controls to ensure that these tax break programs lived up to their promises.
+
+The results underscore why, while the rest of the nation was recovering from the Great Recession, we lagged in both job and wage growth.
+
+What attracts businesses and creates jobs is a skilled and agile workforce, working modern infrastructure, great public schools, cutting edge research colleges and universities, innovative public-private partnerships, an unmatched location, and a culture that encourages innovation and entrepreneurship.
+
+I have used the example of Massachusetts before. It bears repeating. No one calls Massachusetts a low-tax state. But, their economy over the past decade has run laps around us. How? It wasn’t a single-minded reliance on tax incentives -- the average Massachusetts award is nearly one-eighth of what we had been giving out, $22,000 per job. They did it by investing in education and infrastructure, and building connections between higher education and the real economy.
+
+In essence, where we should have invested the bulk of our $11 billion.
+
+In the upcoming fiscal year, these tax breaks from the past will cost us more than $1 billion. To those who bemoan our inability to pay for even the most basic items in our budget, let me say that this, simply put, is nuts. 
+
+This is taxpayer money. For the same price as these tax breaks, New Jersey could have funded our public schools, funded NJ TRANSIT, met our pension obligations, provided more property tax relief, or all of the above. We could have rebuilt the entire Portal Bridge, on our own, seven times. We could have built the ARC Tunnel, or at least financed nearly the entire length of the Gateway Tunnel.
+
+Any of these would have actually boosted our economy and made life better for New Jerseyans. 
+
+And, that, after all, is the reason we’re all here -- to make life better for our residents.
+
+Tax incentives must be just one tool in our toolbox. Education, infrastructure, workforce development -- those are the primary tools for building a stronger and fairer economy and a stronger and fairer New Jersey. Tax incentives should be used strategically and sparingly to get us to our goal.
+
+A few tweaks to the status quo cannot, and will not, get us there.
+
+I am calling for a new program that is capped in the amount of money it gives out, has clear eligibility criteria and oversight, has flexibility, and works to achieve our broader goals by investing in the high-wage, high-growth sectors upon which we must rebuild our economy. It is focused. It is smart. It is about fostering the new economy rather than simply helping a few big corporations.
+
+I put forward the principles for such a program in October, when I unveiled my economic master plan -- and I have shared my proposal with legislative leadership.
+
+We need a system that rewards those who invest in their employees through skills development and training, and that cares about growing innovative and promising small and medium-sized companies. We need a program that encourages companies to invest in our communities and our Opportunity Zones.
+
+Several of those zones -- in Newark and Jersey City -- have already been recognized as among the most advantageous in the entire country. They are but a few of the 169 Opportunity Zones we designated in 75 municipalities, at least one in every county. 
+
+Plainfield Mayor Adrian Mapp is already moving forward on plans to maximize his city’s three Opportunity Zones. Mayor Mapp is with us, and I share his excitement in Plainfield’s potential.
+
+We need this more responsible and sustainable tax-incentive program to work hand-in-hand with the rest of our pro-growth agenda, and to buttress the new startup incentive programs offered by the EDA, which are now welcoming entrepreneurs to our incubators and co-working spaces.
+
+And, it will work alongside the new Evergreen Innovation Fund, our proposal for partnering with venture capital firms to help grow the next generation of innovative New Jersey companies.
+
+Rising Tide Capital, a non-profit funder, is headed by Alfa Demmellash. Alfa and her team are supporting promising new businesses in underserved communities. Alfa had hoped to be here today, but is currently on an out-of-state business trip, seeking new partnership opportunities. I spoke with her this morning. I know the Evergreen Innovation Fund will give her more New Jersey partners to help fulfill Rising Tide’s mission.
+
+By the way, Alfa came to America from Ethiopia at the age of 12. She ultimately graduated from Harvard, and is now a game-changer in our state. I hope you are watching, President Trump, because her life is the American Dream.
+
+The next transformative company is out there. We know that. With this economic master plan in place, we can increase the odds that that company will be born and bred right here in New Jersey.
+
+The bottom line is that being competitive isn’t a race to give out the biggest tax breaks. It’s about leading the way on education, infrastructure, and diversity and inclusion. Companies want to stay and grow and locate in a state that allows them to flourish and for their workers to prosper in all parts of their lives. New Jersey has the potential to check every one of those boxes.
+
+That is a vision of true success that can be shared by every family. That is how you build a stronger and fairer New Jersey. I ask you now to work with me to enact a new incentive program that will help us create a new economy.
+
+One of my greatest privileges as governor has been getting to know the people who hired me, and for whom I work. Every day, I see the unmatched decency, character, and commitment of our people. That is why, despite these challenges, I am more optimistic than ever about our future.
+
+The people I talk with -- in diners and town halls, on walks down the Shore, in houses of worship, or riding NJ TRANSIT -- never hesitate to give me a piece of their mind. Frankly, the more time I spend outside Trenton the more I learn that all the answers do not come from Trenton.
+
+I often hear, “we need some help.” Help paying our bills ... help paying for college … help saving for the future. That is not a demand for a hand-out, it is an acknowledgement that their struggles are real and there is no shame in that.
+
+I hear people say that the system doesn’t work for them. And, make no mistake, the unchecked corporate tax incentive program is the most glaring example.
+
+In these challenging times, the people of New Jersey are not wrong to be concerned. But they are far more right to be hopeful that we will level the playing field and give them their shot at success.
+
+That is what drives me every single day. And, it is what has led us to do many good things together.
+
+By any measure, working together – with Senate President Sweeney, Speaker Coughlin, and each of you – we had a productive year.
+
+And, because of that, I can proudly say that the state of our state is stronger and fairer than it was one year ago.
+
+Today, more New Jerseyans are working and fewer are unemployed. 
+
+Today, more young children are attending a high-quality pre-K program, and many older students are starting on their way to a tuition-free Associate’s degree.
+
+Today, we have more income tax fairness and more property tax relief for working families.
+
+Today, the cost of health insurance is significantly down for thousands of New Jerseyans.
+
+Today, Planned Parenthood is funded.
+
+Today, women and their families benefit from the nation’s strongest equal-pay law. And, the rights of our LGBTQ community are further safeguarded.
+
+Today, our loved ones are more secure because we passed a national model for earned sick leave.
+
+Today, more of our veterans have access to medical marijuana to treat their PTSD, so they can get their lives back, and go to work or school. We thank our veterans for their service, and may God bless them all.
+
+Today, companies from around the world are coming here to create good jobs in the innovation economy.
+
+Today, unions – from educators to laborers – are back at the table. 
+Today, New Jersey is leading the nation in fighting climate change, from promoting clean energy alternatives to rejoining RGGI.
+
+Today, our communities are safer because we have strengthened common sense gun safety laws.
+
+Today, that is what stronger and fairer looks like.
+
+The vision of a stronger, fairer New Jersey was born from an understanding of what it’s like for families who struggle, and a commitment to helping everyone succeed.
+
+You may have heard me say – once or twice – that I grew up “middle class on a good day.” It is the job of each of us in this chamber to make sure that New Jersey’s families can have many more good days than bad.
+
+I know what it is like taking out student loans and having to work to be able to afford the cost of college. I didn’t pay off my loans until I was in my thirties. Most of all, I know what it’s like when a community, a government, and our leaders have your back. And, when they work together to pull you ahead rather than push you back.
+
+Yet, I am worried -- we should all be worried -- that my story, and the story of so many, seems further and further out of reach. The opportunities that could be earned by hard work, a good education, and playing by the rules are not there today as they were when I was growing up.
+
+Today would have been the 90th birthday of Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. His gospel of love and sharing common ground still inspires. Dr. King famously said, “We may have all come on different ships, but we're in the same boat now.”
+
+Our wealth gap shows how far we have to go. According to research from the New Jersey Institute for Social Justice, the median net worth of the average white family in New Jersey stands at $271,000. For Latino families it is $7,000. And, it is just $5,900 for African-American families. That is a startling statistic we must address. 
+
+But, the struggles of poverty and income know no color. Look no further than the 2018 ALICE study done by the United Way of Northern New Jersey -- more than one-third of all New Jersey households, encompassing all ages and races, in every county, still can’t earn enough to afford basic needs. The fact that many of these households are headed by someone working full time, including at more than one job, shows us the need for action.
+
+The working poor of New Jersey are no longer invisible. We see them.
+
+Their needs point to our need for a new approach that reaches deep into every community and puts growing and sustaining a thriving middle-class before anything, or anyone, else. 
+
+It’s really this simple – as governor, I’m fighting to give every child and every family in New Jersey the same opportunities I had growing up in a tight-knit, working-class family, and I won’t stop fighting until they do.
+
+Those who have been left out must be lifted up. Those who work hard must have their effort repaid. And those who are doing well should see a path to doing better. 
+
+Changing this mindset has been our Administration’s charge for the past 364 days. 
+
+Overcoming these economic disparities begins by ensuring equal opportunity to a good job. Last year, from the time I took office through November 2018, our economy created 50,000 new private-sector jobs. Our unemployment rate is at its lowest level since 2001. And, we saw the creation of more than 100 new apprenticeship programs that hired more than 2,000 new apprentices and issued over 1,000 industry-recognized certificates of completion, giving more of our residents a strong start to a good career.
+
+To prepare our kids for a better future, we invested hundreds of millions of dollars in our schools and pre-K. Now, 4,000 more three- and four-year-olds are attending a high-quality pre-K program. And, starting this semester, 13,000 worthy students are attending community college tuition-free.
+
+We were able to make these investments by asking those with incomes over $5 million to pay a little more, and by ensuring a more equitable distribution of school aid. We are proving that investment in our kids is also an investment in middle-class tax relief. To help our property taxpayers, we are also taking steps to promote common sense shared services. 
+
+We met our pension obligation and, working in partnership with our public employees, we reached an agreement that will save state and local taxpayers half-a-billion dollars in health care costs over two years.
+
+These advancements are taking some of the weight off the shoulders of our property taxpayers. In 2018, New Jersey saw the lowest increase in statewide average property taxes on record. 
+
+We know we have much more to do to crack the back of our property tax burden – including working with our federal delegation to reinstate the SALT deduction. But, it’s a start.
+
+While some in Washington continue their assault on our health care, we protected health care for hundreds of thousands of residents, by restoring funding for Planned Parenthood and women’s health care, enacting paid sick leave protections for 1.2 million residents who couldn’t take a day off, and safeguarding the Affordable Care Act -- an effort that resulted in a more than nine percent reduction in premiums on the individual market.
+
+We put $100 million into fighting our opioid crisis, and have dedicated these resources to better strategic use, through access to treatment and recovery, careful data compilation and analytics, and helping law enforcement keep fentanyl out of our communities.
+
+The stark reality is that we have far to go. Over 3,000 lives were senselessly lost last year. But we are putting ourselves in a better position to attack this epidemic head-on.
+
+We are emerging as a global leader in offshore wind energy, where each dollar of investment will return nearly double to our economy, and where we are working to create thousands of good-paying new, union jobs. The Board of Public Utilities recently closed the first solicitation for potential partners in building an 1,100-megawatt wind farm off our coast -- enough energy to power half-a-million homes and businesses. 
+
+I don’t think it’s a stretch to say that realizing our offshore wind-energy potential is much smarter than drilling for oil off the Jersey Shore.
+
+We opened up our democratic process through the nation’s broadest Automatic Voter Registration law, and through reforms to our vote-by-mail law that helped fuel the highest statewide midterm voter turnout in a generation.
+
+We stood up for our DREAMers -- young immigrants who are just as American as our four kids -- by finally giving them access to in-state college tuition assistance programs.
+
+One of these students, Gloria Rodriguez, from Orange, is now attending Bloomfield College, where she is a member of the honors college. She’s studying to become a special education teacher. Gloria represents the promise and spirit of our DREAMers, and is with us today -- I cannot wait to see her achieve her dream.
+
+And, we’re investing in NJ TRANSIT to make the system work again for the nearly one million New Jerseyans who depend upon it every day. There is still much to do, but I am committed to making NJ TRANSIT the turnaround story of New Jersey.
+
+When our Administration took office, passenger safety was not a priority, and work on meeting the federal government’s December 31, 2018 Positive Train Control requirement -- nearly nine years after Congress mandated it -- was just 12 percent complete. No one thought we would make it, but, in eleven months, we met the federal requirement.
+
+There is still more to be done to have this system fully operational by the end of 2020, but our commitment -- and the hard work of NJ TRANSIT’s employees -- sends a strong signal to commuters that we are listening to them and working hard to get things right at every level.
+
+This year, NJ TRANSIT’s full focus will be on improving customer communications, service, and reliability. Four classes of new rail engineers will graduate, joining newly hired bus operators. And, in my budget address six weeks from now, I will outline additional investments to continue improving NJ TRANSIT service by hiring even more engineers to fill staff shortages and get our trains running on time. 
+
+ Fixing NJ TRANSIT is the right kind of business incentive.
+
+Our focus on improving operations and instilling a customer-based mindset is changing the culture within NJ TRANSIT. And, our bipartisan reform to NJ TRANSIT’s operations is sending the message to customers that NJ TRANSIT now works for them, and not the other way around. 
+
+We’re not done yet, but we will get there.
+
+All of this progress was made possible through the 169 new laws we enacted together in our first year, more than any first-year administration in over two decades. In addition, I signed more than four dozen executive orders, advancing our priorities of job creation, environmental protection, equal rights, and fair pay.
+
+I am eager to build on this progress together with Senate President Sweeney, Speaker Coughlin, and each of you. There is still much to do. And, no one is blind to the challenges that remain.
+
+So, let’s start 2019 by finishing what we began in 2018 -- putting the minimum wage on a clear and responsible path to $15 an hour, and legalizing adult-use marijuana. We must remember that when we talk about policy we are talking about people, not politics.
+
+Our minimum wage workers got a 25-cent per hour increase on January 1 -- a scant $10 more on a 40-hour work week. That’s completely inadequate. 
+
+Working together with the Senate President and Speaker, we have made great progress over the past several days on final legislation to raise our minimum wage. I appreciate the progress we have made and I know, working together, we will get this done.
+
+A $15 dollar an hour minimum wage will give more than one million families a stronger foothold in the middle class, and allow those who aspire to enter the middle class the means to do so. The people this will help are the same people all of us rely on – maintenance workers, child-care workers and home health aides, security guards, and many more.
+
+Doing so will allow us to invest more in education, in infrastructure, and in other critical needs. A higher minimum wage strengthens all of New Jersey.
+
+And, it will also strengthen our businesses. Talk with Ron Rivers, the owner of Love2Brew, a successful homebrewing supply company in North Brunswick. Ron pays his employees a starting wage of $15 per hour because he knows better pay gets him better employees who serve the customer better.
+
+Ron is here today, and I thank him for setting an example for others to follow.
+
+By legalizing adult-use marijuana – first and foremost – we can reverse the inequality and unfairness left from years of failed drug policies and shift public safety resources to where they can do the most good. We must ensure that those with a past mark on their records because of a low-level offense can have that stain removed, so they can move forward to get a stable job or an education.
+
+But, it will also allow us to broadly benefit from creating an entirely new and legal industry, much as we did last year with sports betting. We are learning from the states that went before us on what not to do, but we are also seeing the positive economic impacts. Massachusetts’ new industry is creating an estimated 19,000 new jobs. And, in Colorado, legalization fostered an industry that has an annual statewide economic impact measured at $2.4 billion, with 18,000 new jobs created in research, agriculture, processing, and retail.
+
+We can do that here, and in a smart way that ensures fairness and equity for minority-owned businesses and minority communities.
+
+Last year, we enacted seven new common-sense gun safety laws which returned us to our rightful place as a national leader. Let’s take additional steps this year to close remaining loopholes -- to make it easier for prosecutors and police to keep illegal guns off our streets, regulate and track ammunition sales, and assist community-based organizations in implementing coordinated, evidence-based, violence-intervention strategies. Let’s work together to get this done.
+
+Our collective conscience has been moved by Parkland and Pittsburgh, but we have acted because of people like Hessie Williams of Jersey City, who channeled the grief of losing her own son to gun violence to organize A Mother’s Pain, which brings together other mothers who have also lost children to gun violence for mutual support – and to support non-violence efforts in their community. 
+
+Hessie is with us today, and I ask that she stand and be recognized for all she is doing to stop the scourge of gun violence.
+
+Let us use this year to also turn our attention to our aging water infrastructure. More than 1.5 million residents – north, central, and south, rural and urban – are currently serviced by water with elevated lead levels. We must leverage every opportunity to build a modern water infrastructure network that ensures the delivery of clean water to every child, and every family.
+
+We have inherited water infrastructure that is, in some places, a century old, if not older. Some of Newark’s water lines were installed in the 1880s. Mayor Ras Baraka has been on the frontlines of this, and I applaud him and his team for their work to protect Newark’s residents.
+
+Outdated infrastructure is a national problem, and it requires a federal solution. I will continue working with our Congressional delegation to press the federal government for greater support and assistance -- whether it pertains to clean water, or getting the Gateway Tunnel built.
+
+Let’s open the doors to our democracy even wider. Let’s work together to allow residents to register to vote online and at the polls on Election Day. Let’s enact true early, in-person voting for our residents. Let’s allow 17-year olds to register and vote in our June primaries if they will turn 18 by the November general election.
+
+Let’s restore voting rights for individuals on probation or parole, so we can further their reentry into society by allowing them to exercise the most sacred right offered by our society -- the right to vote.
+
+ And, let’s work together to allow all residents -- regardless of status -- to obtain a valid New Jersey driver’s license. Twelve states, as varied as Delaware and Utah, plus the District of Columbia, have already done so. All they’ve seen is an increase in the number of licensed and insured drivers, safer roads, and lower auto insurance premiums. Let’s do the same here.
+
+One year into our work, our vision for how to move New Jersey forward has not wavered. We have stayed true to our values and true to those we serve.
+
+We are who said we would be – and we did what we said we would do.
+
+It comes down to this -- you can’t have economic progress without social progress, and you can’t have social progress without economic progress. That’s where this journey is taking us – to a New Jersey that is both strong and fair. 
+
+It’s not one or the other. It’s both. I was not sent here to continue peddling the false choices of the past. I was sent here to build a brighter future for our people and change our state for the better.
+
+I look forward to working with you – and with Senate President Sweeney and Speaker Coughlin and their teams and across the aisle – to build a state that leads for all the right reasons and in all the right ways. The state others point to and say, “that’s what the future looks like.”
+
+It’s a state with an economy that isn’t content to be equal with our peers in terms of creating jobs or raising wages, but which leads the pack.
+
+It’s a state where the light bulb first flickered on, the transistor age started, and medical miracles were born that now has a strategic economic vision for growth, and reclaims our mantle as the world’s home for innovation.
+
+It’s a state where young people from across our nation will want to come to start their careers, where they can find good jobs, affordable housing, and diverse and inclusive communities.
+
+It’s a state where young families can grow and prosper.
+
+A state that redefines public education for our nation, with access to a free education from pre-K all the way to an Associate’s degree.
+
+A state where our higher education system and the real economy are connected, where good jobs can sustain middle-class dreams.
+
+A state where our seniors can retire safe in the knowledge that someone is looking out for them so they won’t have to leave for elsewhere.
+
+It’s a state where we shrink the economic inequities that have stubbornly persisted, where poverty is meaningfully reduced, and the playing field is level.
+
+It’s a state that doesn’t just provide a good value, but thrives through living its strong values.
+
+It’s the New Jersey we should be -- the New Jersey, that together, we can be.
+
+As Eleanor Roosevelt said, “the future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.”
+
+My energy and optimism for the job ahead are boundless. They are shared by the residents I have met along this journey. I know we can make this vision a reality.
+
+This is my charge as governor. This must be our charge as a state.
+
+Thank you. May God continue to bless the great people and state of New Jersey, and the United States of America.
+

state-of-the-state/speeches/NewMexico_SOTS.txt

@@ -0,0 +1,94 @@
+In this moment, on this new day, we stand together on the precipice of immeasurable opportunity. I’m ready to begin the climb — and I know you are too.
+Esteemed members of the House of Representatives and New Mexico Senate: There’s sixty days of hard work ahead of us. Sixty days — and each one of those days represents the chance to make a meaningful, positive difference in the lives of every single New Mexican.
+Sixty days is a long time. A lot can happen. I might even start to like some of you.
+I firmly believe what we accomplish in these sixty days will set the course for a transformed state, a stronger and better state, not just in these next four years but for decades, generations to come.
+This, right now, is the beginning. This, right now, is our moment.
+And I am humbled and honored to be a part of it, and to share it with all of you.
+I know, in this first session of the 54th Legislature, we are going to remind New Mexico what it looks like when a governor and lawmakers commit to working together, commit to working through our differences and the challenges we face with open hearts, with open minds, and with understanding for the person sitting across the table, or across the aisle.
+Together, we are going to show New Mexico how much good can be done when our two branches of government communicate clearly with each other, when we do the hard work to find consensus, when we win with humility and lose with grace, when we express our disagreements with civility and we always, always keep the honest, hardworking people of this state foremost in our thoughts.
+I want every New Mexican out there to hear me now: Get excited. Stay excited. Get active and stay active. Please, raise your voices, and raise your hopes, and hold them up high.
+And I want you, esteemed members of this Legislature, to hear me when I say: The eyes of this state are upon us.
+Each of you must work for your constituents. In this moment, and in the months ahead, we must also work together for the larger constituency of New Mexico, this magnificent state we are all so lucky to call home.
+It has been said that those of us who won office this fall had some pretty good timing. It has been said that we are all entering office at an opportune moment.
+I agree. But this moment is greater than the state of our budget, or any of the numbers that suggest we can now begin to make the transformative investments our schools, our economy and our communities have always deserved.
+I believe this is an opportune moment, perhaps the greatest moment of opportunity in the history of this state, because we have the strength, and the vision, and the willpower to deliver together.
+The state of our incredible state is enthusiastic, ambitious, and ready.
+I know you all share my optimism about this moment. And I believe you share my conviction that when we commit to doing the people’s business, our potential, and the positive change we can make for this state, is absolutely unlimited.
+Responsible, game-changing investments have been waiting to be made for years, decades in some cases. Our shared priority is progress. We have every tool at our disposal, right now, and it’s time to begin.
+When I unveiled my budget last week, I showed you I meant what I said in my inaugural address. We are aiming high, and I invite you to aim high right alongside me.
+We are going to deliver a moonshot for public education in the state of New Mexico: A half-billion dollars for our classrooms, new money, put to its best possible use, right now.
+The transformation starts on the front lines, in our schools, in each and every classroom. For too long, the educators of New Mexico have been underpaid. On too many occasions, they have had to reach deep into their own pockets to buy necessary supplies for their students.
+Things can and will be different, and better, starting now. We are going to raise our educators’ salaries by 6 percent across the board. And on top of that we are going to raise the minimum salaries for every level of educators by at least 10 percent. And we’re putting $5 million into a fund for teachers to buy supplies for their classrooms – so that they are no longer paying out of pocket. We are raising our principals’ minimum salaries and instituting a $12 minimum wage for every level of educational personnel — everyone in the school buildings.
+We do this because we will no longer just say we value the professionals in our schools — we will show them. We need our educators, who are truly the best in the nation, to know this state will support them and treat them with the respect they deserve and have always deserved. We need our diligent, professional school workers to know this state recognizes the impact they have on our children, on our future. No more lip service. We are putting our values into action. When we commit to paying our educators and school personnel more, we show them they are wanted here, that they are needed here — and that we know they are on the front lines of change in this state, and will be compensated like it.
+To truly and meaningfully transform public education, we must be proactive, and we must begin at the beginning. The research is unanimous and unequivocal: Children who attend preschool are far better prepared than those who don’t. It’s really as simple as that. And we can make that a reality for every single New Mexico three- and four-year old.
+As if that weren’t enough, research has also shown children who come from poor and disadvantaged families have the most to gain from preschool — as do dual-language learners and Spanish-speaking children. This is not a discussion to have in the abstract: These are real children, in our state, who need a better start, right now — a better start this state can provide for them, every single one of them.
+And so we will provide for them. Together, we will do this. This is the session, this is the year, this is the moment we put New Mexico on the path to universal pre-k for every New Mexico child.
+We need the classroom slots, we need the educators, and we need the educators who will educate the educators. My budget calls for investing $60 million in new pre-k classroom slots so we increase our statewide enrollment to 80 percent within the next five years. And that includes money for early childhood educator scholarships, so that we are proactively building and supporting the next generation of top-flight educators in this state.
+We may disagree on how we get there, but we all recognize that early childhood education is the foundation of everything else we want to achieve for our children and our families.
+We need to target our resources to communities that are currently underserved. Our most vulnerable populations need us to deliver. I intend to eliminate the term “achievement gap” from our vocabulary — because it is within our power to close those gaps, and ensure that every child, every student, every young adult in New Mexico has every opportunity, no matter where they come from.
+That is why I have proposed an almost 200 percent increase in our Indian Education Fund. Our Native American students will not be left behind.
+And an additional $55 million for our bilingual and multicultural programs, training more dual-language qualified teachers and ensuring bilingual families will not be left behind. Together, we will hold up this state’s diversity as our strength and our lifeblood. Let our unique multicultural identity be a shining light for this country. Let us show the world how inclusion and empowerment make all of us stronger.
+And I call on this Legislature to explore every possible viable approach for educational empowerment, including a proposed constitutional amendment that will allow us to take a responsible pinch of additional money from our Permanent School Fund, ensuring we can deliver an education system that works for every child and every family in this state.
+The time is now. The people of this great state know that investment in our children is an absolute imperative.
+A judge in Santa Fe has ordered us, all of us, to adequately provide for our at-risk students. But I didn’t need to read a judge’s order to know we can do more, we can do better, and that, in fact, we must.
+On this, we can all agree: No New Mexico student should ever fall through the cracks. We must seal those cracks, and we will. Together, we will do this, and our communities will grow stronger.
+I want our educators, our students, and our parents to hear me now: There will be no more high-stakes testing in the state of New Mexico.
+My first executive orders put us on a path toward a more effective evaluation system and away from the harmful legacy of PARCC. I ordered our rejuvenated Public Education Department to leverage the expertise within our communities by building a new assessment system from the ground up with the direct input of our students, our teachers, our school administrators and our community experts. From now on, we will emphasize teaching, not testing — and the result will be a new day for education in New Mexico.
+And I want our educators, our students and our parents to hear me again: We will do everything in our power to ensure safety in your classrooms, in your community libraries, in your homes and public spaces. We all have a Constitutional right to be safe in our communities. Four hundred New Mexicans lose their lives to gun violence every year. That is four hundred too many. Four hundred souls, four hundred futures, four hundred of our neighbors.
+Our Department of Health will conduct a thorough study of gun violence, and we will get the data we need as quickly as we can, but right now we will also take action where we know we must. That means when this legislature adjourns, I expect to sign a bill that will ban those convicted of assault from purchasing or possessing a gun, I expect strengthened background checks, and I expect tighter restrictions on safekeeping to ensure children do not have access to guns in the home. With common-sense reforms, we can build a state where people who should not have firearms, don’t, simple as that. Hunters, sportsmen and responsible gun-owners also recognize the need for New Mexico to take steps toward smart, effective gun violence prevention, and New Mexicans from every corner of the state stand with them.
+Gone are the days where we settle for slogans, where we would rather look “tough on crime” than actually do the work to be smart on crime. Instead, we will empower our local public safety officers to enact community policing reforms, and we will build solutions to the drug addiction epidemic while holding bad actors accountable. Intelligent, evidence-based criminal justice reform is our pathway forward, and our pathway out of the violent crime that afflicts too many of our neighborhoods.
+As we recognize our public safety officers who pour their heart and soul into their communities, we also must recognize that those officers need a raise. By aggressively pursuing federal grants, and responsibly using the money we have, we can implement proven recruitment and retention incentives and ensure every community in this state has the number and quality of officers it needs and deserves.
+When we are smart on crime, we stay focused on repeat and violent offenders, domestic abusers, repeat drunk drivers — not the low-level and non-violent kids caught in a bad spot. We cannot give up on those kids. For those struggling with addiction within our criminal justice system, we must provide treatment. We cannot give up on someone with a disease, a disease that is all too often linked to bad circumstances, not bad character. We will be tough on the worst criminals, smart about investments and priorities and never stop fighting to make our communities safe.
+This will be the session where we begin to win the fight against the scourge of opioid addiction in our communities. Under my proposal, we will boost prevention programs throughout the state, we will boost the availability of overdose-reversal drugs, and we will enhance intervention and addiction treatment services. We will also crack down on the prescribers and pharmaceutical companies who do not follow the law, holding those who have unleashed this epidemic into our communities accountable.
+We will be tough, yes, but we will never forget compassion. I will direct my Health Department to adopt the longstanding recommendation from the Medical Cannabis Advisory Board to include opioid addiction as a qualifying condition. We will not stand in the way of our neighbors who are struggling with addiction and want to recover. Instead we will help them all along the way.
+When I spoke with New Mexicans every day over the past two years, and frankly well before that, I heard their concerns about their health care. You have heard them too. Nowhere is this concern greater than with our behavioral health system. We may disagree from time to time about the size or role of government, but I think we all share the belief that it is a duty of the state to provide for those with mental illness, those dealing with substance abuse and their families. And we absolutely have the capacity to do so. This is basic humanity — and we will rebuild that health system, brick by brick, together, starting this session.
+In this session and in the coming years, when we explore strategies that will reduce cost and increase patient access, I want us to emphasize improved patient care, better health outcomes and building sustainable relationships between patients and providers.
+To that end, I have directed the Department of Health and the Human Services Department to work with the superintendent of insurance to reduce reporting requirements and burdens on our health care providers. The message to providers and patients is this: Better delivery over bureaucracy. Our providers should spend more time taking care of their patients, and our patients should spend less time worrying about what they can and can’t afford.
+And let us show the women of this state that we will not allow faraway federal judges to determine autonomy over their bodies.
+The old criminal abortion law of this state, one of only nine left in the country, must go. Bring me that bill. I will sign it.
+I have outlined how we can begin to address the vacancies at our Children, Youth and Families Department. Under incredible new leadership at CYFD, we will finally be proactive in protecting our vulnerable children — 100 new positions in the Protective Services Division.
+When this legislature adjourns, I expect bills on my desk that will deliver a jolt of new energy to child well-being in this state.
+In the meantime, our reinvigorated Children’s Cabinet will work with key departments to ensure needs are being met, and that we are at the forefront of innovations in service. And I applaud Mayor Tim Keller for recently announcing a similar sort of idea – I encourage all public officers in New Mexico to consider how we can come together and leverage our respective positions and resources to deliver a turnaround on child well-being in the state. Together, we will get it done.
+Speaking of things we will get done: Bring me that rocket docket!
+These bills, which some of you worked so hard on in the recent past, include good, productive ideas for this state. Support for our land grants and acequias. A bill to support our farmers and ranchers engaged in value-added agriculture. A bill that will make grants available to nonprofits that provide legal services to low-income New Mexicans. A bill to support mid-wives in rural communities. Common-sense changes to lobbyist expenditure reports to enhance transparency.
+These are measures that show we are taking the opportunity now, this session, to make positive change a reality.
+And as we do the work to make this state a better and safer place to live and raise a family, we will also be aggressive in making New Mexico a better place to work and do business. Finally building a broader economy that works for all New Mexicans requires boldness from us in this session.
+That means, starting now, the workers in New Mexico who earn the least will know dignity in their work.
+More than 110,000 New Mexicans make $7.50 an hour. This is a poverty wage. And I do not intend to lead a state where we simply tolerate poverty in our communities.
+These are our children. These are our neighbors. These are members of our extended New Mexico family. No one who works hard in this state will be left behind — which means we will send a very clear message to New Mexico families by making $7.50 an hour a thing of the past.
+Ten dollars now, 12 dollars soon, and an index to inflation so the rate is fair forever after that.
+Women in this state will see equal pay in my term in office. New Mexico can and will be the national leader on gender equality.
+For our tireless state employees, I have proposed tiered raises, so those who currently earn the least will see 4 percent raises, and the minimum wage for state employees will rise to $12 an hour beginning on July 1. Let’s make this happen.
+I have also proposed an expansion of the Working Families Tax Credit, which we know creates a ladder out of poverty, providing child care programs so parents can continue to get meaningful support even as they do the hard work to transform themselves and their family’s fortunes for the better. These are the New Mexicans we most need to invest in: The New Mexicans who want something better for their children. We can and will help them on their way.
+Our local economic development act is a great example of how public-private partnerships can elevate communities in this state — not just cities and towns but groups of people with an idea, committed entrepreneurs, who just need a little help to get going. All across this state, we have seen the positive results of our investments.
+LEDA works. So, this year, let’s double it. Let’s show our New Mexico business-women and -men that we mean business. Let’s show this country that New Mexico is more than one industry, and let’s show our communities that we know local businesses provide good jobs to local residents and have a cascading positive effect on their street corner, neighborhood and region.
+And we can further amplify our local businesses by investing an additional percentage point from our Severance Tax Permanent Fund, delivering $50 million straight into homegrown mom-and-pop businesses, enlivening our communities.
+Meanwhile, our Job Training Incentive Program assists companies across New Mexico, especially those in our rural communities, training workers in high-paying jobs. We can and will boost our homegrown small businesses.
+Our film and television industry is a powerful tool for economic development — statewide. The flurry of film activity in Santa Fe and Albuquerque can and will spread all over this state, and when we lift the rebate cap the industry in our state will be broader, including our pueblos and tribes, our rural communities, workers up and down the economic spectrum.
+When productions come here, they put New Mexicans to work — whether you’re on a crew, whether you’re a caterer, whether you’re an aspiring filmmaker of your own and you need a foot in the door, an apprenticeship, an opportunity to start making your mark.
+These film and television productions showcase our great outdoors to a global audience and give young New Mexicans an exciting career ladder. People in the farthest corners of this planet know New Mexico as the Great American West — because of our film industry. And people in the most important offices in Hollywood know New Mexico has the greatest crew base, greatest above-the-line talent, greatest facilities, vistas and scenery in the entire U.S.
+Now we have the opportunity in the coming years to accelerate. Filmmakers have put millions of dollars into our local economies. But that poorly designed cap on what we can rebate in any given year has left us with a hefty unpaid tab. In New Mexico, we keep our promises. And now we will build a smarter system to ensure we keep New Mexicans working. I call on you to embrace the aggressive and proactive plan I laid out in my budget: We will pay off the backlog left to us by the previous administration — all of it, this year.
+Because I want Hollywood to hear me, I want talented young New Mexican writers, producers and actors to hear me, I want moviemakers across the globe to hear me: We are open for business, bring your cameras.
+I would like to address the veterans who are here and who are listening out there: Thank you. Thank you for your incredible service and sacrifice. I have directed our state personnel office to formulate a policy that will lead to more veterans being hired by our state agencies. And our Department of Veterans Services, under bold new leadership, will be significantly strengthened, playing an active role in the lives of our veterans, from college education to health care to caregiving assistance and more. Our veterans have given everything for us; now it is our turn to give back. Thank you, again.
+When I was secretary of aging, I had the privilege of learning directly from tribal elders about tribal sovereignty and the importance of government-to-government relations. Under this administration, we will see a full restoration of positive, collaborative relationships between the state and our tribes. We will rebuild an effective inter-governmental framework by working directly with the sovereign Native nations of New Mexico. No more disregard, no more disrespect. Let us begin renewing these essential relationships, starting today.
+Let us also take the time in this session to recognize our infrastructure needs — and to act with the sense of urgency the situation demands. Too many of our bridges are rated structurally deficient. Too many of our roads are in bad shape, endangering drivers, even cyclists and pedestrians. We have improvements to make to our water systems, our dams, our school buildings, broadband internet in our rural communities — all of these items need our attention, right now.
+We have a chance to transform our infrastructure to promote and leverage serious economic development while we address critical community needs. I call on you to work with me in expanding and fast-tracking these investments. Infrastructure is the bedrock of our communities and our state. It is the foundation of the diversified economic growth we all envision. We must make these critical investments in safer communities and a stronger economy.
+For the thousands of federal workers in this state who have seen their lives unfairly held hostage by this unnecessary government shutdown, this state will step up wherever we can. Indeed, in some ways we already have. While other states are scrambling to preserve federal funds and programs that are now at risk, New Mexico is taking charge and demonstrating proactive leadership amid the chaos.
+Almost 500 staff members at the Human Services Department have been working overtime through the weekend to ensure tens of thousands of New Mexico families will continue to receive their food benefits.
+Our Department of Health worked overtime to ensure our Women, Infants and Children program recipients will continue to receive benefits into April.
+Our Department of Workforce Solutions has waived the work search requirement for the 1,000-plus federal employees who have filed for unemployment benefits, making it a little bit easier for hard-working breadwinners who have it so hard right now.
+And we will continue to build on this effort as long as the shutdown lasts.
+Our great outdoors rival any in the world. Outdoor recreation is an opportunity begging for investment. When we install an outdoor recreation coordinator in this state, that office will make sure New Mexico is on the map for bikers, hikers, campers, hunters and fishermen and fisherwomen the world over. And when we boost our tourism marketing campaigns, we will show more of the world how beautiful our state is, and how badly they need to come visit.
+But if we want to show off our wide-open spaces, we’ve got to keep preservation on the front burner. The U.S. Climate Alliance is a bipartisan group of governors who have committed to upholding the goals of the Paris Climate Agreement, and New Mexico will join it. I will sign an executive order committing us to those goals in the very near future.
+And I will direct each state agency to participate in developing a comprehensive climate plan for New Mexico that responds to the threat of a warming planet by reducing carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas pollution.
+Because we know we cannot rely on the federal government, right now, to lead on climate action. It is our responsibility and indeed our moral obligation to ensure our planet and our state are preserved for our children and their children.
+I have committed to increasing our renewable portfolio standard — 50 percent renewable energy by 2030 and 80 percent 10 years after that, and I ask you to fulfill that commitment with me. Not as a ceiling but a starting point, with an ultimate goal of even greater renewable production. This is our promise to future generations of New Mexicans.
+Because clean energy is the future, and we all know New Mexico has the sunshine and the wind capacity to be a global leader in this new era. There are other steps we can take to reduce our carbon footprint and ensure we get on and stay on the right path. Our state buildings can be more energy-efficient. Wasteful methane emissions can be cut, and in the process this state will make more money and more New Mexicans will be put to work.
+As I have said, this is a rare moment in New Mexico’s history. The ideas we put into action beginning today can truly transform this state, truly re-imagine our education system, broaden our economy and our energy sector and help us realize our potential.
+However, I know most of you, and I know you have your own ideas, policies, proposals and programs to move New Mexico forward. I recognize that many of you may share my enthusiasm but not my exact roadmap for how we move ahead. I get that. In the sixty days ahead, I promise you this: I will listen as much as I talk. Really, I promise. I want to learn from you and incorporate as many of your good ideas into mine, into solid legislation and policymaking for New Mexico.
+We will be bold and prudent. We will be aggressive and smart. We will be fearless and well prepared.
+Above all else, in this forthcoming period of hard work and beyond, let us remember the people who sent us here. Let all of us, Republicans and Democrats, keep in mind, all through these long days and nights, the New Mexicans we are here to represent. The children who deserve the best possible educational system; the educators who deserve the best possible institutional support; the families who deserve safety and prosperity; the workers who deserve the chance to work their way up; the veterans, police officers and firefighters who deserve our gratitude; the small-business owners who deserve our support; the New Mexicans who simply want to see their vision of a healthier, happier state come to fruition.
+We are those New Mexicans. In this room, there are educators, there are public safety officers, coaches, doctors, lawyers — a lot of lawyers, actually.
+Together, we can and will show New Mexico and this country what good government looks like. We can and will serve as a reminder that progress happens collaboratively. We can and will do the work to make this Day One of the brand new Nuevo Mexico.
+Thank you, and let’s get started.
+

state-of-the-state/speeches/NewYork_SOTS.txt

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+Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you very much. Thank you very, very much. Thank you very much. Good afternoon. Happy New Year. This is going to be a great one, isn't it? It sure is.
+First, let's give our great Lieutenant Governor Kathy Hochul a big round of applause. She is a superstar. We have our great Comptroller Tom DiNapoli. 32 years of public service and he's only 36 years old. Tom DiNapoli, thank you very much.
+We have our new and exciting and history-making Attorney General Tish James. Pleasure to be with you. General James. General James. I like to salute. I feel as a former Attorney General, I like to salute. It's our own little Attorney general club.
+We have, speaking of history making, the first female Leader of the Senate, the first African American Leader of the state Senate, our Leader of our democratic Senate, Senator Andrea Stewart-Cousins. And let me ask all the members of the democratic senate to stand up so we can give you a round of applause. Stand up!
+Thank you. thank you. thank you. welcome. The New York State Assembly for many, many years was the progressive champion in the state of New York. For many years, when it was hard, when we had a republican conservative leadership trying to push the state backwards, it's the New York State Assembly that stood up and has always shown the way and they've shown the way again. I believe they're the most progressive, advanced legislative body in the United States of America. Let's give them a round of applause and their leader, Speaker Heastie. Stand up, Speaker Heastie.
+A great senator, a good friend, Senate Deputy Leader Joe Griffo is with us today. Stand Joe, please. Thank you very much. We have Assembly Minority Leader Brian Kolb, thank you very much for being with us. Will you stand please, Brian?
+And we have the Chief Judge of the Court of Appeals, Janet DiFiore. Pleasure to be with you, Chief Judge. Please stand, be recognized. Thank you.
+And point of personal privilege, but this is a combination of the Budget and the State of the State, I want to thank my team, headed by Melissa DeRosa; Rob Mujica, Budget Director; Alphonso David, Counsel; and Dr. Jim Malatras, policy guru. Let's give them a round of applause.
+Today started with a number of bangs. One of them you may not have seen because nothing is ever easy. We built the new Tappan Zee bridge next to the old Tappan Zee Bridge. The old Tappan Zee Bridge became structurally unstable and they literally couldn't remove it because they were afraid of the instability of the structure. So the contractor who owns the bridge went through a number of options and came up with the best option was felling the bridge. They call it accelerated felling. It means blowing up the bridge, but they like to say accelerated felling, so whatever they want to call it. The danger of the situation, as you can see, it's very close to the new bridge. So that happened this morning and it happened like this—
+If that did not go right, talk about blowing a hole in the budget. That would have really done it. So we're off with a bang and we have a lot to do and a lot of good news, so let me run through it for you and thank you for providing me the opportunity and I thank the people of the state of New York for, once again, providing me the opportunity to serve as their Governor.
+This year, we think it's the year to fully enact a justice agenda, in the broadest sense of the word justice. Social justice, economic justice, and racial justice. And that this is the time to do it. We face real challenges in the state of New York. We have a federal government that is assaulting our values, our liberties, our rights, and our economy. Literally our economy. The federal cuts to our budget would be devastating and the federal effect on the values and liberties on New Yorkers would be devastating. And this is the moment in government that we are leading. And it is up to us to bring this state forward. We have no allies who are going to help us. The federal government is not going to help us. It's up to this legislative body to lead this state at this crucial time.
+The good news is, as you heard from the Lieutenant Governor, the state has already made great progress. We've turned around basic trajectories. It is a functional government. It is competent. We are accomplishment oriented. We're the most progressive government in the United States of America. We balanced budgets. We have the most socially progressive accomplishments of any state in the nation and it's not even close. First big state to pass Marriage Equality. First state to pass $15—the highest minimum wage. The most aggressive building agenda in the state. A national champion for organized labor, which is under attack by this administration and has a friend in the state of New York. The nation leading environmental agenda. The first free college tuition program. That's New York. The best Paid Family Leave program in the nation and a leader on gun safety. That's the state of New York and that's what you've done.
+But, what's even more remarkable, is we match that agenda for social progress with economic progress. Today, the state has 8.2 million private sector jobs. You know how many jobs that is? That is the highest number of jobs the state has ever had in its history. That's how many jobs that is. Statewide unemployment rate was 8.4 percent when we started. It is now down to 3.9 percent today. You know how low that is? It is the lowest level in recorded history for unemployment. That's something to be proud of. And the economic success is not in one part of the state as it has been in many years past. The growth has been all across the state of New York. From the North Country all through the state we're seeing our efforts bring uniform economic progress. And a big part of it is the building that we have been doing. The building of the economy and the vision that we have had in terms of economic development. And not just talking about it, but actually doing it. Actually making it happen. And the record of what we have built and done is staggering. Starting in buffalo with the Peace Bridge/Gateway project—$57 million, which has been done. New Rochester Airport, which has been finished; new Elmira Corning Airport, which is up and running; new Syracuse Airport, which is up and running; Plattsburgh Airport; the new Schenectady Train Station, which is done; the State Fair Transformation—$120 million—it's done. Just broke a new attendance record, over one million fairgoers coming to Central New York to go to the fair. New Expo Center at the fairgrounds, one of the largest in the northeast. We have the National Comedy Center that just broke ground. It just opened up about five months ago. Already you have visitors from 49 states going to Jamestown, New York to our Comedy Center. Isn't that amazing? This Friday and Saturday night, Howard Zemsky will be appearing at the Comedy Center. And tickets will be on sale immediately after this presentation.
+The Binghamton Pharmacy School is a reality. We got that done. The Queens Midtown Tunnel is finished. The Brooklyn Battery Tunnel is finished. Gore, Whiteface, Belleayre, Ski Mountain Resorts have been transformed. That's done, bringing more tourism up to the North Country. The Long Island artificial reefs, the largest ever. It helps the ecosystem, fishing diving industry. That has been done. The Mario Cuomo Bridge, as you just saw, has been done.
+New Ithaca Airport is going to open this year. This year, a new thoroughfare, new transfer station at the Woodbury Road and transit hub, which will greatly alleviate traffic in that entire area. We are going to finish the Kosciuszko Bridge and it's going to happen this year—the second span, ending that traffic nightmare. The Shirley Chisholm State Park on Jamaica Bay in Brooklyn. The largest State Park in New York City.
+And it will be open this year. We have more underway. The Albany Airport is being totally transfigured. We will be able to get there faster and easier. The new Moynihan Train Hall, which will replace the need to have to go into Penn Station, which is going to be a state-of-the-art facility opens in 2020. We have a new Long Island Rail Road entrance going in on 33rd Street in Manhattan. The Jones Beach revitalization, which is bringing it back to the majesty of Robert Moses. That opens in 2020. Letchworth State Park renovations voted the number one state park in the nation, believe it or not. It is magnificent and it is going to be more magnificent.
+The Empire Trail, which is the largest recreational trail in the United States, will be finished in 2020. A new LaGuardia Airport, which is already being open now. It's going to be finished in 2021. New JFK Airport, which is going to be opening in 2025. The Bronx is getting four new Metro North stations going into Penn Station. Long Island, after 70 years of talking about expanding the Long Island Rail Road, we are putting in second track and a third track and 100 projects along that way to transform the Long Island Rail Road. That's underway. We are ahead of schedule. The second track is completed this year. The third track will be in 2022.
+The cashless tolling is in place downstate. It's going to be statewide in 2020 with doubling the size of the Javits Convention Center because it opened in 1984. At one time it was the most competitive in the nation. It became literally outsized. We're doubling it and it's going to open in 2021. We have Roc the Riverway in Rochester with Lovely Warren, which is a whole revitalization along the water. Don't make Lovely clap alone. Everybody clap.
+And we are going to be the first state to have high speed broadband 100 percent all across the state.
+We did all of this work and all of this investment and we have unprecedented fiscal integrity. State debt is down and our credit ratings are the highest levels since 1972. Because we managed government better, we were able to lower taxes, which are now at historic lows. Lowest middle class tax rate since 1947. Even I wasn't born in 1947. Lowest manufacturers tax since 1917. Lowest corporate tax since 1968. So, a great record of accomplishment. A lot of momentum. But I really believe you ain't see nothing yet because I believe what we're going to get done in this legislative session is going to make history in the state of New York. And is going to make history in the nation.  We have great leadership.
+We have great leadership in the democratic Assembly. As I mentioned, it has been the progressive legislative body in the nation. We have a great progressive leader. This is the closest picture we could find of a smile for the speaker.
+Let's give him another round of applause, Speaker Carl Heastie. And this year we have a new partner. We have historic leadership and we have a Democratic Senate. And we do have much to do together. The federal government is trying to roll back the Affordable Health Care Act. It has dire repercussions for this state. We want to protect affordable health care. We need to codify the ACA and safeguard the protections for preexisting conditions in our law so the federal government cannot change those protections, period.
+I believe we should pass a constitutional amendment. Not just a Roe v. Wade law. A constitutional amendment. Let's write the rights of Roe v. Wade into the state constitution so it can never be changed. No matter what happens politically. And pass the Reproductive Health Act and the Contraceptive Care Act. We need to reform our criminal justice system by eliminating cash bail once and for all. And enacting speedy trial. And discovery reform. Pass the Equal Rights Amendment. Let's standup. Let's do it. Let's lead the way.
+Let's pass a democracy agenda. Talk about voter disenfranchisement—why do the polls open at noon in a primary in upstate New York but 6 a.m. in Downstate New York? Let's give every person the right to vote. Make it easy to vote. If we want people to vote, why not make Election Day a holiday and give them the time to come out and actually vote?
+We passed the SAFE Act. Today this is the anniversary of the SAFE Act. At that time people said to us, 'oh you don't need gun laws. The Sandy Hook Massacre was a once in a lifetime.' Which had just happened. We were right and they were wrong. And history proved us right. We have more mass shootings, more gun violence, more student deaths. New York led the way. Let New York lead the way again and pass the Red Flag Law. Ban bump stocks, extend the waiting period from three days to 10 days.
+Pass the Child Victims Act. It has been too long. This is the year we need to do it. Pass the Dream Act. It has been too long. This is the year we need to do it. Pass the Dream Act. It's been too long. Dreams deferred are dreams denied. We are going to pass it this year.
+Legalize adult-used cannabis. Stop the disproportionate criminal impact on communities of color. And let's create an industry that empowers the poor communities that pay the price and not the rich corporations who come in to make a profit.
+Implement real campaign finance reform. Close the LLC loophole. Ban corporate campaign contributions. Let's overhaul the campaign financing system. Let's pass campaign finance and let's reform independent expenditures because the abuse is outrageous.
+It is our generational obligation to make sure we leave this place better than we found it. We need to invest in clean, safe drinking water. We have a $2.5 billion investment to replace infrastructure all across the state, and let's launce the next phase of the Green New Deal mandating 100 percent power by 2040, the fastest in the United States of America, and lead the way, and lead the way to eliminating our carbon footprint. We know the future. Let New York lead.
+We invested in upstate casinos. Let's authorize sports betting in the upstate casinos. It's here. It's a reality and it will help generate activity in those casinos.
+And let's enact the most aggressive the most aggressive pro-labor protection agenda in the United States of America.
+Our middle-class are the ones who are suffering. Our middle-class are the ones who took it on the chin. Let's protect our progressive tax code, and let's cut taxes for the middle-class so they know we're on their side and let's do it this year.
+Let's provide and protect more affordable housing by finally enacting aggressive rent-regulation reform. With the democratic senate we can get that done.
+And let's continue our Build New York program which is the most aggressive in the United States and invest another $150 billion in rebuilding our infrastructure and our transit system.
+And let's overhaul the MTA and pass congestion pricing so we have reliable funding stream for the MTA once and for all.
+It's a lot. No doubt about it. But there's been a lot that has been bottled up for many, many years that we couldn't get done. And in many ways I feel the state is now liberated with the senate democratic caucus and we can get these things done and we can get them done together and pass a new budget and I believe we can get them done within the first 100 days to show this state a new reality.
+Now on the finances for the state, we start with the $3 billion hole, largely because of the federal policies. The revenues have slowed. We believe it's attributed to the federal SALT program which we all predicted was going to have a dramatic effect on New York. What the federal government did with SALT, was it penalized New York more than it did any other state. New York State is the number one donor state in the United States of America. We send more money to Washington than we get back, and we send more money that we don't get back than any other state in the nation. 40 states take more than they give. So, we have a federal government that is against redistribution of income among people, but they have no problem redistributing income from some states to other states and what they did is they took from the republican democratic states to give to the republican states and we're feeling the pain. And that's a $3 billion hole. At the same time, we have priority investments we want to make. So we have a negative $3 billion and we want to invest more in targeted priorities and this budget tries to balance them.
+The four largest cost priorities are education, health care, MTA, infrastructure and a middle-class tax cut. On education, we should be very proud of the money we spend. We spend the most money per pupil in the nation. We spend two times the national average. The problem with our education system is the inequity in the funding and the differential in funding between rich schools and poor schools. This has been a topic we have been talking about for 30 or 40 years. And we've been talking around and around and around and in truth, my friends, we have missed the mark and we haven't accomplished the goal. The assumption we had, was if we fund the poorer school districts, they would turn around the poorer schools in their districts. That was our assumption. It was a bad assumption.
+New York State provides 70 percent of its funding to the poorer districts. 70 percent to the poorer districts. We believed that meant we were funding the poorer schools. Well, you weren't. You were funding the poorer districts. And then, the districts turned around and decided how to distribute the funds. And they did not distribute the funds to the poorer schools. That assumption was flawed. Last year, to your credit, we demanded school-level transparency on 76 major districts representing half of all the students in the state. We're increasing it this year. The findings are worrisome. We gave 70 percent of the funding to the poorer districts but it never found its way to the poorer schools.
+City of Buffalo, for example, poorer school -- $15,000, wealthier school - $17,000. Rochester - poorer schools, we're spending about $18,000 per student, $26,000 in the wealthier school district. Syracuse, 18 and 22. New York City, 21 and $26,000 in the wealthier school districts. Yonkers, 17,000 and 21,000 in the wealthier school districts. I believe the exact opposite is what should be happening. The needs in the poorer school districts and the poorer schools are greater. I spent my whole life working in low-income communities working with the homeless. Those children have more obstacles than the children in the richer schools. It's the child who's going home to a New York City public housing project and whose mother is working or whose father is working and is going home alone, that student needs more help than the student who is going home to a two-parent household where they're getting tutored. The additional resources, the additional need has to go to the poorer school, and the poorer student. That's education equity. And that's what we've been talking about for 40 years and we haven't achieved it. Let's stop talking and let's start doing, and let's actually have a law that accomplishes what we want to accomplish. We want to make sure that this state can say a quality education regardless of income, race, or zip code and that's how our funds should be distributed.
+This budget raises the total education budget to $27 billion but it introduces a new formula called the Education Equity Formula which would distribute the money not just to the poorer districts, but to the poorer schools in the poorer districts. And let's end those funding disparities once and for all. The breakdown of the education funding you see—expanding Pre-K afterschool, an early childhood, master teacher program in community schools. Higher education, we're providing $7.6 billion for higher education. It's a $1.6 billion, or 27 percent increase, since 2012. Our Excelsior Scholarship Free Tuition Program, no program like it in the nation. It says to every student, every child tonight who puts his or her head on the pillow, I don't care if your mother or father can pay for college. If you can get in, you're going because there's free tuition to state schools and we're raising that threshold today, this year, to $125,000 family threshold so the middle class families. What we call the middle class, at $125,000 don't have to worry about how they're going to pay for their kids' tuition because the state will pay for their tuition to a SUNY or a CUNY school. Today, 55 percent of all SUNY and CUNY students are going to tuition free, and you should feel good about that.
+We talked about education. The second need is healthcare and I think they go hand in glove. Everyone needs education, everyone needs healthcare. We are under attack by the Federal Government, especially when it comes to healthcare. We're looking at about $2.5 billion dollars in what they call DSH cuts, which are to distressed hospitals. About a $1 billion loss in cost-sharing. Medicaid cuts have been proposed, have been threatened, we don't know what they're going to be. And we have on top of that, the dismantling of the Affordable Care Act, including promoting plans that don't really cover pre-existing conditions. We need to fund education and we need to fund healthcare. If you look at what we've done over the past years, the healthcare funding has been about at the inflation rate. Education funding has been over the education inflation rate. Over the past years, since I've been here, we've actually put $13.6 billion more into education than its inflation index rate, and healthcare has been about flat. This year I propose 3.6% increase to both healthcare and education. It will give the healthcare industry the help they need to stabilize while we fight off these federal cuts in the meantime which are, long-term, unsustainable for us.
+On the MTA and infrastructure, we need to fund NYCTA, which is the New York City Transit Authority, Long Island Rail Road, Metro North and the Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority. And continue building our program in the rest of the state, downstate and upstate. I don't know why only one person would clap for that. I say to my team all the time. It's M&M's, not the candy. It's always about management, and then it's about the money. When it comes to the MTA, we have a system that was designed in the 1960s that nobody would design today. The MTA has 17 members on the board, six are appointed by the state, four by New York City, seven by the counties. If the board ever manages to pass anything, the Governor then has a unilateral veto over the capital budget, with no override. It'd be great if I could have that in Albany. You veto it, and there's no override. The Mayor of the City of New York has a unilateral veto over the capital plan. The Speaker of the Assembly, unilateral veto. The Senate Leader, unilateral veto. So it is an unmanageable process. When everyone is in charge, no one is in charge.
+Was it a dumb idea when they set it up? No. Was it diabolical? Very. It was purposefully designed so that everyone can point fingers at everybody else, and nobody's responsible. Why? Because no politician wanted to be responsible. You're talking about trains and subways and fare increases. And no politician wants to be the one who suggested a fare increase. No politician wants to be responsible for late trains. So they came up with the MTA so everyone could point fingers at somebody else! I can say, it's not me, I don't have majority over the board and the capital plan can be overridden by the Mayor or the Speaker or the Senate Leader. The Mayor of New York can say, I only have four, so I don't control—Speaker Carl Heastie can say, all I get to do is veto, I don't have anyone on the board. Everybody can point fingers, but nobody has responsibility and nobody has authority. I am telling you, that is the fundamental problem with the MTA. If there is not someone's name on the line, the bureaucracy governs and fills the void and that's where we are with the MTA.
+It is at a crucial period with the MTA. We have a lot of big projects going on, and it is a crucial point in terms of operation. We're doing the Long Island Rail Road Transformation, which is a very complicated plan. We're in the middle of the L-Train Tunnel restoration, which was a very complicated program which just underwent significant changes but, would have impacted 225,000 riders if it was done incorrectly. We have to expand the Second Avenue Subway, we have to finish the new Moynihan Train Hall, which is across the street from Penn. We have to finish the Eastside Access Project in our lifetime. I promised my daughters they would not have to worry about the Eastside Access. But it has been long overdue. It is very complicated and it has to be seized and it has to be finished. And day to day, the train operations are failing. The stations are not clean, the trains are late, they're not moving quickly enough. And it can be a major impediment to the entire region's growth. That's what the MTA could be. 9 million MTA riders, almost half the people in the state of New York ride the MTA, believe it or not.
+Now, we propose a reliable funding stream so we don't have to fight about this every year and they can plan it. I propose first, what's called congestion pricing. Congestion pricing is—some people actually know what it is, I'm surprised. Congestion pricing has electronic tolling for vehicles that enter what we call the Manhattan Central Business District. 60th Street and south is the Central Business District. It provides toll equity, meaning everybody pays the same toll when you go into the zone. It stops what we call "bridge shopping." Now, I'm a Queens boy. You can take the 59th Street bridge and not pay a toll or you can go through the Queens-Midtown tunnel and pay a toll. I'm cheap, so I go through the 59th Street Bridge. But literally you are directing traffic by where there's a toll-free bridge and where there's not a toll-free bridge. This would say, basically, everyone pays the toll if you're going into the Central Business District. There would be no toll on the FDR. So if you're just coming into Manhattan to go north or south there's no toll on the FDR. We estimate that would raise about $15 billion in capital through congestion pricing. The next question is, is that enough money, the $15 billion, to solve the problems? We don't think so. Especially with the New York City Transit Authority. We think there's going to be a shortfall. Facts on the New York City Transit Authority, this was all done in the 60s. New York City owns the New York City Transit Authority, the trains, the stationleases it to the MTA. The law on the books said that as New York City owns it, they should pay for the capital funding, but allowed New York State to contribute to the capital funding starting when New York City had a fiscal crisis in the 1980s. New York State funding over the years - the past 30 years, if you look at how we paid for capital funding: New York City paid about 60 percent of the capital cost, New York State paid about 40 percent. That changed dramatically in the last capital plan where the state put in about 75 percent of the capital. We funded a record level of capital at $8 billion, and we're proud of it.
+Underfunding capital for the past 30 or 40 years has brought us to where we are. That's how you have subway cars that are 40-50 years old, and electric switches that are 100 years old. So this is an investment that has to be made. If there is a shortfall in the funding after congestion pricing, I propose a 50-50 revenue split between New York City and New York State on the additional capital. Last year we had something called the Subway Action Plan which the legislature had to find. We split that 50-50 between New York City and New York State. I think it's fair to New York City; I think it's also fair to Long Island and Buffalo and Westchester and I don't have a problem saying to anyone across the state keeping that system running helps the entire state. And it is worth splitting the cost with New York City, to make the investment we should've made for decades to keep that transportation system vital. And more than anything we have to do it this year, because the status quo has got to go. Riders are fed up, the situation only gets worse. It's like the old commercial: you can pay me now or you can pay me later. The system is just continuing to deteriorate and if we don't invest now we're going to pay more later and suffer in the meantime. Let's address the MTA. Let's do it this year.
+We also have to make progress all across the state. Keep building the economy. We've done $70 billion in construction in the first term, $100 billion in the second. I want to do $150 billion in this third term. We would be leading the nation of all the states in actually building a new transportation system and infrastructure. The economy comes to the state with the transportation and infrastructure. And that's why it's coming to New York and we should keep doing that.
+We'll provide $4.4 billion for upstate roads and bridges. That's part of the $29 billion, five-year plan. $568 in non-MTA transit systems, upstate transit systems. Also $750 million for the REDCs which have been doing great work all across the state. $100 million for our Downtown Revitalization Initiative, which ESD and Howard Zemsky have been promoting around the state. It's been marvelous all across the state, especially in upstate New York with those upstate areas are being revitalized.
+Middle class tax cuts: fight SALT, fight SALT, fight SALT. It is a 30 percent tax increase for many New Yorkers. 30 percent tax increase. We pay the highest property taxes in the nation. We pay the highest property taxes in the nation in upstate New York, as a percentage of home value. This says anything over $10,000 you can no longer deduct. I believe not only that's why we saw the $3 billion hole in our revenues, I believe you're going to see a revenue crisis in this state and I believe you're going to see a housing crisis in this state. Because if I can't deduct my property taxes and it's going up 30 percent and I'm already paying the highest property taxes in the United States, that is a significant disincentive. And I believe the federal government knew exactly what they were doing. They put us in a position where we are not economically as competitive as the other states. We have to reverse SALT. We made legal changes to find ways around SALT. They don't want to. We're suing the federal government, and that's the only way we're going to get this done.
+We have a democratic delegation in the Congress - I met with them last week - and I said this has to be on the top priorities. In the meantime, as our middle class homeowners are feeling this pressure, and middle class taxpayers, I want to give them some relief and show them that we hear them and know the pain that they're under and let's lower the middle class tax rate from 6.85 percent to 5.5 percent, and 6.85 percent to 6 percent. Remember, we've already made the tax code much more progressive with more brackets and more tranches and you see it in the numbers. The top earners now pay 20% more and the middle class burden has dropped by 27 percent. So we have a real progressive tax code, but I think lowering taxes for the middle class is a very positive signal to send and I would make permanent the local property tax cap at 2 percent. That is the only that is going to tell people. I understand if New York City does not feel the property tax cap issue the same way Long Island and upstate does. Because it's not the same issue. They don't have that same burden of property tax. Between Nassau and Westchester, you're number one and number two in the nation. You have property taxes of $20, 30, 40,000 in those counties. It makes a real difference, and that SALT lack of deduction makes a real difference. At least if we can say the 2 percent is going to be adhered to, I think it will help give people confidence in the system. That property tax cap has saved the typical homeowner $3,200 already, so it's making a difference in people's lives.
+We have an opportunity to stand up and be the most progressive state in the United States on women's leadership issues and we should do it. Let's start with a constitutional amendment on Roe v. Wade, pass RHA, CCA. Pass the Equal Rights Amendment. Ensure access to IVF and fertility preservation coverage. Reduce the maternal mortality and morbidity rate, and address the racial disparities that are disgusting. Outlaw non-consensual revenge porn. Eliminate the statute of limitations for rape and modernize the pay equity laws. And let's be the first state and let's show this nation what real women's equality means. And not just talking the talking, but we're going to walk the walk and we're going to do it this year.
+Protect New Yorkers from emerging health risks. The more we know about chemicals in water and food, the more frightening the situation is. There are 1,000 known carcinogens that are in products that are used every day. We want to pass a consumer right to know act that labels those products that have those carcinogens. I believe we will save lives by raising the smoking law from 18 to 21 years old. I think we should invest $200 million in fighting the scourge of the opioid crisis. It is rampant across the state. It is moving like fire through dry grass. We spent $1.5 million over nine years. If I had more money, I would quadruple it. We're losing young people every day. We have to do everything we can, and $200 million for comprehensive care, I believe, will save our young people's lives.
+We'll lead the way with the most aggressive environmental agenda, while the federal government is taking us backwards from the Paris Accords and so forth. We're going to go the exact opposite direction of the federal government. $2.5 billion in clean water infrastructure. A record high $300 million EPF. The Grumman Plume on Long Island, the discussion has gone on for decades. It is a toxic chemical that is moving through Long Island and steadily moving towards the coast. It is poisoning the wells as it goes. It's been left by the Grumman Corporation when they were manufacturing. We've been talking for decades. Grumman doesn't want to pay, the Navy doesn't want to pay. Let us say we'll do the remediation and then we're going to sue you to get the money back, but we have to keep our people safe.
+I want to invest another 3.6 million in the shellfish restoration program, which is Mother Nature's way of cleaning and filtering the water. Oysters, shellfish, especially in the downstate area. We've had great success with that and Stony Brook is doing a great job at their hatchery. Let's give them a round of applause. The federal government wants to allow offshore drilling off the coast of Long Island and off the coast of Manhattan. One spill and you would poison the entire harbor. We have to pass a law that stops that and we have to do it this session. Sometimes there's just a common sense issue.
+You look at the damage done by plastic bags, it is everywhere. Hanging from trees, in water, in every community across the state. Let's once and for all step up. I know it's not easy, I know everyone has an opinion. Let's expand the Bottle Bill and let's ban plastic bags once and for all. And let's take the next step on the Green New Deal which tackles climate change and starts building the green economy for tomorrow. We know it's coming, let the economy be here.
+Let us set the goal: 100 percent clean power by 2040. Highest in the United States of America. The Climate Action Council to eliminate the state's carbon footprint and let's get SUNY ESF to work with the REDC's to come up with that next little generation of technology and train our workforce for those jobs. Offshore wind has potential, we know it, the industry is moving that way. We want to locate the industry in this state and we want to use it as an alternative. Let's invest $1.5 million, it's a real source for renewable energy, and let's do it this year.
+We have communities that are closing old, inefficient power plants. It causes a problem because they lose the property taxes from those old plants. We want those old plants closed, we want more efficient plants, but let's provide a fund that gives the communities the transition from the loss of that property tax revenue and that's a $70 million property tax compensation fund so those communities don't shoulder the burden themselves.
+We have record tourism in this state and it's nice that people come to see us and it makes me feel good about ourselves and who we are. But even more it brings money to this state, not that I'm money conscious. 2017, a new record in tourism. 244 million visitors, it's a $100 billion industry. More visitors to our State Parks than ever before in history and that's part of the tourism number. Why? Because we're investing in our parks, we're investing in our assets. People have something to see. Let's continue that with another $110 million on our New York Parks 2020. Hudson River Park, State Park is magnificent. It's on the west side of Manhattan. It was started by Governor Mario Cuomo and Mayor David Dinkins. Let Governor Andrew Cuomo and Mayor de Blasio finally finish that park and $23 million to make it a reality.
+Our focus on craft breweries and wineries has worked with tourism. It has been an explosion in activity - quadrupled the number of breweries, the number of wineries up by about 40 percent. That's because we've been promoting I Love New York and our taste products. We should continue doing that. They're selling, they're delicious, they're healthy, and it's also great for the economy. So it's a win-win.
+At this time, in this nation, let New York stand up for immigrants. Let's pass the Jose Peralta Dream Act, as an honor to Jose Peralta and his leadership and his memory. God bless him and God bless his family.
+We have the first in the Nation Liberty defense project, which is a state lead public-private project to assist immigrants regardless of status in obtaining legal services and resources. We want to continue that and expand it. We should codify, what I did by executive order because I couldn't get it passed by the senate. Executive Order number 170—state agencies cannot inquire about immigration status. It prevents ICE arrests.
+We sued the federal government on their family separation policy and I want to continue that lawsuit because that was a disgusting political abuse of power. And just today, the courts have decided that the citizenship question that was in the census was illegal. Congratulations to the Attorney General's office that lead the suit. Now let's go out there and count every New Yorker so we get what we deserve in the state of New York.
+Homelessness and affordable housing very simply $20 billion which is the largest commitment to affordable housing this state has ever made. But let's - you should keep applauding I didn't mean to interrupt you - this year, this year, we have the opportunity to finally reform the rent regulation program, including eliminating vacancy decontrol, ending preferential rent limits, limiting building and apartment improvement charges, and strengthening the tenant protection unit so we actually enforce those laws.
+When it comes to our labor unions, they are under attack by the Supreme Court. They are under attack by the federal administration. Our state Department of Labor will aggressively protect the right to organize and collectively bargain. Let's extend the Janus protection to all local governments in the state of New York and project construction with public subsidies should be subject to the prevailing wage so they're built right, they're built fairly, they're build union. And that's long overdue and let's get it passed this session and let's show our brothers and sisters in organized labor who may be timid, who may be quiet, who may be shy, but we're with you anyway. I still can't hear you, you're still too shy for me. I love doing that.
+When it comes to public safety, over the past two years we spent a hundred millions dollars to fight MS-13 the fight goes on, let's invest another $45 million dollar in anti-gang operations, violence prevention, and school base support. We have a growing problem of online sexual offenses against children. We want to launch a specialized police unit to prosecute these predators, nothing could be worse. Let's pass the New York City speed camera laws and stop playing politics that they did last year.
+And the Child Victims Act. The Child Victims Act has been too long denied. I am fully aware of the position of the Catholic Church and the opposition of the Catholic Church. I happen to be Roman Catholic. I'm a former altar boy and my relationship with the church is important to me and I've found the differences painful over the years. The difference on marriage equality, the difference on a woman's right to choose, and the difference on the Child Victims Act. But a wise man said, "the abuse of minors is an offense so brutal, the church cannot remain indifferent to this, and the church must punish such priests, and that includes to support the legal action. There is no other way out of this because it's a crime. No worse, it's leaving them alive, but destroyed." That is a true statement, and the Catholic Church should understand that, and that statement was made by Pope Francis and I say we stand with Pope Francis and we pass the Child Victims Act this year because if you believe in justice for all, then you believe in passing the Child Victims Act and follow the leadership of Pope Francis.
+When it comes to criminal justice agenda, you should all be proud. Since 2011, we have closed more prisons than any administration in the history of the state of New York, period. This year we are going to eliminate cash bail. We have to enact speedy trial reform, we have to pass discovery reform, and we need to do more services for re-entry for those transitioning from incarceration back to the community. We also have to invest $100 million to make our Raise the Age reform a reality and we have to do it this year.
+And New York has to establish a regulated adult-use cannabis program. We had an expert group—State Police, Department of Health come together. They did a report. They said the benefits outweigh the risks. Now we just have to put it in place, and we have to do it in a way that creates an economic opportunity for poor communities and people who paid the price, and not for rich corporations that are going to come in to make a buck. It reduces the impact of criminalization on communities of colors. It will automatically seal certain cannabis-related criminal records. It implements quality control. Counties and large cities can opt out so we're not telling them what to do, but they have to affirmatively opt out of the program. No one under 21 years old. It generates approximately $300 million in tax revenue and creates good union jobs that we need.
+This is the outline of the overall statewide investments. These are the various offices. This is the overall budget. What's called the "all funds" budget, brings our budget up to $175 billion. The percentage change is 1.9 percent. School goes up 1.6. State Medicare goes up 3.6. The remainder of the agencies are basically flat. How much each priority costs us. Education is 27 billion dollars, that's a 3.6 increase. Health care is a $19 billion investment, that's a 3.6 increase. $15 billion is congestion pricing. $150 billion is our statewide construction initiative. The middle class tax cut is $1.8 billion, but I believe if we don't keep our middle class and we don't control their taxes, we're going to have an issue long term.
+Last issue is insuring the public trust. If you read the headlines over the past few years, they have been continuous and they have been disappointing, and they have been disgraceful, and they have been widespread. It looks terrible and it is terrible. Now, we will never stop venial, greedy, ignorant, behavior by people. And we shouldn't be expected to do that, but we should be expected to do everything we can to have a system in place that safeguards against fraud or theft, and there it is a continuing battle, but there I believe we can do more to ensure the public trust.
+We want to enact a public Code of Conduct for lobbyists that stops self-dealing and conflicts of interest so everybody knows who they're working for. We want to have in the code, we ban the revolving door between a political consultant, who then becomes a lobbyist, to go back and lobby against or for the person that he or she just elected. That is a clear conflict of interest. We expand the lobbying ban for all policy makers and elected officials who would then lobby before their own agency or administration. Disclose conflicts of interests. Require lobbyists to disclose campaign contributions to JCOPE and increase penalties for lobbyists who fail to file to disclose. If the legislature doesn't want to enact this code of conduct, the executive will unilaterally impose it upon itself. So those lobbyists who do not agree to that Code of Conduct cannot lobby the executive.
+Contract procurement review must be performed and government must function on a timely basis. I don't believe one is the enemy of the other. Yes, review contracts, but yes let's get it done quickly because government has to function and we have to get things done. Comptroller DiNapoli and I have agreed on a new process to implement procurement reforms. I will direct SUNY, CUNY and OGS to allow the Office of the state Comptroller to pre-audit contracts in excess of $250,000, but the pre-audit must be done in 30 days and for the first time the office of the state Comptroller provides its contracts in excess of $250,000 to the state IG to audit for fraud and hiring practices. I want to publicly thank, the Comptroller for his good work and his cooperation. Thank you.
+The State will also require new legal certifications for contracts between a grantor and a grantee. Any state agency that is assuring or issuing a grant has to certify that there was no occlusion, there was no political interference. Disclose any payments they may have received. Disclose any prior relationship. For non-competitive contracts it would be the same with the agency official and the legislature if there's one involved. Today I'm issuing an Executive Order, number 192, to stop what we call bad vendors. Any contractor or vendor who is deemed barred, or deemed non responsible by one agency
+—that will be binding on all other agencies and all other entities.
+We also have to combat big money in politics. We will ban corporate contributions to candidates. Close the LLC loophole. Create a public financing system with a six to one match. Reduce the various contribution limits for statewide and local offices. Candidates for legislature should disclose five years of taxes. Bring sunlight and sunshine. Statewide office I think should be 10 years of taxes disclosed. We also have to address the issue of IE's. I understand the federal case law. But, this now a loophole that is swallowing the law. It is a joke to talk about a $4,000 limit, a $5,000 limit in public finance but then an IE, Independent Expenditure Committee, dark money can come in and spend millions in that race and overwhelm everything. You have PACs who launder money to IE's which is illegal. You have 501(c)(3)'s that donate to a 501(c)(4). You have dark money that makes a number of contributions to a number of 501(c)s—which are tax exempt. They get the tax deduction—and then contribute it to the 501(c)(4). These loopholes make the entire campaign system fraught for a lack of integrity. You want to talk about franchising individuals who now feel disenfranchised—a corporation a large contributor with a $10 million check can buy an election and nobody knows who he or she is. First of all, it's a tax fraud. And the State Department of Tax and Finance has to get on the stick and do its job. Second, we have to pass laws that clean up this system and close these IE loopholes.
+The old Senate wouldn't pass a Freedom of Information Law that was binding on the legislature. it's been proposed before by a number of legislators. They were right and they were visionary. Let's apply a Freedom of Information Law to the Executive and to the Legislature.
+My friends, we can make history. I believe that. I believe we can have the most productive first 100 days in state history. I believe we are in a fundamentally different space and in the old days too many good ideas went to the state Senate to die. Now we're going to have good ideas going to the state Senate to be born. And I think we should take advantage of this opportunity. I was having a conversation with Leader Stewart-Cousins this morning and she said we have a moment in time, we have a moment in time. Which is true. And if you think about it, that's all we really have. A moment in time. 40 years, we haven't had a democratic Senate, Assembly and Governor. Besides one brief period. 40 years. We have a moment in time to change the state. We can do it. It's just us. We are in control. There is no one else. And I believe that together, we can do it.
+For my younger friends, I'm sorry you missed the opportunity to have the counsel of one of the real great public servants. And one of the things my father said was—in campaigns, it's about what you say. In government, it's all about what you do. And the great ones know the difference. The great ones know the difference. The great ones know the difference. The time for talking is over. It is the time for doing. Government's credibility comes from accomplishing. From performing. Nobody wants to hear "I'm going to do this, I'm going to do this, I'm going to do this. I think this, I think this, I think this." Have you done anything that would lead me to suggest that you can do anything that's going to help me, right? And that's where we're running into frustration with the body politic. People have real problems—they haven't had enough help in their life. And that's what government is supposed to do. And that's what the great ones do. And I believe in this moment with this legislature, I believe we have great ones at the table. And I believe great ones can actually make this a moment in history.
+And leadership, by great ones, is about passing all the bills and balancing the budget. But it's also about something else. It's about providing leadership in the moment. And leadership at a time of turmoil and loss and this nation in this moment is lost. It is freighting what is happening. The number of anti-Semitic attacks are up 90 percent in New York State. In New York State, 90 percent. Neo-Nazi groups up 22 percent. Hate crimes up every year. Think about that. After all we've gone through. The social fabric is unraveling. Yes, we have to do something practically about it and we're going to spend more money for our non-public schools making sure they're safe. A diversity agenda in schools. We'll increase the penalty on hate crimes. But it's more than that.
+New York is different than the other states. We are the laboratory for the American experiment in democracy. It all started here. They got off the boat, they were brought in chains. They came here first. We are 19 million people. From every spot on the globe in the most dense location in the country if not in the world. And we are more sophisticated and we have gone through this situation. We get it. We know it. We know what is going on out there. People are angry, people are frustrated. And that anger turns to a fear. And the fear turns to a division. And people are now angry one at another. And we have a federal government that is fanning the flames of fear. Why? Because they believe it works for them. They believe it works for them. Divide and conquer. Divide by race. Divide by religion. Divide by income. It's not a new or novel tactic. It's an old and ugly tactic. And what happens is you're spreading an American cancer where one cell in the body attacks other cells in the body. And the body consumes itself. It has to stop.
+And this is not just anti-New York. This anti-American. The motto of this nation—that is on the seal of the nation, that is on the flag behind the President's desk—says E Pluribus Unum. Out of many, one. That's the concept that founded the nation. Bring all these different faces, bring all these different people from all these different places together as one. That's what founded the country. And the hypocrisy—I did my inaugural at Ellis Island just to make this point. You know who came through Ellis Island? A gentleman named Richard Cawley. A poor Irish immigrant who came during the potato famine. You know who his grandson is? Vice President Michael Pence. You know who else came through New York harbor? Frederick Trump, grandfather of Donald Trump. The greatest arrogance is when you forget where you came from, and where you started, and this is the greatest arrogance. We all came from somewhere else. We are all immigrants. Unless you are a Native American—you are an immigrant. Why, you're not an Immigrant, Joe? You were here on the Mayflower?
+My friends, my friends—they call us on our seal. It says the Great State of New York. The Great State of New York. You know why New York is great? Because New York rejects divide and conquer and we believe in unify and grow. New York is great because we believe in community and mutuality and we believe the greatest feast has the most number of people at the table. And we believe in shared success and cooperation. And we believe when one is lifted we are all lifted. We are great because we believe the strongest four-letter word is still love. Not hate. And we are strong enough to say it. We are great because our motto is I Love New York. But that New York loves you. New York loves you if you are L or G or B or T or Q, if you are black or white or brown, if you are a Christian, a Muslim, or if you are Jewish. If you are a new immigrant or an old immigrant. New York loves you and what makes us great is we have no tolerance for hate in our state. That's New York. And that's who we are. And that's our message to this nation. Thank you and God bless you. 
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state-of-the-state/speeches/NorthCarolina_SOTS.txt

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+Mr. Speaker, Mr. President Pro Tem, Members of the General Assembly, Council of State, members of the Judiciary, members of my Cabinet, and my fellow North Carolinians: I’m honored to join you tonight to report the state of our great state.
+
+I’m joined by my wife Kristin, my partner in life and in public service, who for the past two years has traveled to every corner of North Carolina. I thank Kristin and our wonderful daughters, Hilary and Natalie, and Claire, who is away at school, for their unwavering love and support. Thank you, guys. 
+
+In recent months, North Carolinians have been put to the test. And we've learned we’re made of strong stuff. 
+
+In September, our state was slammed by Hurricane Florence. Homes, businesses, schools and crops were washed away. Dozens of lives were lost. Then Tropical Storm Michael blew through, bringing more damage.
+
+But adversity only defines us if we refuse to rise and conquer it. 
+	
+Days after Florence made landfall, I met an elderly woman in a Wilmington shelter who was rescued from floodwaters by first responders. All she had left were the few belongings she had carried in her arms, but she didn’t dwell on her loss. 
+
+When I told her how sorry I was, she said to me, “I thank God I’m alive, I thank God for that firefighter who rescued me, and I thank God for all these volunteers helping in this shelter—and a lot of them had their own homes flooded. I’m going to make it.”
+
+It’s that courage in the face of fear, that conviction in the face of uncertainty, that determined spirit in the face of challenges that make us the greatest state in the nation. 
+
+That’s why tonight, I’m proud to report that the state of our state is determined.  
+
+Hurricane Florence showed us that we North Carolinians love our communities, that we help each other, that we’re resilient in tough times and that we’re determined to work together to rebuild even stronger and smarter.
+
+But the storm showed us it’s also time to come together to meet other challenges that people face every day across our state. And we have to bring that same determination to every challenge.
+
+To start, we must come together and insist our public schools come first. We must come together to create opportunities in our cities and our rural communities. We must come together to get health care for hundreds of thousands of working people with no insurance. That’s the determination we need to make North Carolina truly excellent.
+
+First, we must be determined to help our state recover stronger and smarter than ever. 
+
+It’s hard to find a part of our state that has been spared the blows of nature over the past two years, whether floods, rain, wind, tornadoes or mudslides. 
+
+In my travels, I’ve witnessed people's pain and loss, and I've been inspired by their determination. Survivors who are working to rebuild their lives and their communities. Volunteers who served thousands of hot meals and repaired homes. First responders who pulled more than 5,200 North Carolinians and over a thousand animals from the flood waters. 
+
+I’ve been honored to meet many of these storm heroes, including State Highway Patrol Trooper Nicholas Stoneroad. Just after the storm, he spent hours clearing roads and keeping his community safe. Even though his own home was crushed by fallen trees, he kept right on working. 
+
+When he made it back home again, chest-deep floodwaters had destroyed almost everything he owned. But still he kept reporting for duty, protecting others, helping people in need, delivering food to provide meals for survivors. And you know what he said when he was asked why he kept on? He said this: “I had a job to do.” 
+
+Trooper Stoneroad, your state is deeply grateful to you and to all the people who answered the call to service above self. Please stand so we can thank you and all our hurricane heroes. 
+
+Like Trooper Stoneroad, we have a job to do. 
+
+We’re determined to help North Carolinians recover, and we’re making progress. 
+
+Local, state and federal leaders are working together. And tens of thousands of North Carolinians are already getting assistance. At our urging, the state and federal government have put in over a billion dollars to help North Carolinians get back on their feet, and we’re working for a lot more.
+
+This legislature really stepped up in a big way after Hurricane Florence. We worked together in a bipartisan way to help families, schools, small businesses, fishermen and farmers. But with many small business owners and families just one disaster away from bankruptcy, it’s not enough to simply respond to disaster when it strikes. We must also limit damage from the next storm by rebuilding stronger and more resilient.  
+
+Weeks after Hurricane Florence, I formed the new Office of Recovery and Resiliency to carry out recovery and develop strategies to protect our state from future storms.  
+
+We’ve seen violent weather threaten every corner of our state, and scientists agree climate change is making storms and more fierce. It is real. And we’re the generation that must act. 
+
+In October, I signed an executive order to reduce our state’s greenhouse gas emissions 40 percent by 2025.
+
+This won’t just help in the fight against climate change—it will boost our economy by creating more clean energy jobs. 
+
+We must also be determined to get people better educated for the jobs of today and tomorrow. 
+
+When the founders of the University of North Carolina chartered America’s first public university to open its doors in 1789, they knew even then that education creates opportunity. Public education lifts up families, communities and our economy.
+
+But too often, public schools have taken a back seat to tax breaks for those at the very top. Simply put, public education is our most important job as a state. We must do better.
+
+When I visit schools across North Carolina, I see determined teachers, I see eager students, and I see hope for our future. 
+
+But too often I see teachers working second jobs to make ends meet. Kids who missed out on early childhood education and Pre-K. Trailers and crowded classrooms. If we want our educators to teach well, we need to treat them well.
+
+Last year, 20,000 teachers from across the state came here to Raleigh and asked us to help our schools. One of them, NaShonda Cooke, is here with us tonight.
+
+The daughter and granddaughter of teachers, NaShonda decided to become one too during a visit to her mother's classroom. NaShonda said this: “I knew immediately. I saw my mom change lives. I saw her help children reach their highest potential.” 
+
+NaShonda has taught in North Carolina schools for 20 years. 
+
+Over the years, she’s seen fewer teacher assistants, fewer classroom supplies, and she’s had trouble making ends meet on a teacher's salary. But when her youngest child said she'd like to become a teacher, NaShonda didn't hesitate to encourage her.
+
+We want NaShonda’s daughter and thousands like her to follow through and become teachers. Let's show NaShonda and other educators that we value and respect them. Ms. Cooke, please stand so we can recognize your hard work and the amazing service of teachers all across our state.
+
+North Carolina is still ranked 37th in teacher pay nationwide. That’s not the respect they deserve. When I send you my budget, we’ll put our schools and our teachers first.
+
+Although we disagree on some issues, I believe there is bipartisan agreement that education will succeed with a good teacher in every classroom and a good principal in every school. Our message to educators should be clear: we trust you to educate our children. We’re putting our money where our trust is. 
+
+And we must encourage more of our very best high schoolers to choose teaching as a career. If they’ll teach here for at least four years, North Carolina will pay for their college. Teaching Fellows scholarships are a great deal for our state, and they lift the level of respect for the profession. Let’s expand the Teaching Fellows program.
+
+Let’s give kids a better start by investing more in early childhood education. We’ve worked together to expand Pre-K to thousands more students, but we shouldn’t stop until every child has it. 
+
+And let’s give our students safe, healthy places to learn. 
+
+Right now, 4 in 10 public schools in our state are at least 50 years old. That means they’re still using the schools you and I went to. That’s great for nostalgia, but not so good for students in classrooms with unreliable heat, leaking roofs or crumbling walls. 
+
+K through 12 schools need at least 8 billion dollars in new construction and renovations. There’s a smart way to build them that locks in financing against the whims of future legislatures and lets the people decide at the same time.
+
+It gets hammers swinging all across the state, and still leaves money for good teachers and principals. This session, let’s have the people vote on a strong school construction bond. 
+
+We must be determined to build an economy that works for everyone. 
+
+In many ways, our state is the picture of success. Raleigh and Durham are hubs for innovation. The Triad is a growing center for aviation and advanced manufacturing. Charlotte is a global banking capital. Our rural areas offer unique opportunities. 
+
+Just last week, Charlotte hosted the NBA All Star Game, showing people from around the world what we already know: North Carolina is America’s best place to live and do business—and play basketball.
+
+When I took office, House Bill 2 was hurting North Carolinians and holding our economy back. Two years ago, I stood before you and said we must repeal it. And with bipartisan support, HB2 is gone. 
+
+But there is more to do to fight discrimination. We must show the rest of the nation and the world who we really are: a state that values diversity, that is welcoming, and that is open for business. I’ve signed two executive orders that reaffirm those values by banning workplace discrimination. 
+
+Our economy is strongest when every North Carolinian can contribute. As we continue to grow and thrive, we’re determined not to leave anyone behind.  
+
+In the past two years, we’ve announced more than 40,000 new jobs and billions of dollars of investment in both urban and rural parts of North Carolina. We’ve worked together with you legislators to expand our economic development tool kit, which now includes strong incentives.
+
+It’s been great to welcome major companies including Honeywell, Advance Auto Parts, Credit Suisse, Egger Wood Products and Triangle Tyre. Our unemployment rate is below the national average and our economy is strong. 
+
+But despite this success middle class families are still struggling for better wages. There is an answer for them. Today, there are thousands of jobs available, from advanced manufacturing to construction to technology and health care. Jobs that offer better pay.  
+
+Yet employers tell me they struggle to find the skilled workers they need. And many workers tell me they struggle to find better-paying jobs.
+
+We’re determined to get them together. That’s why we started NC Job Ready, a program that trains workers in the skills employers need.
+
+We're already seeing success. Our Finish Line Grants help community college students living on the economic edge. The grants help people stay in school when they face unexpected costs like car repairs, medical emergencies and childcare. 
+
+Take Tukeda Douglas, a community college student and a mother of three. I first met Tukeda during a visit to Alamance Community College last month. She wanted a better career, so she enrolled to become a dental assistant. 
+
+But balancing the additional cost of childcare was too much, so Tukeda nearly dropped out. A Finish Line grant helped her stay in school and she expects to graduate this summer.
+
+Tukeda is determined not to let anything discourage her, and she’s here with us tonight. Let's give her a round of applause for working hard to make a better life for herself and her family. 
+
+Just last week, leaders from all over North Carolina, including this legislature, endorsed the goal for 2 million more North Carolinians to have a post-secondary degree or credential by the year 2030. 
+
+But people need education in order for us to get there. People in North Carolina now have 41 billion dollars in student debt and many middle-class families often can’t afford the education they need. 
+
+Last year, I pushed for an effort to provide tuition-free community college for high-demand jobs. This can help us meet our goal. Other states are already doing this, so let’s get it done.
+
+Our economy also depends on infrastructure. When I came into office, the Highway Trust Fund wasn’t being used efficiently. You in this chamber challenged our Department of Transportation to build roads and bridges faster. We delivered on that challenge, and then we worked together to pass Build NC. This helps keep our state connected and our economy moving.
+
+Connecting our entire state is especially critical for our rural communities. We have the second-largest rural population of any state in the country. 
+
+Growing up in Nash County, I spent my summers in the tobacco field, my Friday nights on the football field, and my Sunday mornings in Sunday school and church. My parents and my rural North Carolina community taught me the value of hard work. They taught me the value of a dollar and they taught me the importance of faith, family and community. 
+
+For people like Lorenda and Harrell Overman, rural North Carolina will always be home. To them, tending crops and livestock on their farm is more than an occupation—it’s a deeply rewarding way of life. 
+
+But right now, many rural business owners and farmers are struggling. Lack of broadband access, trade tariffs and natural disasters have hit them hard. Last year, the Overmans saw their soybean crop wiped out by Hurricane Florence, threatening their ability to keep their 18 full-time employees. Thanks to the bipartisan hurricane relief bill we passed, the Overmans and many other farmers like them are getting help. 
+
+The Overmans are determined to make their business thrive and pass it on to their kids—the next generation of farmers. Lorenda and Harrell, please stand so we can let you and other farmers across our state know we’re with you.
+
+We all know about rural challenges. So that’s why last year, I launched Hometown Strong. It’s already making a difference, strengthening relationships between state government and over a dozen rural counties. 
+
+For instance, some small communities didn’t know how to get funds to fix up struggling downtowns. Hometown Strong is helping connect them with the right resources to get started.
+
+There’s also a monster of an issue facing rural communities: Internet access. Too many North Carolinians lack Internet connection they need to apply for jobs, do homework or run a small business. Among households without broadband, about 95 percent are in rural areas--a digital divide with very real consequences.
+
+This legislative session we can make a real dent in this problem. I’m asking you to join me in an expansive effort to complete rural broadband projects. We can leverage public/private partnerships to bridge the digital divide and connect all parts of our state to opportunity.  
+
+Finally, we must be determined to help the people of our state become healthier. 
+
+We’ve made important strides. We’ve protected our clean air and water by punishing polluters and stopping emerging contaminants from being discharged into the Cape Fear River.
+
+Every North Carolina family deserves to know their drinking water is safe. In October, our administration got people near coal ash ponds off bottled water, and they now have permanent, safe water. Our Department of Environmental Quality will continue to push for safe storage of coal ash across the state.
+
+We also must protect the health of our coastal communities from the threats of offshore drilling. The federal government must hear us loud and clear:  Not off our coast.  
+
+And we know too many North Carolinians don’t have health insurance. Tonight, I want to talk about a bipartisan way we can get 500 thousand working North Carolinians some help.
+
+There are neighbors in your hometowns who are working two jobs that don’t provide any health insurance. Doctors and nurses across our state see it every day. Are we willing to help them? It’s time. 
+
+Police chiefs and sheriffs say they’re overwhelmed by the wreckage of opioid overdose and people who need treatment—not jails. Are we willing to help them? It’s time. 
+
+Business owners say they’re tired of paying higher premiums to cover the cost of treating the uninsured in emergency rooms. Are we willing to help them? It’s time. 
+
+Rural hospitals are bordering on bankruptcy and even closing because many of their patients don’t have health insurance. Are we willing to help them? It’s time. 
+
+Our communities could use an extra 30 to 40 thousand more good-paying jobs. Are we willing to help them? It’s time. 
+
+Many North Carolinians are tired of their tax dollars going to Washington to cover people in other states, but not our state. Are we willing to help them? It’s time. 
+
+There’s someone in our audience who’s willing to help them. Dr. Gregory Adams, a pediatrician who practices in Watauga County, sees the problem of lack of health insurance in his own community. He worries many people won’t get treated for their chronic conditions unless we do something about it. He says it makes no sense to say no to something our federal tax dollars already pay for in other states.
+
+Dr. Adams believes that as soon as possible, we should expand Medicaid. Let’s follow the doctor’s orders. 
+
+Dr. Adams is determined to keep people healthy. Dr. Adams, please stand so we can acknowledge you and all the doctors, nurses and hospitals that want to do this.
+
+Guys, we can do this. I know some of you have concerns. Let’s listen to each other and get this done the North Carolina way. 
+
+When I became your governor, I envisioned a North Carolina where people are healthier, better educated, with more money in their pockets, and where people have the opportunity to live lives of purpose and abundance.
+
+I envisioned a North Carolina where every child in every school would get an excellent education that allowed them to pursue their purpose.  
+
+I envisioned a North Carolina where every family could live fulfilling lives without the cost of health care stealing their dreams.
+
+I envisioned a North Carolina where every worker had a big enough paycheck to provide for themselves and their families.
+
+Those of you sitting in this House chamber tonight know that what we’ve outlined is easier said than done. But it’s time to start doing.
+
+The people of North Carolina are determined for us to work together. They have spoken. 
+
+They want a more balanced approach to government. They want us to invest in our public schools. They want the education and training they need to get a good-paying job. They want safe drinking water. They want their neighbors to have access to health care. They simply want the opportunity to make the most of their lives. They want us to do our jobs.
+
+It’s our job to build a better North Carolina that makes that possible, whether a person lives in Cherokee or Chocowinity.
+
+I love this state. I believe you do, too. Every one of you. I believe we have broad agreement on what we want for our state. We sometimes differ on how to achieve it. But let’s debate in good faith, not with political stunts. In the open, not behind closed doors. With respect for those who disagree, not disdain. We need to seek common ground and build solutions upon it.
+
+Just like the people I’ve met along the way, I’m determined. I’m determined to make our state better. I believe you are, too. Starting tonight, let’s figure out how best to serve those who sent us here. There’s nothing a determined North Carolina can’t do. 
+
+God bless you, our country, and the great state of North Carolina. 
+
+
+
+
+
+
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state-of-the-state/speeches/NorthDakota_SOTS.txt

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+Good afternoon! And thank you all for that warm welcome! 
+Lieutenant Governor Sanford --- Governor Schafer --- Mr. Speaker --- distinguished members of the 66th Legislative Assembly --- Chief Justice VandeWalle and justices of the Supreme Court --- fellow elected officials --- tribal leaders --- cabinet members --- First Lady Kathryn --- my children Joe, Jesse and Tom --- Second Lady Sandi --- family and friends --- fellow citizens of North Dakota --- welcome, and thank you all for joining us today. 
+It’s truly an honor for Brent, Kathryn and I to serve the citizens of North Dakota. We’re filled with gratitude every day for the opportunity to make a difference for our state and its citizens. 
+As we enter this chamber, filled today with the three branches of government and leaders of our sovereign tribal nations, one can't help but reflect on the incredible progress we have made --- and the unlimited potential that lies ahead when we all work together. 
+One hundred thirty years ago this coming November, President Benjamin Harrison signed North Dakota into statehood. 
+That same year, George Eastman --- after buying 21 camera patents from David Houston of Hunter, North Dakota --- created a photography revolution with a flexible rolled film camera ---called Kodak. 
+North Dakota’s population was roughly 190,000 people. 
+After growing rapidly to 680,000 people in 1930, our population shrank --- and did not break that record until 2011. 
+Last year, our state grew by more than 4,900 people. That’s like adding 14 Arthurs in one year --- incredible! 
+And the U.S. Census Bureau estimates our total population now surpasses 760,000 --- for the first time in state history. 
+It’s easy to understand why a scarcity mindset may still invade our thinking --- given that many of our citizens had direct experience with our decades of out-migration and rural depopulation --- and are subjected to constant claims that “things are getting worse.” 
+The facts clearly show otherwise.
+Extreme global poverty has been cut in half over the last 20 years. Seventy-five percent of the world now lives in middle income countries. Global life expectancy is up to 72 years --- the highest it has ever been. 
+Across the globe, we’ve seen dramatic decreases in deaths related to disease, war and natural disasters --- and dramatic increases in access to clean water and electricity, literacy, food production, internet access and immunizations. Abundance --- by nearly every measure --- is on the rise. 
+Yes, the world is getting better and better --- and doing so at a rapid pace. 
+Why does this matter to North Dakota? For two reasons. 
+First, a world with improving health and increasing incomes will consume more energy - -- more food --- and more technology. The world will need more and more of what North Dakota has. 
+Second, it matters in the context of the United States --- and North Dakota’s role in the world. 
+As American citizens, we all are blessed with freedom of religion --- freedom of speech - -- the right to assemble --- the right to own property --- and the right to bear arms. 
+Each of our 50 states is a laboratory of democracy. We have an administration in D.C. that understands the states created the federal government --- not the other way around. 
+And in North Dakota, we can choose our own destiny. ##### 
+Today, the State of the State is that we stand at the cusp of a new era in North Dakota’s history. 
+And by harnessing the courage to dare greatly --- we will cultivate a prosperous future for generations to come. 
+With action --- we will shine. 
+We truly live in a state of abundance --- with the humility to understand that much of our good fortune is derived from our God-given natural resources --- namely our soil --- water --- coal --- wind --- gas --- and oil. 
+Combining these resources with the power of human ingenuity has allowed us to build and grow a dynamic and increasingly diversified economy. 
+This private sector prosperity has allowed us to build and maintain a strong foundation in K-12 and higher education --- investing in our No. 1 resource --- the young people of North Dakota. 
+Right now, we can make smart, bold investments with long-lasting impacts --- while delivering a fiscally conservative and structurally sound budget that improves transparency --- replenishes reserves --- and does this all without raising taxes! 
+Yes, life is good here --- and yes, we can make it even better. 
+According to U.S. News and World Report, North Dakotans enjoy the best quality of life in the nation. 
+The magazine said our small towns “promote a positive social environment --- in which people are not only supportive of one another --- but they are able to engage in their communities --- and feel that they are making a difference.” 
+The same applies to our bustling and growing urban areas. In North Dakota, everyone has a chance to make their mark --- to make a difference --- and to truly be legendary. 
+We’ve been one of the five fastest-growing states percentage-wise since 2010 --- growing by 13 percent --- and we’re expected to retain our rank as the fourth-youngest state. 
+Earlier this year we were ranked the best state for millennials, with our low unemployment ---affordable housing --- and nation-leading increase in wages since 2007. 
+And North Dakota again made the list of 10 Best States to Start a Business. 
+Taxable sales and purchases for July, August and September were up 18 percent compared with the same period last year. That’s the highest year-over-year percentage increase since the third quarter of 2012. 
+In fact, year-over-year taxable sales and purchases have increased every quarter since April 2017. Once again, North Dakota is on the grow. 
+Our economy isn’t the only place where our health is improving --- North Dakota moved up five spots from No. 18 to No. 13 in this year’s America’s Health Rankings by United Health Foundation --- including ranking 1st in air quality. 
+Our oil and gas producers continue to shatter production records. Daily output has 
+increased to a record 1.39 million barrels per day in October --- strengthening our position as the nation’s No. 2 oil producer. 
+We also produced a record amount of gas in October --- an incredible 2.56 billion cubic feet per day --- which is nearly double what we were producing in June of 2014. 
+We rank 6th in overall energy production --- proving to the world that energy production and environmental stewardship aren’t mutually exclusive. 
+A good example is the intelligent Pipeline Integrity Program, or iPIPE --- a public-private partnership studying emerging technologies to detect and prevent pipeline leaks. Six projects have been funded so far, showing exciting and promising results. Again, this is happening because we believe innovation --- not regulation --- is the best way to solve complex challenges in a digital age. 
+Adding value to our enormous natural gas production is a tremendous opportunity. Converting gas to plastics or fertilizer --- using gas to heat commercial-scale greenhouses for year-round local food production --- converting gas to electrons to be exported on transmission lines --- or reinjecting gas back into the ground as part of enhanced oil recovery --- each of these represents a billion-dollar business opportunity. 
+Substantial progress on gas capture is in our near future --- with billions of private capital being invested in mid-stream processing and gathering pipelines --- but more capacity will be needed as our gas-to-oil ratio continues to grow. And we must ensure our regulations incent --- versus discourage --- capital investment. 
+Our lignite industry continues to innovate and invest --- providing essential baseload electricity to the grid --- despite long-term economic and regulatory uncertainty created by over-reaching federal policy in the previous administration. 
+Project Tundra --- which aims to capture carbon dioxide that can be used to revitalize old oil wells --- was recently awarded the largest grant in the history of the Lignite Research Council, $15 million. 
+This partnership between the Energy and Environmental Research Center at UND --- lignite --- and the oil and gas industry --- is transforming power plant emissions to a marketable, value-added commodity. 
+Our agricultural producers --- who are among the best and most productive in the world --- continue to invest in new technology and precision farming and ranching approaches --- despite volatile prices and uncertainty with international markets. 
+It’s exciting to see evolving partnerships between industries adding value and developing new markets --- such as Marathon converting their Dickinson refinery to renewable biofuels and providing a huge new value-added market for North Dakota 
+soybeans. 
+Advancing these core industries requires teamwork and collaboration. That’s why our budget proposal dedicates nearly $200 million for continued research in agriculture --- oil and gas --- and lignite. 
+Our farmers and ranchers can compete with anyone, anywhere --- if given a level playing field. For consistently providing this nation and the world with a low-cost, high- quality food supply --- they deserve our deepest gratitude. 
+##### 
+We continue to make great progress on the five strategic initiatives outlined in this chamber two years ago. 
+In 2017, we set out to transform education in North Dakota. Our goal: to ensure our K- 12 and higher education systems are best equipped to adapt to new technologies and delivery methods --- and prepare students for success in the fast-changing digital economy. 
+Two task forces created by executive order have published their final reports and recommendations --- outlining a bold path forward for K-12 innovative education --- and calling for stronger accountability and appropriate scale in higher education governance. 
+On each of these 15-member task forces, legislative members service with distinction -- - on the K-12 Innovative Education Task Force, Rep. Cindy Schreiber-Beck and Sen. Don Schaible --- and on the Task Force for Higher Education Governance, Rep. Mike Nathe and Shannon Roers Jones, and Senators Brad Bekkedahl and Joan Heckaman. - -- Thank you for your service. 
+In addition, we supported establishing the K-12 Innovation Academy. This partnership -- - between public entities and private philanthropy --- supplies concrete strategies for transforming education- -- while also creating a statewide network to advance best practices and community-led initiatives. 
+We’ve also expanded opportunities for communication--- collaboration --- and meaningful engagement with each of the sovereign tribal nations within our borders. 
+Our Indian Affairs Commission hosted two well-attended conferences this past year on strengthening government to government relationships and partnerships --- bringing together tribal leaders --- federal --- state --- and local officials. 
+Thanks to the Legislature --- Lt. Gov. Sanford, Tax Commissioner Ryan Rauschenberger, Indian Affairs Executive Director Scott Davis and I had the unique opportunity to serve on the interim legislative Tribal Taxation Issues Committee --- 
+which I was honored to chair. 
+The committee had productive discussions with all of the tribes. As a result --- House and Senate leaders plan to co-sponsor legislation to allow the governor to enter into separate agreements with individual tribes --- to administer sales and use taxes and wholesale taxes on alcohol and tobacco. 
+To have these bills co-sponsored by legislative leadership sends a strong --- and welcome signal --- of collaboration and improved relations. 
+As we continue to engage with the tribes in discussions about oil and gas tax revenue distribution --- law enforcement --- behavioral health --- and other priorities, we will do so with mutual respect and the understanding that we are all North Dakotans. 
+In that spirit of mutual respect, we're honored to announce that the Governor's Office will begin to display the flags of the five tribal nations with whom we share geography --- alongside our state and national flags --- outside of the Governor's Office in Memorial Hall. 
+As a state, we can reach our fullest potential only if all people have the opportunity to reach theirs. 
+Addiction and mental health issues also can keep us from reaching our fullest potential. 
+Our state suffers from a behavioral health crisis, which carries significant negative impacts for our people --- our families --- and our economy. 
+First Lady Kathryn has been an incredibly courageous leader in addressing head-on the disease of addiction --- with the goal of eliminating the shame and stigma of the disease of addiction so we can normalize the conversation like we do around any other chronic - --progressive --- and ultimately fatal disease. 
+Her courage and example are inspiring others to share their stories --- to seek recovery --- and to celebrate its hope and power. Please join me in thanking her. 
+With Kathryn’s leadership, we created the Office of Recovery Reinvented to promote these efforts with help from behavioral health professionals and community and tribal leaders. 
+In October, more than 1,200 people attended our second annual Recovery Reinvented summit in person or online --- sharing best practices and further lifting the veil of shame and stigma. 
+We’re also seeing progress with Free Through Recovery --- a program that provides effective, community-based behavioral health services to help those involved with the criminal justice system and struggling with addiction. 
+This is a tangible outcome of last session’s collaborative justice reinvestment efforts --- led by members of the legislative, judicial and executive branches. 
+By moving $7 million upstream last session, this Free Through Recovery partnership between the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation and the Department of Human Services has provided access to care coordination --- recovery services --- and peer support to over 500 people so far. 
+One of those people is Jyssica Noble. Like many who become trapped by the disease of addiction, Jyssica’s struggles with opioid addiction landed her in jail --- left her homeless and --- brought her to the brink of death. 
+Thanks to Cass County’s drug court program, she was referred to Free Through Recovery. 
+When she relapsed, her peer support specialist --- care coordinator --- and probation officer helped her back on the road to recovery. 
+As Jyssica told Kathryn and I in our recent face-to-face conversation --- she said, “These people cared, and I haven’t had that.” 
+You can find Jyssica’s powerful story of recovery on our website --- and we’re happy to have her here with us today. Please join me in recognizing Jyssica for her courage and commitment. 
+Justice reinvestment is just one great example of the power of reinventing government. 
+Citizens today expect government to safeguard their personal information and its financial assets from increasing cyberattacks --- while also providing a user-friendly digital experience. 
+North Dakota can be a world-class leader in technology. Our goals include lowering costs ---improving cybersecurity --- and streamlining online services to improve the citizen experience across agencies --- and ensuring members of Team ND have the tools to do their jobs effectively and efficiently. 
+To accomplish this, we’re creating a unified IT Shared Service organization. 
+Already, we have aligned the backend systems of 31 state agencies, saving more than half a million dollars in product --- hosting costs --- and the number of staff it takes to do the work. 
+But we still have over 400 organizations that touch our statewide network --- each responsible for their own cybersecurity --- a nearly impossible task that is full of risk. 
+We’re calling for incremental investment of $16.4 million to centralize cybersecurity --- and help protect against approximately 5.6 million cyberattacks per month. We know that even one breach or financial attack by a bad actor could be far costlier. 
+Our budget also calls for $174 million to fund 24 IT projects that will support 19 agencies and improve public safety --- citizen-government interactions --- and voting integrity. 
+This is the critical infrastructure for an interconnected world --- and a necessary investment to protect our citizens’ data. 
+Communities representing more than half a million North Dakotans are engaged in one or more of the Main Street Initiative’s three pillars --- exploring what they can do to build healthy, vibrant communities --- with smart, efficient infrastructure --- to attract a 21st century workforce. 
+Participation continues to grow, with 61 communities large and small engaged so far --- from Grand Forks to Williston --- and Regan to Robinson. 
+Those who have participated in one of our 45 Main Street listening sessions report positive results --- experiencing greater engagement from their community members --- and increased momentum on community projects. 
+In the southwest, more than 150 community members took part in Helping Hettinger Day, a communitywide improvement project. 
+In north-central North Dakota, Rugby high schoolers launched a video project highlighting the history and importance of their remaining downtown buildings --- building momentum for local improvement efforts. 
+And in the southeast corner, Hankinson just renewed their Renaissance Zone --- and has 53 Renaissance Zone projects. 
+Based on input from our visits --- we’ve launched the Main Street Community Leaders Peer Network to share best practices and promote learning on MSI-related topics. 
+And we’ve targeted federal block grant dollars to fund 15 projects totaling over $2.3 million for Main Street development --- public facilities --- and services. 
+We will continue to provide tailored technical assistance --- share best practices --- and help communities empower and engage their youth and young leaders. 
+In Grand Forks, which received one of our Main Street Excellence Awards, the Young Professionals group is leading the charge on Main Street. Young people have been appointed to civic boards, and scholarships have been awarded to both high school and college students with Main Street ideas. 
+Our first-ever Main Street Summit hosted more than 650 people last February, and we’re already planning our second summit for Oct. 30-31 --- so save the date! 
+##### 
+We’ve made great progress these first two years, but our journey has not been without its bumps. 
+A perfect storm of circumstances tested our resolve during our first year in office ----- from protests --- to crashing commodity prices --- to historic drought --- to the stalled Fargo-Moorhead diversion project, now moving again after last week’s permit from Minnesota --- to having to close the largest budget gap in state history. 
+Thanks to the unbreakable spirit of our citizens --- the hard work of our state agencies -- - and the foresight of our elected leaders to plan for a rainy day, our state is stronger than ever. 
+That strength springs first and foremost from our North Dakota citizens --- and also from the courage of our elected officials who serve them at all levels of government --- including those newly elected legislators here today. 
+For their dedication and willingness to serve --- would all 18 of our newly sworn-in legislators please stand and be recognized. Welcome to the Capitol! 
+Congratulations as well to our statewide elected officials who earned the opportunity to continue their outstanding service to our citizens: Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem -- - Agriculture Commissioner Doug Goehring --- Secretary of State Al Jaeger --- Tax Commissioner Ryan Rauschenberger --- Public Service Commissioners Randy Christmann and Brian Kroshus --- and Supreme Court Justice Lisa Fair McEvers. 
+We also congratulate our newly elected House leadership --- Rep. Pollert and Rep. Boschee --- and returning Senate leaders, Sen. Wardner and Sen. Heckaman. Thank you all for your past and future leadership in your respective chambers. 
+We look forward to working with all of our leaders here in Bismarck --- across the state - -- and in our nation’s capital --- with Senator Hoeven, Senator Cramer and Congressman Armstrong --- to reach our fullest potential and make the most of our opportunity to Empower People, Improve Lives and Inspire Success. 
+##### 
+Our state is ready to go to the next level because of the tremendous progress made in the last two years. 
+Our forward-looking agenda is focused on solving our workforce challenges --- 
+increasing accountability and budget transparency --- investing in our people --- and investing in our future. 
+Our economy continues to grow, but workforce remains our Number 1 gating factor for economic growth. Now is the time to redouble efforts to equip our workforce with the skills needed to prosper in the digital economy. 
+We can start by dedicating $30 million in Legacy Fund earnings --- with a 1-to-1 match - -- for career academies like the very successful collaborative between Bismarck Public Schools and Bismarck State College. 
+Each day, nearly 1,400 high school and college students at the Career Academy are receiving quality education in high-wage, high-demand technical careers that align with post-secondary education. 
+Students can choose pathways and earn scholarships in areas such as health science - -- engineering--- electronics --- IT automotive technology --- aviation --- carpentry --- and agriculture. 
+We need to copy this Career Academy model across our state. This is one time in education where we want everyone to know --- it’s OK to plagiarize. 
+Great jobs that move our economy forward --- with less debt for students and families --- is a winning formula. 
+Strategic investment into our higher education system will ensure our institutions are producing career-ready students and meeting market demands. 
+Investing $40 million of Legacy Fund earnings into the successful and proven North Dakota Higher Education Challenge Fund --- which requires a 2-to-1 match from philanthropic sources --- will yield a total of $120 million for primarily scholarships but also endowed chairs and classroom instruction equipment. 
+Another key to solving our workforce shortage is making it easier for people from other states to transfer their skills to North Dakota. 
+The state’s Workforce Development Council --- revitalized last year --- recently delivered a report providing more than three dozen recommendations --- and identifying our current occupational licensing approach as one of many potential barriers. 
+Today, we have over 80 licensed occupations in North Dakota --- governed by more than 60 boards, agencies and commissions. 
+Gov. Schafer asked the legislature in 1995 to join him to “refine, rethink and reinvent” the state’s myriad boards and commissions. We re-issue that invitation today. 
+Consider this example: While an airman from the Minot Air Force Base was deployed to the Middle East, his wife wanted to become a registered dental assistant. 
+She returned to her home state of California and completed a program there --- at a tuition cost of $16,000 --- earning her accreditation. 
+When she returned to North Dakota to reunite with her husband after his deployment, she was advised that to become certified, she would need to take multiple national exams costing more than $700. 
+After she completed those exams, she was informed that her California license wouldn’t be recognized --- and that to be recognized in North Dakota, she would have to retake the entire 10-month course --- without being able to transfer credits. 
+The U.S. Department of Labor has awarded us a $450,000 grant to study the licensing system so we can remove unnecessary barriers. Building off the great work already done by the Legislature, this study will continue for the next three years --- with early work focusing on high-demand occupations. 
+We’re pleased to see proposed legislation that would grant occupational licensing reciprocity to military spouses. Making North Dakota more military-friendly is key to solving our workforce shortage. 
+Our budget proposes a 100 percent state income tax exemption on military retirement pay to encourage more veterans to stay and work in North Dakota. 
+We should thank our veterans for their service not only with our words --- but with our actions --- as they certainly have earned it. 
+And let us always remember that since 9-11, we’ve had North Dakota National Guard members continuously deployed in harm’s way, defending our freedoms. I would ask that both our veterans and active duty servicemen and women please stand and be recognized. 
+For North Dakota to remain competitive and reach its fullest potential, we need robust and innovative institutions of higher education. 
+Technologic and competitive forces are challenging the approaches --- practices --- and business models of higher education like at no time ever before in its history. 
+The need for stronger governance boards --- with appropriate capacity to focus on the varied missions of our two-year, four-year, and research institutions --- is more apparent than ever. 
+Our current single-board system of governance was created in 1938 --- when our entire system had less than 8,000 students. 
+This one-board, eight-person model is woefully ill-matched in terms of board bandwidth to address the complex governance challenges at hand with 11 far-flung institutions --- more than 45,000 students --- and the explosion of competition and change from online and non-traditional education. 
+Those who oppose the Higher Ed Task Force’s recommendation to thoughtfully consider a multi-board alternative simply because it creates additional boards --- should recall that our successful K-12 governance system includes 175 school boards with over 1,000 board members. 
+I am entirely confident a multi-board model can be achieved with a zero-dollar fiscal note --- and paid for through realignment of resources at the institutions and system office --- and therefore it is not a line item in our budget. 
+Many strengths of the current system will be retained, including common course numbering and credit transferability. And like today, appropriations would remain within the purview of the legislature. 
+Stronger boards, with more mission focus, will lead to deeper accountability --- increased responsiveness --- and enhanced results from our institutions of higher learning. 
+##### 
+State government as a whole also had to become stronger and more nimble as we confronted economic and budget downturns the past three years. Now is the time to increase budget accountability and transparency --- so we are prepared to meet the next challenge head-on. 
+As we pledged two years ago, we have refined the revenue forecasting process with half a dozen changes to improve accuracy and ensure the most efficient use of taxpayer resources. 
+We fulfilled another goal by using technology to make state spending more transparent online. Now, visitors to OMB’s website will find a more user-friendly experience --- with clear visual displays of budget data --- vendor contracts --- and other financial information about state government. 
+Our budget proposal also brings a new level of transparency to how oil tax revenues support our day-to-day operations. Instead of transferring oil tax revenues into the general fund from a labyrinth of sources, we’re proposing a direct $1 billion transfer to support general fund expenditures. 
+Our No. 1 priority was to restore structural balance in the general fund by bringing ongoing spending in line with ongoing revenues --- and living within our means. The last 
+two budget cycles, we relied on transfers to cover substantial general fund revenue shortfalls. That’s like drawing money out of your savings account to balance your checkbook --- not a sustainable way to manage finances. 
+$1 billion is completely and easily doable. --- Why? Because this is the average amount of oil tax revenue transferred to the general fund over the past four bienniums. 
+It’s a conservative and sustainable amount --- even when oil prices crashed during the 2015-17 biennium, the state still collected $2.9 billion in oil tax revenue --- and we expect to collect close to $5 billion this biennium. 
+Being more transparent will improve our state’s bond rating --- which lowers the interest rate for local political subdivisions who borrow through the state for infrastructure projects. 
+It is also imperative that we replenish our reserves. Our budget transfers $315 million to help fill the Budget Stabilization Fund to its maximum level. Taxpayers --- and our most vulnerable citizens --- deserve this peace of mind. 
+Our team members in state government also deserve a higher level of financial security. That’s why we’ve proposed an infusion of $265 million into the pension fund to help us close our $1 billion unfunded liability gap and save taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars down the road. 
+Investing in team members’ salaries and health benefits also will ensure we can continue to attract and retain the talent state government needs to deliver the services our citizens expect. 
+Recognizing employees for outstanding performance is one of the true joys of this job. I’d like to recognize several of our Governor’s Award winners here today who exemplify the citizen-first focus of Team North Dakota. These employees have all gone above and beyond. 
+So, Holly GOG-ler from the National Guard; Trooper Jenna Clawson HUE-brights; Gary Vetter and Chad GUM-ringer from ITD; Michelle GAY-et from Human Services; Jen INE-rem from DOT; and Carla Valentine, Holly Holt and Sarah Lee from our national award-winning Main Street Dashboard team, please stand and be recognized for excellence in public service. 
+Thank you for all that you do --- and we'll keep pushing for a 4-and-2 percent salary increase, with room to go to 4-and-4. 
+#####
+Every North Dakotan deserves the opportunity to live a life of happiness and good 
+health --- both physical and mental. To address our behavioral health crisis, we must invest significant resources in evidence-based and cost-effective programs. 
+To that end, we’ve proposed spending more than $19 million across the continuum of care --- and increasing funding from $7 million to $11.5 million to expand Free Through Recovery services to those beyond the criminal justice system. 
+Millions more for substance use voucher services and expanded treatment and programming in our corrections system will improve outcomes and help move people into the workforce and keep them working. 
+Approaches to caring for the most vulnerable among us continue to evolve --- and we must evolve as well. 
+We should invest more in home and community-based services for older adults and persons with physical disabilities and behavioral disorders, including addiction, mental illness and brain injury. 
+While the recent trend has been toward community-based services and away from institutional services, we still need the latter to serve certain at-risk individuals --- and in doing so, we are committed to improving the quality of care. 
+Building a new State Hospital and Clinic in Jamestown with $35 million from Legacy Fund earnings will not only achieve that goal --- but also allow us to repurpose the existing State Hospital as a minimum-custody correctional facility for men --- resulting in consolidated facilities and significant operational efficiencies. 
+We also have a responsibility to ensure that the men and women in our correctional facilities are receiving equal treatment --- and access to medical and rehabilitative services. Currently, a strong argument could be made that we are falling short in that endeavor. 
+We believe the right thing to do for our female correctional residents – and taxpayers – is to relocate women’s prison services from New England to the Missouri River Correctional Center south of Bismarck. 
+Two years ago, I shared my strong belief that North Dakota’s schools can be the best in the world --- if we empower educators to lead the transformation of their classrooms and cut the red tape that stands in their way. 
+We must promote policies that compensate our educators well --- and provide the incentives that help kindle the fires of curiosity and innovation. 
+That’s why, in addition to a proposed 2-and-2 percent increase in the K-12 funding formula, helping to raise teacher salaries --- we propose up to $10 million to create the Teacher Incentives for Leadership in Education, or TILE, program. 
+TILE would provide funding for professional development or leadership opportunities that advance district initiatives --- much like an extra duty contract. 
+TILE is one of the key policy recommendations from the Innovative Education Task Force. 
+We also know that funding isn’t enough --- we must redesign core elements such as graduation requirements, to support the cultivation of choice-ready students. 
+We stand behind our educators in their work to develop our state’s most precious resource: our students. 
+##### 
+Past governors and legislatures have established a legacy of strong investments in infrastructure. 
+We aim to build on that legacy, proposing nearly $1.5 billion for roads --- essential water projects --- and airport infrastructure --- as well as the $174 million for technology investments. 
+With the Legacy Fund, we have an opportunity to create a new kind of infrastructure legacy. 
+Infrastructure is a top priority for our administration, and this is the largest piece of our plan for Legacy Fund earnings. 
+By investing $55 million into an infrastructure revolving loan fund, we can leverage an estimated $370 million in borrowing power. 
+Imagine --- a source of super low-interest loans for local political subdivisions to support everything from street paving and sewer replacement --- to flood control projects and water treatment plants. 
+With an additional $25 million investment in the school construction revolving loan fund - -- leveraging $165 million --- we can drive a total of $535 million in construction. 
+Our communities will benefit for generations to come. 
+At the same time, we must continue efforts to diversify our economy --- embracing emerging technology such as unmanned aircraft systems, or UAS. 
+With the Northern Plains UAS Test Site and Grand Sky technology park in Grand Forks, we’re already positioned as a national leader in UAS development. 
+It’s why the federal government chose North Dakota as one of 10 sites nationwide for its pilot project to determine how best to incorporate UAS into the national airspace. 
+By investing $30 million in a statewide UAS infrastructure network, we can cement our status as a proving ground for UAS. This air traffic control system for drones flying beyond line of sight will also support commercial operations --- including automated farming --- precision agriculture --- and monitoring of essential energy infrastructure such as pipelines and transmission lines. 
+Now, to the legislators here today, I ask you to envision --- in a few short years, sitting at the ribbon-cutting for the new Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum at the entrance to Theodore Roosevelt National Park. 
+You will have become a part of history --- a member of the 66th Legislative Assembly whose actions made that day possible. Getting ready to listen to remarks from four or five living U.S. presidents honoring the incredible life and legacy of one of our nation’s greatest leaders. 
+As proposed, the $50 million in Legacy Fund earnings for the library and museum is a 2-to-1 match. Meaning every dollar will be matched by two dollars from other sources, such as federal, foundation, local or individual private donor dollars. 
+Challenge grants like this can spur decisive action from donors --- and enable faster and larger commitments of resources from partners and collaborators. 
+Already, this proposal has received statements of support from the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership --- the National Trust for Historic Preservation --- and Theodore Roosevelt V, the president’s great-great grandson. 
+Also pledging their support for the project are the National Park Service --- the Theodore Roosevelt Association --- the National Park Foundation --- and Theodore Roosevelt National Park. 
+That is why, given the timing with the strong support from this federal administration, we urge the Legislature to take up the work on this proposal without delay. 
+Swift passage will send a powerful message to all potential partners that the North Dakota Legislature understands both the lasting significance of this project --- and that the opportunity window for capturing this coveted prize for North Dakota is open right now. 
+The TR Library and Museum meets all of the criteria we set forth for Legacy Fund projects. 
+It will have regional, state and national impact. 
+It can be leveraged with partnerships to expand the impact of Legacy earnings. 
+And it sets North Dakota apart --- while creating positive impacts for our economy and workforce. 
+This --- and all of our Legacy Fund proposals --- will have lasting impacts beyond our current generation. 
+##### 
+Roosevelt’s vision for America was, in his own words, not “a life of ignoble ease” --- but rather the pursuit of a “strenuous life.” 
+A life built upon sweat and toil --- and the courage to be in the arena, versus a critic on the sidelines. 
+The strenuous life is what stitched the cultural fabric of North Dakota. 
+From the strong and lasting cultures of the indigenous tribes whose lands and sovereign nations coexist within our borders --- to the earliest immigrant pioneers who settled here. 
+Regardless of our background, how we view ourselves determines much of our path in life. If our heads are filled with self-defeating talk, our life paths will reflect this. 
+The same applies to us as a state --- and especially to our roles as elected leaders. If we see ourselves and our state as too small --- too distant --- and too cold --- we will fall short of our potential. 
+We must continually remind ourselves that being a North Dakotan is a choice --- a powerful and compelling choice. 
+A choice open to anyone who shares the spirit of self-reliance and self-respect --- who feels the connection to our land and water and wildlife --- who lives with the daring spirit of a pioneer. 
+Who embraces challenges and hardship --- who builds trust and community --- who lives with gratitude for our many blessings. 
+And while we are abundant in resources, we need more people willing to take risks --- to push forward --- to care deeply – and to dare greatly. 
+As our recently departed former President George H.W. Bush said, “Be bold in your caring --- be bold in your dreaming --- and above all else, always do your best.” 
+This Sunday, January 6th, marks the 100th anniversary of the passing of Theodore 
+Roosevelt. 
+By immersing himself in the rugged, beautiful and untamed Badlands, he transformed himself into a bold and fearless leader --- whose later actions transformed our nation and our world. 
+As we stand at the cusp of this new era, let us seize this opportunity for North Dakota to transform our image of ourselves --- to reach beyond any doubts and self-imposed limitations. 
+Now is the time to dream bold dreams --- to build those dreams --- and to create lasting legacies. 
+Thank you. May God bless you --- the United States of America --- and the Great State of North Dakota. 
+

state-of-the-state/speeches/Ohio_SOTS.txt

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+Speaker Householder,
+President Obhof,
+Leader Sykes,
+Leader Yuko,
+Members of the General Assembly,
+Chief Justice O’Connor and Justices of the Supreme Court, Elected State Officials, 
+Lieutenant Governor Husted, 
+My fellow citizens of Ohio.... 
+Thank you—thank you for the opportunity to serve. 
+Mr. Speaker, it is so great to be with you today in this beautiful and historic House Chamber— truly the people’s house! 
+And President Obhof, thank you for escorting me from the Senate Chamber—the place where I started my legislative career. I learned so much there from some amazing colleagues of both political parties. 
+Let me introduce my bride of 51 years and my best friend—our new First Lady Fran DeWine! 
+Fran tells me that she will be focusing on children, particularly on reading and food and nutrition. I know, that with her great passion for children and families, she is going to do some truly amazing things! 
+Members of the General Assembly, if our state is to move forward, we must govern together. Let me ask my cabinet to rise and face you. 
+I am proud of this team. I have instructed them to listen to you and to listen to the people of Ohio. 
+We will work together with you, for it is only by working together—Democrats and Republicans, alike—that the people’s business can faithfully be done. 
+The Bible tells us that there is a time and a place for everything under the Heavens. At this point in Ohio history, it is the time for us to INVEST IN OHIO! 
+It is time for us to invest in our children, in our workers, in our roads and bridges, in our infrastructure, and in Lake Erie and in our state parks and other natural wonders. 
+Simply put—it is time for us to invest in our future! 
+Fran and I love this great State of Ohio! There is so much to be proud of with our state’s rich, storied history and promising, hopeful future. 
+It is an exciting time to be in Ohio! This year, we will celebrate the 50th Anniversary of mankind’s first step on the moon by fellow Ohioan Neil Armstrong. And, as a life-long baseball fan, I am especially excited that this year marks the 150th anniversary of the Cincinnati Red Stockings—baseball’s first professional team—and today’s Cincinnati Reds, the oldest team in all of baseball! But, not only that, on July 9th this year, the Cleveland Indians at Progressive Field will host the 90th All-Star Game. 
+Indeed, it is a great year to be Governor—and to be an Ohio baseball fan! 
+One of the most important jobs of the Governor is to be the biggest salesman and promoter of the state. No one was better at that than Governor James A. Rhodes. 
+He died 18 years ago yesterday, and though his final term ended 36 years ago, his legacy lives on in so many ways all over our wonderful state. And, while Governor Rhodes was passionate in promoting Ohio’s interests—our economy, our tourism, our natural resources, and our education system—what really set him apart was his concern for people—for all the people of Ohio. 
+In the Governor’s own words from his February 1965, State of the State address: 
+“It is a wonderful world we have here in Ohio! Our state has more remarkable characteristics, resources, and people than any state in the Union! We want to sell that idea everywhere.... [But] I call upon you to help. I call upon every Ohioan to help. We must work together, seeking constantly that Divine Guidance which is rooted in our state motto. We must dedicate ourselves to a massive effort, based on morality, equality, and justice to move our state forward into the future for all of our people.” 
+Today, we must dedicate ourselves to our own massive effort. Though we live in a great state— with so many amazing opportunities and amazing people who are doing truly incredible things to transform Ohio—we still have so many real and significant challenges. 
+John F. Kennedy said that the job of the President is to lay before the American people the “unfinished business of the country.” That is also my job, as your Governor—to lay before the people of our state our unfinished business. 
+And so, let me start with our roads and bridges. 
+We have neglected them too long—and we now face a crisis today that must be addressed immediately! 
+We must fill our potholes!
+We must bolster our bridges! And we must rebuild our roads! 
+These are the essential facts: Our counties, cities, villages, and townships have seen their resources for road and bridge repairs dwindle and dwindle over the years. A dollar of gas tax
+in 2005—the last time the gas tax was raised—now only buys 58 cents worth of road and bridge repairs. And our local partners—townships, villages, cities, and counties—have received no relief for 14 years. 
+Each year, their infrastructure degrades more and more. 
+Each year, they fall further and further behind. 
+And each year, their roads and bridges get less and less safe. 
+Collectively, our local governments have over 200,000 miles of road to maintain. 
+And you want to know about their bridges? Nearly 2,600 of their bridges are rated in poor condition. Let me repeat—almost 2,600 of their bridges are rated today in poor condition. 
+The situation with our state roads and bridges is similar. The only difference is that the state has masked its problem by borrowing more and more money (none of which, by the way, has gone to our local communities). Well—now our credit cards are literally maxed out—and we simply cannot borrow any more—nor should we. 
+Some may think that if we do nothing, the quality of our roads will somehow remain the same. Nothing could be further from the truth. The money the state has borrowed—that same money that has been propping us up—has now been spent. 
+It’s gone. 
+And now that it’s gone, we are about to see a dramatic reduction in the quality of the roads in this state. It has just now started—and each month it will get worse and worse. 
+When road conditions deteriorate by 25 percent, crashes double. When they deteriorate 60 percent, crashes go up tenfold. 
+If we do nothing, more Ohioans will get hurt. And more Ohioans will die. 
+Our total ODOT debt is now almost $4 billion dollars—an absolute record! This coming year, our debt service at ODOT will be $390 million dollars—also an historic high! That means that before one single penny can be spent on roads and bridges, drivers must pay $390 million dollars in debt service for past projects and past commitments. 
+I have instructed ODOT Director Marchbanks to take a hard look at his Department to cut everywhere he can, and he has assured me he is doing that. 
+Our local jurisdictions and the state have a combined shortfall this year and for years into the future of at least $1.2 billion dollars per year. It will take this much additional revenue just for us to maintain our roads in their current condition and do only a modest amount of new work. 
+Members of the General Assembly, by requesting $1.2 billion dollars to fill the budget hole and meet existing needs, let me assure you that I am taking a minimalist, conservative approach, with this being the absolute bare minimum we need to protect our families and our economy. 
+Each one of you knows of a dangerous roadway or intersection in your district that needs to be fixed. In fact, ODOT has, at my request, identified 150 roads and highway locations that need to be fixed. Our proposal that we have sent to you would allow us to fix each one of these, and when all of those are fixed, we can then work on repairing all the rest of the dangerous places in our communities. 
+If you think the roads are bad now—you have not seen anything yet! While the local governments have been suffering for some time with a lack of resources for roads, state roads are just NOW entering the period where the revenues for them are drop dramatically. 
+I know there may be a temptation to reduce the $1.2 billion we are asking for—and I understand that. However, it is the smallest amount we can add that will keep our families safe. Anything less will mean either our roads won’t be kept up, or no new projects will get done or safety projects will not get done. 
+Mr. President, Mr. Speaker, Members of the General Assembly—our families should not be driving on roads that are crumbling and bridges that are failing. I appeal to you—as legislators, as fathers and mothers, as sons and daughters—help us fix this! The state has avoided its responsibility for too long—and now is the time to act. 
+To do anything less is simply irresponsible. 
+As I said in my inaugural address, I will be asking you—and I will be asking the people of Ohio—to invest in things where the returns will not all be immediate. In many cases, we won’t see results during the term of this Administration or even in our lifetimes. 
+Yet, we still must act! 
+In the words of Robert Louis Stevenson, “Don’t judge each day by the harvest you reap, but [rather] by the seeds that you plant.” Our budget will plant seeds of hope and possibility that will grow the roots of abundance and opportunity for future generations of Ohioans. 
+My philosophy is really pretty simple: I take the world as I find it and do everything I can to try and make it better. And through the budget we will propose, we just want to make lives better for all Ohio families. 
+It will be based on our guiding principles, which I outlined in my inaugural address: 
+Family is everything. 
+Education is the key to equality and to opportunity. 
+We must be fierce and passionate advocates for—and defenders of—the defenseless—those “in the dawn of life, the twilight of life, and the shadows of life.” 
+And everyone—no matter where you were born or who your parents are—deserves the chance to succeed, to get a good-paying job, to raise a family comfortably, and to be secure in your future. 
+Yet, tragically today, too many Ohioans are not getting the chance to succeed and to live up to their full God-given potential. 
+It is wrong—it is unconscionable—that in 2019, there are still children whose opportunities and whose dreams are stifled because they live in homes where they are exposed to lead paint. Every year, thousands of Ohio children under the age of six test positive for unsafe lead levels. And undoubtedly, there are countless more who have never been tested at all and would test positive. 
+In 2017, nearly 1,000 babies in Ohio died in their first 12 months of life. That’s equal to all the children under the age of four living in either Vinton or Morgan or Monroe or Harrison Counties. Further, African American babies are dying at almost three times the rate of white babies, leaving Ohio ranked 49th worst in the nation for deaths of African American infants. 
+This must stop! 
+Tragically, through no fault of their own, there are children in every part of Ohio are experiencing significant trauma, such as abuse, neglect, or having a parent who uses drugs. These kinds of adverse childhood experiences are linked to an increased likelihood of depression, drug abuse, and even decreased life expectancy. 
+At any point in time last year, at least 15,500 of our children were in out-of-home care—that’s more than a 25 percent increase since 2013. 
+And too many Ohioans are still dying daily from unintentional drug overdoses. 
+I have instructed my health and human services team—and it is an amazing team—to focus every single day on these public health challenges. Director of Health Dr. Amy Acton; Director of Medicaid Maureen Corcoran; Children’s Initiatives Director LeeAnne Cornyn; Director of Mental Health and Addiction Services Lori Criss; Director of Job and Family Services Kim Hall; RecoveryOhio Director Alisha Nelson; and Director of Aging Ursel McElroy—please stand. 
+This strong, compassionate team will work together across agencies to save lives. They understand that kids have only one chance to grow up and that there is an urgency, therefore, in absolutely everything they will do. 
+Their focus will be on people—not on bureaucracy. They will work with you. And, they will serve as partners with their counterparts at the local community level. 
+In the budget that I will propose, we will be creating a new public health fund, that will leverage resources through an innovative new public-private partnership to increase public health awareness and prevention strategies. And, we will be infusing resources directly into communities to make systemic changes to help local efforts to prevent and treat mental health and substance use disorders and to support recovery and wellness for individuals. 
+We are going to expand the state’s treatment capacity first with more crisis support for children and for adults struggling with mental illness and addiction. 
+We are going to consistently and continually educate children in Kindergarten through 12th grade on the dangers of drug, alcohol, and tobacco use and teach them the skills—through a much- needed focus on social-emotional learning—on how to make healthy decisions throughout their lives. 
+We are going to expand wrap-around service models, such as our Ohio Sobriety, Treatment, Abuse, and Reducing Trauma program, known as OhioSTART. It provides specialized victim services to children who have been abused or neglected because of parental drug use, and it provides drug treatment for those parents. This intensive program that I started as your Attorney General is keeping families together and is keeping parents on the path to recovery. I am grateful for Attorney General Yost’s continued support for our program. 
+We are also going to work with Attorney General Yost as we double down on the drug cartels by increasing the number of law enforcement drug task forces in Ohio. We will also empower local law enforcement through our creation of a new, highly-specialized Narcotics Intelligence Center. This innovative new Center will provide local law enforcement with enhanced intelligence and high-tech analytical capabilities to strengthen criminal investigations and improve public safety. 
+And, we are going to dramatically increase the number of specialty docket courts across Ohio to get people into treatment and keep them out of jail. I want to thank Chief Justice O’Connor for her dedication to this effort and for all her all work to make the criminal justice system more fair and better aligned with the needs of all Ohioans. 
+We are going to help at-risk moms take care of their babies by tripling the number of families served in evidence-based home-visiting programs. And, by increasing our investment in quality, early childhood education, we will improve these children’s odds for success. 
+We are also going to direct significant state resources to Ohio’s most-in-need children to help them overcome the barriers and disadvantages of poverty and trauma. We have both a moral and an economic imperative to support these students every way we can, and that is why—through targeted funding in my budget—these kids will receive additional resources for mentoring, after- school programs, wrap-around supports, health care, mental health care, and much, much more. 
+And, we are going to be true partners with county children services agencies. The drug epidemic has strained Ohio’s child welfare system with many, many more children being placed into foster care. Historically, the state’s financial support to local children services agencies has been very, very small. We will change that! We will increase our state investment in children’s services, and we will actively work with all local agencies to eliminate red tape, relieve the pressure on local dollars, and allow promising prevention and intervention methods for our most vulnerable children to flourish. 
+Also, I have instructed my director of foster care initiatives, Kristi Burre, to focus every day on ways to better help children and families. We’re going to continue our efforts to recruit more foster and adoptive parents and better support kinship caregivers—primarily grandparents—who find themselves unexpectedly caring for children. 
+By the year 2020, 25 percent of Ohioans will be age 60 and older. To assist this growing population, we will strengthen the caregiver infrastructure through respite and other supportive services for those families caring for older Ohioans living with a chronic, disabling, or serious health condition. We will expand nutritional and other programs that promote life-long healthy living. And, we will educate the public on ways to protect the independence, vitality, and contributions of older Ohioans. 
+Even though the economy is going well, many Ohioans still struggle. Many in our urban core and in our rural heartland have not seen economic recovery in their neighborhoods. We will focus on bringing jobs and job training to the communities and to the people who have been left behind. Our Administration will focus on knocking down the barriers that stand in the way of a better life, and we will focus on creative, new strategies to restore hope and to restore opportunity. 
+We have a shocking number of our fellow citizens with disabilities who are unemployed or grossly underemployed. This is wrong. And so, we are going to invest more resources into initiatives that increase employment opportunities for people with disabilities. 
+We are going to help businesses in Ohio through enhanced opportunity zones. 
+And, we are going to help Ohio college students by having every one of our public universities offer guaranteed tuition—that won’t increase one dime—over the four years the student is in college. The cost of college should be transparent and predictable, and I want to thank our 
+university presidents—several who are seated in the gallery today—for their commitment to do this. 
+For those who take another career path, we are going to embark on the most aggressive workforce development and worker re-training effort in Ohio history! We’re going to invest more in our career-tech centers and two-year community colleges, and we are going to create at least 10,000 new industry certificates. 
+Let me just take a moment while we’re talking about education to thank all teachers in Ohio— whether they are in early childhood education, primary education, high school, home-schooling, higher education, career-tech, or special education. Let’s give all of them a round of applause! 
+Teaching is tough, and teachers change lives every single day. Fran and my son Mark and our daughter-in-law Becca are educators here in Ohio. Our daughter Anna volunteered in an inner- city middle school, and our granddaughter Isabelle is currently volunteering in a Cristo Rey school. I continue to learn so very, very much from each of them. 
+And then—then there is InnovateOhio! Let me take a moment now to recognize and thank my amazing Lieutenant Governor Jon Husted and his wife Tina! Would you both please stand? 
+Jon is doing transformational things for our state through InnovateOhio, whose mission is to look at every state service through the eyes of our customers—Ohio citizens and our job creators. InnovateOhio will take a leading role in technology projects across the state. It will coordinate projects across our administration to use data to change the way we solve problems. Already, InnovateOhio is working to better collect and use data across agencies in important areas involving the opioid crisis, workforce development, and children’s initiatives. 
+Let’s talk about a few more areas where we must invest. We need to invest more in our great state parks, preserves, and natural areas. These God-given gifts are such an important part of what makes Ohio so special and unique and wonderful. 
+Our wildlife is on the rebound.
+I’m told it will be a great year to catch walleye on Lake Erie! And, we are seeing more and more magnificent bald eagles. 
+We have so much to appreciate. And we need to support and expand efforts that are working to preserve and protect our state’s natural wonders—from Lake Erie to all our lakes and rivers. But, at the same time, we face still some significant challenges. 
+Water is vital to us wherever we live. From aging infrastructure to failing septic systems to nutrient pollution to threats of lead contamination, communities throughout Ohio face different and unique water problems. 
+The Western Lake Erie Basin has been especially hard hit by algae blooms. We remember the 2014 water crisis when half-a-million Toledo residents couldn’t use their water. And, we’ve heard from charter boat captains who have said that during blooms, they have to travel farther and farther out into the water because the Lake was so thick and green, it was almost like pea soup! 
+Our water problems have accumulated over many years, and it will take a dedicated, long-term commitment to achieve real solutions to protect Ohio’s water. 
+Mr. President, I greatly commend the work that you and this chamber have undertaken to help clean up and protect Lake Erie. I look forward to working with you to fund the objectives of Senate Bill 2 to save this jewel of Ohio. And that is why—through the budget that I will submit to you in a few days—we will create a new fund, called the “H2-Ohio Fund,” to invest in targeted solutions to ensure safe and clean water all across the State of Ohio. 
+The right thing to do is often not the easy thing to do, and this will not be easy—nor will it be inexpensive. But, the cost of doing this 
+now—the right way—will be far lower than the cost of not doing it at all. 
+We must make a real commitment not only to water quality, but to all our natural resources. Mr. Speaker, I share your interest in making sure that the air that we breath is as clean as it can be. I look forward to working with you and all the members of the General Assembly on an all-of-the- above energy strategy for our state that not only will ensure that Ohio’s economy remains competitive, but that also generates clean electricity that lights our homes and powers our businesses. 
+And Leader Sykes and Leader Yuko—I enjoyed sitting down and sharing breakfast with you and your leadership teams recently and hearing about the issues that are important to you and your caucuses. I know we will find many areas of common ground and many things to work on together. 
+Mr. Speaker, Mr. President, Members of the General Assembly—we are poised to lead a new Ohio renaissance—a rebirth of our great state—by facing the problems we have put off for far too long and tackling our challenges head-on! 
+My greatest desire is to work hand-in-hand with each one of you to address our unfinished business. I know that through our Ohio grit and determination—and by undertaking bold, daring, and transformational efforts—we will move Ohio forward! 
+In my inaugural address, I spoke of the optimism with which my parents and grandparents lived their lives and how my grandfather planted trees well into his 80s, knowing he wouldn’t see them grow big and tall. Yet, he did it, nonetheless. 
+On the eve of my inauguration as your Governor, Fran and I and some of our children and grandchildren planted another tree on our farm. That tree is a symbol of our optimism, of our 
+
+We cannot continue to lurch from water crisis to water crisis, and this fund will give us the 
+
+ability to plan and develop long-lasting solutions. 
+commitment to and our abiding faith in the future of this state, and of our sincerest belief that through our actions now and through our investments today—we will change lives. 
+My dear friend and former colleague the late Governor George Voinovich was also very much an optimist. Fran and I learned so much from George and Janet when I served as his Lieutenant Governor and later alongside him in the U.S. Senate. And so, with them in my heart and mind today, I would like to conclude my first State of the State address with the closing line of Governor Voinovich’s final State of the State address. His uplifting, optimistic words still ring so very, very true today: 
+“With God’s help and [with] all of us working together, the sun will always shine brightly over this great state of ours—‘beautiful Ohio.’” 
+Thank you. 
+

state-of-the-state/speeches/Oklahoma_SOTS.txt

@@ -0,0 +1,77 @@
+It is such an honor to be with you today. I’d like to take a moment to recognize the honored guests with us:
+Lieutenant Governor Matt Pinnell, statewide elected officials, President Pro Temp Greg Treat, Speaker Charles McCall, Speaker Pro Temp Harold Wright, members of the 57th Legislature, cabinet members, Chief Justice Noma Gurich and members of the Oklahoma Supreme Court, tribal leaders, friends, guests, my beloved First Lady – Sarah, my six children, my parents, and the most important audience – my fellow Oklahomans.
+I stand before you today to offer a vision for Oklahoma’s future that gives purpose and direction for how our new administration will lead the state. My vision for Oklahoma is very clear and simple: to make Oklahoma Top Ten. My purpose is to work with you to deliver a turnaround that ensures a better future for all four million Oklahomans. I believe it is a purpose we all share in this room today.
+Before we get into the details of my very first budget, I want to discuss how we position Oklahoma well for a “turnaround” by defining the term and the expectations for this vision.
+Oklahoma’s “turnaround” is when our state stops moving in the direction of decline and begins moving in the direction we want to go: to be Top Ten in the nation. To get there, it will require three steps:
+First – We must bring together people from across the state, with various backgrounds, skills and talents, to serve in critical leadership roles.
+Second – We must set measurable goals and put metrics in place so every state employee, agency leader, member of my administration, and each of you in our Legislature can be part of one team with one vision.
+Third – We must hold ourselves responsible for delivering results and reimagine the possibilities. I’ve said it before, Oklahoma’s challenges are no different than any other state – and Oklahoma’s opportunities, I believe, are the best in the nation.
+Going through this process will put Oklahoma on the path to be Top Ten. And if anyone thinks that becoming Top Ten is just a campaign slogan, let me tell you, this turnaround is already under way with individuals who are delivering Top Ten outcomes in their own classrooms, communities, and industries. 
+Consider Donna Gradel – An environmental teacher in Broken Arrow Public Schools. Two weeks ago, she was named one of the Top Four teachers in the nation. Donna reimagined the classroom. She moved beyond the textbook by taking her classroom outside to partner with the city of Broken Arrow to clean public water and by taking the classroom to the world by developing a system to provide sustainable food sources to orphans in Kenya.
+Donna, thank you for being here today.
+Consider the Gathering Place – USA Today named it the number one place in America to visit in 2019. It is an example of public-private partnership. Where 55 acres stretched across the Tulsa river front, the George Kaiser Family Foundation reimagined a free park that is bringing together all ages, races, and categories of people to enjoy Tulsa.
+Consider the Oklahoma Youth Expo Community. In the early 2000s, this youth livestock show was struggling to survive, but donors, Oklahoma families, and the Legislature came together, assessed their resources, and reimagined the program. Today, OYE is not just the #1 junior livestock show in America, it is the largest in the world. Today, OYE garners young participants from all 77 counties, awards hundreds of thousands of dollars in education scholarships and has shown a $22 million economic impact on Oklahoma City.
+These are just a few examples of Oklahomans who brought together a team, set measurable goals, reimagined the possibilities, and executed on their vision to deliver Top Ten results.
+Today, as I present my first budget, I ask you to join me in reimagining. Today, as we consider the state of our state, Oklahomans are presented with revenue growth of potentially $600 million, a 3.6 percent unemployment rate, rising wages and a spirit of optimism.
+This is because of Oklahomans who are working hard, taking risks, opening new businesses, and creating jobs. The government does not create wealth, only the private sector can. In my administration, every policy decision will promote a healthy economy.
+I want to also recognize President Pro Temp Greg Treat and Speaker Charles McCall who provided committed leadership over the past few years to make hard decisions to demonstrate our state’s support of core services that Oklahomans and job creators rely on. As I promised on the campaign trail, I brought them in to our process of reimagining the budget.
+As I outline my administration's priorities this year, I want to make it clear: as elected officials, we will not always agree on the specifics of every policy – and that’s ok. We are each elected for different reasons and because of specific issues.
+But you will always find my office willing to work with you and to be open minded on policy differences, because what unites us in this room is that we are committed to reimagining how we can do state government better and deliver a brighter future for Oklahomans.
+First, let’s reimagine state government. Our state Constitution vests supreme executive power in the Office of the Governor, but too often that executive power has been delegated by statute to boards that are not directly accountable to the citizens of Oklahoma. State government today is much larger than it was 112 years ago. As a result, accountability for those in power is spread too thin and, at times, it seems as of no one is really in charge.
+The Health Department’s crisis in 2017 taught us this lesson, and the Legislature wisely restructured the agency’s board into an advisory role and gave the executive branch the authority to fire and hire a new leader. Let’s not wait for another crisis to start making this necessary reform across our largest agencies.
+Oklahomans want three things: accountability, transparency, and results. I know the legislature wants it too.
+Both Senate and House leadership are committed to addressing the structure of our state’s largest agencies so that government is held more accountable to the people. By granting the governor hiring authority, you will know exactly where the buck stops – at my desk.
+But reform should not stop here. We will also seek to remove board members across state government when they have conflicts of interest. And we will look to sunset and consolidate boards and commissions where there is overlap and duplication. This is common sense reform.
+My budget will prioritize funding to continue performance audits of the top 12 agencies. We will fund this effort by immediately recalling the $30 million that was given to the Health Department after the agency misrepresented their financial standing to the Legislature.
+We will also reimagine state government so that our customers – Oklahoma taxpayers – are the primary focus. This is why I have placed a special emphasis in my administration on the digital transformation of state agencies. Today, I am calling for the Legislature to fund a $20 million grant program where agencies can apply to receive funds to bring their services into the 21st Century and to make government more customer-centered and efficient.
+Imagine digital driver licenses that are Real ID compliant. Imagine titles available electronically. Imagine one site to obtain occupational licenses and one site to pay taxes. It is time to get it done.
+It is time to improve our government's “D+” ranking in digital transparency and for the state government's checkbook to be online, up to date, and easy to navigate. It is time for an online dashboard where you can monitor my administration's progress on performance metrics we will set for delivering state services.
+Turning our attention to education, my administration is committed to public education and understands that the large majority of our students attend public schools. Over the next few years, we will move the needle in outcomes. We will set high standards. We will enact reforms. We will invest in the classroom.
+ But we must first continue our investment in the teacher, because it’s not programs, curriculum, or resources that students will remember. The magic happens between the student and the teacher in the classroom.
+We are confronted with a nationwide teacher shortage. This is not a problem unique to our state, but Oklahoma was among the hardest hit. With recent revenue growth, I aks the Legislature to bring our teachers to number one in our region in pay and benefits. This amounts to a $1,200 increase per teacher.
+I am also calling for the Legislature to funds a bonus recruitment program, up to $5 million, to encourage certified teachers to stay in Oklahoma after graduating college, to return to the classroom after a hiatus, or to move to Oklahoma for the first time.
+I applaud Representative Rhonda Baker’s collaboration to get this effort underway, and I appreciate House Minority Leader Emily Virgin and her caucus for their support of a continued pay increases for our teachers.
+We must also standardize the certification test for Oklahoma’s teachers, get rid of the five-year renewal fee, and reduce unnecessary paperwork and bureaucracy on high-performing schools and instead shift resources to help schools who need it the most.
+But these reforms and continued investment from the state will not be enough to make Oklahoma’s education system competitive. We must do the hard work of reimagining education.
+Consider Cecilia Robinson-Woods, the Superintendent of the Millwood School District in Oklahoma City. After assessing the resources and unique challenges of her district, Cecilia reimagined ways to recruit and retain talent in her classrooms. It was important that teachers were not just skilled in their profession, but that they also were passionate leaders who could shape the culture of their schools and district. Cecilia partnered with Teach for America, utilized opportunities offered under state law, and implemented a new reading program. Today, the Millwood School District has seen dramatic, positive progress in outcomes.
+Cecilia, thank you for being here today.
+We must also look at ways to better stabilize the funding of public education. The fact that Texas is preparing to pass a teacher pay increase – at a cost of $3.7 billion – compels us to review and reform our state’s funding formula and to take the handcuffs off local communities wanting to compete, recruit, and retain the very best teachers. We must chart a bold course that allows for communities to do more for their students without being penalized with the loss of state support.
+State government cannot fix education's funding needs alone. We must stand arm-in-arm with communities, cities, and counties. Oklahoma is stronger when we are all working together.
+The process of reforming the formula demands a reimagining of school districts so we can ensure not just equal funding per student, but also equal opportunity. This will take time to study what other states are doing, what is working, and what challenges we must address that are unique to Oklahoma. I am committed to be a continuous learner in this area and a leader in the discussion.
+We must not forget that education should be first and foremost about our students, not about systems. I will sign into law any legislation that seeks to break down the silos between common education, career techs, and higher education so that we can better align the education experience for Oklahoma’s children and prepare them for tomorrow’s workforce of machinists, computer programmers, engineers, and more.
+Next, let us take a moment to reimagine our state’s criminal justice system. We are number one in the nation for incarceration. To move the needle, it will require us to change the way we see the person who is in a cycle of incarceration for non-violent crimes. 
+Many years ago, I was introduced to Melinda who held the titles of daughter, mom, and fellow Oklahoman – but to the prison system, she was a drug offender. When I met her, she was looking for hope, for a better life for her son, and for an opportunity to change course.
+Today, she has been an employee at Gateway for more than 13 years. Her entry into the workforce was key to remaining sober and to becoming a thriving individual in our society. Melinda’s story of redemption was possible because of a community of people who stepped in, walked with her, and gave her opportunity.
+Melinda, you are why I believe in second chances. Thank you for being here today.
+There can be more stories of redemption like hers. It is why my budget requests:
+$1.5 million to Women in Recovery, a public-private partnership to help women identify the roots of their addictions and develop life skills, and $10 million to the County Community Safety Investment Fund, a criminal justice reform initiative the people of Oklahoma approved with SQ 781.
+But money is not the sole action government must take. I am encouraged by legislation in the House to accomplish licensing reform for those with a felony. We must give Oklahomans re-entering society more opportunities to be gainfully employed and we must give employers more discretion on who they can hire.
+We must also remember the people who work hard every day to keep our correctional facilities clean, safe, and operating. They are on the front lines of delivering core government services, and as revenue continues to improve, I urge us to consider ways we can better improve their work conditions and compensation.
+In my budget, we will also use revenue growth to address two critical healthcare programs in Oklahoma: The Graduate Medical Expense Program to train doctors, a cost of $62 million, and the Children Health Insurance Program, a cost of $14.8 million.
+These programs remind us why we must be judicious and thoughtful about seeking federal funds. In Fiscal Year 2020, these two programs alone will cost the State of Oklahoma $77 million that the federal government once paid – a 6.8 percent increase to the healthcare authority’s budget. When Washington, D.C. wants to end a program, we are left holding the bag and covering the cost.
+While Medicaid expansion currently stops at a 90 percent federal match, we cannot assume that it will remain this high forever. The estimated $150 million price tag today for Oklahoma to expand Medicaid could leave us down the road fronting more than $1 billion when the federal government pulls back on its commitment. They’ve done it before and they will do it again.
+Medicaid is the fastest growing expense in our state budget, and before we commit our state to accepting even more Medicaid dollars, Oklahomans deserve accountability and transparency with our state’s management of the Healthcare Authority.
+Oklahoma is the only state in the nation where the governor does not have the authority to provide oversight of this agency. We are sticking out like a sore thumb, and this must change.
+Healthcare is also preventative, promoting wellness through education, personal responsibility, and raising awareness. Today, I am announcing my partnership with the Oklahoma City Memorial Marathon to hold a Governor’s Relay Challenge, and I invite you to join me! I’ll be forming my own team to compete in the relay, and the team that wins will join me for lunch at the Governor’s Mansion later this year.
+Let’s now move to the economy. In order to make our efforts in state government sustainable, we must first grow Oklahoma. We need more taxpayers, not more taxes.
+We will reimagine our economy by diversifying our marketplace, strengthening our workforce, and encouraging Oklahomans to start new businesses. Our rules must be clear, our regulations must make sense, and our tax code must remain competitive with our neighbors.
+At the Department of Commerce, I have hired the very best talent in the state to lead this critical agency, and they have set measurable goals and are running hard to tell the world Oklahoma is open for business.
+To best equip the agency’s mission, I ask the Legislature to support additional funds for the governor’s Quick Action Closing Fund. Since its inception, the state has granted $11 million in total awards which attracted high paying jobs with the Macy’s large distribution center in Owasso, with Boeing’s relocation of the Aircraft Modernization and Sustainment business unit, and with the Commercial Metals Company in Durant and many more.
+Today, the balance of Oklahoma’s Quick Action Closing Fund is $4.3 million. By comparison, the latest legislative report for the Texas Enterprise Fund indicates the state has awarded $609 million from its Quick Action Closing Fund, resulting in 94,347 jobs. In Arkansas, their fund has awarded over $120 million, resulting in 26,684 jobs.
+You can help me sign on the dotted line for new opportunities to grow Oklahoma and demonstrate to the nation that Oklahoma is not afraid to compete with our neighbors and that we intend to win!
+As we close our time together, let’s end by reimagining our state budget. I promised Oklahomans that we would get to the bottom of every tax dollar and I promised to be transparent and open about the budget process.
+For the first time in recent history, the governor’s budget provides you with every tax dollar we could find across the 12 largest agencies, which are spending 90 percent of the state’s total budget. It is important we talk in total dollars. This was the one consistent request I heard from Oklahomans across the campaign trail.
+In this budget packet I have also included agencies’ current performance goals. As we move forward together this year, my administration will be working with agencies to hire the best people, raise accountability, and deliver measurable results.
+My vision for the budget is for it to become a meaningful resource each year, to establish a common language for lawmakers and tax payers and create a transparent budget process.
+Now, as we dig into the numbers, instead of across the board increases in FY’20, my budget addresses more than $230 million in obligations and another $151 million in critical needs.
+My budget also casts a bold goal for our state’s savings account, I have said often why I believe the state needs $2 billion in savings.
+When we look at states where the economy depends on the price of oil, they place a strong emphasis on saving during the good years. One thing we know is true, oil prices are going to go up and oil prices are going to go down.
+When energy prices tumble, it directly impacts the state’s Sales Tax collection, the state’s Income Tax collection, the Gross Production Tax, and various other revenue streams. We must be honest with ourselves and recognize that last year’s tax increases made us more dependent on the price of oil. We must be good fiscal stewards of this decision by creating more stability through savings.
+At the end of FY’19, our Rainy-Day Fund will have approximately $874 million with no additional support from a stabilization fund often seen in oil-rich states. Meanwhile, Texas has $12.5 billion in total savings to weather another economic downturn. North Dakota’s total savings is more than $5.8 billion.
+This is why I am setting a goal for Oklahoma to have $1 billion in our savings by the end of FY’20. To get there, we must set aside an additional $250 million from revenue growth.
+Being conservative with our budget surplus today will protect Oklahoma from having to cut core services in the future.
+As I close, let us remember, the future doesn’t just happen. We make it happen. As public servants, our responsibility and purpose are to ensure a better future for all four million Oklahomans. This will require us to be good listeners, continuous learners, committed communicators, and bold leaders – both inside the building and around the state.
+Our vision is to make Oklahoma Top Ten.
+Join me! As we work together, we will move our whole state forward.
+God bless you and God bless the State of Oklahoma!
+

state-of-the-state/speeches/Oregon_Both.txt

@@ -0,0 +1,268 @@
+Good afternoon everyone.
+
+Thank you all so much for being here.
+
+Senate President Peter Courtney, Speaker Tina Kotek, thank you.
+
+To our Tribal Chairs and leaders, welcome.
+
+To newly elected legislators, congratulations and welcome.
+
+It’s an incredible honor to serve Oregon for four more years.
+
+Today is a little bittersweet or me, as this ceremony marks my final four years as governor. But, aside from how this feels for me, this is an important moment for our state. 
+
+In many ways, Oregon is progressing on ground that many of our neighbors wish they could tread.
+
+Our unemployment rate is the lowest on record.
+
+We have one of the fastest job growth rates in the country.
+
+And in November, Oregonians defeated ballot measures that would have moved us backwards. Together, we used our vote to affirm Oregon values. 
+
+In many ways we stand alone.
+
+For years we have struggled to overcome the impacts of recession on our state revenue, to build up adequate funding for our education system, and stabilize access to health care.
+
+Our state is growing faster than at any point in our lifetimes. With growth comes a lot of really good things. More jobs. More ideas. And hopefully, more opportunities.
+
+At the same time, not everyone is experiencing this prosperity.
+
+Across Oregon, communities large and small are struggling with homelessness. This crisis is playing out daily on our streets — and on our sidewalks.
+
+For many families, the cost of housing, health care, child care, and higher education are all outpacing wage growth.
+
+And all of this is against the backdrop of a federal government that has never been in more disarray.
+
+Now is the time to put our state on a better path forward.
+
+The first step is to ensure that our democracy is strong. And fight every effort to undermine it.
+
+Voting is our country’s greatest collective responsibility, and we must vigorously safeguard the sanctity of our elections.  While our elections institutions are amongst the best in the nation, we have more work to do to ensure that every single voice is heard.
+ 
+I will work for campaign finance reform, fight for paid postage on our ballots, and expand our automatic voter registration system.
+
+I’d welcome your help.
+
+While other states are rolling back voting rights, Oregon is leading the way.
+
+Vote by mail and Oregon’s motor voter have made it so that we have one of the highest voter participation rates in the country.
+
+But when it comes to campaign finance, we are still the wild wild west. This needs to end.
+
+No one should be able to buy a megaphone so loud that it drowns out all the other voices.
+
+Next, we are facing an affordability crisis in health care and housing that needs to be addressed immediately.
+
+Health care is a fundamental right.
+
+Because of the work we’ve done to expand the Oregon Health Plan, today 94 percent of adults have access.
+
+And because of the work we did to pass Cover All Kids, every single one of our children has access.
+
+Let’s work together to make sure every Oregonian has the health care they need.
+
+My budget sets forth a consensus approach as to how we stabilize funding for the Oregon Health Plan. Let’s make it happen, and let’s move quickly.
+
+Families across Oregon need to know that they’ll be able to see a doctor when they’re sick. And that means giving them certainty as soon as we can this session.
+
+Also fundamental is that every Oregonian should have a warm, safe, dry place to call home. And it should be affordable and accessible. 
+
+We have a housing crisis. We have to act quickly to help the chronically homeless and our children and families and our veterans.
+
+My budget makes a historic $400 million investment in housing. 
+
+It’s an ambitious plan. But if we move now, we can get results quickly.
+
+We can’t keep doing the same thing expecting a different result, which is why I’m going to ask you to try something new.
+
+If you approve a $20 million bonding package early this session, we can speed up construction of 200 units of permanent housing for the chronically homeless.
+
+We also need to help Oregonians who have homes but are struggling with the high cost of rent. When problems arise, they need technical assistance to stay in their homes and not end up on the streets. We can help landlords and tenants navigate this tight housing market.
+
+Speaker Kotek and Senator Burdick have innovative proposals that will give renters some peace of mind. 
+
+Oregon families are counting on us.
+
+They are counting on us so they don’t have to make a choice between paying the rent and staying home with their newborn.
+
+They are counting on us to make sure that their children are safe and that they can afford child care.
+
+Let’s work to take those worries off the table by working for paid family leave and affordable, accessible daycare.
+
+As elected officials we have to prioritize our resources while leading during trying times.
+
+I want to take a second to thank all of our state employees and volunteers who are working to keep federal facilities accessible to Oregonians during the government shutdown.
+
+Government should be working for the people.
+
+During my entire time as Governor, I have focused on spending every taxpayer dollar wisely. We worked together on this last session. We’re not going to get credit for that work, but that’s not the point. We still have to do it.
+
+I am focused on several important items this session. And I put them in my budget.
+
+First, adding internal auditors, who will ensure that every state agency is delivering the level of service that Oregonians expect while saving every penny they can along the way.
+
+Second, eliminating backlogs and decreasing wait times in critical areas, like child-care licensing and food safety inspections.
+
+Third, modernizing the way we deliver services and purchase goods. We can save taxpayer dollars if we streamline the way state government does business. Especially by implementing a new centralized procurement system.
+
+While we tackle today’s pressing fiscal challenges, we also must address the challenges of our future.
+
+Today, we stand at a turning point, with an opportunity to put Oregon on a better path forward.
+
+Our young people deserve to inherit an Oregon as beautiful and bountiful as the one we cherish today.
+
+It is extremely painful to watch the effects of climate change on our communities.
+
+The Rogue Valley was covered in smoke for over eight weeks last summer.
+
+Ninety percent of our state is in drought.
+
+And last year was the warmest year in Oregon since 1895.
+
+Wildfires have increased in intensity and severity in the past decade, threatening our culture, our communities, and our economy. Oregon must continue to pursue solutions that will reduce harmful emissions while creating good jobs and building a clean energy economy.
+
+A couple of weeks ago, I received a letter from Abner. He’s 10 years old.
+
+He wanted to make sure that I knew the consequences of inaction.
+
+On one side of the card he drew an Earth struggling from years of global warming. “Hot, hot, hot,” read the caption. The Earth was frowning.
+
+On the other side was an image of an Earth in perfect health. A beaming smile stretched across the planet.
+
+“What are you doing about climate change?” Abner wrote.
+
+Well Abner, I hope you’re listening. Because we’re on it.
+
+Twelve years ago, Governor Kulongoski set the limit on carbon emissions. And now, this session, we need to meet those goals.
+
+Thank you, Governor Kulongoski for your leadership, and thank you to the legislators—both Republican and Democrat—for the work you’re doing to lead the way.
+
+I look forward to signing our clean energy jobs bill this session.
+
+Just as our climate is changing, our economy is rapidly changing.
+
+We need to make sure that every single one of our students is Future Ready.
+
+That means each one of them graduates from high school with a plan for their future and the skills to compete in a global economy.
+
+Higher education also needs to be more affordable and more accessible to Oregon families.
+
+The good news is, our current strong economy gives us the best chance in a generation to address persistent, structural challenges in our education system. The time is now. If we wait, we’ll only fall further behind when the economy eventually falters.
+
+At one time, every Oregonian was proud of our education system. It was a promise that if you chose to put down roots in Oregon, your children would receive a world-class education and have the opportunity to achieve their dreams. But over the past couple of decades, we have failed to deliver on that promise. 
+
+We have not significantly increased per pupil spending since the early 1990s. While other states were able to invest in schools and take advantage of economic recoveries, Oregon has had to rely on state funds to backfill local property taxes.
+ 
+How our state provides for the needs of our children is a marker of who we are as a community. After years of underinvestment, it’s going to take more than just additional funding to bring our schools back to a level we can be proud of.
+
+We have failed our students of color and we have left rural Oregon behind. Now is the time to close that opportunity gap.
+
+Our education system is in desperate need of repair, reform, and reinvestment. It’s like an old house that hasn’t been maintained. The longer we wait, the more it will cost to fix it.
+
+I will work with you, the business community, teachers, and parents to fund K-12 schools at a level that ensures our districts aren’t forced to make cuts.
+ 
+My budget also includes resources to stabilize PERS rates for schools. This is in addition to the dedicated investments we began last year.
+ 
+The unfunded liability in PERS is not going away. We must accelerate our work to stabilize PERS rates so that new dollars go directly into the classroom.
+
+Over the past year, we have worked with your Student Success Committee to build consensus on how to repair our schools.
+
+We agree that we need to prepare an additional 10,000 kids for kindergarten. 
+
+We agree that we need to create a School Improvement Fund that invests in our students. And provides smaller class sizes and a longer school year.
+
+We agree that every single high school student must have the opportunity to participate in job training classes like CTE or hands-on learning.
+
+We agree that we need to attract, train, and retain the best teachers in the country.
+
+And we agree that we have to keep tuition affordable and open the doors to higher education.
+
+My expectation is that these investments we’re making in education will improve outcomes for all of our kids.
+
+Oregonians deserve transparency as to how their taxpayer dollars are being spent.
+
+As Superintendent of Schools, I will streamline my oversight of our education system and ensure greater accountability. The Chief Education Office will sunset next year and the majority of the functions will move directly into my office. 
+ 
+We will hold school districts accountable by auditing the School Improvement Fund to ensure that new dollars are used to improve graduation rates, reduce class sizes, and provide a full school year.
+
+I was the oldest of four kids. My mom taught me to squeeze every single bit of toothpaste out of the tube.
+
+Oregonians need to know that state government is using every taxpayer dollar wisely.
+
+Health care, housing, protecting our environment, defending our democracy, and investing in our children. These are fundamentals. But solving the problems before us, turning the corner—it’s not going to be easy.
+
+That’s OK. We know how to do the tough stuff. We do it the Oregon way: Working across the aisle and around the state.
+
+Urban and rural, Democrat and Republican. We do what we’ve done time and again: put politics aside and serve the people of Oregon.
+
+And to the new members who are joining us this year, I offer you again my congratulations, and a word of advice: put on your metal underpants.
+
+Politics can be messy, and a term in the legislature is not for the faint of heart. 
+
+But having the privilege to serve Oregon is an incredible honor.
+
+And one that I take very seriously.
+
+28 years ago, Barbara Roberts, the first woman elected governor of Oregon, was sworn in.
+
+On this day. In this same room.
+
+Thank you, Governor Roberts, for your advice and counsel and for opening the doors for women like me.
+
+I also want to say thank you to Governor Kulongoski for being my friend and mentor.
+
+I am truly standing on the shoulders of giants.
+
+Even if they are short giants.
+
+I started my career as an advocate for children and families and I intend to end it as one.
+
+In closing I want to share a little bit about Jacob Burris. We met this summer.
+
+Jacob is 17 years old. His mother paid for their basic needs by waiting tables. And Jacob’s health care was covered by the Oregon Health Plan because he has a chronic health condition.
+
+It hasn’t slowed him down.
+
+Jacob is incredibly talented.
+
+He designs sweatshirts and shoes for the Doernbecher Foundation.
+
+And thanks to the Affordable Care Act he’s had access to the medical care that he needs.
+
+His life decisions, including his profession, will be dictated by his ability to get health insurance.
+
+Because Jacob has a pre-existing condition.
+
+The good news is that unlike many states, Oregon protects people like Jacob.
+
+And at home, he has a mother who works really hard.
+
+Fortunately, she just got a new job with health care coverage and can start saving and finally get ahead.
+
+I am so delighted that Jacob and his mom are here today.
+
+Our state is at a turning point, just like Jacob’s family.
+
+Today we have a choice. Are we willing to do the work to make the dream of a better Oregon come true?
+
+We are. And Jacob’s story should serve as an inspiration to get this done.
+
+In talking to Jacob, his diagnosis changed everything. But living with a pre-existing condition fueled his creativity.
+
+He figured out how to communicate with the world in new ways, by designing shoes and sweatshirts that tell a story.
+
+He has figured out how to talk about living day-to-day with a medical condition that will stay with him his entire life.
+
+And in doing so, he has literally blazed a path for his future.
+
+Maybe he’ll get a job with one of our homegrown apparel companies. Or maybe he’ll start one himself.
+
+Regardless of what the future holds, I know for Jacob there’s no looking back.
+
+The time is now. Our future is in front of us. We have to turn the corner and make it a reality. Together we can build a better Oregon.
+
+One that will make Jacob proud to call Oregon home.
+
+Thank you.
+

state-of-the-state/speeches/Pennsylvania_SOTS.txt

@@ -0,0 +1,168 @@
+Lieutenant Governor Fetterman, Speaker Turzai, President Scarnati. . .
+Leader Corman, Leader Costa, Leader Cutler, Leader Dermody. . .
+Members of the General Assembly, invited guests, friends and family, especially my wife Frances… and my fellow Pennsylvanians,
+This is my fifth budget address, and for the last four years sitting to my left was Karen Coates: a trusted advisor to Speaker Turzai, a friend, mother, sister, daughter, and respected member of our community.
+And for the same four years, I would look out into the chamber and see Flo Fabrizio, Mike O’Brien, and Sid Kavulich. This year, they are not with us. Let us all remember their lasting impact, commitment to service, and carry forward in their memory.
+Three weeks ago, I had the honor of taking the oath of office for another term as Governor.
+I spoke of a Commonwealth on a comeback – a Pennsylvania on a path to a more functional government, a more prosperous economy, and a brighter future for our children.
+The people of our Commonwealth have proven that, despite the challenges we face, Pennsylvania remains a place worthy of its history – a place where people can find good work, strong communities, and opportunity for their kids.
+And, here in Harrisburg, we’ve proven that despite our differences, we remain capable of doing what Washington just cannot seem able to do: tackle big challenges, put aside petty partisanship, and serve the public interest.
+We must never forget that embedded in Pennsylvania’s history is the fact that not one, but two noble experiments were launched here.
+First, there was William Penn’s “Holy Experiment”.
+Second, the Founders launched their own experiment in self-government.
+Both of these are perpetual experiments.
+When we reaffirm our commitment to these experiments we honor both our history and those Founders.
+And we show our constituents that, whether they voted for us or not, those experiments are in good hands and their government is worthy of their trust.
+Now, we have a chance to show that good faith once again.
+In proposing and debating this budget, we get to the heart of our perpetual experiment in self-government.
+We show the Founders that we can govern ourselves.
+Today, I put forth my budget proposal.
+And let me cut to the chase.
+This proposal asks for no new taxes. Not one dollar. Not one dime. Not one penny.
+At the same time, this budget proposes to do a number of things aimed at improving the lives of our fellow citizens. The people of Pennsylvania have made substantial sacrifices in recent years to help our state get up off the mat – and despite a budget that asks for no new taxes, we now have a chance to continue making some important new investments on their behalf.
+Investments in our schools. Investments to make sure more Pennsylvanians of all ages have real choices when it comes to their health care decisions. Continued investments to reinforce our commitment to the battle against the opioid epidemic that has claimed the lives of so many of our neighbors. Investments to support our farmers and agricultural producers so they can continue to sustain our rural communities for generations to come.
+In the coming weeks, we’ll have the chance to discuss, debate, and negotiate the details.
+And I will ask for your partnership in ensuring that this important work continues and that we maintain our commitment to advancing this experiment in self-government.
+My administration has worked hard to make these investments possible – striving to run our government not just more ethically, but more efficiently, so that it is worthy of the public trust and capable of advancing the public interest.
+We’ve saved billions of taxpayer dollars and reduced the number of state employees – without furloughs, all while improving customer service.
+We’ve gotten rid of facilities and leases that we don’t use or need while consolidating commonwealth operations within the capitol complex.
+We’ve made the procurement process smarter and more efficient.
+And we will continue to look for ways to streamline government so we can invest in the things that matter to Pennsylvanians while at the same time serving them better.
+Today, however, I want to focus on the most significant element of this budget proposal – a comprehensive plan for preparing Pennsylvanians to compete, and win, in our rapidly changing economy.
+A plan to create a new generation of prosperity in our commonwealth by building the strongest workforce in the nation.
+The credit for our economic success has always belonged to the people of Pennsylvania,
+the innovators who turned new ideas into new industries, the business leaders who built great companies large and small, and the working women and men who toiled in fields and mines and factories – not to mention research labs and classrooms and cubicles.
+There’s a reason Pennsylvanians know names like Carnegie, Hershey, Westinghouse – and a reason why we believe so strongly in the power of our work ethic and the importance of individual responsibility.
+That’s who we are.
+But, in the background, government has been there working on our behalf: building canals and highways so manufacturers could get their goods to market, protecting the integrity of the marketplace to ensure fair competition, and helping to unlock the potential offered by our abundant resources.
+In the end, however, our most important economic resource has always been our people.
+It’s always been workers that have propelled our prosperity.
+That’s why we’ve always made sure to invest in public schools, universities, and training centers.
+The path to prosperity begins with an educated workforce.
+That’s as true today as it’s always been.
+But while that principle remains intact, a lot about our economy has changed.
+New businesses. New industries. New technology. New competition.
+And with all that, we have a need for new skills.
+Over the last four years, Pennsylvania has created more than 12,000 new businesses, and more than 239,000 new jobs.
+We’ve begun to match and advance beyond our neighbors.
+Now it’s time for us to really pull ahead.
+Today, I present a comprehensive plan to help grow our economy by continuing to invest in our workforce.
+This plan calls on contributions from the business community, labor unions, educators, research institutions, students, parents, and adult workers.
+And it increases opportunity for every Pennsylvanian at every stage of life – from birth to retirement.
+I’m proposing a package of policies and investments called the Statewide Workforce, Education, and Accountability Program.
+It’s the next step we can take together to build on all of the work we’ve done over the past four years.
+Consider just how far we’ve already come.
+We’ve made Pennsylvania a leader in computer science education by establishing a workforce development initiative that invests in computer science and STEM education programs for K-12 students.
+We’ve increased the number of career and technical education students earning industry-recognized credentials by 34 percent and increased the number of credentials earned by students enrolled in career and technical education programs by 27 percent.
+We’ve provided high school students options to demonstrate graduation readiness as alternatives to high-stakes standardized testing.
+We’ve increased participation to nearly 800 registered apprenticeship programs and almost 17,000 active apprenticeships.
+And we’ve assisted nearly 3,000 companies in training more than 145,000 incumbent workers across the commonwealth to help employees develop new skills to thrive in their jobs.
+But we know there is more to do.
+When Amazon made its decision not to locate its second headquarters in Pennsylvania, it cited workforce concerns as a main reason. And in western Pennsylvania, we’ve struggled to find Pennsylvanians to fill the jobs as welders and pipefitters at the Shell Cracker Plant.
+Across the commonwealth, we have workers aging out of our workforce, and too often the next generation of worker is not there or doesn’t have the skills to replace them.
+If we can’t strengthen our workforce, we will fall behind.
+And we cannot let our government’s response to this problem be handcuffed by stale habit.
+We need to continue to break down silos.
+We need to inject our efforts with common purpose.
+And we need to make sure that, as leaders, we are providing direction and giving teeth to our workforce efforts.
+That’s why we are going to do something a little different.
+Starting immediately, we are going to put together a Keystone Economic Development and Workforce Command Center.
+Agency secretaries are going to meet each week with plans in hand and sit together to make sure no workforce effort walks alone or falls through some crack in the state government.
+If the Department of Community and Economic Development knows a company that needs 20 welders and the Department of Labor and Industry has a welding program, we’re going to connect them.
+Those connections within state government are valuable and necessary.
+But we also need to hear from businesses and labor. Not just when they’re upset, and not just when we tour a facility in a hard hat. We need to hear from them constantly.
+We need to know when there is a problem right away so we can fix it.
+If a labor union is having trouble establishing a training program because of antiquated procedures, then we need to fix it.
+We need to get those workers trained and into the workforce.
+If a business can’t hire a worker because of an out-of-date or unnecessary rule or regulation, we need to know about it so we can take action.
+If medical professionals are concerned about a licensing backlog, they need receptive ears in state government.
+We’re also not going to try to solve every workforce problem on our own.
+The command center will have a first-of-its-kind Employer Fund, a public-private partnership that empowers businesses to address the skills gap from their end and encourages them to share their best ideas and best practices so that we can scale them up and learn from their success.
+After all, government doesn’t have a monopoly on good ideas for addressing these challenges – but it can serve as an incubator for the best ones, and a partner for putting them into action.
+The Command Center is going to be led by the secretaries of the departments of Community and Economic Development, Labor & Industry, and State, three agencies that have the largest impact on Pennsylvania’s workforce and business development.
+We are also going to bring outside voices in.
+My friends Gene Barr and Rick Bloomingdale will also be co-chairs. They co-chaired my Middle Class Task Force which helped launch many of the workforce development ideas we implemented last year and that I’m proposing to build on in this plan.
+And they’ll be joined by Tony Bartolomeo of Team PA and Auditor General DePasquale who has worked on these issues and will have important recommendations.
+But we need to do more.
+We need policies that start at the very beginning, and end with every Pennsylvanian receiving an excellent education and the opportunity to land a good job.
+Last year, I convened a Ready To Start Task Force, charging it with finding ways to improve the lives of children under three and their families.
+I know that no new parent looks at their baby and sees a spreadsheet, but the fact is that preparing our kids for success starts long before they ever enter a classroom or even take their first steps. And providing services for children helps to get parents into the workforce and fight poverty.
+That’s why this new program includes funding for home visits to support vulnerable pregnant women, new mothers, and at-risk infants and toddlers.
+Home visiting programs promote healthy relationships and safe and stable home environments.
+They’re proven to work in preventing adverse childhood experiences, giving children and their parents the skills they need to reach their full potential and lift families out of poverty and into good jobs.
+You know: we already have programs like this working in Pennsylvania.
+Misericordia University is home to one of only eight programs in the country that helps single mothers who are struggling economically to complete a college degree.
+The program provides counseling, housing, and other services to help mothers get into the workforce.
+We plan to replicate this innovative job training program all across the commonwealth.
+And this program leverages federal funds to improve our child care system, so we can get more kids off of waiting lists and into high-quality support systems – and help more parents make their way into the workforce.
+Pennsylvania’s children deserve every opportunity to succeed when they enter our public school system.
+And they deserve to enter a public school system that isn’t just adequate, but world-class.
+Restoring $1 billion in funding to our schools was an important first step. But now we need to go further.
+We must continue to increase funding for education – starting with pre-K and culminating at the end of a student’s journey.
+But that’s not all.
+It’s time to lower the age of compulsory attendance to age 6, bringing our commonwealth in line with the vast majority of other states.
+And we should consider going even further – with a careful study of the costs and benefits of moving to universal free full-day kindergarten for every 5-year-old in Pennsylvania.
+Meanwhile, we should increase the minimum dropout age to 18, and partner with school districts to keep our graduation rate rising.
+Of course, no Governor or legislator can do more for a child than a teacher can. And my program empowers teachers to do even more through a program called TeacherWORKS that provides them with workplace experience in Pennsylvania businesses so they can better understand the needs of employers.
+We ask a lot of our teachers. And if we’re going to prepare the next generation of Pennsylvanians for the jobs of the future, we’re going to be asking even more of those teachers – including more training, and more accountability.
+Teachers, on the other hand? They just want safe schools to work in; support from administrative staff; a fair wage for the important work they do. That’s not asking a lot.
+But the law governing teacher pay hasn’t been updated since the 1980s. And so our classroom teachers have been too often getting the short end of the stick.
+I don’t think anyone here in Harrisburg would say that we shouldn’t value the contributions our educators have made over the last 30 years – and I don’t think anyone would disagree that they have a critical role to play in securing our prosperity over the next 30.
+And yet, our government has failed to address this injustice.
+That ends now.
+My plan increases the pay floor for teachers to $45,000 a year. This is a real investment in our future.
+It’s an investment the state – not local school districts – will make – and it’s included in this budget.
+This is a fully funded mandate.
+We are going to start competing to recruit and retain the very best education professionals, not just in well-funded suburban school districts, but in every community – every zip code in our Commonwealth.
+This could be a game-changer for our schools – especially for our communities that are struggling to attract and retain the next generation of educators.
+In fact, most districts that cannot afford to pay their teachers more are located in the heart of rural Pennsylvania, and it is time to make sure we are investing in educators in those areas today to prepare our kids for the competitive world of tomorrow.
+We’re also going to do more to recruit students – ambitious, brilliant, creative young women and men who are looking for the next step in their education.
+Our commonwealth is blessed with a terrific system of colleges and universities – including community colleges.
+We all know that our post-secondary institutions are laboratories for innovation.
+But they are also launchpads for job creators and the skilled workers that will fill those jobs.
+That’s why my plan creates a new grant program for students who graduate from a Pennsylvania community college with an associate’s degree or other industry-recognized credential – and then stay in Pennsylvania to start their careers. If you’re willing to put your newly-acquired skills to work here in our Commonwealth, the least we can do is help you avoid carrying around a crushing burden of student debt.
+And if you’re a parent who wants to trade up from a job that pays the bills to a job that can sustain your family, my plan includes a Parent Pathway initiative designed to help you get the education you need to get ahead even while you prepare your own kids for success.
+Indeed, my workforce program isn’t just about the jobs of tomorrow.
+It’s about the jobs of today.
+Last year, we launched PAsmart, a comprehensive, new initiative focusing on STEM skills, apprenticeships, career counseling, and public-private partnerships.
+No matter how old you are, now is a great time to acquire new skills – and we want to make that opportunity available to every Pennsylvanian.
+As part of the PAsmart initiative, we just launched a new website – PA SMART DOT GOV – that consolidates workforce resources and information for Pennsylvanians who want to get training and education to enter the workforce or expand their skills.
+It’s similar to the Business One-Stop Shop we built last year, and that we’re still improving upon.
+We need comprehensive digital portals for both businesses and workers that gets them all the information they need in one place, and breaks down agency barriers.
+This year, I’m proposing $10 million in new funding for PAsmart so we can fill more advanced manufacturing positions, help more non-traditional students obtain the training they need to compete in the job market, and create more jobs at better wages for more Pennsylvania workers.
+This program also includes funding to help returning veterans get the training they need to continue their contributions to our commonwealth as members of our workforce – and, even better, that funding is transferable, meaning that veterans can use it to help their kids get a college degree or career credential, as well.
+It’s a GI Bill for Pennsylvania.
+One more thing.
+We cannot comprehensively address our workforce development system without fixing our criminal justice system.
+Tens of thousands of Pennsylvanians are shut out of our workforce or underemployed because of mistakes they’ve made in their past.
+Families are being denied providers. Employers are being denied skilled workers.
+We’ve already passed clean slate legislation, making us the first state in the country to do so.
+But we need to go further and make our criminal justice system more equitable and fair while helping people who have made amends enter the workforce.
+Indeed, even as we work on this budget, we also have to improve reentry programs and make it easier for those who have done their time to succeed in the workforce and their daily lives.
+Our challenge demands an all-hands on deck approach.
+And this budget proposal itself asks Pennsylvanians to come together – business leaders, educators, students, parents, workers – to address the challenge of renewing our prosperity for another generation.
+In my inaugural address, I asked us to do our best – right here in Harrisburg – to do two things.
+First to ensure that the interests of all Pennsylvanians are reflected in the policies we pursue.
+And, second, to show the world that Pennsylvanians know how to make representative democracy work.
+This budget is the embodiment of that noble effort.
+It asks for no new taxes – no new burdens on our citizens – while at the same time increasing dramatically our investments in the public goods that will make life better for all Pennsylvanians.
+This budget recognizes that government should not try to do everything; we have a long-held faith in our tradition of limited government and individual responsibility.
+But it also recognizes that government should not do nothing either.
+The public goods government invests in should make the lives of our fellow citizens better; public goods that give Pennsylvanians the skills they need to thrive in our 21st century economy; public goods that promote their safety and health; public goods that connect them more seamlessly with each other; public goods that keep our air and water clean.
+That’s what this budget aims to do.
+It makes investments in workforce readiness: our early childhood system, our schools, our universities, our community colleges, our apprenticeship training programs.
+It makes investments in ensuring that Pennsylvanians of all ages have real choices when it comes to their health care decisions.
+And, it continues to prioritize the fight against the opioid epidemic that has destroyed the lives
+of so many of our friends and neighbors.
+But above all else, this budget proclaims to the world that right here in Pennsylvania we do not indulge in the sterile politics of anger and insult; that here we know how to engage in the respectful and honest give and take that must stand at the heart of a functional democracy.
+While the rest of this country – and indeed the rest of the world – descends into divisive, nasty, and unproductive bouts of shouting, we are showing everyone else how democracy is supposed to work.
+So this is our challenge.
+It’s not just about yet another budget, it’s about our democracy.
+Let us show the world – along with the rest of our country – that right here in Pennsylvania we are making this experiment work; that we are re-dedicating ourselves to this noble experiment in democratic self-governance
+Let’s show that in the way we tackle the challenge of preparing our Commonwealth for a brighter future – starting with this budget.
+This – and no less than this – is our task.
+This is also our privilege.
+May God bless us in this task.
+And may God bless the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
+Thank you.
+

state-of-the-state/speeches/RhodeIsland_SOTS.txt

@@ -0,0 +1,83 @@
+Good evening, Speaker Mattiello, Senate President Ruggerio, members of the House and Senate; members of the Judiciary, my family -- and most especially -- my fellow Rhode Islanders. It's an honor to join you at the start of a new year and with so much at stake for Rhode Island and our nation. I'm humbled by the opportunity to continue serving as your Governor. My family and I are deeply grateful for your trust. 
+When we began our work together four years ago, Rhode Island was stuck -- and everybody knew it. Our unemployment rate was among the nation's highest, schools were crumbling, and our roads were ranked the worst in the country. Rhode Island is a small and connected state so we all knew someone who was out of work. The struggle was everywhere you looked. 
+
+After spending so much time talking with so many people who had been out of work, some for over a year or more, I vowed to be the Governor who would get Rhode Island back to work. Rhode Island is a place where people have always taken pride in our work, and we're proud to call Rhode Island home. So together, we shook up the old ways of doing things, and brought the change needed to get back on our feet again -- and to create jobs and build a bright future for our children.
+
+As a direct result of our new approach, we went from the having the highest unemployment rate in America to now having more jobs in our state than at any time in our state's history. We went from having the worst roads in America to more road construction happening right now than at any other time in our lifetimes. More Rhode Islanders are on track to graduate from CCRI than ever before. And thousands of people are getting good jobs because we worked with employers to build new job training programs that have become a national model. We've cut taxes, regulations and red tape for small businesses. And given middle class Rhode Islanders a tax cut every single year for the past four years. When we started, there was a freeze on school construction. But today, we're fixing our schools, and last year Rhode Islanders approved a once-in-a-generation investment to bring all of our school buildings into the 21st century. TF Green is thriving. We're the only state in America with an offshore wind farm. And we are number one in the nation for Pre-K. 
+
+We have stopped the decline and ignited a comeback. And it's because of you, Rhode Island -- all of us -- working together. We should feel proud of the work we've accomplished. But we have so much more to do. Our work's not done until every Rhode Islander has a shot at a good job. Until every child has a chance to attend an excellent public school -- until no one who works full time is in poverty. 
+
+Let's make the decisions that will sustain our economic progress and build an economy that's strong, resilient and inclusive -- one where everyone has a real chance to get ahead. Let's show that it's possible to be business friendly and fair to employees. Let's prepare people for jobs of the future. Our world is changing rapidly, and the state of our state is strong -- and much stronger than it was four years ago. But our future depends on the decisions we make today.
+
+This week, I'll send to you a budget that expands our investments in job creation and job training; protects our most vulnerable; preserves our investments to finally end the opioid and overdose crisis; gives every Rhode Islander a big cut in their car tax; invests in our beautiful, cherished public parks, beaches and public spaces; and sets Rhode Island on a path for long-term prosperity.
+
+When it comes to our future, nothing is more important than our children. In the past four years, we've made record investments in K-12 education, and it's starting to pay off. We've increased the number of high-quality career and technical training programs at our high schools by nearly 60 percent. We're the only state in America to teach computer science in every public school. And 40 percent more students are taking AP and advanced classes. 
+
+But the recent test scores are just not acceptable. We've lagged behind our neighbors for far too long. Let's resolve to do whatever it takes to make Rhode Island's schools competitive with our neighbors and give every single one of our children a shot at a bright future -- no matter their background or their zip code.
+
+Now, this won't be easy, and we all have a role to play, at both the state and local level. We need the courage to set an ambitious plan and stick to it despite the inevitable challenges and controversies that will come our way. We need to get even more serious about addressing our lowest performing schools and implement the highest-quality curricula in every school across the state, similar to how they do it in Massachusetts. We need to support and empower teachers so they can do their best work.
+
+And I want to thank the thousands of amazing teachers and educators who are working hard every day in the classroom, including Amy Thompson and Marie Quinn, third grade teachers for Varieur Elementary School in Pawtucket, who are here tonight with some of their students. 
+
+Change takes time and determination. States that have been successful, like Massachusetts, have stuck with the same strategy for 25 years. In Rhode Island, we've had a pattern of not sticking with an approach long enough to generate results. For years, we've bounced from test to test, until finally last year embracing what Massachusetts has consistently used for years. Tonight, I'm announcing an additional $30 million in school funding. This funding for local communities is the single biggest increase of any part of the state budget.
+
+Let's all step up and make the necessary changes to improve student performance. 
+
+Standing with parents and working with our dedicated teachers, we won't stop until all children can get the education they need for a bright future.
+
+To ensure every child is set up for success, we need to start before they get to kindergarten. We know that kids who go to high-quality preschool are more likely to graduate high school, more likely to get a good job and keep a good job, and less likely to commit a crime. Investments in Pre-K can save us money in the long-run because more Rhode Islanders will enjoy the economic benefits of a fulfilling life with a good job. In my first term, we tripled the number of public Pre-K classes and expanded all-day kindergarten to every district in the state, giving thousands of our littlest learners the right start in life. It's time to do more.
+
+Tonight, I pledge to be the Governor who brings universal public Pre-K to Rhode Island. By the time I leave office, there will be a Pre-K seat for every four-year-old whose parents want it. The budget I'll submit later this week sets us on a path to make that happen. Let's get this done.
+
+During the last recession, three out of every four jobs lost were jobs that only required a high school degree. But nearly every job created since then has gone to people with a certificate or degree beyond high school. In fact, 99 percent of the jobs created since the end of the recession have gone to people with a certificate or degree beyond high school. 
+
+There is nothing more important to the future of Rhode Island -- to the economic security of our friends and our family -- than making sure that everybody has the credential or degree they need to get a good job in today's economy. The most important factor businesses today look at when they expand is the education and talent level of the local workforce.
+
+Given this new reality, four years ago, we changed the way we do job training. We're partnering more closely with businesses to make sure that we're training people for jobs that actually exist. We're also transforming CCRI into a workforce development engine. Our approach is helping young people who are just starting out and Rhode Islanders in the middle of their careers. Already, thousands of Rhode Islanders have gotten good jobs and other states are looking at us as a model for how to do effective job training. Our goal is to provide job training to any Rhode Islander who wants it. The budget I submit this week will make it easier for adults to earn a degree at CCRI, and it expands Real Jobs RI, guaranteeing job training and apprenticeships for thousands more Rhode Islanders. 
+
+Two years ago, we took an historic step and made community college tuition-free for every high school graduate. Since then, the percentage of students on-track to graduate on time has nearly quadrupled. Enrollment has doubled. And I can't go a week without meeting a parent or a student who stops me to say that the Rhode Island Promise scholarship has changed their family's lives. 
+
+Tuition-free community college is one of the lowest-cost, highest-impact investments the State of Rhode Island has ever made. So, this year I propose an expansion of Rhode Island Promise to make the last two years of a four-year degree at Rhode Island College tuition-free.
+
+Too many students start at RIC, but can't finish because they can't juggle a full course load and two or three jobs to cover tuition. The number one reason students drop out is cost. Most RIC graduates stay in Rhode Island. They're our teachers, our nurses, our IT technicians that keep our economy going. This small but smart investment -- a few million dollars in a $10 billion budget -- will change lives, strengthen our economy and help us fulfill our obligation to ensure that every Rhode Islander can get a good job. If we do this, Rhode Island College will arguably offer the most affordable four-year degree in America. Let's lead the way.
+
+And before these four years are done, let's bring Promise to our state's flagship university, the University of Rhode Island. 
+
+To build an economy that includes every Rhode Islander, we also need to do more to propel the working poor into the middle class. Across our state, tens of thousands of people work full time, some working two or three jobs, struggle to make ends meet. Since I've been Governor, we've raised the minimum wage three times. In the budget I submit this week, I will propose another minimum wage increase to $11.10 to keep us on pace with Massachusetts and Connecticut and put us on a pathway to a $15 minimum wage. 
+
+No one who works full time should live in poverty. Work should have dignity, it should provide stability, it should give purpose.
+
+Our new approach to economic development is creating thousands of jobs, and we can't take our foot off the gas. Companies big and small are growing here, hiring Rhode Islanders and making investments. We need to continue to make it easier and cheaper to do business in Rhode Island. 
+
+When I first started as Governor, most other states had a small business loan fund. But we didn't. So, we started one. It provides loans to small companies -- the neighborhood bakery that outgrew its first kitchen, the local shop where you can buy a communion dress for your daughter or granddaughter. Here in Rhode Island, small business is big business. Over the last four years, 75 small businesses have gotten one of these loans, and they've added hundreds of new jobs and added millions to our economy. Last year, we set a goal to double the number of small business loans awarded. We hit that goal. So, tonight I say, let's double it again. 
+
+And while we are supporting our local businesses, let's remain open to new investment, new industries, and new companies. Cynicism has long been one of our worst enemies, and I'm proud that we've stood strong against cynicism. I'm even prouder of the results. Over the last four years, nearly 30 companies have moved here or expanded here because of our economic development initiatives. Those companies are creating thousands of jobs that pay on average $65,000 a year. 
+
+Thousands of Rhode Island families like Nafissa Hassan's have economic security because of it. Two years ago, she was in a low-paying job with no opportunity to grow. She enrolled in a Real Jobs IT training program and got an internship with eMoney, a global company we brought to Rhode Island because of our new business programs. Today, Nafissa is an associate engineer at eMoney earning a good, family-supporting paycheck. And she promises me that she's not done climbing. 
+
+A healthy economy also requires a healthy workforce. No one can be a good employee or do well in school if they aren't healthy. And no one should go bankrupt because of medical bills or panic when their kid gets sick because they can't afford the bill. The Affordable Care Act is working in Rhode Island. It's working better here than in nearly every other state. Since I've been Governor, we've cut our uninsured rate by roughly half, nearly all Rhode Islanders have health insurance, and health insurance premiums on our exchange are some of the lowest in America. 
+
+But Washington's constant attacks on the ACA put all of that at risk. Rhode Islanders with pre-existing conditions and thousands of families who count on the ACA for coverage have a target on their back. We have to take action to protect them and preserve their health care. Let's pass legislation this year that protects the Affordable Care Act in Rhode Island. And let's take steps to lower premiums and reduce insurance costs for people and small businesses.
+
+And while we are talking about health care, let's make this the year we codify women's access to reproductive health care here in Rhode Island. 
+
+If we fail to protect health care, our economic recovery will be on life support.
+
+And again this year, I am asking that we continue to be a national leader in expanding access to mental health care for all Rhode Islanders. Last year, I met privately with small groups of teachers to ask them what it's like to be an educator in America today. In every single meeting, the number one concern they raised was their students' mental health. If our kids are going to succeed and reach the high standards we have for them, then we really need to meet all of their needs today.
+
+This year, we will launch a new initiative to address mental health in our schools. We're going to make sure that kids can have access to health care for their anxiety and depression just as they do for a broken arm or the flu. The budget I'll introduce this week will also include funding to provide educators with the training they need to support their students' mental health needs. Today's kids are struggling with mental health issues far more than we did. And as a mom, I can see why. We didn't grow up with the pace or pressure or technology our kids have today.
+
+And sadly, our kids are growing up in a country where they have to worry about gun violence. Across the country, 100 people are killed every day by a firearm. And since 2015, I've ordered our flags to half-mast 13 times because of a mass shooting. The plague of gun violence is one of the most disturbing and preventable public health crises of this generation. Last year, we passed a red flag law and banned bump stocks. And I'm deeply thankful to the legislature and advocates for your help to get that done. But we didn't finish our work. This year let's ban assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, and let's ban guns in schools.
+
+It's time. We can't sit back and deny a generation of Rhode Islanders their right to safe schools and safe communities. Later this month, I will submit a comprehensive package of gun safety reforms that we know will save lives. Rhode Islanders overwhelmingly support stronger gun laws. Let's pass these bills this year. 
+
+In the end, our efforts to strengthen gun laws, to end the overdose crisis, to protect health care, to expand job training, to support businesses and provide our children with a world class education are all about one thing: the future. 
+
+We can profoundly shape and strengthen the state we pass down to our kids. The decisions we make, the actions we take, the tone we use, all have the potential to be lasting and impactful. 
+
+Years from now, we'll look at the state that we've passed down to our children. If, and only if, we've made good on our promise to leave no one behind; If, and only if, we've actually delivered economic opportunity for all; If, and only if, Rhode Island is the place where if you work hard you really can get ahead ... Then -- and only then -- can we say we were successful. 
+
+I think we're up for it.
+
+Thank you. God bless you. And God bless Rhode Island.
+

state-of-the-state/speeches/SouthCarolina_SOTS.txt

@@ -0,0 +1,146 @@
+Ladies and gentlemen, I thank you all for being here tonight, those in this magnificent building as well as those watching from afar.
+I am proud of our state and I am also proud of my family. For those who have not met them, please let me introduce my wife, Peggy and my son Henry and his wife Virginia. We all live in Columbia. My daughter, Mary Rogers, is watching from New York with her fiancé, Samuel Martin Herskovitz. The big date:  March 16. Will you please stand be recognized? Thank you.
+One year ago, I observed that we were at the dawn of a new prosperity, that our future would be even better than our past.
+Tonight, as we all know, it is true. The state of our state is strong – and getting even stronger. We live in a land of opportunity. And over the generations we have built the institutions of opportunity. Our goals today must be to re-invigorate and accelerate those institutions and rededicate ourselves to achieving the prosperity which can be ours. 
+We have a strong state because we are strong people. A family, a state, a nation is only as strong as its people. Our strength is an economic issue and also an issue of national security. In a rapidly changing world – a highly competitive and dangerous world – we must be constantly making our people strong.  Educated. Trained. Healthy. Happy.
+As I speak tonight, I would like to recognize just a few of our strong people. Leaders who have made a difference in our lives. I start with the six in uniform who lost their lives while protecting ours.
+ 
+Deputy Shannon Dale Hallman of the Saluda County Sheriff’s Office;
+Deputy James L. Kirk, Jr. of the Lancaster County Sheriff’s Office;
+Sergeant Terrance F. Carraway of the Florence Police Department;
+Deputy Farrah B. Turner of the Florence County Sheriff’s Office;
+Assistant Fire Chief Dennis Charles Straight of the Charlotte Road/Van Wyck Volunteer Fire Department in Lancaster County; and
+Sergeant First Class Christopher A. Celiz, United States Army, who lost his life in Paktia Province, Afghanistan in support of Operation Freedom’s Sentinel.
+ 
+To the families and loved ones of these men and women, on behalf of all South Carolinians, we send you love, admiration and strength, and we thank you for your loved ones’ service and sacrifice.  You are in our prayers.
+I would also like to thank Dr. Harris Pastides, who is retiring after ten years of remarkable leadership and accomplishment at the University of South Carolina, who is with us tonight. Dr. Pastides, please stand and be recognized.
+Not with us tonight is Dr. Andrew Hsu, whom we welcome as the new president of the College of Charleston.  He has called this position his “American Dream.”
+And also, I’d like to congratulate Clemson University on winning their third national championship.
+In many different ways, all of these men and women have added to the strength and prosperity of our state.
+And I have one brand new face for you:  Lieutenant Governor Pamela Evette of Travelers Rest with her husband David and son Jackson. Thank you for accepting the call to serve our fellow citizens.  Please stand and be recognized.
+Ladies and gentlemen, South Carolina is red hot.
+Our agricultural base is accelerating, our tourism industry is thriving, and we have become a major high-tech manufacturing hub. South Carolina is the nation’s top exporter of tires and of completed automobiles. Our average annual manufacturing employment growth is 16%, the highest in the southeast. Over and over we are recognized as one of the best places in the country to do business and to visit or vacation.
+In the last two years, we have announced over $8 billion dollars in new capital investment and more than 27,000 new jobs. Our unemployment rate just hit an all-time low. More people are working than ever before.
+In the past year we have welcomed many new businesses to South Carolina and celebrated the growth, expansions and milestones with those who already call our state home. Some of them are here with us tonight.  I’ll ask them to stand and we’ll welcome as a group.
+ 
+Representing W International, Mr. Ed Walker and Ms. Michelle Fowler
+Representing Kent International and Bicycle Corporation of America, Mr. Arnold Kamler and Mr. Scott Kamler
+Representing DRÄXLMAIER Group, Mr. Bradley Nelson and Mr. Chip Vogel
+Representing Keurig Dr. Pepper, Mr. Randy Downing and Ms. Pam Daskalakis
+Representing Sonoco, Mr. Rob Tiede and Mr. Roger Schrum
+Representing Google, Mr. Paul Carff
+Representing RoundPoint Mortgage, Mr. Kevin Brungardt
+Ladies and gentlemen, we welcome you to this historic State House.
+ 
+Did you notice at the Inauguration ceremony two weeks ago – on the steps – in addition to the display of leadership of our academic establishment, the presence of 27 diplomats from 22 countries? These visitors are here for one reason:  Commerce.  Investment.  Prosperity. They see that we are on the way up.
+They know that we have recognized and are harnessing the catalytic power of collaborations between and among business and industry and academia. In a word, it is brainpower. Brainpower produces commercial horsepower. And that horsepower drives our economic prosperity.
+Ladies and gentlemen, we in South Carolina are players in the greatest economic competition the world has ever known. We must be bold, aggressive and think long-term. We must keep the people and institutions of South Carolina leading the competition.
+It has taken years to get to where we are. But we must do more.
+That means we must keep taxes low, reduce burdensome regulations and invest heavily in infrastructure.
+We have the highest marginal income tax rate in the southeast – the 12th highest in the nation. Seven states have no income tax at all. Taxes of all kinds at all levels add up – little by little – to smother growth.
+Beating the competition requires reforming our state’s marginal income and corporate tax rates. That’s why I have proposed a $2.2 billion tax cut across all personal income brackets resulting in an average 15% rate reduction.
+And that’s why I commend the House and Senate for embarking on a comprehensive effort to reform our state’s tax structure. Working together, I am certain that we will succeed and keep South Carolina winning!
+This year, our vigorous economy created a budget surplus. My executive budget sends $200 million of this surplus back to South Carolina taxpayers in the form of a one-time rebate check. 
+Surpluses don’t mean we have to spend it all. A surplus allows us to prioritize the most critical needs in state government and then return the rest to the taxpayers!
+We should commit to returning tax dollars back to our state’s businesses at every opportunity. Last year, I issued a $52 million dollar cut to the unemployment insurance taxes paid by our state’s employers. This was made possible by the leadership and work done by many in this room tonight to reform and rebuild our state’s trust fund.
+The time has come to re-double our commitment to our state’s men and women in uniform - veterans, first responders, law officers, firefighters and peace officers – through a full retirement income exemption.
+The exemption for veterans is a key factor in the Pentagon’s decisions on protecting and expanding a state’s military bases and expanding and bringing new missions and troops to our bases. It’s also an effective incentive to keep experienced law officers, firefighters, and first responders on the job.
+We are now another year into our ongoing state retirement pension crisis. Our unfunded pension liability threatens to place unprecedented strain on state government if we do not take action soon. Retired, current and future public employees must have a pathway to retirement income security, with future benefits and costs that are both sustainable and predictable. Doing nothing threatens our commitment.
+It is a fact that we have some of the strongest people in the country in the field of education.
+For example, in 2001, Dr. Sharon Buddin of Ridge View High School, and in 2009, the late Lucy Beckham of Wando High school were named National Principal of the Year. Last year, it was Dr. Akil Ross, of Chapin High School. This year, we celebrate again, with Dr. Lucas C. Clamp, of River Bluff High School, being recognized as National Principal of the year.
+They aren’t able to be with us here tonight, but we thank them for exemplifying the greatness that South Carolina produces.
+Ladies and gentlemen: we are building an international reputation for business growth and progress. Being perceived as weak in any part of our state in education is not good. But being perceived as not committed to fixing it is disastrous.
+Not long ago, I had a conversation with Dr. Wanda Andrews, the Superintendent of the Lee County School District. A rural county. Education suffers there. Once grown, children leave, only returning for a family reunion or homecoming football game.
+I asked Dr. Andrews what would happen if a new manufacturing plant offering 500 jobs were to come to her district. Dr. Andrews set down her pencil, took off her glasses and said, “it would change everything.”
+Dr. Andrews, that is exactly what we are going to do: change everything. The words “Corridor of Shame” will be a distant memory! Dr. Andrews, please stand and be recognized.
+ 
+This will require a state-backed economic development commitment to bring jobs to these districts by providing infrastructure in rural areas – not only in water, sewer, and roads, but in school buildings and facilities. We must provide the spark.
+My executive budget creates the “Rural School District Economic Development Closing Fund.” This fund will provide $100 million dollars for our Department of Commerce to use as a “closing fund” to bring new jobs and investment to our poorest school districts.
+We must also invest in our teachers. To attract and retain the best, their compensation must be competitive with their peers in the southeast and elsewhere. My executive budget calls for a 5% teacher pay raise totaling $155 million dollars. This will increase average teacher salaries above the southeastern average.
+But we can’t stop there. The primary funding formula for public education, the Education Finance Act, was established forty years ago. That and those that have followed have become outdated, inefficient, and confusing.
+They fail to provide the accountability, efficiency, and transparency necessary for a modern means of measurement, to determine if taxpayer dollars are being properly delivered and utilized in the classroom.
+Last week, Speaker Lucas and President Peeler and I called on the state Revenue and Fiscal Affairs Office to objectively review South Carolina’s complex education funding formulas and suggest a new, more efficient and modern funding model for the General Assembly to consider. 
+Further, Speaker Lucas and Senator Greg Hembree will propose wholesale reforms to our education delivery system – eliminating burdensome testing, consolidating school districts, replacing non-productive school boards and reigning in the practice of social promotions in our classrooms. I support the Speaker and the Senator 100%. Send me these reforms and I will sign them into law. 
+But we can’t stop there either.
+Our classrooms and schools must also be safe, free from distraction and violence.
+It’s a fact: the presence of a trained certified law enforcement officer is the best and most effective deterrent against violence at a school.
+Local police officers or sheriff’s deputies who serve as school resource officers are trained to spot, assess, and eliminate any potential threat. They train constantly. They immediately communicate and coordinate with local law enforcement.
+Last year, we held a school safety summit of law enforcement, educators, counselors, mental health professionals, parents, and students to address the rise of violence in our schools.
+Two recommendations were made over and over. One was to place a school resource officer in every school. The second was to provide access to mental health professionals who can train educators to recognize the warning signs of violent behavior in their students before it happens.
+Some school districts cannot afford such personnel. Therefore, my executive budget ensures that every public school in our state has a full-time, trained law enforcement officer and access to a mental health counselor through the Department of Mental Health’s school services program.
+The time to act on this is now.
+ 
+For decades, every family’s goal was for their children to go to college, which meant a four-year college degree. Higher education was – and still is – the key to success.
+But the industries have changed.  The skills required in today’s modern workplace require us to stay ahead of demand and adapt with rapid advancements in technology. Modern manufacturing plants and assembly lines have been transformed into intricate computerized environments driven by advanced robotics, artificial intelligence, and sophisticated logistical delivery systems designed to deliver finished products around the world.
+This economic prosperity can also be achieved today through two-year associate degrees and a multitude of certificates from our state’s technical colleges.
+Our technical college system is the best in the country. Last year, our readySC program trained over 3,600 people for 82 companies. It is known around the world. My budget also triples existing funding for readySC, making more than $19 million dollars available for training new employees for business in the next fiscal year. 
+Right now South Carolina has 60,000 highly paid jobs looking for people. High tech production; advanced manufacturing. The demand for workers in the skilled trades – plumbing, masonry, carpentry, and others – high paying jobs – is so great that our businesses have to go out of state to recruit them.
+High school students and their parents must be made aware that these new opportunities are readily available. My executive budget prioritizes funding for our technical colleges to identify and recruit local businesses to participate in collaborative partnerships with high schools; to create internship opportunities; to promote certificate completion. This will provide our local businesses with a pipeline of future employees who are ready to work.
+My budget includes $63 million dollars in additional dollars that are dedicated to workforce training and development. It triples new lottery funding for workforce scholarships and grants – to help students attend our state’s technical colleges.
+ 
+But even with our growth, the cost and debt associated with higher education is becoming a barrier for many students and their families.
+With ten years of tuition and fee increases, student loan debt in South Carolina has risen by 315% - the highest increase in the country.
+I am proposing a one-year freeze on tuition and fees for in-state students at our public technical colleges, four-year colleges and research universities for the 2019-2020 academic year.
+In exchange for freezing in-state tuition and fees – to be certified by the Commission on Higher Education – institutions will receive a 6% increase to their annual base budget. That will be their pro-rata share from a $36 million-dollar appropriation my budget makes to the CHE.
+I expect this one-year tuition freeze to serve as the first step toward a comprehensive reform of higher education funding and tuition.
+Our state’s institutions of higher education play a vital role in our state’s economic prosperity. Their continued success is critical to keeping South Carolina competitive and winning.
+ 
+We must also continue to invest in infrastructure. Our ports, roads, and rail are critical components of our economic prosperity.
+In December, the South Carolina Ports Authority reported a 6.4% year-over-year container volume growth, with a record 2.3 million units handled in 2018 that marked the third consecutive year of record volume. We’re only getting stronger.
+The deepening of Charleston Harbor is one of our most important steps to accelerate our future prosperity. Working with President Trump and his administration, and with the assistance of Senator Graham and our Congressional Delegation, last year we secured an additional $49 million dollars to keep the Charleston Harbor dredging on schedule. There is more to come. And remember, we wisely provided the first $300 million dollars several years ago to guarantee the fulfillment of the project.
+Once this project is completed, Charleston will have the deepest, most efficient harbor on the Atlantic, allowing post-Panamax ships to carry even bigger loads in and out of South Carolina, spurring economic growth throughout the state.
+This is an enormous competitive advantage, and to it we will add in the years ahead, a revitalized Port of Georgetown and a new Port of Jasper.
+I’d like to recognize Chairman Bill Stern and CEO Jim Newsome, of the South Carolina Ports Authority for their vision and dedication. Mr. Newsome couldn’t be with us tonight, but I’d like to ask Chairman Stern to stand and be recognized.
+The elemental purpose of government is to protect people and property. Today we understand the many advantages of replacing recidivism with employment. We also know that more officers on the street means less crime.
+My executive budget provides more than $33 million dollars for law enforcement, corrections, probation, firefighting and other criminal justice agencies to use for pay raises, retention bonuses and hiring new officers. 
+It also includes an additional $40 million dollars to the Department of Corrections to expedite security system upgrades and modernization, as well as critical repairs to damaged prison facilities.
+Director Bryan Stirling’s focus on workforce readiness among inmates has resulted in South Carolina having one of the lowest recidivism rates in the country. More former inmates are re-entering their communities with a job than ever before. South Carolina is a safer place because of Director Stirling’s leadership. He is one of the most innovative and effective directors of prison systems in the United States.
+Director Bryan Stirling, please stand and be recognized.
+ 
+The “silent hurricane” of opioid addiction continues to pummel the Palmetto State. The death toll from opioid-related overdose continued to rise in 2017, with 748 opioid-related fatalities across the state. There were just 57 in 2014.
+Last year, I declared a statewide public health emergency, mobilizing the full power of the state’s emergency infrastructure in response to the growth of opioid addiction and abuse. And I signed what must be the most comprehensive set of laws in the country addressing this crisis across the spectrum of law enforcement, education, and healthcare.
+For instance, our doctors are now required to educate minors and their families on the dangers of opioids before prescribing them; DHEC is issuing tamper-proof prescription pads; the anti-overdose drug Narcan is more readily available; and initial prescriptions are now limited to seven days.
+I also established the Opioid Emergency Response Team, which in June released a plan consisting of recommendations on physical and public education, prevention and response, treatment and recovery, and law enforcement approaches.
+Although there is still much to be done, this progress would not have happened without the leadership of our Director of the Department of Alcohol and other Drug Abuse Services. 
+Director Sara Goldsby, please stand and be recognized.
+ 
+“A healthy mind in a healthy body” was the classical ideal; today it is a competitive advantage. Unfortunately, especially in some of our rural areas, access to good healthcare is lacking. But fortunately, we know how to fix it.
+As always, education and knowledge are essential to progress. But so is the convenient access to health care professionals. This can be done in two ways:  physical presence and virtual presence. We are doing both.
+Last year, I signed the law repealing the restriction which required nurse practitioners to work only within 45 miles of their supervising physician. Now they can go anywhere. You are now seeing them in drug stores, rural clinics and soon – other convenient locations.
+Virtual presence is accomplished by telehealth, in which we lead the nation.
+We are home of the Medical University of South Carolina, which is now designated a National Telehealth Center of Excellence – one of only two in the country. This recognition would not have been achieved without the General Assembly investing and prioritizing innovation and optimization in the areas of stroke care, obstetrics, mental health and urgent care.
+Through telehealth, we can expand access to healthcare professionals, improve healthcare outcomes and reduce costs.
+ 
+And there is another kind of health which we must address. That is the health of the public’s confidence in their public servants and institutions. 
+As we move forward together, we must reaffirm our commitment to good government. As elected officials, we are stewards of the public trust. South Carolinians must trust their representatives, and representatives must demonstrate they are deserving of that trust.
+Maintaining the public’s trust in government, at all levels, requires transparency and accountability on how and why every single taxpayer dollar is spent.
+The best disinfectant against waste and corruption – or suspicions thereof – is sunshine. That means stronger and expanded authority for the State Ethics Commission
+Anyone paid to influence decisions made by state, county, municipal, or school board officials must be required to publicly register with the state ethics commission as a lobbyist. Public officials must be required to recuse themselves when a conflict exists. And public officials in all branches of government - at all levels - must comply with the Freedom of Information Act.
+I ask my colleagues to take this fresh opportunity to bring all of government into the sunlight and restore and insure the confidence of all.
+ 
+South Carolina’s bright economic future and continued job growth require an abundant supply of clean and affordable energy. Without it, we are at a competitive disadvantage.
+However, Santee Cooper is currently saddled with almost $9 billion dollars in debt, over $4 billion dollars of that debt from the failed VC Summer nuclear reactor construction project alone, with nothing to show for it.
+This huge debt will have to be paid. Santee Cooper will have no choice but to raise rates on customers to pay this debt. Their largest customer, the electric cooperatives, will be required to pay 70% of it for the next 30 years.
+I am honored to serve on the committee with members of the House and Senate to present potential solutions concerning the future of Santee Cooper. I ask that members of the General Assembly keep an open and objective mind when you receive this information. We must be deliberate and wise.
+ 
+This land, as noted by explorers for kings and queens, is lush, fertile and brimming with abundance in plant and animal life. It is irreplaceable. The obligation and privilege of our generation and others to use it, cultivate it, develop it and also to protect it and encroach upon it only gently.
+Our economic growth and the preservation of our natural environment are not opposing objectives which must be balanced as in a competition, one against the other. Instead, they are complimentary, each dependent on the other.
+To these ends, I recently established the South Carolina Floodwater Commission. It is unique in the United States. The commission’s purpose is to provide guidance, solutions and opportunities presented by inland and coastal flooding and all that entails. Its scope will be global, to be applied here.
+Such an effort requires extraordinary leadership. That is why I have asked another South Carolina leader to chair the commission. Noted attorney, former JAG officer and former commander of the South Carolina State Guard, General Tom Mullikin, please stand and be recognized.
+ 
+Economic prosperity requires that we address water in a comprehensive fashion – whether it is flooding, sea rise, aquifer depletion, or upstream withdrawal. Make no mistake – a plentiful water supply is essential to our manufacturing, agricultural and tourism industries as well as our quality of life. 
+That means that we must stand firmly against all efforts to endanger the future of our pristine coastline, our beaches, our sea islands, our marshes, and our watersheds.
+Ladies and gentlemen, that means we will not have offshore testing or drilling off the coast of South Carolina.
+ 
+One final story about strong people.
+For two and a half days last September, Hurricane Florence stormed across North and South Carolina – battering the coast with hurricane force winds, storm surge, and massive amounts of rainfall.
+The winds were less than originally predicted; the water was many times worse. That rainfall sent almost Biblical amounts of water racing into and onto South Carolina, creating catastrophic flooding along the Lynches, Great Pee Dee, Little Pee Dee and Waccamaw Rivers, surpassing anything recorded in modern history. It stayed there for weeks.
+Access to the Grand Strand was threatened by historic, rising floodwaters poised to overtake, washout and destroy the roads and bridges into Myrtle Beach, and they did. In addition, the threat of an environmental catastrophe was now on our doorstep with the certain over-topping of the closed Santee Cooper ash pond on the edge of the Waccamaw in Conway. Thus, began a remarkable feat of cooperation, engineering, science, hydrology, technology and collaboration. Four foot tall barriers were built on both sides of US 501 at Conway, saving that vital highway from certain flooding and breech. A four foot aqua-dam was erected surrounding the eight-acre ash ponds to keep potentially deadly coal ash and toxins from flowing into the Waccamaw River and the Winyah watershed, all the way to Georgetown. And potential breeches along US 378 and state highway 9 were blunted.
+The participants? The men and women of the Department of Transportation and the South Carolina National Guard.
+Secretary Christy Hall and Major General Bob Livingston, please stand and be recognized. 
+ 
+In closing, to my friends and colleagues in the General Assembly:
+All of us in this building do not wear the same jerseys, but we are still on the same team. We will work together to ensure that future generations of South Carolinians are able to keep winning and prospering.
+Now is the time to be bold, not bashful. Now is the time to act together. This year. Now.
+May God bless you, the great state of South Carolina, and the United States of America.
+

state-of-the-state/speeches/SouthDakota_SOTS.txt

@@ -0,0 +1,116 @@
+Lieutenant Governor Rhoden, Mr. Speaker, members of the legislature, Chief Justice Gilbertson, Justices of the Supreme Court, constitutional officers and fellow South Dakotans.  Thank you very much for giving me the challenge and the distinct honor of being your Governor.   
+It is my privilege today to offer thoughts on the state of our state.   
+By nearly every standard of comparison, South Dakota is in good shape. But in order to preserve and extend this prosperity forward for today’s working families and to the next generation, we must come together on solutions to the problems on the near and distant horizons.  
+Just how good do we have it here in South Dakota? Well, let’s compare to a few other states. Illinois is forecasting a $1.2 billion annual deficit and their pensions are only 40% funded. Connecticut’s economy has been shrinking for a decade and their revenue growth has stalled out. New Jersey has yearly budget deficits as far as the eye can see.  
+Meanwhile, in South Dakota, thanks to the leadership of Governor Dennis Daugaard and many in the legislature, we have rid our state of an annual structural deficit. We rely solely on the ongoing revenue stream to cover ongoing expenses. Our state pension plan is fully funded. And we have a Triple A credit rating - the highest rating given. I’m grateful for the voice of fiscal responsibility Governor Daugaard has maintained over the last eight years. I know he isn’t here today, but could you please join me in thanking Governor Daugaard and past legislators for their fiscal discipline and incredible leadership.  
+As our state’s new Governor, I’m committed to maintaining the fiscal integrity for which our state has become known. We will work hard to maintain that Triple A credit rating. We won’t spend money we don’t yet have. We won’t needlessly grow the government. We won’t raise taxes.   
+If we stopped right there, those promises to the people of South Dakota would put us lightyears ahead of many other states. Fiscal discipline isn’t common elsewhere, but in our state it’s not optional. It’s the foundation. It’s what sets us apart with rating agencies and why our state makes list after list for being a great place to open a business, raise a family or retire.  
+Fiscal discipline will be the foundation of my governorship but we aren’t going to stop there.    
+As I mentioned in my inaugural address last Saturday, I want to be a Governor who improves South Dakota not only for today, but also for the next generation. Growing up, my mom and dad worked hard to build a farm large enough for all of their kids to stay if they wanted to. My dad didn’t make it to see today, but his dream did. As much as he wanted us to carry on our family farm and ranch, what he really wanted was to give the next generation an opportunity to thrive. That dream is also my vision for South Dakota. The next generation is watching us and we must do everything we can to strengthen our state so it’s a place where they can one day launch their careers and raise their families.  I hope you all will join me in this effort.   
+Over the past few weeks, my team and I have talked with every agency and department in state government. We have heard about the challenges and opportunities facing our state. This information transfer, though, was really the capstone of a two-year-long job interview for being our state's chief executive. And over the last two years, I was able to do a lot of listening with a lot of South Dakotans.   
+I heard story after story from South Dakota families about the love they have for our state. They love our culture, our wide open spaces, they love their towns and their churches. I do too. But many families are struggling to get ahead. Parents lie awake at night and wonder if they are a medical emergency away from financial disaster. Or if they’ll ever be able to put money into a savings account for a new home.   
+With those stories of South Dakotans and the struggles that they face in mind, I want to share with you a handful of proposals that I believe will set up the next generation for success.    
+Expanding Rural Broadband 
+For so many in South Dakota, our rural way of life keeps us connected to the land our grandfathers and grandmothers once farmed and to the close-knit communities we call home.  But in the quiet moments, I think we would all acknowledge the world our kids will inherit will be a much different one than what we’ve experienced. Their world will be one in which both access and ease in a digital, connected world is a basic requirement for making a living. For being engaged in society, and keeping their households running and their kids educated. 
+I’ve heard it said that 65% of children in elementary school today will work in jobs that don’t exist yet. These jobs of the future – the jobs our children will depend on to support families of their own – will almost certainly require access to technology, particularly the Internet.  And we must make those investments now.  Raising the next generation with tools, such as broadband, is our responsibility as parents and citizens. 
+Internet access is taken for granted in urban settings but that’s not the case in rural areas. This is a big problem to tackle. There are many rural areas of our state where the lack of access to broadband is widespread. Half our counties have rural areas where one in four people don't have this kind of broadband access.  And some counties have rural areas where half of the residents don’t have broadband access. They’re not even our most remote counties. Our citizens in rural Beadle and Codington counties, for example, endure poor internet access right alongside those living in rural Charles Mix and Perkins counties. 
+As I see it, this is a statewide, South Dakota issue, not just an urban versus rural issue.  It’s a South Dakota issue because the small communities and rural areas near Watertown or Huron provide customers and members of the workforce for those larger communities.  Some young girl with a aptitude for math and science could be a future Daktronics engineer but will she be able to excel without broadband at home?  
+And some young man or woman might want to come back and take over the family farm but they need to have access to information on crops, prices and machinery. Their spouse might run a business online – Will they move back to the farm if they can’t access broadband? We must close the broadband gap to ensure people have the opportunity to work and hire locally and sell globally.  
+This is easier said than done. It can cost $15,000 per mile or more to lay fiber optic line for internet, and the low number of customers in some rural areas makes it too expensive for companies to justify their investment.  Some have discouraged us from even trying to expand access because it’s too hard and too expensive. But I refuse to quit. Geographic location cannot be an excuse for the government to do nothing when the future vitality of our economy is at stake.  Geographic location no longer has to be a barrier to participating in the global economy.  By pairing quality of life, education targeted at in-demand fields, and fast, reliable broadband, I believe our geographic location can actually be an advantage. There’s no reason why rural South Dakota can’t compete and win by attracting new workers seeking a change. Let’s welcome our sons and daughters, who are tired of the crowds and commutes, back to their hometowns to raise families while pursuing their careers. And in the process we will strengthen our smaller communities and our state.  
+So, how does that happen?  Well, first we need to set goals as a state that will not only bring our homes and businesses up to an acceptable level of broadband access, but also ensure we remain at the forefront as technology develops.  We’ll use those goals to drive our policy and ultimately our state’s investments.  I feel strongly any time we are talking about taxpayer-funded investment, we should be investing for the long term, solving for more than just the immediate problem. 
+Today, I’m announcing a plan to close the broadband gap. Partnering with others, I want to connect as many more South Dakotans as possible to high speed internet over the next four years.  
+State government can’t tackle this alone. To accomplish this goal, first, we’ll bring together industry leaders. Our state’s rural telecom companies, in particular, have considerable experience in bringing broadband service to our rural areas. Our state’s other wireline service providers have an important role to play in areas they serve as well, and I look forward to working with them on increasing their level of service.  What’s more, I want to bring in companies with emerging technologies in the fixed wireless arena, such as Microsoft’s Airband initiative, that may offer more cost-efficient ways to provide fast, reliable service to our most difficult to serve locations.  And I see a role for companies ready to invest in new 5G technology, which promises faster, more reliable service over cellular data networks, as well.  
+Second, we are going to focus state government’s commitment to this issue. My team will work on a mapping process to identify in more detail gaps or deficiencies in South Dakota’s broadband coverage.  This will ensure we have the best possible picture of what work remains, and deploy our resources effectively to meet our goals. 
+Third, we are going to commit state resources to closing the broadband gap. Other states have developed programs and we will review those as we put our own together. State resources can’t, and shouldn’t, get us across the finish line alone. But they will incentivize investment and leverage additional dollars. 
+Going forward, I have also charged GOED with developing a series of public-private partnerships to help overcome the challenges of service in rural areas and achieve the ambitious goals we’ve set for South Dakota.  In a state where our own Raven Aerostar has partnered with Google’s Loon project, which aims to bring Internet access to billions of people in rural areas around the globe through high altitude balloons, I know we can find a way to bridge our own challenges and secure broadband for rural South Dakota’s next generation and beyond. 
+Extending Pheasant Habitat 
+The rural nature of our state might create higher internet connection costs, but I wouldn’t trade it for the struggles and lifestyle that you have in DC or the coast of California.  It’s hard to beat heading out on that special Saturday in October with family and friends to enjoy the Pheasant opener.  
+We recently celebrated a century of pheasant hunting here in South Dakota. It’s a tradition that my family has enjoyed for years. And for a period of time, it was more than a hobby, it was our livelihood. After my dad died, we opened a hunting lodge to help make ends meet. So to us, hunting isn’t just a sport. It’s a way of life, and an economic engine for our state. Today bird-hunters spend nearly a quarter of a billion dollars in South Dakota. And outdoor activities in our state support more than 18,000 full and part-time in-state jobs. That’s a huge boost to our economy.  
+My family has been blessed with prime pheasant habitat on some of our land. Of course, we have worked hard to preserve those grounds over the years and have long participated in the CRP program. But as land values have increased, areas like ours have begun to disappear, gravely affecting pheasant populations. It’s hard to blame folks for making those decisions when land values are high but it has an impact on how and where our pheasant population can nest and produce the next season’s birds. In fact, statewide pheasant populations have fallen 65 percent in the last decade. 
+While in the U.S. House, I authored a provision to increase CRP acres to 29 million acres, a priority for many South Dakota outdoorsmen. As Governor, I will continue to push federal policymakers to enhance CRP even further. But we can, and must, do more at the state level. Which is why I am announcing the official kickoff of our Second Century Initiative. The first century of pheasant hunting has put South Dakota on the map as a destination for every hunter. Now we must preserve and expand habitat to ensure that the second century of pheasant hunting will be as great as the first.  
+First off, we’ll work to increase resources for habitat management – without raising taxes. Maintaining and improving habitat is essential to the future of pheasant hunting in South Dakota. So today, I am directing the Department of Game, Fish and Parks to explore outside-the-box, voluntary funding solutions, such as an expanded Hunt for Habitat program, in which a limited number of hunting tags would be reserved at premium pricing. Programs like this have proven exceptionally lucrative in neighboring states. All proceeds would again go directly to habitat.  
+We need South Dakotans thinking about pheasant habitat, not just in October as we’re cleaning up our shotguns, but year round. To raise visibility and more funds, I'll ask the Division of Motor Vehicles and Game, Fish and Parks to develop a specialty pheasant license plate program in which, again, all proceeds would go directly toward habitat management.   
+Pheasant hunting is a statewide tradition with statewide economic impact, so maintaining and growing the industry requires statewide involvement. This means we’re going to get aggressive on predator control with a bounty program. Young people will have a chance to get out there and help reduce the threats to our pheasant population. This also means the funding for improved habitat must come from an increase in private and foundation dollars as well. I’ll make the ask directly if needed. I’d love to see banquets and fundraisers and employer-match programs all making habitat one of their causes. 
+I’m sure there are other great ideas out there when it comes to habitat that we haven’t thought of yet. That’s why we’re going to crowd source habitat solutions. Taking advantage of online capabilities, my administration will expand the capabilities at habitat.sd.gov to ensure every South Dakotan, not just those on assigned advisory boards or in Pierre, can directly contribute to the policymaking process. Should your ideas be implemented, I’d like to see the commission waive your hunting license fees for that year. 
+Of course, work at the national level can’t stop either. I’m committed to keeping habitat management as a national priority. As a top negotiator of the 2014 Farm Bill, I fought to enhance CRP,  and when the Obama administration accepted just 101 acres into CRP in South Dakota in 2016, I fought back. I will take up that same cause as Governor. Working in partnership with groups like Pheasants Forever, I will leverage the relationships I have around the country to win over CRP and habitat advocates in Congress, the administration, and Governors’ Associations. This broad base of support is essential in not only maintaining federal programs but making sure everyone knows that if you want to hunt pheasants, you’d better book your trip to South Dakota. We’ll do what we need to do in here to keep on harvesting a million roosters each fall for generations to come. Consider me our Sportsman in Chief for South Dakota Pheasant Hunting.  
+Economic Development & The Next Big Thing 
+As we look to the next generation, few things are as important as kickstarting our economy.  We owe it to our kids to create and sustain an economy that is not only strong, but diversified. We owe it to our kids to give them an economy that offers reasons to stay in South Dakota after graduation or to return and raise their families.  We owe it to ourselves to encourage growth and development in all communities, large and small. We are, after all, only as strong as our weakest community. 
+And while we do a lot of things right in South Dakota, our economy has fallen behind in recent years. The economy in Indian Country needs focus as well. There are many challenges today for tribes, but I am looking to build relationships and partnerships with them in many areas: education, law and order, and economic development.  
+This kickstart begins by lifting government burdens from small businesses owners and making it easier to work and create new opportunities that allow South Dakotans to prosper. By expanding on the strong business climate we have built through a low-tax, low-regulation environment, we’ll give businesses room to grow. If you think a state’s regulatory or tax burden doesn’t matter to business, think again.  Just last week, Minnesota start-up aquaculture company tr? Shrimp announced plans to move its first planned production facility, a major investment, from the site it previously chose in Luverne, Minnesota, to a new site in Madison, South Dakota. I want to hear stories like this every week, and I believe that’s possible. There’s a reason we’re considered one of the best places to operate a business. It’s imperative we keep it that way.  
+I believe continuing this pro-business approach and stable government will make South Dakota a destination of choice in coming years. When other states raise taxes to bail themselves out and refuse to offer regulatory relief, we’ll be here ready. Now is the time to begin the search for the “Next Big Thing” for South Dakota. 
+As many of you know, in the early 1980’s, Governor Janklow had the foresight to identify and to target the credit card industry as an area in which South Dakota could compete and win at a national level.  We changed our approach to regulating that industry, ushering in a tremendous expansion of not only credit card processing, but our financial services sector more generally.  We created thousands of good jobs.  Today, South Dakota is home to $3.1 trillion in bank assets – more than any other state in the country.  Our trust industry oversees billions more, providing still more South Dakotans with reliable, high-paying jobs.  
+If bringing in the financial services industry was the last “Big Thing” then it’s time to start looking for the “Next Big Thing.” Because we can’t stop moving forward. We must look ahead to the emerging opportunities that can power growth for the next generation.  
+That is why I am charging my Office of Economic Development with not only identifying our next generation of targeted industries, but also marketing to attract the most innovative companies in those sectors.  Over the next six weeks, GOED will develop and roll out a new, more user-friendly website that is more responsive to the needs of existing South Dakota businesses and those interested in moving here.   
+Our state should continue drawing on our traditional strength as an agricultural state by seeking out more value-added processing opportunities.  We have been successful in attracting dairy processing and growing the dairy herd, but we still send far too much of our corn, soybeans, and livestock out of state for consumption or processing.  It leaves our farmers vulnerable to the effects of tariffs and basis.  Enhancing outlets within South Dakota will benefit farmers and enhance the strength of our small communities, and I have challenged GOED to make this area a priority. 
+Second, we must leverage our expertise in agriculture along with our growing capacity in human health research. Whether it’s new therapies for human diseases, new crop technologies, or other applied research, South Dakota has a valuable contribution to make as a place for innovation in this area and in turn we’re gaining international recognition. 
+Third, we have an opportunity to capitalize on a world-class talent pipeline and our strong tradition of service to become a leader in the cybersecurity.  The success of DSU’s cybersecurity program has brought South Dakota national attention.  DSU is poised to supply the financial services industry, military, and intelligence community, among others, with a workforce that will lead this new and rapidly growing industry.  Our priority must be not only in training this workforce, but also in attracting or creating companies in South Dakota to keep our graduates here, at home, with great jobs and a way of life they love.   
+In the Black Hills, the U.S. Air Force’s rollout of the next-generation B-21 Raider bomber will also bring with it a surge of activity in and around Ellsworth Air Force base.  This growth will open up new opportunities for good jobs, provide a platform for attracting additional military-connected businesses, and increase Ellsworth’s already substantial $300 million annual impact on our economy.  Ensuring Box Elder, Rapid City, and the Black Hills region are equipped to capitalize on Ellsworth’s rapid expansion must be a priority for us all. 
+Identifying and securing South Dakota’s Next Big Thing, while better supporting our existing businesses, is a challenge, but I can’t think of anything more important to our next generation than kickstarting our economy.  So many of our other challenges – drugs, family, resources for schools and building community – become easier when our citizens are prospering and our economy is growing.  Done well, we will build an economy to take South Dakota to the next generation and beyond. 
+Improving Education and Developing Our Workforce  
+Creating new jobs, new industries and new economic horizons for our state will be worthless if we don’t have the next generation of South Dakotans educated, trained and ready to take on these new opportunities and challenges.  
+As I tour our state’s businesses and meet with employers, what I have heard from them is encouraging.  Outside of ag, business is good and they’d like to expand.  Again and again, though, I heard the same challenge that is holding them back: workforce shortages. 
+As governor, I want to break down barriers to help fill these shortages. In our smaller communities and more rural areas, one common barrier is affordable housing. Today I’m announcing a pilot project by the South Dakota Housing Development Authority to help fix this problem. We will be building new modular multi-housing units, called DakotaPlex, at the state prison facility in Springfield. It will be similar to the Governor’s Houses, but built as duplex, triplex, or quadriplex units.  South Dakota communities of less than 5000 people will be eligible to purchase these units and offer them for rent at affordable levels.  I’m confident this new project will help our smaller communities expand housing options for workers. 
+Another state-imposed barrier to workforce can be professional licensure.  I am directing the Department of Labor and Regulation, over the next year, to work with our professional organizations and licensure boards to conduct a full review of licensing requirements.  We need to consider the elimination of unnecessary licenses, opportunities to streamline the licensure process, and options to fast-track licenses for apprentices, in-state graduates, veterans, and military personnel and their families. We can’t let unneeded red tape get in the way of growth.  
+These are both important steps, but they are only a start.  Workforce is a national problem.  Recently, because of the strength of the national economy, the United States reached an important milestone:  there are actually more job openings today than there are unemployed people actively seeking to fill them. 
+In South Dakota, according to our most recent data, we have 15,870 job openings and 13,600 people actively looking for work.  Unfortunately, we have a skills gap – those unemployed workers don’t have the skills necessary to fill the open jobs.  
+We have already taken steps in South Dakota to address this skills gap.  We should all be very proud of our state’s technical institutes.  Near my home town, Lake Area Tech was recognized just two years ago as the best two-year college in America.  All four of our technical institutes have new facilities, new equipment, and qualified faculty offering cutting-edge programs.  The Build Dakota scholarship has made it easier for hundreds of young people to get job training, and then stay in South Dakota to work in high-need fields. 
+We can also be proud of our university system, which prepares more young people for their careers than any other set of institutions.  I am concerned, though, that the priorities of our employers and our educators sometimes do not fully align.  That can leave some young people with limited job prospects.  My team will help me bring together employers, K-12 educators, the Regents, and the Technical Institutes.  We need to do more to provide career counseling and information for students, starting in middle school.   
+I strongly believe that the best way to prepare our young people for their careers is through work experience.  Growing up on the farm, we all worked.  We didn’t know any other way.  There was no Facebook or Instagram, so I didn’t know what my classmates were doing after school or in the summers.  I just knew that my siblings and I were expected to work hard.  I’m glad we did – that early experience taught me lessons that have served me well in my life. 
+Over the coming year, I’m asking school leaders to work with me to dramatically increase work experience in our high schools.  We need more CTE and skills training in high school.  We need more apprenticeship programs.  And we need more opportunities for young people to get out of the classroom and experience a real job.   
+I would like our high schools to join together each year to hold a “Week of Work.”  This will be a special week when every high school student will get out of the classroom to experience a day on the job. I hope this can lead to schools coordinating more internships and experience-based classes.   
+Learning about the world of work helps our young people to figure out what fields aren’t for them and eventually they’ll hopefully find something they love. Perhaps more importantly, though, work experience teaches young people the soft skills they need.  Work experience teaches young people to show up on time, to dress professionally, and to interact with customers.  We do a disservice to our students if they graduate high school without these skills. 
+Some of you may know that, when I started college, I considered becoming a teacher.  My dad’s accident changed my plans, but education remains a priority for me.  One of my aspirations as governor is improve our educational opportunities and performance so that our kids can have greater success. 
+We need to do more to empower families.  Every child has different needs and talents, and we all know that family involvement gets better results.  The All-City Elementary School in Sioux Falls is an example of this and a model for others to emulate. One of its core tenants and requirements is a high level of parent involvement. The results are clear. Its students perform at much higher levels than the average elementary school both in the Sioux Falls school district and statewide. 
+Empowering families also means supporting each family’s decisions for education.  I am a proud product of public school and so are my kids, but South Dakota also has excellent private schools, and many dedicated home school families.  This year, I will be bringing legislation to remove an unnecessary testing requirement that state law currently imposes on home school families.  I will also be supporting legislation to make home school students eligible, on an equal basis, for the South Dakota Opportunity Scholarship. 
+And we do have abundant opportunity in our state, but too often our students don’t understand how blessed they are to live in a land of opportunity. I believe the next generation of South Dakotans must understand the foundations of our nation, the tremendous sacrifices made to protect our constitutional rights, and the freedoms, liberties, and responsibilities we have as citizens.  
+In this Capitol is a statue of one of South Dakota’s early leaders, General William Henry Harrison Beadle.  He was a Civil War veteran and he took his civic role seriously.  General Beadle once said that the purpose of education is to prepare “also for all civic and social duties.  Not for wage earning alone, not for money making alone, must we educate.” 
+Civics need to reemerge.  From grade school to the universities.  Interim Secretary Jones is a professor of history and he will be key to this effort.  This year, as a first step, I will be bringing legislation to require that every high school graduate be able to pass the United States citizenship exam.  This is the test that we ask immigrants to take before they become U.S. Citizens.  It is only fair that, before our young people graduate from high school and take on their responsibilities as citizens, they also display this basic knowledge of our nation’s institutions and its history. If our next generation is to be successful, they must know the story of our past generations. 
+Battling Meth  
+You all know when we invest in our kids, we’re investing in our future. Our future is only as strong as our kids. Which is why it’s vital we address problems when they threaten to dismantle the success of the next generation.  
+As I mentioned earlier, over the past several weeks, my team and I have received briefings from every cabinet department.  One issue I heard, time and again, from many departments is the impact of the meth epidemic on our state.  Opioids make the national news and they are a problem in South Dakota, but our overwhelming problem is meth.  
+A couple months ago, I spoke with a first-responder in one of our cities who told me of situations where they walk into homes of meth users and find kids starving in their bedrooms, their parents drugged out of their minds, incompetent of caring for their children. Stories like this are frequent. In our neighboring state of Iowa, a four-month-old baby was killed just over a month ago after his meth-addict dad forgot him in a swing. He died of malnutrition and infection. The police found his little body covered in maggots and sores – his parents too strung out on meth to remember his existence.  
+This is what our law enforcement has to deal with every day. Can you even imagine? Meth is filling our jails and prisons, clogging our court systems, and stretching our drug treatment capacity. But meth is rarely made in South Dakota anymore, the vast majority of this meth is coming from Mexico. Our meth epidemic is the price we are paying for our nation’s failure to adequately secure our southern border. 
+To give you a sense of the scale of the problem in South Dakota:  In 2011, there were 402 meth arrests in South Dakota.  Those arrests led to the seizure of approximately 4,300 grams of meth.  Look ahead seven years to 2018.  We have gone from 402 arrests to 3,366 – and that doesn’t even include December of 2018.  The amount of meth seized in these arrests has increased from approximately 4,300 grams to nearly 40,000 grams. A nearly tenfold increase.  
+Some of that increase is due to better enforcement, and that is a good thing.  We’re catching more bad guys. But we all understand that the meth epidemic is only getting worse.   
+Meth destroys people, but it does much more.  It destroys families. It hurts our kids, and we see that in our schools, in our foster families, and in our health care providers. 
+Every child deserves to grow up in a good home with parents who love them, and when I see a child who has lost her family to meth, it breaks my heart.  Not because I am the governor.  Because I am a mom. 
+We cannot allow meth to break apart our families, consume our resources, and destroy our state.  I will not stand for it.  Some of us want to look away. We want to flip the channel when we hear about stories like the child in the swing. Some of us might think meth is something that other communities are dealing with or other types of people that you don’t associate with. We can’t do that. We can’t look away. We have to stare down meth. 
+There are no easy answers to this issue.  I know we have tried to address these problems.  But we need to do more.  And we need to focus on three key areas:  education, enforcement, and treatment.  
+So today, I am proposing that we expand prevention and treatment programs. We need to do more to educate our young people about the effects of meth and give them strategies to avoid it.  In the past these efforts have relied on grant funding, but I will be asking for dedicated general funds to carry a strong and consistent message, especially to our young people. Before the legislative session is over, there will be a plan on my desk that will help our state stare down the meth problem. The plan must include tools to improve education, enforcement and treatment.  
+We will help every South Dakotan learn to identify the early signs of meth use to increase early referrals to treatment.  Early intervention is the first defense against this problem.  I want to reach meth users before they enter the criminal justice system and commit other crimes.  Our objective isn’t to imprison people – that hurts families too. W e need additional mental health services for this issue and many others. Our ideal is to help people beat their meth addiction and return to their jobs and families.  
+At the same time, I am proposing that we become much more aggressive in enforcing our laws against meth. We need to stop the traffic of meth into our state, and crack down on those who deal meth and other drugs. I am confident that every dollar we spend to keep meth out will be repaid many times. 
+And while we crack down on enforcement, we must pave avenues for rehabilitation. Earlier this year, I visited Teen Challenge in Brookings – an incredible program that helps people struggling with life-controlling substance abuse and equips them to become productive members of their community. We need more options for people trapped in addiction, recognizing that second chances are available to people willing to walk the road to recovery.  
+Foster Care – Every Child Needs a Home 
+Now for a moment I would like to turn your attention to another important issue impacting families in our state. As I just described, because of meth, dozens of kids are separated from their homes every week, sending child after child into the foster system. While meth isn’t the only reason for broken families in South Dakota, the children in our foster system need to be in a home. Every child deserves a home.  
+Most of us just finished up spending the holidays with our families and friends. We ate together, gave each other gifts and shared stories and laughter. But this Christmas, 192 children were in our foster care system available and waiting for adoptive families. In total, 940 children were in foster care. They didn’t have their family to spend their Christmas with. They didn’t have a family to laugh and celebrate with. And while the staff at the Department of Social Services can raise awareness about the need, get the facts out, and debunk some of the myths people may believe, they can’t just create families for these kids. They can’t put children in a home if no one is willing to provide one. And they can’t get the word out if people aren’t listening.  
+That is why, today, I am committing to use my podium, my microphone, and my influence to educate our state about the need for more foster parents. In every formal speech I give, I’m going to talk about it. You’re going to get tired of hearing me talk about it. So if you are a foster parent and you have a positive experience to share, send it in to my office. We will use the information with discretion, but we need to tell your stories. We need more parents, more families, more South Dakotans to raise their hands and say, “yes, I’ll be a foster parent. I agree, every child deserves a home.” 
+The state has a website - fosterone.sd.gov - where you can learn more, ask questions, and start the process to become a foster family. We’ll be updating the website over the next year. And I’ll be talking about it. A lot. It’s seems almost too obvious to this say out loud, but I will just to be clear – the next generation of South Dakotans will not thrive if they don’t have a home. A place to grow up. A family to love them.  
+Growing Agriculture 
+Agriculture is the foundation of South Dakota's economy and our number one industry – by a significant margin. All in all, it contributes about $25.6 billion to the economy, so when ag prospers, South Dakota prospers. Of course, when droughts hit or markets slide, everyone feels that too. 
+It’s been a tough few years for ag in South Dakota, and I’ve worked hard to put proper safety nets in place for unexpected circumstances like what we’ve experienced. You see, without certainty, farmers aren’t able to do what they do best: feed the world.  
+As a lifelong farmer and rancher, I know the challenges that come with the business. I know the stress that comes when you take out loans, bury that money in the ground in the form of seed and fertilizer, and hope not only for a good yield, but for the right market conditions at the right time. It’s a tough business. But I understand why folks do it. It’s a special job to feed the world – to know that the product of your labor brings families together around a dinner table, to know that your work makes a real difference.  
+So as governor, I’ll utilize my experience as a lifelong producer to advance agriculture in our state. From protecting property rights to expanding markets, my administration is being built to develop the state’s agricultural economy and give more young people the opportunity to thrive as farmers and ranchers in South Dakota.  
+This year, we will focus on growth in the ag economy by transferring Ag Development Representatives from the Department of Agriculture to my office of economic development. This makes sense, because ag development is economic development.  
+For years, these two departments have largely performed the same functions when it comes to ag development. This move will consolidate resources and brainpower, supply more tools for development, eliminate red tape, and create a better approach to developing our largest industry and create a lasting infrastructure for the next generation.  
+I might not be traveling to DC every week anymore, and believe me, I’m good with that, but I will continue leveraging my federal network – from the President on down – and partner with our South Dakota delegation to continue pushing for a level playing field when it comes to trade. Farmers want trade, not aid. Producers don’t want federal bailouts. We crave expanded market opportunities. And I believe we’ll get there with this Administration. 
+This has been a frequent conversation I’ve had with President Trump – as recently as a few weeks ago – and I’m grateful for the outcomes we’ve seen as a result. Late last year, I was glad to see the president’s support of farm country when he lifted restrictions on year-round E15, a move that will help consume another 2 billion bushels of corn, while potentially saving consumers up to 10 cents per gallon at the pump.  
+We’ll begin the process of transitioning the state vehicle fleet to E30, further maximizing the use of homegrown fuels and revolutionizing the way we fuel both our vehicles and our economy. I’ve already met with state government leaders on this initiative and we’re working on a plan.  
+It’s critical we keep communicating the impact of decisions like this to the president, because quite frankly, most of Washington isn’t talking about agriculture. Fifty years ago, there were more than 200 rural congressional districts in the House of Representatives. Now, just over 30 remain. I’m grateful South Dakota has strong voices for ag in Senator John Thune, Senator Mike Rounds, and Representative Dusty Johnson. I will do everything I can to continue leveraging my experience to expand trade and keep ag strong.  
+And I’d be remiss to talk about this new Administration's approach to ag without mentioning Kim Vanneman, who’ll be serve as my secretary of agriculture. Kim is very different from any ag secretary South Dakota has ever had. She truly brings a new perspective to the table. I’m grateful for the ways she has been an ag leader in our state – on the farm, in the legislature, in the board room and as a mom passing along her love of agriculture to her kids. She’s going to make a great Ag Secretary. Thank you for serving, Kim.  
+I’m proud of our agriculture tradition in South Dakota. Our ag industry is special – it’s our legacy, our way of life. We must do everything we can to ensure the ag economy is ready to support the next generation of farmers and ranchers.  
+Making Government More Transparent  
+The issue of government transparency might be last among my major policy items mentioned here today but that’s because it’s a cornerstone. As we build up, every other item must align with transparency. Many Americans and many South Dakotans are losing their trust in government. This is particularly true of the younger generations. Stories of government ineptitude and downright scandal don’t help matters much. I hear you. I’m with you.  
+So today, I’m committing to work toward building the most transparent administration South Dakota has ever seen. I’ll bring debates and meetings from the boardroom to your living room by utilizing free technologies like YouTube, Facebook Live and other apps. We’ll modernize and expand existing transparency websites by adding all agendas, minutes, and livestreams to a centralized online location. If my cabinet secretaries and other administration leaders don’t stay on top of this, I’m going to make them donate to our pheasant habitat funds.  
+Fact-based reporting must be valued and encouraged in order to uphold the integrity of government entities. To that end, I want to see a commonsense Reporter Shield law, protecting the constitutional right to a free and independent press. I want that bill on my desk before the end of session.  
+Our state government must operate to serve people, not special interests. If you have other ideas for ways to increase transparency, send them in to us. We’ll work to bring more sunlight to the statehouse. You have my word.  
+Closing 
+Now, none of us would live in this wonderful country today if it weren’t for our military and our law enforcement officers.  
+The South Dakota National Guard continues to support federal commitments worldwide with nearly 150 Soldiers and Airmen deployed in support of overseas operations in Iraq, Kuwait, Quatar, the UAE, and Poland. The Guard is also supporting federal commitments here at home. Seven Soldiers are supporting cyber defense operations in the National Capitol Region. And just yesterday I approved a four-Soldier aviation crew, with a UH-72 helicopter, to deploy this week to Arizona in support of U.S. Customs and Border Protection security operations along the Southwest border. We must do what we can to help secure the southern border.  
+Here in South Dakota, I have big plans for Hot Springs and how we can better care for, and recognize veterans at the facilities in that town. Big plans. Our veterans have served us. It is our solemn duty to serve them.  
+I am sure that there will be issues that arise during my tenure as governor that will require the strength and resolve of our first responders, our military and our law enforcement. I know that they will be up to the task. I know that they are training and preparing right now, even today, for the unexpected as well as the expected.  
+One of those issues that we do expect, is the construction of the Keystone XL pipeline through South Dakota. Let me be very clear on this: I want the construction of this pipeline to be safe, clean and efficient. We will make sure that people, water and the environment are protected. My administration will work with the tribes, the companies, and as necessary, law enforcement, to make this as uneventful as possible.  
+I want to thank you all for your time and attention today. Serving as our state’s 33rd governor is an immense honor and I look forward to it. I pray for the strength and wisdom to govern effectively. God will be faithful in guiding us and giving us the strength to persevere.  
+This is the end of this yearly address, but it is not the end of the conversation around these issues. I look forward to taking these policies, these ideas, these discussions around the state. I want to hear from you. So please, invite me to your local civic organization and community meetings, or even your morning coffee group.  
+In closing, I want to take a moment to thank my family. Thank you for your support and your help, and your energy. The reason I got involved in public service was to make South Dakota a better place – a better place to do business and raise a family. One of the reasons I care about these issues is because I wanted those things for my family, and every other family. I know that’s why you serve as well. So I look forward to working with South Dakota leaders, in governments and in the private sector, to improve our state for today. And for the next generation. 
+Thank you. And may God bless South Dakota.  
+

state-of-the-state/speeches/Tennessee_SOTS.txt

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+Lieutenant Governor McNally, Speaker Casada, Speaker Pro Tem Haile, Speaker Pro Tem Dunn, Members of the 111th General Assembly, Justices, Constitutional Officers, friends, guests, fellow Tennesseans:
+Tennessee’s voters and its constitution have given me the responsibility of delivering this address evaluating where we are as a state and recommending action to make us even better.
+I am grateful for this opportunity to serve, and it is my high honor to be here tonight.
+There's a scripture that encourages us to consider others as more important than ourselves.
+Before I begin tonight, I’d like to acknowledge the woman in my life who embodies that most, my wife and the first Lady of Tennessee, Maria.
+You and I have a First Lady who is deeply committed to serving this state purposefully and she challenges me every day to likewise govern with purpose.
+Thank you, Maria. I love you.
+And let me say welcome and thank you to my Cabinet, and my staff; you’re doing an excellent job and you make us all proud.
+The year my oldest daughter Jessica turned 16, she and I took a father-daughter trip for her birthday. We had both been through some very personal and tragic struggles and we decided to do something that would be "overcoming."
+We travelled to Wyoming to the Grand Teton National Park to climb one of the tallest mountains in the United States.
+It's a difficult and technical climb, and we spent months preparing both physically and mentally.
+The apex of our trip would carry us to 14,000 feet above sea level. Our first day we hiked up to 11,000 feet to make our camp for the night.
+As we neared the basecamp, our guide, probably sensing my nervousness, pulled me aside and said something very important.
+He said, “You need to make a decision that you’re going to make this climb before you get to the base camp.
+“Because when you get there you’re going to look up at the Grand Teton, and it’ll look like a massive granite spire that sticks straight up higher than you ever imagined, and you’ll feel very intimidated.
+“If you have the tiniest doubt in your mind that you can do it as you’re hiking up there today, then once you stand at the base camp tonight and look up, you’ll be convinced that you can’t possibly climb that thing.”
+He told me I needed to decide right then and there whether I was going to finish the climb.
+I did decide, and we did finish and let me tell you, like everything that’s difficult, the view from the top was well worth the climb.
+As a state, our challenges, too, are difficult, and the climb will require great effort, but Tennessee is a remarkable place, with remarkable people.
+Now, I think we can all agree that while important things happen in the halls of government it is actually what happens outside these walls that makes Tennessee truly great.
+Nearly every Friday since we took office, Maria and I have left this building to meet Tennesseans in their communities to learn more about what makes our state work.
+We met a soybean farmer in Lauderdale County who navigates the Mississippi floodwaters to pull in a harvest and carry on our proud agricultural tradition.
+We met a third-grade teacher in North Nashville who works over time to ensure their students are reading at grade level and continue to be the fastest improving students in the nation.
+We met a small business owner in Jamestown who employs fellow neighbors and keeps the backbone of the Tennessee economy running strong.
+And so, as a lifelong Tennessean, when I reflect on our state, I see her people and I am filled with pride.
+To our elected leaders in this room and the many Tennesseans watching from their homes, I am proud to report after seeing with my own eyes: the state of our state is hopeful, prosperous, and strong.
+God has truly blessed us – our economy is growing, our schools are improving, our natural resources are abundant and beautiful; indeed, we are the envy of many states.
+But while our prosperity should be celebrated, it should not be taken for granted, for it was not granted to us.
+Our prosperity has been hard won. From the first settlers in the 1790’s to the leaders of past and present, many have contributed to the success we now enjoy.
+Our military veterans living, and remembered, deserve the most honored place among those we thank for serving.
+We recognize the service of our heroes, and I'd like to talk about one family in particular who has embodied that service and sacrifice.
+U.S. Navy Lieutenant Richard C. “Tito” Lannom of Union City was reported missing as of March 1, 1968 during the Vietnam War.
+The Obion County native was assigned to Attack Squadron Three Five aboard the USS Enterprise aircraft carrier and was on an A-6A aircraft on a night mission over North Vietnam.
+Like many, he did not come back.
+Lannom and the pilot were declared missing after a search and rescue mission failed to locate their plane.
+He was 27-years old.
+In 2017, the Vietnamese excavated a crash site on Tra Ban Island and were ultimately able to identify Lannom in September of last year.
+This past weekend, our state had a memorial service for him.
+After more than 50 years, Lieutenant Lannom’s final resting place is home, on Tennessee soil, where he belongs.
+Please join me in pausing to remember Lt. Lannom and the sacrifice he and so many others have made for our country.
+Now, please join me in recognizing the family of Lt. Tito Lannom who has come from across Tennessee to be with us – thank you all for the sacrifices you’ve made and for being here tonight.
+Indeed, this is a remarkable state with remarkable people, but past success should not be taken for granted and future success should not be assumed.
+We can be glad for the things we’ve done that have brought us to this point, but we must also recognize that new accomplishments will be required from the leaders of today if we are to reach our full potential tomorrow.
+Maybe the key question before us is whether we will stand here and enjoy the view from this far up the mountain or push ahead to new heights and new prosperity.
+My encouragement to you – to all of us – is that we press higher.
+A stronger education system; a better prepared workforce; a system of justice that lives up to its name; and safe neighborhoods across our state.
+These and more goals are within our reach if we unite behind a common vision.
+In addition to delivering this address, I have the task of proposing to you a state budget.
+By God’s favor our state is in a strong financial position, and I believe my proposed budget reflects that.
+Managing a budget is one of the most important jobs of government and proposing a fiscally responsible budget is one of the most important jobs of a governor.
+And as a conservative businessman, I know a good budget needs to pay for what is needed, take on zero long-term debt, and, perhaps most importantly, save for a rainy day.
+As our state continues to grow, we are committed to remaining among the most fiscally sound and best managed states in America.
+We live in prosperous days, but it’s precisely during these times when we must build up our storehouses for when times may not be as good.
+For that reason, I am particularly proud of this: in my budget, we are making the largest single contribution to our Rainy Day Fund in the state’s history.
+When this budget is implemented, our Rainy Day Fund will be $1.1 billion – the largest it has ever been in both real dollars and as a percentage of our overall revenue.
+This budget is fiscally conservative and stays within the Copeland Cap, which as you in this room know is in our state’s constitution as a guardrail against out-of-control government spending.
+I have said many times that Tennessee can and should lead the nation, and this budget will help us do that.
+In particular, there are four things in my budget and legislative agenda that I believe we must do if that goal to lead the nation is to become a reality.
+First, Tennessee must deliver a world class education and that education must be aligned with the needs of the job creators of today and tomorrow.
+To accomplish that, our students need more guidance, our teachers and principals need more support, and our parents need more choices.
+I’ve spoken often about the four out of ten students will not attend college.
+For them, we must vastly strengthen our vocational, technical, and agricultural offerings to make sure they are career-ready.
+After 35 years in the private sector, I know the job market can change quickly and education must stay in sync with industry.
+When companies like Google, Apple, and IBM no longer require a college degree for many high-skilled jobs, we know we need to think differently about how we approach preparing our kids for careers.
+Elementary and middle schools need to begin skills training earlier and, from top to bottom, high school needs to look a lot different.
+In that spirit, I’m proposing the Governor’s Investment in Vocational Education – the GIVE Act.
+The GIVE Act is a $25 million investment to increase the number of young adults earning an industry certification and entering a career within one year of high school graduation.
+Another one of our goals is to put Tennessee in the top half of states for technology sector job creation by 2022.
+To that end, I recently announced the Future Workforce Initiative, a $4 million effort to increase science, technology, engineering and mathematics – STEM – training in K-12 schools.
+The Future Workforce Initiative will add 100 new CTE programs, grow the number of teachers qualified to teach work-based learning and computer science classes, and expand access to AP courses and early postsecondary options for high schoolers.
+We are also investing in agricultural education by allocating new recurring funding for both FFA and 4-H youth programs.
+These programs and others like them are so important, and it takes the work of dedicated teachers and principals to make sure our students are being well prepared.
+One such teacher is Dan Smith from Dyer County and he’s an example of the thousands of dedicated teachers we are fortunate to have in this state.
+Dan, a horticulture and agriculture teacher at Dyer County High School and is a former agriculture Teacher of the Year, because of his exemplary work with students.
+He has coordinated massive plant sales, integrated master gardeners and landscaped his entire school, and that’s just the beginning.
+He’s a pillar in his community. He embodies the term – Agricultural Education.
+He is with us here today, and please join me in thanking him for his years of dedicated work to improve the lives of the students of Tennessee.
+Many students will go to college, and for that group we want to provide world-class higher education options across our state.
+We must continue to invest in our outcomes-focused approach to funding higher education, which is why we’ve set aside $34 million new dollars in this budget to fully fund our higher education institutions.
+We will also invest more than $12 million dollars in financial aid to add nearly 7,000 students in need to those we help attend college or obtain a certificate here in Tennessee.
+We are also adding resources to help prepare disadvantaged students for college, so they can best take advantage of the opportunities they earn.
+We’re making CTE a major priority, but we also want to do other things well.
+I fundamentally believe that every child ought to have access to a great, traditional public school.
+And so even as we consider expanding options in this state, we must re-double our efforts to make sure that public schools in Tennessee are well-resourced and that Tennessee teachers and principals are the best and most celebrated in the business.
+First and foremost, we are fully funding the Basic Education Program and recommending $71 million for a well-deserved 2.5% pay raise for teachers.
+Additionally, to support educators and school leaders, we are proposing investments in the professional development of rural principals and expansion of the Rural Principal Network.
+In response to the increasing needs of our lowest-performing 5% of schools, we are investing $5 million into improving student and teacher support in our priority schools.
+Across our state, we have qualified educators and leaders who are making the sacrifice to serve on local school boards and bring their ideas to the table.
+Later this month, I will send a letter to every school board member and superintendent in this state, seeking their input on what is working and what should still be done to make Tennessee the home of the best public schools in America.
+To those of you listening today, please know I look forward to personally reading your responses.
+In my budget, I propose a three-year pilot program to provide critical student support services to high school students in our 15 distressed counties.
+These funds will be matched by private donations and will allow us to provide meaningful support while also measuring the positive effects of this pilot program.
+I’ve often said that education is about more than a test score, but test scores can provide valuable data to both teachers and students when used properly.
+Later this month, tens of thousands of students will be completing their end of course testing to help ensure that they are receiving the quality education they deserve.
+There has been lots of frustration around the administration of the state test in recent years, and I share in that frustration.
+My Commissioner of Education is working tirelessly to prepare for this year’s test, but more importantly to finalize the procurement process for selecting a new test vendor for next year and beyond.
+But while the execution must get better, we must remain committed to the notion that you can’t improve what you don’t measure.
+Going forward, our focus will be on executing a testing regimen that is trustworthy, helpful, and on time.
+Whatever else happens in the classroom, the safety of our children and teachers is paramount for my administration and for all of our elected leaders.
+For that reason, I am asking the legislature to join with me to fund an additional $30 million investment in our school safety fund and to prioritize the districts with schools who currently have no school resource officers on duty.
+Together, we can make sure every school is a safer place for our children.
+In my inaugural address, I said that Tennesseans would have to be bold, courageous, and strong in the face of today’s biggest challenges.
+One of those challenges is closing the gap between the quality of education offered to students regardless of their zip code.
+Tennessee has led the nation with important K-12 education reforms over the last decade, and we have seen the payoff: our student outcomes have been among the fastest improving.
+But sustained improvement requires constant innovation, and we must keep looking for the next game-changer.
+Parents need more choices with respect to the education of their children and those options should be well-funded and highly accountable.
+Students have different needs and abilities, and our education system should mirror that diversity as best as possible.
+I believe highly accountable public charter schools are a great model for expanding choice without sacrificing quality, and I’ve seen firsthand how they can dramatically impact the life and trajectory of a student.
+In my budget, we are doubling the amount of public charter school facility funding and I will support legislation this year that makes it easier to open good charter schools and easier to close bad ones.
+But we should do even more.
+Nearly one in three students born into poverty does not finish high school, and a student that doesn’t finish high school is much more likely to stay in poverty.
+Low-income students deserve the same opportunities as other kids, and we need a bold plan that will help level the playing field.
+We need to change the status quo, increase competition, and not slow down until every student in Tennessee has access to a great education.
+We’re not going get big results in our struggling schools by nibbling around the edges.
+That is why we need Education Savings Accounts in Tennessee, this year.
+ESAs will enable low-income students from the most under-performing school districts to attend an independent school of their choice at no cost to their family.
+I know there’s concern that programs like this will take money away from public schools, but my ESA plan will invest at least $25 million new dollars in public schools in the first year to fill the gap when a student transfers to another school.
+My ESA plan will strengthen public schools and provide choices for parents at the same time.
+Creating competition will provide a new incentive for schools to improve and provide new opportunities for thousands of students.
+Members of the legislature: now is the time.
+Let’s make this the year that every student in Tennessee has a chance at a great education, no matter where they live.
+Another important issue in education is curriculum.
+We should continue to root out the influence of Common Core in our state, but there’s another issue we should be mindful of as well.
+During the past two years of traveling on the campaign trail, an issue I was constantly asked about was civics and character education.
+At face value, this may seem like a small issue.
+However, in the last year it was reported that young people between the ages of 18 and 29 in this country have a more favorable view of socialism than capitalism.
+And last week I read about a recent study that said in 49 of 50 states a majority of residents would fail the U.S. citizenship test.
+I can’t help but feel that these two statistics are somehow connected.
+President Reagan said that freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction.
+This demands answering an obvious question; how will our children know of our cherished American values if we do not teach them?
+We all desire a more perfect union, but we cannot expect future generations to build upon the incredible progress our country has made if we fail to teach them the history and values that made it possible.
+So, let me say this: whatever may be going on in other states or in our nation’s Capital, in this state, our children will be taught civics education, character formation, and unapologetic American exceptionalism.
+We are beginning that effort by creating the governor’s civics instructional seal which will recognize schools that excel at teaching civics education.
+I said there are four things we must do if we want to lead the nation. First, we must build a better education system. Second, we must build a criminal justice system that is tough, smart, and above all, just.
+For decades, this country has been too willing to fight crime on the surface alone – “lock ‘em up and throw away the key.”
+Now, in more ways than one, we’re paying the price for that.
+Tennessee is currently incarcerating more people for longer than we ever have and the population in our county jails is growing daily.
+In fact, at the bottom of this hill begins the most incarcerated zip code in America.
+Incarceration can have a generational impact.
+Children with an incarcerated parent are at greater risk of being incarcerated themselves.
+And besides the human cost, there’s the actual cost.
+Incarcerating an adult in Tennessee costs $28,000 taxpayer dollars per year.
+Incarcerating a juvenile for a year can cost many times more than that.
+And for all the trouble and cost, what are our criminal justice outcomes?
+Violent crime is up. Recidivism is high. Jails are struggling to make ends meet.
+Let me be clear, the punishment for violent crime must be swift and severe, but we must also get better at helping those who will be released prepare to re-enter society, not re-enter prison.
+It’s past time that our state’s elected leaders speak with one voice on this important issue: when it comes to reforming our state’s justice system, the cost of doing nothing isn’t zero.
+Crime victims pay the price. Families pay the price. And taxpayers pay the price.
+In my proposal to the legislature this year, I recommend a series of smart reforms that will make a big difference.
+One area of reform my administration will address is our use of community supervision for low-risk offenders.
+Community supervision allows us to provide the corrections oversight necessary to hold someone accountable for their crime without incurring the economic and social cost of incarceration.
+It costs about 20 times more to incarcerate someone than to put them under community supervision, and the latter leads to better outcomes.
+One of the first things we will do is add funds to the Electronic Monitoring Indigency Fund and add the use of GPS monitoring so that low-risk, non-violent individuals can keep their jobs and provide for their families instead of spending unnecessary time in jail.
+Of those who are incarcerated, 95% are not serving a life sentence and will eventually come out and we need to be sure they are prepared for that.
+Why? Because every successful reentry means one less crime, and one less victim.
+My commitment to having fewer crime victims in this state is reflected in a proposed expansion of education and re-entry counselling opportunities in our prisons.
+Educational attainment for incarcerated people can reduce their risk of recidivism by up to 43%.
+Another important part of successful re-entry is stable employment.
+For that reason, we have introduced a bill eliminating the expungement fees for those already eligible under the law to alleviate the cost burden of getting back on their feet.
+We must also take bold steps to stop the scourge of drugs illegally trafficked into our state.
+I pledged to make Tennessee a state that drug traffickers fear, and I will make sure that our prosecutors and our law enforcement have the tools they need to make that a reality.
+We are increasing the penalties on dangerous drugs like fentanyl and making it clear that we will have no leniency on high level drug dealers who target the residents of this state.
+And we need more than just strong laws to keep our communities safe; we also need strong law enforcement.
+It is no secret that Tennessee lags other states on law enforcement and corrections pay, which impacts our hiring and retention rates.
+We are increasing investments in correctional officer pay and training opportunities, and this budget calls for new investments in our law enforcement capacity, improving the in-service training pay supplement, and provide new funding to support the increased demands of our Drug Overdose and Violent Crime Task Forces.
+Furthermore, tomorrow morning, I will sign an Executive Order creating a task force to address the growing fiscal and social costs of incarceration.
+I appreciate the focus placed on these issues by members of the General Assembly and our Supreme Court in recent years, and it is time to move forward in a comprehensive way.
+This task force will be led by Judge Brandon Gibson from my office and will include crime victims and their families, members of the general assembly, state agencies, law enforcement, community and faith based programs, and, yes, even former inmates.
+Fundamentally, this task force will recommend legislative and budgetary changes that will help reduce recidivism, make our communities safer and save tax dollars.
+I know we can do things differently, because I've been involved with groups who have made a difference.
+Nonprofits like Men of Valor in Nashville are helping those who enter prison be better prepared to reenter society.
+
+The recidivism rate of Men of Valor’s program graduates is less than one of third of the statewide average.
+One person who benefited from this group is a man named Marcus Martin.
+Marcus was incarcerated for five years.
+By his own admission, he was on a quick path back to prison, until he got involved with Men of Valor.
+Now, on the outside for 16 years, Marcus is a full-time prison minister, helping and making a huge impact on those still on the inside.
+Marcus Martin is here with us tonight – Marcus, please stand and be recognized.
+Marcus, thanks for what you’re doing.
+My fellow Tennesseans, this is a story of redemption, this is a story of Tennesseans helping other Tennesseans.
+It’s also a story of fiscal responsibility… and common sense.
+We need more of these stories, and when we get them, it won't be surprising to see that our crime and recidivism rates start going down.
+And my administration will do more than talk about how important we think these issues are.
+We intend to be national innovators and leaders in showing how people throughout our state – the volunteer state – are willing to partner together to serve one another.
+Tonight, I’m proud to announce that we are launching the Volunteer Mentorship Initiative to equip Tennesseans throughout our state to mentor fellow Tennesseans who are currently in prison.
+And I’m signing up tonight as the first volunteer.
+
+This initiative will begin by working with Tennessee-based non-profits to pair degree-seeking inmates with mentors on the outside as they seek better opportunities for themselves during their time in prison and their first days back in their communities.
+I am pleased to announce that Senator Mike Bell and Representative Michael Curcio have graciously agreed to be the honorary co-chairs of the Volunteer Mentorship Initiative.
+
+And I am even more proud that every member of my senior staff has enthusiastically agreed to join this program as our first batch of new mentors.
+
+Tonight, I’m asking members of our General Assembly and every Tennessean who desires to prayerfully consider volunteering to join this effort.
+
+As our state has shown before, we can change the course of history and the destiny of people when we step up, volunteer, and serve one another.
+The challenge ahead of us is great, but the urgency of the situation is greater, and I know we will rise to meet the challenge.
+For this issue, the admonition to we public servants is clear: do justice, love mercy, walk humbly.
+First, education. Second, justice. And third, every Tennessean should have access to high-quality health care they can afford.
+This is an ambitious goal that no state has accomplished, and Tennessee will not accomplish it overnight.
+We will work with patients, providers, and payers to establish Tennessee as a world-class health care market for our people using transparency and competition.
+To begin this process, I have asked our Finance and Administration Commissioner, Stuart McWhorter, to chair a Healthcare Modernization Task Force that will work closely with private sector stakeholders, policymakers, and communities across the state to develop a list of reforms and critical investments.
+In the short-term, there are several things we can do to move Tennessee toward having better health outcomes.
+So that more uninsured Tennesseans have access to quality primary and preventative-care services, we are providing additional funding to our health care safety net which supports community and faith-based care centers serving those who do not have health insurance coverage.
+We will continue to work with the General Assembly and with Washington to look for waiver opportunities that help us increase insurance coverage without big government strings attached.
+We will also be exploring ways to build off the important efforts of the Trump administration to promote price transparency.
+Another way to lower health care cost is to combat Medicaid fraud.
+Tackling fraud in Medicaid is particularly important as we work to prevent the fraudulent distribution of opioid medications.
+To support that effort, we are creating 24 new positions in the state’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit.
+Together these efforts will place downward pressure on the cost of coverage.
+I am also committed to working with our rural communities to ensure that they have quality healthcare that meets their current and future needs.
+Despite the closure of rural hospitals across the state and country, there are many opportunities to transform care in these communities through smart reforms, increased innovation, and a new business model.
+Addressing these challenges requires a long-term approach, and we have already taken steps that will deliver real progress this year.
+For one, I’m proposing $20 million to boost broadband accessibility which will make technology like telemedicine more accessible and practical.
+We are increasing, by as much as $8.6 million, funding for graduate medical education at Tennessee’s medical schools and critical incentive programs that provide financial support to resident physicians who commit to living and working in our rural communities.
+By increasing the supply of care that reflects the needs of rural communities we will be driving down the overall cost of care.
+Our focus on economic development and vocational education will also drive better health outcomes as individuals are increasingly able to get higher paying jobs that provide greater stability and access to coverage.
+Too often, the conversation around health care focuses exclusively on physical health.
+Physical well-being is important, but a national conversation around mental and behavioral health is long overdue.
+Nearly 300,000 Tennesseans are facing serious mental health challenges, and far too many are slipping through the cracks.
+I made a vow on the campaign trail to strengthen the mental health safety net and I intend to do just that.
+In this budget, I am recommending an increase of $11 million in recurring funds to our Behavioral Health Safety Net and our Regional Mental Health Institutes.
+These investments will help us serve thousands more of our most vulnerable Tennesseans, most of which do not currently have health insurance.
+Tennessee’s suicide rate is 20% higher than the national average.
+For that reason, I’m proposing a $1.1 million investment that will expand the state’s partnership with the Tennessee Suicide Prevention Network to establish a new regional outreach model and increase the Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services’ efforts.
+To truly be champions of mental and behavioral health, we must put everything we have behind defeating the opioid crisis in Tennessee once and for all.
+We must continue to make progress in preventing addiction, and I will defend the smart limits on prescriptions passed by this legislature.
+In this budget, we’ll also work to address the other victims of the opioid crisis — the dependent children of those addicted.
+We recommend expanding our investment in the Safe Baby Courts initiative to support vulnerable infants and are including $5 million dollars in new funding to address a rising caseload in our Department of Children’s Services.
+Also, as we begin to see an increasing rise of students entering kindergarten facing challenges from prenatal drug exposure, I recommend that we invest an additional $6 million dollars in our Early Intervention Services for schools.
+These investments will make Tennessee a healthier state, and when we’re healthier it’s good for Tennesseans and it’s good for the bottom line.
+Fourth and finally, when we have accomplished these and many other goals, what remains expected of us is that government be operated with integrity, effectiveness, and as little cost as possible.
+Fundamentally, we believe government exists to protect our liberties – not to grant favors, not to build kingdoms, and not to needlessly interfere with the lives of our citizens.
+To be sure, the voters did not send us here to create more government.
+No, they sent us here to protect their freedoms and protect their hard-earned money.
+I’ve long believed that Tennessee’s most precious natural resource is our people.
+Many of our people can be found at non-profits in this state who are doing, with excellence, jobs that government cannot or should not do.
+So, to help protect taxpayer dollars and to engage some of our under-utilized citizens, one announcement I am particularly excited to make is the Governor’s Office of Faith-based and Community Initiatives.
+This office will leverage the non-profit community and help us unleash the potential of all Tennesseans to get involved to not only make lives better for their fellow citizens but to reduce the responsibilities and ultimately the size of government.
+I’d like to close tonight with two short stories.
+This last month we have seen record rainfall across our state.
+Many areas have flooded, others have dealt with mudslides, water treatment plants have failed, and some of our neighbors have lost loved ones.
+Our hearts are with those hurting families, and with all others who are still cleaning up, even tonight.
+And we’re grateful to the first responders, state employees, and everyday citizens who were there during the storms and who are supporting that clean up.
+A few weeks ago, amid some scary moments, one state employee jumped in to help.
+When the flooding started in Dickson County Lt. Travis Plotzer of the Tennessee Highway Patrol was at a flooded roadway on Highway 48.
+He went in to chest deep water to help rescue motorists stranded on top of their vehicles.
+He didn’t hesitate to be the first one to help.
+He showed what it really means to be a public servant; he showed what it really means to be a leader.
+Please join me in recognizing Lt. Travis Plotzer from Dickson County.
+For 35 years prior to becoming governor, I worked in a family-owned company that I led for 20 of those years.
+Last month, for the first time in 35 years, I missed our annual, all-employee gathering.
+I’ll be honest with you – it was bittersweet.
+But that same day, Maria and I had the privilege to host at our new home the Governor’s Excellence in Service Award winners from each of Tennessee’s 23 departments.
+We went around the room and listened as each one introduced themselves and explained their jobs but what struck me most was not what they did, but the passion with which they did it.
+Those dedicated individuals and others like them that I’ve met since remind me that government itself is not a solution to our problems; “we the people” must solve our own problems.
+And while our state government is far from perfect, one thing I have learned during my first two months in office is that Tennessee has the most committed, hard-working group of state employees in the country and I am proud to be serving alongside them.
+As my daughter and I neared the end of our climb up the Grand Teton, we came to a place famous for its very narrow ledge.
+To make it worse, there’s a section in part of the ledge that has a 1,000-foot “exposure”, which is evidently climber-speak for a 1,000-foot fall if you mess a step.
+The point is, the only way to get across it was to set your face forward against the mountain and step sideways across the gap – and whatever you do, don’t look down.
+As a state, we find ourselves in a very strong position, with a very nice view.
+We can choose to sit here and enjoy it, or we can choose to step across the ledge and move to higher, better ground.
+But if we decide to go higher and farther, we must resolve to not look back, and not look down.
+If we lead Tennessee well, Tennessee may well lead the nation.
+My prayer is that we will all work together to do just that.
+May God bless you, and may God bless the great state of Tennessee.
+Thank you and good night.
+

state-of-the-state/speeches/Texas_SOTS.txt

@@ -0,0 +1,234 @@
+Thank you Lt. Governor Patrick.
+I am honored to work with you and Speaker Bonnen as we embark on this new session.
+A session, by the way, that will etch landmark achievements into this already historic chamber.
+I also want to thank the Deans of the two chambers for their leadership —Representative Craddick and Senator Whitmire.
+And thanks to the members of the House and Senate, the Judiciary, statewide officials, and our fellow Texans.
+I’m especially proud to have by my side, my wife Cecilia — the fabulous First Lady of the greatest state in America.
+--
+On this very day, about 1,000 new residents will call Texas home. That happens almost every day.
+Whether you like that or not, we can never lose sight of the reason so many people make life altering decisions to uproot their families and businesses and chart new paths – paths that guided them to Texas.
+They were fed up with big government policies increasingly running their lives and imposing burdensome regulations.
+They were taxed out of their states that some of their families had lived in for generations.
+The cost of doing business imposed by heavy-handed special interest groups simply became too oppressive.
+They needed an escape. They longed for freedom. They wanted hope.
+They found it in Texas.
+We may not be perfect, but to all the newcomers I talk to, they think Texas is a governmental Holy Grail.
+The newcomers have joined with long-time Texans, and together we have forged what has become the most powerful state in America.
+Texas leads the nation in new job creation. And we have the fastest growing economy in America.
+A by-product of this success is a prosperity that touches all corners of our state. Texas recorded its lowest unemployment rate ever. And wages are rising.
+Digging deeper, you'll see that we lead the nation in jobs created by African-American business owners and Hispanic women business owners. And get this – Texas is now number one for Women Entrepreneurs.
+Women like Tamala Austin, a Houston entrepreneur who founded J.I.V.E Juice out of her home nearly 7 years ago. She worked tirelessly to grow her business across the Houston area, all while working another job full-time and raising a teenage daughter.
+Inspiration, hard work, and drive – they pay off in Texas. They paid off for Tamala.
+J.I.V.E Juice recently became the first African-American-owned juice company to be carried by Whole Foods. I’ve seen for myself – when women succeed, Texas succeeds.
+--
+And we all know about another number one ranking – Texas is number one in oil and gas production.
+In fact, America will be energy independent by next year.
+And as Brooks Landgraf knows, one word makes our energy independence possible – Texas.
+And Todd Hunter, with our new LNG export facilities, Texas is helping emerging economies across the globe wean themselves off of coal and instead use clean burning natural gas produced right here in Texas.
+And even with increased oil and gas production, we have lowered nitrogen oxide levels by 45%.
+This reduction in pollutants is equal to removing more than 85 million passenger cars off of Texas roads.
+As meaningful as the oil and gas industry is to our economy, the fact is the Texas economy is more diversified today than ever before.
+From aerospace to cybersecurity, financial services to manufacturing, from Fortune 500 companies to small businesses and startups.
+Texas is the premier economic destination in the United States. And Texas has led the nation in exports for 16 years straight.
+And for the past 5 years we’ve led the nation in tech exports.
+Now more than ever, the most powerful label is: “Made in Texas.”
+--
+Importantly, our economic might is not limited to our cities.
+It touches smaller communities across the state.
+Job creating projects have broken ground in places ranging from Amarillo to Brownsville, Lufkin and Mt. Pleasant, Temple and Paris, Texas.
+These business expansions are a result of the Texas Enterprise Fund, which promotes economic diversification.
+Our collective work has led to record acclaim — and some impressive hardware.
+The Governor’s Cup is given to the state that leads the nation for the most new and expanded business facilities. For the past 4 years, Texas has been ranked number one.
+
+We are joined today by representatives of the Metro 8 Chambers of Commerce.
+
+These chambers and their peers across the state work with us to keep Texas #1 for business.
+They are holding the four Governor's Cups that you helped Texas earn the past four years.
+These trophies are a tangible reminder of the excellence that we achieve when we work together.
+Texas remains America’s prime destination for businesses and job-seekers — in part because of actions of Senators and Representatives in this Capitol that helped foster opportunities for Texas’ economic prowess.
+You spurred more investment and business start-ups by slashing regulations and by cutting the business margins tax.
+You funded a road building strategy that provides than more than $7.5 billion for road construction each year.
+--
+--
+
+And you helped make our schools better. More students are graduating from high school and college than ever before.
+
+We have more public high schools ranked in the Top 100 and more Blue Ribbon public schools than any state in America.
+
+Higher education is also better. In the past four years we exceeded our goal of doubling the number of tier one universities.
+
+Today, Texas is home to nine tier one universities. We are on the path to becoming America’s epicenter for research and innovation.
+
+Take just one example. Dr. Jim Allison of The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center.
+
+J. M. Lozano, get this. Last year, Dr. Allison, a native of Alice, Texas won the Nobel Prize in medicine for developing a revolutionary way to treat cancer.
+
+Proving once again that the minds of Texas are changing the world.
+
+--
+Not only is Texas smarter than ever, we’re also safer.
+Last session, you acted in bipartisan fashion to protect the most vulnerable children by reforming a broken foster care and child protective system.
+And thanks to the leadership of Senator Royce West and Representative Phil King, we are keeping our law enforcement officers safer by providing them rifle-resistant vests.
+You passed laws that crack down on dangerous gangs and human traffickers who threaten our citizens.
+When you combine our legislative achievements with our ground-breaking prosperity, we have elevated Texas to rarefied status.
+And I’m proud to tell you the state of Texas has never been better.
+--
+We have accomplished so much. But you know as well as I do, more must be done to fulfill the promise of Texas.
+This session, for just the next few months, we have a unique window of opportunity to tackle some challenges that have plagued Texas for more than a generation.
+--
+Our mission begins with our students.
+We are graduating more students from high school than ever before.
+But we have more students graduating who are not ready for college or a career.
+Here's the problem — only about 40% of 3rd graders are reading at grade level by the time they finish the 3rd grade.
+Not surprisingly, less than 40% of students who took the SAT or ACT were prepared for college.
+To improve this, we must target education funding to help our students achieve in school. That starts with teachers in the classroom.
+Other than parents, no one is more vital to our students’ education than teachers.
+Texas must recruit and retain the best and brightest teachers to educate our students. This session, we must pay our teachers more.
+We must provide incentives to put effective teachers in the schools and classrooms where they are needed the most.
+And we must create a pathway for the best teachers to earn a six-figure salary.
+The teacher pay system used by Dallas ISD shows this strategy works.
+When I visited Blanton Elementary in Dallas, I met an outstanding teacher who was only in his third year and already making more than $90,000.
+Teachers across Texas should have that opportunity.
+With Senator Taylor and Representative Huberty leading the reform effort, I know we can get this done.
+Working together, we will create a Texas where every student is reading at grade level by the time they finish the third grade.
+Where every child, regardless of their zip code, receives a quality education.
+And where every student graduates with more than just a diploma.
+They will graduate with the tools they need to excel in college or a career.
+That’s precisely what is being done in districts like Dallas, San Antonio, Longview, Pharr-San Juan, and Premont.
+I want to thank the superintendents with us here today, including Superintendents Hinojosa, Martinez, Wilcox, King, and VanMatre, for implementing these transformative strategies.
+Rarely has Texas witnessed such bi-partisan, bi-cameral support for an issue this substantial this early in a session.
+I credit the leadership of the Speaker and Lt. Governor. I also credit all members of the House and Senate for listening to your constituents.
+And I especially appreciate those who worked this past year on the School Finance Reform Commission.
+Thank you Senators Bettencourt, Taylor, and West, and Representatives Bernal, Huberty, and Ken King for your leadership.
+To keep this momentum going, I am declaring school finance reform and increasing teacher pay emergency items.
+--
+As we improve our schools, it’s not enough to give our students a quality education.
+We must create a learning environment that is safe.
+No student should be afraid to go to school. No parent should be fearful when dropping their child off at school.
+Texas must act now to make our schools safer, so I am making school safety an emergency item.
+After the horrific shooting at Santa Fe High School, I held roundtables with parents, students, educators, law enforcement, and mental health experts.
+We developed innovative solutions to better protect our children and teachers.
+It’s time to turn ideas into action.
+We must do all we can to make our schools safer.
+Working together, we will deliver on this promise to our parents, to our students, and to our teachers.
+--
+When it comes to improving school safety, one solution everyone agreed on was the need to address mental health in our schools.
+I commend Senator Nelson, who wasted no time crafting a strategy that does exactly that.
+As she has pointed out, many of our universities already have innovative mental health programs.
+Programs like the telemedicine wellness project at Texas Tech.
+It partners with school districts in West Texas to identify and remove students who pose a potential threat. And it provides students the help they need.
+School districts across Texas deserve access to these services.
+And as we all know, mental health issues are not confined to our schools. They touch our entire society.
+To better address these needs, Senator Nelson provides a broad-based plan.
+A plan that creates the Texas Mental Health Care Consortium to collaborate on statewide mental health needs.
+In typical Texas fashion, her idea is big and bold.
+To ensure it has enough time to become law this session, I’m declaring it an emergency item.
+--
+Speaking of emergencies, I think we can all agree another emergency is property tax reform.
+If we are going to keep Texas the economic engine of America, we must rein in a property tax system that punishes families and businesses and prevents younger Texans from achieving their dream of homeownership.
+We can no longer sit idly by while property owners are reduced to tenants of their own property with taxing authorities playing the role of landlord.
+Our constituents are counting on us.
+I applaud leaders of the Senate and House for working together in historic fashion on identical bills that limit the ability of taxing authorities to raise your taxes.
+At the same time, the state will be making new investments in education and reducing Robin Hood.
+--
+This isn’t just about restraining the growth of property taxes, it’s about restoring power to the people of Texas.
+That’s why I propose giving taxpayers the ability to fire their property tax appraiser and elect a better one.
+By taking these actions, we'll do more than just reform our property tax system.
+We will ensure seniors who have worked their entire lives can afford to retire in a home they’ve already paid off.
+We will give hope to the next generation of Texans, that they too can realize their dream of owning a home.
+And we will ensure that middle and low-income Texans can remain in the neighborhoods they cherish.
+It is for those Texans that I am making property tax reform an emergency item this session.
+--
+You can't talk about homes in this State without talking about all the homes devastated by Hurricane Harvey.
+When I look back on this past year, I remember the more than 75 trips I took to regions hit by Hurricane Harvey — from Rock Port to Orange County.
+Every trip I made, legislators were by my side.
+I applaud you for your tireless efforts to serve your constituents.
+As you saw, in the face of the greatest natural disaster, our state has ever seen our fellow Texans show the world that no earthly force is more powerful than Texan spirit.
+From our first responders and emergency workers to community leaders and faith-based groups.
+From our partners at the federal government, to the citizens who gave their time and resources — Texans stepped up to help those in need.
+Texans like Morgan McCullough and Casey Aslan. They are nurses at Memorial Hermann Medical Center in Houston.
+Morgan and Casey were unable to drive to work because the flooded streets of Houston had turned into rivers.
+So they packed up their gear in an inflatable kayak and they paddled for two hours to get to the hospital so they could care for their patients.
+Morgan and Casey embody what it means to be a Texan.
+--
+To help communities and residents harmed by Hurricane Harvey, Texas has already committed more than a billion dollars.
+Additionally, the federal government has appropriated more than $30 billion in aid.
+But we all know, more resources are needed to help Texans rebuild.
+So I commend the House and Senate, which have both proposed using Rainy Day Funds to help rebuild Texas stronger and more resilient than before disaster struck.
+And we all agree that we must apply the lessons of Harvey to improve the way Texas responds to natural disasters.
+For example, I support ideas proposed by Senator Perry and Representative Phelan.
+They extend disaster solutions beyond just funding and beyond just the coastal region.
+And, we must create a system that cuts through all the red tape.
+To give the legislature time this session to make Texas more resilient to future disasters, I am making disaster response an emergency item.
+--
+In addition to rebuilding our communities from disasters, we must also do more to keep them safe from crime.
+We must do more to crack down on the treacherous gangs that bring drugs, weapons, and violence into our communities.
+Fortunately, Texas has developed a winning strategy with our six Texas Anti-Gang Centers.
+These TAG Centers are hubs where law enforcement agencies work together to crack down on gang activity and put these criminals behind bars.
+We know these centers work.
+For example, in Houston, more than 1,400 gang-related arrests were made in 2017 alone.
+Nearly 250 of those arrests involved violent or high threat offenders.
+And last year, 57 members of a white supremacist gang in Dallas were charged for drug trafficking and conspiracy to kidnap.
+This was the result of a DPS-led investigation aided by the TAG Center in Dallas.
+More communities need these tools.
+I’m calling for two new anti-gang centers in Waco and Tyler to rid those regions of dangerous gangs.
+Together we will put more gang members behind bars.
+We will dismantle their criminal enterprises.
+And we will make our neighborhoods safer for Texas families.
+And I’ll add this, I know we’ve long waited for the day when Texas would not have to provide funding to secure our border.
+And yet, the Federal Government still has not fulfilled its responsibility.
+As a result, I am once again asking that Texas step up and fully fund our border security program.
+--
+We must also work together to crack down on human trafficking and to protect the victims of this heinous crime.
+I ask the legislature to increase funding to create six regional human trafficking squads. These squads will investigate and shut down human trafficking operations across Texas.
+And absolutely every trafficker should get mandatory jail time.
+These predators should be locked up, not freely roaming our streets looking for victims.
+--
+We must also do more to ensure justice for survivors of rape and sexual assault.
+One of the most important tools we have is forensic testing of rape kits.
+But thousands of these kits have languished untested for years.
+This session we must right this wrong.
+Together we must provide more funding to eliminate the backlog and deliver justice that has been denied for too long.
+Whether it’s cracking down on human trafficking or eliminating the backlog of rape kits, I know we can get the job done.
+I know because of leaders like Senators Huffman and Hinojosa, and Representatives Thompson and Neave. They are working on legislation to get this fixed.
+--
+Let me mention one more thing we must do.
+We must not turn our backs on the service and sacrifice of the men and women who have worn the uniform of the mightiest military in the history of the world.
+Some serve with us today as legislators in this majestic capitol.
+We are honored to serve by your side.
+But as we know some return broken from battle with injuries both seen and unseen.
+Some cannot find a job. Others don’t know how to find a job.
+Still others are homeless, possessing only a glimmer of the glory they once fought for.
+They fought for our freedom. Now we must fight for their future.
+Texas is home to more than 1.6 million veterans.
+And we've already made tremendous strides to better support our veterans thanks to leaders like Senator Donna Campbell and Representative Dan Flynn.
+But this session we have an opportunity to do even more.
+That includes fully funding the mental health program for veterans at HHSC.
+We must also fund the Texas Veterans Commission to help veterans receive the VA healthcare benefits they have earned.
+This session we will ensure that veterans get the best services Texas can provide so that the men and women who fought on the front lines go to the front of the line.
+--
+No doubt, what I have outlined today is a transformative agenda.
+We have an opportunity to make Texas a far better state.
+I can assure you, people inside and outside the Capitol can see we are on the threshold of something extraordinary.
+But of course, whenever you try to do something extraordinary, it's never easy.
+There will be naysayers. Those who cling to the status quo. It will be hard.
+But I believe you were made for this moment. We were made for this moment.
+We serve at a unique time in Texas history.
+A time that we can seize to cement a legacy for Texas.
+We have the power to ensure Texas is a state where our citizens can realize their dream of owning a home or starting a business.
+Where we prioritize student achievement and create safer schools.
+A state that puts public safety first, whether it’s in the face of natural disasters or dangerous gangs.
+A Texas where we expand economic opportunity and freedom to every corner of our state and where we provide our veterans with the support they deserve.
+--
+I am inspired by the comradery and collaboration that have infused this session.
+I feel it myself.
+For example, I'm willing to step up and work with Lyle Larson to reinstate the rivalry game.
+What we must accomplish will require all of us working together on bold ideas.
+But Texas was built on bold ideas.
+It was built by the men and women who came before us who worked together to make Texas the most exceptional state in the nation.
+Now it is our time to chart a course that will make Texas even better — not just for the next four years, but for the next forty years.
+We have an opportunity to turn bold ideas into reality.
+We have the opportunity to grasp the brass ring that belongs to Texas.
+When we do that, we will keep Texas the greatest state in America.
+Thank you. God bless you all. And God bless the great State of Texas.
+

state-of-the-state/speeches/Utah_SOTS.txt

@@ -0,0 +1,92 @@
+President Adams, Speaker Wilson, members of the Legislature, justices of the Supreme Court, Utah’s First Lady, Lieutenant Governor and Mrs. Cox, other constitutional officers, and my fellow Utahns: It is an honor to address you tonight.
+President Adams and Speaker Wilson, congratulations for being elected to your significant leadership roles. I have appreciated working with you to prepare for this session and I look forward to continued collaboration as we address this year’s challenges.
+I extend a special welcome to the 19 new representatives and the 7 new senators here this evening. I thank you for stepping into the political arena to serve the citizens of the great state of Utah.
+Our separation of constitutional powers can, from time-to-time, create some tensions. And given current national trends, can I tell you just how grateful I am that the Speaker didn’t disinvite me from delivering this year’s State of the State? Because of your kindness, I promise I won’t cancel your state-sponsored travel to the Six County Summer Meetings in Nephi. 
+A few of you might recall some of what I said at last year’s State of the State. My hope at the time was that my eloquent oratory about Utah’s unique spirit of collaboration would capture your hearts and your minds. But no. All that anyone seems to remember about last year’s State of the State is that I gave that speech with two painful kidney stones.
+
+A lot of people, including my wife, thought I was out of my mind to speak in that condition. But I reminded her of what my doctor had said:  “Gary, this too shall pass.”
+As it turns out, that was not true. Nothing actually “passed.” So, the other memory folks have of that episode is that I underwent surgery and while suffering under the knife, Lieutenant Governor Spencer Cox had a heyday exercising gubernatorial powers with reckless abandon for a grand total of two hours. But the state survived. And, to Spencer’s lament, so did I.
+
+On a more serious note, as I reflect on the state of our state, this past year came with more than its fair share of challenges. The polarization and dysfunction in Washington DC have had a direct material impact on our state. Drought has created punishing conditions for wildlife and agriculture. Fires have devastated our forests, fouled our watersheds and polluted our air. But Utahns have faced these challenges as they have always done, with faith, courage and resilience. And overall, 2018 was indeed a banner year of accelerated economic growth and prosperity.
+So I am pleased to report to you tonight that in spite of challenges, the state of our state is strong, it is resilient, and our outlook is very bright.
+This past year, however, came at great cost to those who protect our lives and our liberties. Since the last general session, we have lost no fewer than five of “Utah’s finest” in the line of duty: 
+* West Valley Code Officer Jill Robinson, 
+* Draper Fire Battalion Chief Matthew Burchett, 
+* National Guard Major and North Ogden Mayor Brent Taylor, 
+* South Salt Lake Police Officer David Romrell, and 
+* Provo Police Officer Joseph Shinners.
+Tonight, we are honored to have members of their families with us in the gallery — living witnesses that our security and our freedoms come at great cost. We cannot begin to comprehend your loss. We stand together tonight to honor the ultimate sacrifice you have made as families to serve us and to protect us.
+When I first took office, Utah’s economy was reeling with foreclosures and crippling unemployment. I said at that time that through unprecedented partnerships we could achieve unlimited possibilities. So we set our sights high on becoming the top performing economy in America.
+And just look how far we have come! With positive job growth in every sector, Utah is now the healthiest and most diverse economy in the nation today.
+Because of the attraction of our strong economy, our biggest challenge now is growth, that if we don’t accommodate, will have a negative impact on our quality of life. 
+Growth is the groundswell of our prosperity, but it puts pressure on education and how we provide the healthiest, safest, and smartest schools in America; it also makes it difficult for Utah families to find affordable housing; and it increases congestion on our roads.Growth makes it more challenging to protect the open spaces that provide the backdrop for our unique quality of life; it threatens the quality of our air and water and thereby our health. 
+I can only address a few of these complex challenges tonight, but they are all worthy of our best deliberations over the next 42 days. And as we welcome some two dozen new faces to the legislature, we look forward to your new ideas and perspectives on these and other issues.
+And to our new colleagues, let me share what I believe is some sage advice: Learn everything you can about the state budget. Your solutions to our challenges of growth will be limited if we don’t have sustainable revenue to support good policy. The more you know about the budget, the more effective you will be as a legislator because how we collect revenue and how we spend it is at the core of policy-making.
+And this session we have the enviable task of deciding how to invest over a billion dollar surplus. This surplus is not here by accident. It has come from the hard work of the millions of Utahns whom we serve. It has come because of the decisions of past legislators and governors to spend taxpayer dollars prudently and manage them wisely.
+Let’s not assume that this surplus is the new normal. Some of the surplus may be attributed to one-time events, like adjustments made to the new federal tax law. And with this surplus let’s pay down some debt and invest in efforts that will pay future dividends. Let’s prioritize the surplus toward our biggest challenges.
+And finally, I agree with Speaker Wilson that we should invest directly in the hardworking Utahns who created this surplus by giving them a $225 million tax cut, which will be the largest tax cut in Utah’s history.
+You know how much I like to talk about Utah’s disciplined fiscal leadership. But our fiscal leadership and budget management face some hurdles. For instance, the much needed Medicaid expansion passed by the voters needs to be implemented in a fiscally sustainable way. And with some common-sense adjustments, I know that we can implement this program without delay.
+A major structural budget challenge is Utah’s narrowing tax base. If we do not modernize Utah’s tax code, I fear that we will not have the capacity to address our growth-related challenges, and that our economy will begin to underperform and that inequities will continue to grow. Developing a more equitable, simple and sustainable tax system will be our number one priority this session.
+Let me elaborate. The General Fund that pays for the core governmental functions that benefit everyone — such as public safety, courts, corrections, transportation, social services and Medicaid — is generated from a sales tax that captures a narrowing base of the state’s economic activity.
+For example, we still tax the sale of buggy whips (even though they don’t generate much revenue). Meanwhile, an Uber or Lyft ride is tax exempt. Indeed, Utah has seen the nation’s second largest decline in taxable sales as a portion of consumer spending.
+
+In 1980, 70 percent of the economy was part of the general fund tax base. Today, it’s only 40 percent, and that number continues to shrink. Here’s an analogy: If the sales tax base of statewide economic activity were represented by a group of 10 friends who meet at a restaurant for dinner, when the bill came in 1980, 7 of the 10 helped picked up the tab. But today, when the bill comes only 4 pay for it and 6 of them walk away without paying a dime.
+
+Common sense tells us that this is patently unfair. And if these trends continue, it is absolutely unsustainable.
+
+Good tax policy requires broadening the base so that everyone pays their fair share and good tax policy also requires lowering the rate so that everyone pays less.
+
+But friends, let me warn you that tax reform, although absolutely necessary, is not for the faint of heart. Rather than take the easier road of procrastination and kicking the can down the road, we need to keep our eyes on the big picture and do what is in the best interest long-term for our future economy. To paraphrase President Stuart Adams’ astute observation about the gutsiness of taking on tax reform: “You can’t catch a Hail Mary pass if it isn’t thrown.”
+
+As we take on this task, working with leadership, Senator Fillmore and Representatives Spendlove and Quinn, the principles of fairness, simplicity, sustainability and common sense should guide our decisions.
+
+All the goods and services that make up our modern economy, all the goods and services that benefit from our business-friendly, well-managed state, should contribute to our tax base. That is the definition of broadening the base.
+
+And as we broaden the tax base, we will slash the state sales tax rate. We will cut it by 64 percent from 4.85 percent to a mere 1.75 percent. That is a tax cut of $225 million, especially benefitting lower and middle income families. This would mean that nearly nine out of ten taxpayers will pay less sales tax tomorrow than they pay today.
+Now let’s talk for a moment about education, our number one budget priority.
+We have developed an educational road map that is doing for education what we did for economic development: steadily moving us towards becoming the nation’s top education system. We now graduate 87 percent of high school students, which is up 11 percentage points since I came into office. And more students now graduate from high school with college credits. This, coupled with the third lowest college tuition in the nation, contributes to why Utah has the lowest average college student debt.
+I believe, and the people of Utah believe, and I know that you also believe that there is no better investment that we can make than in our Utah students.
+That’s why we set an ambitious five-year goal to invest an additional $1 billion in new ongoing revenue into public education, and $275 million in new ongoing revenue into post-secondary education by the year 2021. Because of your work and a growing economy, we will complete that investment one full year ahead of schedule.
+And with these additional funds, we can do some great things. In public education, for instance, we can do more than just cover the growth in new students. We can fund a 4 percent increase in the Weighted Pupil Unit — the main source of funding for public education.
+
+We can better help students who are at risk of academic failure and keep our schools healthy and safe by investing $30 million into much needed counseling and mental health services. We can also put over $100 million into upgrading facilities, two-thirds of which should go in to school safety improvements.
+In higher education, we can improve accessibility by endowing $50 million of one-time money to a scholarship fund for financially disadvantaged college students. And working with our college presidents and our Board of Regents, we will continue to increase student completion rates and decrease the time needed for graduation.
+
+As our students graduate they need the knowledge and skills necessary to prosper in a competitive global marketplace.
+So, I would like to see robust computer science courses offered to every middle school student in Utah. I would also like every student to have a better understanding of basic free market economics.
+When I meet with students, I am impressed by their intelligence and curiosity. But frankly, I have been disturbed by some of the rising generation’s fascination with socialism.
+
+What we see in Venezuela should remind us that tyranny and poverty follow economic systems where the state controls production, where bureaucrats allocate resources and where government picks the winners and the losers.
+
+That is why I support Representative Jefferson Moss’s bill to strengthen the curriculum in our required financial literacy course to include instruction on the core economic principles that have given us our freedom and our prosperity.
+It is imperative that Utah high school graduates understand not only their civic responsibility and the principles of our nation’s founding and constitution, but also the basic economic principles of free-market capitalism that have made America great.
+And, let’s not forget the importance of parental involvement in learning. As we have recognized in statute, parents have the primary role in their children’s education and our policies should always foster that involvement.
+One of the most complex challenges as a result of our growth is our air quality. I appreciate the ongoing efforts to help clear the air by legislators like Patrice Arent, Joel Briscoe, Steve Handy, Eric Hutchings and Todd Weiler.
+We know that a lot of little things, like reducing cold starts, can add up to big improvements. But we can think bigger. 
+That is why we have set a goal of reducing by 25 percent our per capita emissions across the state by 2026. And that is why we need to make a down payment of $100 million for data-driven improvements in our air quality. 
+
+The state itself is one of Utah’s largest employers. So let us lead by example. Because tailpipe emissions are such a big part of the problem, let’s reduce the miles driven by state employees by increasing state employee use of transit and accountable telework. Let’s eliminate the dirtiest state vehicles and replace them with Tier 3 and electric automobiles. Let’s improve the energy efficiency of State buildings by using a revolving fund that replenishes itself through efficiencies gained.
+We can also create incentives for the public to pull aging dirty diesel vehicles off the road; to replace more than 5000 wood burning stoves; and to swap out 25,000 pieces of gasoline-powered yard equipment for battery powered options; 
+And let’s make electric vehicle charging stations more accessible and convenient statewide by providing 300 electric vehicle chargers for public use at state facilities and providing incentives for an additional 800 charging stations at private businesses. That would be more than a five-fold increase in the number of chargers available today!
+Our Division of Air Quality estimates that these actions taken together — many of which I hope will also be adopted by other employers — will reduce dangerous pollutants in our atmosphere by a total of 14,000 tons. That’s like taking more than 65,000 automobiles off the road annually, or the equivalent of all the registered automobiles in my home town of Orem.
+And speaking of transportation, May 10th of this year marks 150 years since the completion of the nation’s first transcontinental railroad at Promontory Summit. It’s hard to overstate the importance of that accomplishment for unifying a nation that had been fragmented by civil war and divided by geography. It made us the crossroads of the west, opening up Utah’s abundant resources to national and international commerce. 
+As the railroads came close to completion, Charles Crocker of the Central Pacific Railroad, bet Thomas Durant of the Union Pacific Railroad $10,000 that his workers could lay more track in one day than Durant’s. Durant’s Union Pacific crews had already set the record by laying six miles of track in a single day. 
+On April 28, 1869, Durant — sure of his bet — came over to watch Crocker lose the wager.
+Listen to historian Stephen Ambrose’s account of that day:
+“What the [Central Pacific] crews did that day will be remembered as long as this Republic lasts. White men born in America were there, along with former slaves whose ancestors came from Africa, plus emigrants from all across Europe, and more than three thousand [Chinese]. There were some Mexicans … as well as French Indians and at least a few Native Americans. … They had come together at this desolate place in the middle of Western North America to do what had never been done before.” (Stephen E. Ambrose, Nothing Like It In the World: The Men Who Built the Transcontinental Railroad, 1863-1869, Simon & Schuster 2000, p. 349)
+The choreography of getting ties, rails and spikes into the right place at the right time so that workers could fasten them securely, mile after mile, was the precursor to the modern assembly line.
+To win the bet, workers had to lay down over 25,000 railroad ties, over 3,500 rails, and drive more than 55,000 spikes. Working from sunup to sundown, Central Pacific workers laid down over ten miles of track in one day — and that’s a record that still stands to this very day. 
+What an accomplishment! What an amazing example of teamwork!
+Crocker won the money. But we know that the reason he won was because of the backbreaking labor of the thousands of workers who, day-by-day, mile-by-mile, had perfected their skills and sped up construction.
+The Central Pacific noted the names of eight Irish workers who were there that day. But, unfortunately, no one recorded the names of the thousands of Chinese workers’ whose labor was essential to the success of this herculean effort. Although their individual names have been forgotten, their singular contribution is unforgettable.
+So consider this: the people who literally reunited our nation following the Civil War were the nation’s outcasts — freed slaves, Irish immigrants, exiled Mormons and underpaid Chinese workers, among others.
+As we celebrate the 150th anniversary of the driving of the Golden Spike, here are some lessons I hope that we take into account as we start another challenging legislative session.
+First, we can and we should do more to protect the nameless, the outcast and the vulnerable.
+Second, even in times of deep division and discord, even when some naysayers are betting against us, great things can be envisioned and can be accomplished.
+And finally, although we come from diverse backgrounds and experience, we can work side-by-side, sunup-to-sundown, with the spirit of cooperation to lay a foundation for our future prosperity.
+So let this be the year that we make a major down payment toward continued improvements in air quality.
+Let this be the year we invest to make our schools safer and healthier even as they continue to climb to the summit of educational excellence.
+And let this be the year that we stand together to create a fairer, a simpler and a more sustainable tax code, by broadening the base, cutting the rates and giving low and middle income families the biggest tax cut in Utah’s history.
+After all, that is the Utah Way.
+God bless us in this effort, and God bless the Great State of Utah.
+

state-of-the-state/speeches/Vermont_Both.txt

@@ -0,0 +1,166 @@
+Mr. President, Madam Speaker, Mr. Chief Justice, Members of the General Assembly, distinguished guests and fellow Vermonters: 
+I want to begin by thanking the people of Vermont for the opportunity to serve as Governor, and for their trust and support as we carry out the work ahead. It is the greatest honor of my life. 
+I also want to thank my wife, Diana, my two daughters, Erica and Rachael, my mom and my entire family for their support and love—I couldn’t do this without you.
+***
+This is the second time I’ve had the privilege of addressing you as we open the biennial session.
+Each time, we’ve gone about our work against the backdrop of a national political environment that’s brought out the worst in the public process.
+Unfortunately, this still exists today, as too many value political points over policy solutions.
+Social media still overflows with negativity and hate, and politics as a whole still seems to divide us more than it brings us together. 
+I truly believe that in Vermont, we can set a standard that others across the nation can aspire to, and elected officials can look to, as a better way—the right way—to go about the work of the people.
+And when the work gets difficult, when tensions build—which they will—when divisions seem too deep to overcome, when we need to be reminded that there’s still good in the world—look no further than the people of Vermont.
+We saw the good in the people of Swanton who sheltered and fed their neighbors as flood waters forced them from their homes in the depths of winter.
+The good lives in the young girls and boys who were inspired when they saw Montpelier native Amanda Pelkey take the ice half-way around the world in South Korea. When she was born, hockey was a game for boys. Twenty-five years later, we welcomed Amanda home, an Olympic gold medalist.
+The good is in the pride hundreds of us felt, on a cold day in November, to celebrate the return of Ceres, the goddess of agriculture, and the incredible work of two Vermont artists, Jerry Williams and Chris Miller, whose craftmanship will stand for generations on top of this beautiful building.
+The good is in Sara Byers, the owner of Leonardo’s Pizza in Burlington, giving those in recovery the opportunity to get back to work, knowing full well the road may be rough, but believing in the person—and the journey—and seeing past the stigma of addiction.
+The good is found in the Perry family, whose combined 120 years of dedication and service in the Navy was recognized at a shipyard in Groton, Connecticut as the USS Vermont was christened.
+Four sons, three grandsons and a granddaughter-in-law, all following in the footsteps of the former Representative from Richford, Captain Al Perry.
+We saw the good in two political opponents running for the House in Lamoille County, Lucy Rogers and Zac Mayo, a Democrat and a Republican debating the issues then sitting together to play a musical duet, proving to the nation there is a better way.
+Every day, we see the good in our servicemen and women and our first responders, our teachers and nurses, in our coaches, scout leaders, mentors and all those who serve others without expectation of praise, and often too little recognition.
+The good is in this chamber.
+It’s here because it lives in each and every one of our communities. The places we come from and the people we go home to.
+It’s in our schools and churches, our businesses and farms, our forests, trails and town halls.
+The good, the courage to show a better path, is the same courage that allowed those who came before us to persevere through harsh winters, to carve our way of life from granite mountains and rocky hillside pastures.
+The good is in our hearts, it’s in our minds and it’s who we’ve always been. Today, more than ever, it’s who America needs us to be. And to meet the challenges ahead, to best serve Vermonters, it’s who we have to be.
+***
+Our focus must remain on those we’re working for and what we’re working towards.
+To do that, we must face the economic realities that exist across the state, in all 251 towns, cities and villages, and the impact our policies have on each of them.
+We must look for common ground instead of highlighting or exploiting our differences, view consensus and compromise not as a weakness, but as a strength.
+And if we can, our work, our actions and our results will inspire a renewed faith in government and give hope to every community.
+Together, we can work toward a more prosperous future for our state and her people. Where families in every town are moving up the economic ladder with a good-paying job and a way of life they can afford. Where all kids get a quality education, with the same opportunity, to achieve their full potential. And where we do all we can to provide for our neighbors who need us most, when they need us most.
+An affordable Vermont, with opportunity and economic growth, with great schools in every corner of the state and policies that benefit all Vermonters. This can be our legacy.
+***
+We can achieve this vision, but it requires us to recognize and overcome the obstacles in our way.
+I know some may be tired of hearing me talk about our demographics—or have given up and believe there’s nothing we can do to change them—while others may not feel a sense of urgency, because their own community hasn’t been impacted as dramatically as others.
+But you don’t have to take my word for it: just ask Moody’s, who recently downgraded our bond rating, in part, due to our lack of population growth, resulting in fewer working-age Vermonters.
+These facts and this problem can no longer be ignored.
+Just take our labor force as an example.
+Since 2009, our labor force has declined by about 15,000.
+15,000 fewer people working or looking for work.
+15,000 fewer Vermonters available for jobs we know businesses are trying to fill right now.
+15,000 fewer potential income tax payers.
+These losses have been felt across the state but have had the greatest impact outside of Chittenden County.
+Since their peak employment, Washington and Franklin Counties have seen a labor force decline of about two percent. By the same measure, Addison and Orange have seen a reduction of nearly five percent, and Grand Isle and Orleans have lost around six. Bennington, Lamoille and Windham have seen their labor force shrink by 10 percent. In Windsor: 12; Caledonia: 13; Rutland: 14. And in Essex, it’s down by almost 20 percent.
+This demographic reality is perhaps most apparent in our schools—it’s like the canary in the mineshaft.
+In our public schools, we’re now educating about 30,000 fewer K-12 students than we were in 1997—that’s an average loss of three students a day for over 20 years. And that trend continues.
+There’s not a single county that hasn’t been affected. Since 2004—which wasn’t all that long ago— Franklin County’s enrollment has shrunk by 3.5 percent—and is doing the best by far. Chittenden, Lamoille and Orange counties have seen declines of 12 percent. Enrollment has dropped by over 16 in Caledonia County, 17 percent in Orleans and nearly 19 in Washington. In Bennington and Grand Isle, it’s declined by 21 percent; in Windham: 23. Three counties—Addison, Rutland and Windsor—have lost a quarter of their students in 14 years. And in Essex, they’re educating 42 percent fewer kids.
+These declines are eroding quality and opportunity for our children. And this is happening on our watch.
+***
+These trends not only mean fewer in our workforce and schools, but fewer customers at businesses, ratepayers for utilities, fewer available for our volunteer fire departments and others who support the needs of our communities.
+And fewer to share the costs of state government, with ongoing needs in areas like transportation, building maintenance, public safety and human services.
+But there are other needs as well.
+We have a moral obligation to protect our seniors and kids and treat those impacted by mental illness or addiction.
+We’re committed to restoring and protecting our lakes and rivers, which will cost Vermonters nearly $1 billion over the next 20 years.
+And we must keep the promises we made to our state employees and teachers to pay their pensions and healthcare costs in full.
+The debt we owe today is over $4 billion and the annual payment to catch up continues to grow by tens of millions each year. But let’s be clear: A deal’s a deal.
+Each of these commitments are important, but our stagnant population is threatening every service we deliver, every program we administer and every investment we hope to make.
+Even the most optimistic among us must recognize what this means.
+Without a different approach or major change in circumstances, our current revenues won’t support our obligations, our wants or even our needs.
+On the campaign trail, a Burlington business owner told me, “We don’t need more taxes—we need more taxpayers.”
+The solution is really that simple, but the path to a better outcome requires our best ideas, our best work and the courage to make real change.
+That’s what we signed up for and what’s expected of each of us.
+Vermonters elected me, and many of you, to ensure we don’t ask them to shoulder any more of the tax burden.
+They’re doing their part. It’s time for us to do ours.
+***
+Despite these challenges, we have so much to offer and so much to be hopeful for.
+We’re one of the safest, healthiest states in the country. We have a good education system, which I believe we can make the very best, and we have a culture and lifestyle that is second to none.
+These things offer a great quality of life, which is among the best recruitment tools we could ask for.
+This is all positive, but we know it’s not enough.
+So, this session, let’s focus on strengthening those assets to keep and attract more working families, with an eye on reversing our population trends.
+Let’s grow the economy to support jobs and organic growth, expand our tax base and ease the burden on hard-working Vermonters, because if we want people to both move here and stay, we must make it more affordable.
+This is how we rise above the challenges ahead of us, improve the lives of Vermonters and chart a new course for our future.
+***
+First, let’s work to reinforce the things that make Vermont such a great place to live: The health of our citizens and environment and the strength and safety of our communities.
+Vermont has one of the lowest uninsured rates in the nation. We rank among the top states for the health of our women and children, the number of mental health providers and physical activity. We’re also among the best in the country with low instances of violent crime, obesity and infant mortality.
+Many of you in this room, as well as our predecessors, have contributed to this success.
+But Vermonters still struggle with the high cost of insurance, especially those in our state marketplace.
+That’s why I’ll propose health insurance reforms focused on increasing affordability for Vermonters and, specifically, young people, as we work to retain and attract more of them. 
+And during the campaign, I talked about a voluntary paid family leave plan, balancing the value of this benefit with Vermonters’ ability to pay. In the coming weeks, I’ll roll out that concept. I truly believe an opt-in approach puts us on a path to the goal that we all share without raising a new tax.
+We can also build on our work to protect our environment, communities and kids.
+We rank high when it comes to air quality, but we can do more to lower emissions in our state, so I’ll propose using settlement funds to help more Vermonters purchase electric vehicles.
+And my budget will propose a long-term funding source for our water quality initiatives, using existing revenues and a new delivery model to put this money to work on the ground.
+This fall, we learned from the Department of Health that some students may be exposed to lead in drinking water in our schools. Here’s an area we agree on, so let’s act quickly to protect our kids.
+In order to do that, my budget will invest in lead testing at schools statewide. And, if you’ll work with me in budget adjustment, we’ll have every school tested within a year.
+***
+Second, we’ll continue to transform our education system, going from good to the very best in the country, supporting and educating every child from cradle to career.
+Many of us here today have heard countless debates about education but far too often it’s been about something other than the kids themselves. From tax payers to teachers, the fate of buildings and debt, old districts and new districts and rates and rebates.
+This has created a fear of change that’s handcuffed us to the status quo and distracted from the single most important purpose of our schools: educating our kids. 
+We must have the courage to make the conversation about giving every child the best possible chance at a good future. And the truth is: not all of them are getting equal opportunities.
+Here is just one example of what students are facing:
+Now, I want to be clear: these are real middle schools in Vermont, but I’m going to call them School A and School B.
+Students at each are taught language arts, math, science and social studies.
+But School A has advanced math like Algebra I. School B does not.
+School A has 20 sections of art. School B has one.
+School A offers multiple French classes. School B doesn’t have any foreign languages.
+School A has band, chorus, music, health education, industrial arts and family and consumer sciences. School B doesn’t offer a single one of these.
+You might be surprised to hear that these aren’t schools from opposite ends of the state. These two middle schools feed into the very same high school.
+This is not an isolated case: It’s happening across Vermont, so we must continue to address the inequality that exists.
+I’ve heard you and believe me: I recognize that change of this magnitude takes time.
+But in the near term, I believe the best opportunity for progress is in early care and learning—to give all kids, regardless of their background, a strong foundation.
+We’ve taken important steps. Let’s build on it this year by working together to give every child an equal chance at success.
+Last fall, I identified a new revenue source to put toward these initiatives, which I’ll detail in my budget address.
+If we can work together on a high-quality child care system that’s affordable and accessible—along with a stronger education system—we could set Vermont apart from other states as an education destination for families.
+We can, and will, debate on policy—and that’s ok—but let’s focus on the merits of our ideas. Let’s not resort to scare tactics. Let’s roll up our sleeves and make change that gives all our kids an equal shot at success, that puts their interests above special interests, and builds them—hands down—the best cradle-to-career education system in the country.
+***
+Next, we must ensure businesses can stay competitive with those in other states around our region. Because we can put all the best ideas on the table to attract young people and support working families, but if we don’t have jobs, none of it will matter.
+Act 250 was created nearly 50 years ago to address a rapidly growing state. At that time, there wasn’t the regulatory oversight to deal with the population expansion brought on by the baby boom and the interstate highway system.
+But those circumstances no longer exist.
+That’s why I’ll propose reforms to modernize Act 250 in a way that expands growth in our struggling downtowns while continuing to protect the environment.
+We can and must do both.
+This proposal builds on work we did together last term to modernize regulation and support the development of affordable housing in our downtowns and growth centers. This year, we can do even more to build stronger communities by updating Act 250 and encourage more compact development while preserving our working lands and rural character.
+We also know that broadband is crucial to parts of the state that are currently under-served or, in some cases, not connected at all.
+I’m sure most realize this isn’t the cure-all to our economic challenges, but as we seek to attract more people to live and work in Vermont, we must continue to expand access. This session, I’ll put forward a package of reforms, and my budget will include investments, to do just that.
+As I travel the state, I see places struggling to survive, many a shadow of what they used to be. We’ve reached a point where too many are not growing—they’re shrinking. 
+Whether you’re here from Readsboro or Alburgh, Island Pond, Richford, Springfield, Newport or any one of the proud communities that helped write Vermont’s economic history but now face tough times, know this: I’m eager to work with each of you to develop policies to revitalize all 14 counties and to ensure that hope and opportunity exists not only in Burlington, but in Brattleboro, Bennington, Berkshire, Barton and all 251 towns across our state.
+***
+Finally, we need to do a better job leveraging our assets, the things that make Vermont a great place to visit, work and live.
+Consider this: In 2017, the top towns for millennial home buyers were not New York City, Boston or San Francisco. They were Williston, North Dakota, Athens, Ohio and Aberdeen, South Dakota.
+Millennials appear willing to put affordability and quality of life over the conveniences and attractions of our biggest cities when buying a home.
+I believe Vermont can offer what they’re looking for, and in many instances, we already do.
+The work we did last term in the areas of housing, education, downtown development and workforce training, while striving to make Vermont more affordable, were positive steps forward.
+But we must do more.
+We know availability of affordable housing is a huge barrier to recruiting young workers—I hear it every day from employees and employers.
+Last term, we worked together to create more housing Vermonters can afford. Let’s build on that progress by focusing on existing stock and rental units.
+My budget will propose a package focused on growing the housing supply by revitalizing properties and investing in existing neighborhoods.
+These are steps in the right direction, but it’s not enough to simply offer things that appeal to young people and working families. We must do a better job telling our story and use it to aggressively recruit new Vermonters.
+Even if you believe Vermont is perfect, it’s clear we aren’t doing enough to persuade people to move and stay here.
+Last year, thanks to innovative thinking from the Legislature, we launched a program offering incentives to remote workers who moved here.
+Just passing this law gained international media attention, and as a result, nearly 3,000 people inquired about the program.
+This showed us a couple of things. First, publicity works. And second, people do have an interest in moving here but sometimes just need a reason to take that first step.
+That’s why my budget will again propose a labor force expansion package that targets those likely to move and a regional sales team approach to close the deal.
+I hope you’ll join me in supporting this effort, because investing to grow our workforce is one of the single most important things we can do for our economy and to reduce the tax burden on those here now.
+***
+This fall, I visited employees at Eden Ciders in West Charleston. My team heard they’ve had success recruiting young workers to relocate here and we wanted to learn more.
+I asked them why they chose Vermont. Most said they liked the sense of community we offer. Many also thought it was a good place to raise a family, while some came for outdoor recreation.
+While there, someone shared that Precision Composites in Lyndonville wasn’t having any trouble filling positions—even engineers.
+Now, that got my attention. Because just the week before, I was at Collins Aerospace in Vergennes and they said they were looking to hire 25 engineers but were struggling to do so.
+What was the secret in the Northeast Kingdom? They put a “help wanted” ad in a mountain biking magazine.
+The point is we know people want to come here. We just need to identify and reach those who do.
+***
+Collectively, we have a lot of good ideas, so let’s act on them together.
+Let’s build the best education system in the country and nurture a business climate that keeps and creates good jobs, so we can better compete with other states.
+Let’s think creatively about attracting more workers and families so we have the revenue to better serve the Vermonters already here.
+Let’s support policies and make investments that will work towards these goals and do so without digging further into the pockets of Vermonters.
+Because to build the future we want for our kids and their kids, we must ensure Vermont’s affordable.
+***
+While our challenges are great, when we work together, we can do great things.
+Over the last two years our record speaks for itself.
+To improve efficiency and better serve Vermonters, we merged the Departments of Liquor and Lottery, a long-standing goal for some legislators in this room.
+And we did the same in creating the Agency of Digital Services, which has saved taxpayers about $4 million since its creation.
+With your leadership, we supported foster parents and crime victims, strengthened consumer protections and are working to make prescription drugs more affordable.
+We modernized our licensing laws to expand the pool of drug treatment professionals and make it easier for members of the military to enter the civilian workforce.
+When actions in Washington put access to healthcare in jeopardy, Speaker Johnson, Senator Ashe, Republican party leaders from both houses and I stood with Senators Leahy and Sanders and Congressman Welch to protect Medicaid funding. Where else but Vermont would you see such a politically-diverse group joining together to defend access to healthcare? 
+And for two years we didn’t raise a single tax or fee in the General Fund. We also held statewide residential property tax rates level, while fully funding school budgets passed by local voters.
+We removed the tax on social security for low- and middle-income Vermonters and worked to revitalize downtowns and villages throughout the state.
+We made the single largest investment in housing the state has ever seen, as well as a 70 percent increase in clean water funding and opened a treatment center in St. Albans that helped eliminate long waitlists statewide, allowing more Vermonters to start on a path to recovery.
+We did all this, and so much more, by working together.
+It wasn’t always easy or comfortable, but hard work—good work—is rarely either of these things.
+And we need more of it because the solutions we seek—in the political environment in which history has placed us—requires that above all else, we focus on what it means to be true public servants.
+***
+When announcing his retirement in 2005, Senator Jim Jeffords said, “In no other job do you have both the freedom and the obligation to solve problems and help people on a daily basis.”
+Solve problems and help people.
+A simple concept and an important reminder of why we’re here.
+As partisanship and division have eroded the trust many have in our democracy; as conflict captures headlines far more often than the good work we’ve done to strengthen Vermont; and as reports of our disagreements overshadow all we agree on and the progress we’ve made working together—let’s solve problems and help people. 
+That's our job. It’s our responsibility.
+It’s what our neighbors who elected us expect. It’s what the challenges we’re here to confront demand of us. And most importantly, it’s what Vermonters deserve.
+As we open this new biennium, with the hope and promise of a new year, let’s commit to this work; put aside our differences to work together, to come together. To solve problems and help people each and every day.
+

state-of-the-state/speeches/Virginia_SOTS.txt

@@ -0,0 +1,219 @@
+My fellow Virginians, ladies and gentlemen—good evening.
+Speaker Cox, Senator Newman, Justices of the Supreme Court, Lieutenant Governor Fairfax, Attorney General Herring, distinguished members of the Virginia General Assembly—thank you for inviting me to be with you tonight.
+Please join me in welcoming my wife, Virginia’s First Lady Pamela Northam. I want to thank Pam for her focus on ensuring that every child in the Commonwealth is able to benefit from access to quality, early childhood education.
+Before I begin, I want to acknowledge a moment of history we are sharing together. This is the first time in the 400-year history of the Virginia General Assembly that a woman has led a legislative caucus.
+Please join me in congratulating Leader Eileen Filler-Corn on her historic achievement.
+And thank you, Delegate Toscano, for your years of service.
+Finally, I want to recognize my cabinet and the thousands of Virginia state employees they represent for their committed service to our people. I’m often asked what has most impressed me as governor, and it’s the hard work and talent of our thousands of state workers, from game wardens, to VDOT road crews, to state police.
+Each of you works diligently to ensure that every corner of this Commonwealth is a place of opportunity for all.
+It is an honor to serve as the 73rd Governor of this great Commonwealth. It’s hard to believe that a year has already come and gone since I last addressed the General Assembly.
+We’ve had a very successful year together, and Virginians are better for it.
+In fact, we’ve been so successful together that I’ve already started thinking about the future, about 2020. And so tonight, I am proud to announce I am going to seriously explore a run for President … 
+… of the Eastern Shore Antique Car Club.
+In all seriousness, I am grateful for all that we have been able to accomplish, working together.
+This last year has taught me a great deal, and I know that while it can often be difficult to serve in elected office, the work we do together is as important now as it ever has been.    
+We’re a state that supports our veterans, embraces diversity and inclusion, and attracts visitors from around the world. We work every day to make sure that Virginia is a place of opportunity, where everyone can build the life they want to live.
+With unemployment at the lowest levels in decades, a growing economy, expanding access to health coverage to 400,000 working Virginians, and investing record amounts in public schools and environmental protection, we can say with certainty that the State of our beloved Commonwealth is as strong as ever.
+I believe Virginians select their leaders for one reason: to make this Commonwealth work better for them and their families, no matter who they are or where they live.
+Putting politics aside for the good of the people shouldn’t be hard. But as we are seeing up the road in Washington, some politicians have a way of making even the simplest things look difficult.
+In recent weeks, our federal government has shut down, and thousands of Virginia’s federal workers, as well as all of those Americans whom they serve, have paid the price.
+Over the course of this 46-day session, Virginia can offer a different path forward.
+I believe that most of the time, people find what they’re looking for. If they’re looking for division, they’ll find it.
+But if they—if we—look for areas where we can agree, we’ll find them.
+Throughout our history, Virginia has led the nation by example. The Virginia Way charges us to put people ahead of politics, and to leave this place better than we found it.
+I am proud to say we’re off to a good start.
+In our first year working together, we have achieved major accomplishments that fulfilled our mandate to improve Virginians’ lives.
+We passed an historic budget that means 400,000 more Virginians will be able to see a doctor when they are sick.
+We strengthened our Commonwealth’s finances by shoring up our reserves and preserving our valuable Triple-A bond rating.
+We broke down decades of gridlock on criminal justice reform by finally raising the felony larceny threshold.
+We led the region in securing a dedicated source of revenue for Metro for the first time in the system’s history.
+We agreed to boost pay for our educators and retool our workforce development efforts.
+We worked together to make government more efficient through regulatory reform, and to be a better steward of taxpayers’ dollars.
+We created a parental leave plan for state employees, and the House of Delegates and Senate did the same, providing parents an important opportunity to be with their new children.
+And in the midst of a growing economy, and the lowest unemployment rate in seventeen years, we have built on our momentum and announced many new jobs and investments in every single corner of our Commonwealth.
+The successes in this past year have come about not because I, or you legislators, did something individually—but because we worked together. When we work together and help provide a strong foundation for Virginians, our families and businesses thrive.
+And while we’ve had a successful year, we can’t rest on that. Every year we must make more progress toward a Commonwealth of opportunity for everyone.
+When we invest in Virginians and their future in a fiscally responsible way, no one can stop us. We can again be the best state in the nation for business.
+We can make sure the economy works well for everyone not just those at the top.
+We have always been a national leader. Let us never abandon that mantle.
+I spent my career as a child neurologist, seeing young patients. Over the span of those years, I saw thousands of children and their parents.
+And I can’t name a single instance when any of them asked me whether I was a Democrat or a Republican—nor did I ask them. They just wanted me to help them.
+And that’s what the people of Virginia want from us.
+Last year, I promised that I would govern to get things done. I said that my goal would always be to do what was best for the people of Virginia. I promised I’d work with anyone to make our Commonwealth work better for all Virginians.
+I believe there is no better place in this great country of ours to live, work, and raise a family than Virginia.
+Let’s renew that commitment to working together to build a Commonwealth where every person, particularly every child, has the same shot at a healthy, safe, and successful life.
+I’m here tonight to tell you that the state of the Commonwealth is strong, and we are poised to make it even stronger.
+Since I took office, we’ve announced more than 41,000 new jobs, with more than $8 billion in new capital investment.
+That means 41,000 more Virginians who can pay rent or mortgages, buy groceries and school supplies, and put paychecks to work in local businesses.
+These new jobs represent people who can live in their hometowns, instead of leaving for a job somewhere else.
+Growing up on the Eastern Shore, I know how young people leave our rural areas for jobs and don’t come back.
+That is why our Administration has made it a priority to ensure that every region of Virginia is part of our economic success—so that people can build their lives in the place of their choosing.
+We still have work to do, but I’m pleased by the progress we have made so far.
+This year, I’ve made nearly 100 visits to rural parts of Virginia to announce more than $1.25 billion in new capital expenditures.
+Tonight, I’m proud to make another one of these announcements.
+Microsoft will inject significant capital investment to expand its datacenter campus in Mecklenburg County which will create more than 100 new jobs. This will be Microsoft’s sixth expansion at that facility since 2010, which is great news for that area.
+This is a huge win for rural Virginia and we should all be proud. I want to thank Senator Frank Ruff, Delegate Tommy Wright, and all the members who played a part in this.
+I also want to welcome Jeremy Satterfield, the Virginia manager of TechSpark at Microsoft, who is in the gallery tonight. Microsoft’s TechSpark program works to create more job opportunities in economically stressed areas, and southern Virginia is one of the regions where they’re working.
+With this Microsoft news, Amazon’s decision to select Virginia for a new corporate headquarters, and Micron’s expansion, it’s clear that our efforts to bring new jobs and investments to our Commonwealth are paying off. 
+These companies are attracted to Virginia for our exceptional education system, our skilled workforce, and our strong business climate.
+Virginia was once ranked as the number one state in the country in which to do business.
+This year, we climbed in the rankings, from fifth to fourth. But we can’t get back to number one if we aren’t supporting our small business owners, the backbone of our economy.
+As a small business owner myself, I’ll never lose sight of that.
+This partial government shutdown illustrates why, with some urgency, we need to continue to diversify our economy. No one region in Virginia should be reliant on one industry.
+That’s why I’m so encouraged to see the ingenuity of our small business owners as I travel across the state.
+When businesses large and small want to call Virginia home, that’s a one-two punch for our economy that can’t be beat.
+These businesses all need workers, and preparing Virginia’s workforce for the jobs of the 21st century begins earlier than we think.
+We cannot afford to wait until students enter kindergarten to begin preparing them for successful futures.
+I want to thank our First Lady Pam Northam for leading a new version of the Children’s Cabinet that is placing an unprecedented focus on early childhood development.
+Thanks to their work, last week Virginia was awarded a $10 million federal grant to improve our statewide early education system – and that’s just the beginning.
+With the help of Virginia’s first-ever Chief School Readiness Officer, we are working with leaders across the state and with many of the people here tonight, to ensure that every child has access to quality early childhood programs.
+Just a few short weeks ago, I shared my proposed budget amendments with the Joint Money Committees.
+These amendments reflect the unique opportunity we have this session: to make forward-looking investments in our success, to further strengthen our reserves, and meet our existing obligations.
+We have a world-class education system—but we need to make long-term investments to sustain that quality for our students and to ensure we remain competitive in a 21st century economy.
+That’s why I am eager to work with you to give our teachers the largest single-year pay raise in 15 years.
+This isn’t just about the educators who deserve to be paid more. It’s about improving the education we offer our children by ensuring that we can attract and retain the best and brightest educators to classrooms in every corner of our Commonwealth. 
+Raising teacher pay is only part of the puzzle when it comes to making sure that every Virginia student is able to reach their full potential. Schools, educational leaders, and parents across the Commonwealth have been clear that students need a variety of services to succeed in the classroom.
+That’s why I’ve proposed to fund more positions for school counselors statewide, and additional flexible funding so that school divisions can make their own decisions about which services will most benefit their students.  
+Early childhood and K-12 education are the backbone of our efforts to prepare students for successful lives, bringing skills to jobs—but in a modern economy we can’t stop there.
+The good jobs of the future will almost always require some form of training after high school. However, at a time when college costs threaten to price many students out of the market, the good news is that some of the many rewarding jobs in the most exciting fields don’t require a four-year degree.
+If Virginia is going to succeed in the economy of the future, we must expand our advantage in higher education and continue to reform our approach to workforce training.
+That effort should begin with better aligning our four-year universities, community colleges and skills training programs with the needs of modern day students and the employers who are waiting to hire them.
+And we need to work even harder to make postsecondary education more affordable and accessible to all students.
+We’re working with the Virginia Community College System to reframe their programming, so that students can get the skills they need on the front end for 21st century jobs.
+Our training certificate programs and our higher education system need to work hand in hand. And they need to be affordable.
+Expensive tuition and high student debt can close the door to opportunity for too many people.
+My budget would offer more tuition assistance, and requires our institutions to create tuition predictability plans.
+It is high time we began regulating the companies that service our student loans. While people may not be able to avoid taking on debt to get an education, they should be able to count on basic consumer protections.
+I’m also proposing specific tuition assistance for National Guard members so that the men and women who step forward to keep us safe in times of need can advance in their civilian careers as well.
+Our National Guard members offer critical help, responding during and after disasters or other missions.
+As we’ve learned from economic development projects, including the Amazon headquarters, good jobs come to states and communities whose workers are ready for high tech jobs.
+That is why our administration is proud to partner with legislative leaders of both parties in proposing a Tech Talent Investment Fund, which will offer grants to our higher education institutions to help them provide more computer science degrees. Our goal is to produce up to 17,500 more bachelor’s degrees in computer science over the next 20 years. This is an investment in our people and our future.
+Tonight, I’m laying out the roadmap to a competitive, brilliant future for all Virginians.
+Until we come together to ensure universal broadband access, we are keeping opportunity out of reach for entire communities in Virginia.
+When a community doesn’t have reliable Internet access, it can’t attract businesses, support its home-grown entrepreneurs, keep its students up to date, or use telehealth to keep people healthy.
+The ability to get online anywhere—that’s what makes a Commonwealth of opportunity.
+Weeks ago, I shared an ambitious budget proposal to speed up our progress and achieve universal broadband access within the next few years.
+This is probably the number one issue I hear from Virginians as I travel around the state, and the number one issue I hear from legislators—both Republicans and Democrats.
+Virginia can be a national leader in providing access to its residents if we work together and take advantage of this opportunity.
+We’ve talked a lot about jobs and economic opportunity. But we know that a strong workforce has to be a healthy workforce.
+Last year we joined together to expand Medicaid coverage to more working Virginians.
+We knew people wanted and needed this.
+One of them was Kara Murdock. When Kara was 23, she had to have her arm amputated below the elbow due to a blood clot. This left her unable to do her work as a dog groomer, or continue her studies to become a paramedic.
+She has had numerous surgeries and complications, and has been uninsured since she was dropped from her parents’ insurance when she turned 26.
+Kara knew what Medicaid expansion could mean for her. So on Halloween night, Kara camped out so that she could be the first in line to apply for health coverage under the new eligibility rules.
+Kara is here with us tonight. Please give her a warm welcome.
+Kara, thank you for being here and letting me share your story, so that we can appreciate the impact of our work together on Medicaid expansion last year.
+Kara wasn’t the only one who knew what this care would mean. On the first day of enrollment, our call center had a flood of 6,000 calls. 
+To date, more than 200,000 Virginia adults have already enrolled through our expanded Medicaid program. Their coverage began at the start of this new year.
+No longer will these Virginians have to worry about whether they can afford to see a doctor, or get worrisome symptoms checked out. No longer will they fear that one illness will drive them to bankruptcy.
+Now if they need it, they can get treatment for mental illness or substance abuse disorder.
+There are thousands of Virginians with stories like Kara’s. This new coverage will help them stay healthy, work, and lead more productive lives.
+It will also serve as a reminder of what we in this room can achieve when we put politics aside and do what we know is right.
+Virginians are counting on us to bring that same approach to our work this year. Few issues are more deserving of our intense focus than the opioid crisis.
+Last year, we lost 1,227 Virginians to opioid overdose. We lost 1,534 Virginians to overdoses from all drugs.
+It is my belief that an overdose death is a preventable one, and I want to do everything that I can as governor and as a doctor to bring awareness to this epidemic.
+That’s why I traveled to all six of Virginia’s medical schools last year, to teach our future and current doctors about their role in fighting the opioid crisis. As physicians, we need to think more innovatively about the ways we treat acute and chronic pain.
+At each of my stops on this lecture tour, I was accompanied by a young man from Allegheny County who is recovering from addiction. I first met him and his father at a law enforcement event on the Eastern Shore.
+An honor roll student and son of a well-respected sheriff, his journey started after fracturing his leg in a high school football game. He was rushed to the hospital and started on dilaudid for his pain. He was prescribed other narcotics and became addicted.
+When his prescriptions ran out, he turned to heroin, and then fentanyl. To support his addiction and to avoid the symptoms of being dopesick, he took actions that led to run-ins with the law. Eventually he spent 18 months in jail.
+With medically assisted treatment and counseling, the support of his family, and a strong faith in God, he has been clean for over a year.
+He and his father have put their family’s story together in a powerful video. Please welcome Ryan Hall and his father, Sheriff Kevin Hall, to the gallery.
+Their story inspired my Grand Rounds lecture, but it also drove an important point home.
+This crisis does not discriminate—it can affect anyone from your family members, to your friends, to your neighbors, even yourself. If you need help, or know someone who needs help, please know that we are here for you.
+We’ve seen a slight drop in overdose deaths due to opioids, but we’ve also seen an increase in deaths from other drugs.
+So we must continue the fight with this in mind: our real adversary is addiction, and addiction will always find another drug.
+We still have work to do to make sure everyone has access to health care.
+That means all health care, including reproductive care. I’m proposing that we put into the Code of Virginia that a woman has the fundamental right to make her own health care decisions.
+By working together, we can do so much more to improve access and cost for all Virginians. It doesn’t matter what type of healthcare plan you have—healthcare costs are rising across the nation.
+I am committed to working with you to address the root causes of these increasing costs. We can emphasize prevention, and work to evolve toward an outcome-based system, rather than a quantity-based system.
+And we can use innovation and data collection and analysis to help us become a world leader in individualized health care, right here in Virginia.
+We have already demonstrated that we have the capacity to act together to improve the health and wellbeing of our fellow Virginians—I am confident we can do it again this year.
+I’m a parent. Many of us in here are parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles. I think we can agree that we all want our children to grow up to be healthy, happy adults. That’s what every parent wants for their child.
+Every child in Virginia should have the same chance to lead a safe, healthy, and successful adult life.
+And if we agree that every child should have the chance to reach adulthood, then we need to consider what we can do to make our Commonwealth a safer place for our children to grow up.
+We want to be sure that all school resource officers are well-trained, so I’m proposing that we ensure all school resource officers go through training approved by our Department of Criminal Justice Services.
+Right now, only grant-funded resource officers go through that training.
+I want to take a moment to recognize the Student Safety Work Group of the Children’s Cabinet for their hard work to develop recommendations on this important topic.  I would also like to acknowledge the hard work of leaders in both chambers, and in both parties, to address the many challenges our children face in their schools.
+If we want every Virginian to have a chance at a healthy, safe, successful life then we need to have a conversation about responsible gun ownership.
+I recognize that this is a topic where it has been difficult to have meaningful dialogue.
+Dialogue, by its definition, is an exchange of ideas and opinions in order to resolve a problem. I hope we can all agree that we have a problem.
+In 2017, 1,028 Virginians died of gun-related causes.
+In comparison, that’s more deaths due to gun violence than the 956 Virginians who died due to vehicle accidents in 2017.
+We have recognized that we have a problem with road safety and vehicle deaths—and we have acted together to prevent future ones.
+My administration has launched the Executive Leadership Team on Highway Safety, and I know there is legislation this session, including efforts to strengthen our Move Over law, aimed at protecting our first responders.
+If we are able to agree that we need to act when we have a problem with highway safety and preventable deaths, then surely we can agree to work together to keep more Virginians alive by improving gun safety.
+As I said earlier, this has to be a dialogue—that’s a two-way exchange of ideas.
+This year I’m proposing we act to approve an “extreme risk law.”
+It creates a legal way for law enforcement and the courts to temporarily remove firearms from someone who has shown dangerous behavior, and who poses a risk to themselves or others.
+This idea has passed Republican legislatures in other states and been signed by Republican governors.
+It shouldn’t be a partisan issue to make sure that weapons are not in the hands of people who pose a threat, especially when the threat is to their own safety or their family’s safety.
+As we work to make our roads safer by focusing on driver behavior, we also need to be sure our roads themselves are as safe as possible.
+Along I-81, from Winchester to Bristol, it’s becoming more difficult for traffic to flow steadily and safely.
+While 81 is a major corridor for interstate travel, it’s also a heavily used local road.
+Stretches of I-81 have become safety hazards, and accidents and delays also impact local commerce.
+Businesses, residents, and officials along the corridor agree that I-81 needs significant improvements.
+So I’m proposing to establish the I-81 Corridor Improvement Program.
+This legislation will provide a dedicated funding source for I-81.
+We all know that current resources are not adequate to the task of making I-81 a better, safer road. I’m happy to say that we’re working across the aisle, with legislators from both parties whose districts include I-81, to make this happen.
+If we want to ensure that every Virginian has the same shot at economic opportunity, we need to position ourselves to respond to the growing reality of climate change.
+These changes are having an impact on our communities and our economies, whether you are facing coastal flooding in Hampton Roads or storm effects in the Southside and the Southwest.  
+I have shared my budget proposals to make historic investments in the protection of our environment and our water quality. These proposals will lead to cleaner water and air for all Virginians, and they will also position us to create the next generation of energy jobs in solar, wind and other emerging technologies. Time is of the essence—the time to address these challenges is now.
+Our farmers are working to do their part to support agricultural best practices and reduce runoff from their farms into the creeks nearby.
+With us tonight in the gallery is Kendall Tyree, executive director of the Virginia Association of Soil and Water Conservation Districts and vice-chair of Virginia Forever.
+Kendall, we thank you and the groups you work with for all the work you do on agricultural best management practices and natural resources issues.
+We’re glad to support them in those efforts by doing our part to support pollution reduction efforts across the board. That’s why I proposed increased funding for programs to help reduce runoff and for our Stormwater Local Assistance Fund.
+And this should be the session where we come together and require clean closure of coal ash ponds throughout our Bay watershed. These ponds are in Republican and Democratic districts, and Virginians don’t view them through political lenses—they want them closed cleanly and their waterways protected.
+The environmental damage that Hurricane Florence caused in North Carolina showed us what will happen to these ponds if we don’t act now.
+Tonight we have some good news from our criminal justice system to announce—for the third year in a row, our prison recidivism rate is the lowest in the country.
+This is due to our re-entry programs and treatment offered by the Virginia Department of Corrections. Tonight our director of the Department of Corrections, Harold Clarke, is with us in the gallery.
+I want to thank Harold for his department’s work to make sure that we do as much as possible to prepare people to leave our corrections system and rebuild their lives.
+We want to keep people safe. But we shouldn’t use valuable law enforcement time, or costly prison space, on laws that don’t enhance public safety.
+So I’m proposing that we decriminalize simple possession of marijuana.
+Current law imposes a maximum 30 days in jail for a first offense of marijuana possession.
+Making simple possession a civil penalty will ease overcrowding in our jails and prisons, and free up our law enforcement and court resources for offenses that are a true threat to public safety.
+Moving forward on this front will have the same significance as our work together to increase the felony larceny threshold: one mistake won’t define Virginians for the rest of their lives.
+We can continue our progress on criminal justice reform by ending the practice of suspending driver’s licenses over failure to pay court costs and fees, and by ending the suspension of licenses for non-driving offenses.
+When we take away people’s driver’s licenses, we make it harder for them to get to work, and thus make it even more difficult for them to pay their court costs.
+We shouldn’t be punishing people for being poor.
+These simple reforms to our criminal justice system will make our Commonwealth a more fair and just place without threatening the safety of our communities. Let’s work together to pass them this session.
+We have a chance this session to provide targeted tax relief to Virginians who aren’t seeing much help from the federal tax changes.
+Our tax code should work for everyone—not just the highest earners. That’s only fair. But Washington is actually making these disparities worse. 
+In Virginia, we can work together to restore balance and fairness on the state level. 
+I’ve put a proposal on the table to respond to the federal tax changes by making our existing Earned Income Tax Credit refundable.
+This credit already exists in our law, and it benefits middle-class workers—our teachers and law enforcement officers, our veterans, the folks working at restaurants and department stores and small businesses. Republicans and Democrats alike have supported this credit, because it works.
+Over the course of the last year, we have had conversations about incentivizing Virginians to get back into the workforce—my proposal does exactly that, because you only get this credit if you work and pay taxes. 
+This is a chance for us to have a dialogue about making sure the system is fair for every Virginian. When corporate stockholders benefit but a teacher does not, that isn’t what I call a fair system.
+That’s why I made this proposal—because I want our response to these tax changes to be fair to Virginians in every district, every community.
+It’s clear that we need to conform our tax code to the federal code, because Virginians deserve a simplified process. After that, I’m open to a discussion about how we respond to these tax changes in a fair way. I’ve put my ideas on the table. My priorities remain ensuring that our tax changes are fair, that we put money into reserves and pay our bills, and that we invest in our priorities. I know others have ideas, and I look forward to having a dialogue about our priorities.
+We must make sure that one good job is enough for a person to live on, and that hard-working Virginians in every locality and region benefit from our tax proposals.
+This year, we will mark a significant anniversary of Virginia’s long history of representative democracy. This tradition stretches back 400 years, well before the birth of this nation. 
+Let’s take a moment to reflect on that long and complex history. The story of Virginia is rooted in the simultaneous pursuit of both liberty and enslavement.
+As we approach the anniversary of the first representative General Assembly in the New World, we have a responsibility to confront this truth.
+It obligates us to the full and true exercise of democracy. In this day and age, that means ensuring the elimination of unnecessary and prohibitive barriers to voting.
+I’m proposing we finally allow no-excuse absentee voting.
+If we are going to work together to ensure that every Virginian has equal opportunity for a successful life, that means enshrining equal rights for women and legal protections against discrimination in our laws. This is not a partisan issue, and legislators from both parties have long championed this idea. Virginia can be the 38th and final state to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment this year—it’s time we do so.
+A few weeks ago, I came before your money committees to talk about budget proposals.
+I said then, and I’ll say to you all tonight, Virginia is in a good place.
+Our economy is strong. Our unemployment is low.
+We’re in a position to put money in savings, invest in priorities, and provide targeted tax relief to the middle-class Virginians who need it most.
+I’m not going to pretend that there won’t be 140 campaigns to run after we adjourn here. But this isn’t Washington—we come to Richmond to do the people’s work, the way they expect us to do it.
+And there’s a lot we can accomplish together.
+I know that not everyone will agree with the ideas I’ve outlined tonight.
+But I don’t believe the people of Virginia elected me to sit on the sidelines. They didn’t elect any of us for that.
+But they did elect us to work together, to do the best we can for them.
+And they elected us to be thoughtful about our work here. They want us to give true consideration to a variety of ideas. That’s the Virginia Way.
+I hope that as we go through the next 46 days together, we give consideration to each other, and to our ideas. It can be tempting to retreat to our corners and shout at each other. But I believe we all have that internal moral compass, the one that guides us toward the right thing to do. I hope we all follow it this session.
+We can come together, to ensure that we keep our economy strong in every corner of Virginia.
+We can come together, to make sure that our children have the best chance possible to grow into healthy adults.
+We can come together, to make sensible criminal justice reforms that will keep people who shouldn’t be in jail, out of jail.
+We can come together, to ensure that Virginia, the home of the oldest representative body in the new world, is also the home of voting laws that put the voters’ needs first.
+And we can come together to make sure that we’re building a Commonwealth of opportunity, where everyone has the tools they need to build good lives.
+We can do all of this and a lot more.
+I believe strongly that we often find what we’re looking for.
+If we come here looking for gridlock and partisan battles, we will likely find those.
+But if we look for what unites us, what gives us the best opportunity to get things done, we will find that.
+We’re not going to agree on everything, but if we look for what we have in common, we’ll do better work for the people of Virginia.
+I look forward to working with all of you to find our common ground.
+Thank you for your willingness to serve our great Commonwealth.
+May God bless all of you, and may God bless Virginia.
+

state-of-the-state/speeches/Washington_SOTS.txt

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+Thank you, Rabbi Dunsker, for your inspiring words.
+Thank you, Sergeant Scheer, for the beautiful rendition of the national anthem and for your service in the Army National Guard.
+I extend a warm welcome to former Governor Gary Locke here today and thank him for his service as well.
+I welcome the new legislators in your ranks who have stepped up to serve the people of this state. I congratulate your families who will be part of your adventure.
+And I thank my wife, Trudi, and my entire family for joining me on my adventure.
+I’m pleased to note a couple historic firsts in this Legislature. The people of Washington elected the first Native American woman to the House, Representative Debra Lekanoff.
+And they elected the first refugee, Representative My-Linh Thai, to the Legislature. These are firsts we all are proud of.
+Mr. President, Mr. Speaker, Madam Chief Justice, distinguished justices of the court, members of the Legislature, tribal leaders, state and local government officials, members of the Consular Corps, and most importantly, my fellow Washingtonians.
+Today, we gather in a place that tells much of our Washington story.
+Today, we come together from across the state — from the rolling hills of the Palouse to the coastal rocks of La Push — to find inspiration for the work we do.
+And today, as we reflect on our 2018 successes, we look ahead to 2019 and offer a rallying cry to build this new and enduring chapter that is the profound story of Washington state.
+Our story already reflects optimism and strength. But as Washington’s leaders, we carry an obligation to never be satisfied with how far we’ve come.
+That was embodied in what Bruce Lee, the Washington actor, philosopher and martial artist said: “There are no limits. There are only plateaus, and you must not stay there, you must go beyond them.”
+He was right. Our state history offers example after example of leaders willing to do more and to be more — even after they toppled barriers and shattered expectations.
+Did Bill Gates and Paul Allen stop after forever changing the world of personal computing? No. They kept asking “what if?” and not only built on the landscape of the technological world, but delved deep into science, medical research and culture and redefined what giving back means.
+Did Steve Gleason, one of the best Cougars out there, stop after he blocked that punt during the 2006 New Orleans Saints game? No. Congress just awarded him the Congressional Gold Medal for his advocacy for people with Lou Gehrig’s disease, something he works through every single day.
+Did Tarra Simmons of Bremerton quit after she redirected her life while serving time in prison? No. She earned a prestigious fellowship, graduated from Seattle University School of Law, and when told she couldn’t fulfill her ultimate dream of being a lawyer, she appealed to the state’s highest court so she could take the bar exam. Today, she practices law and helps others find a second chance after incarceration.
+We’re glad she can join us today.
+We are drawn to stories about people who don’t quit. They call to us because they remind us we have the same promise for greatness.
+In 2019, we are again poised to be more and do more. Yes, we’ve accomplished much already. But all of it — everything we’ve done — brings us to a tipping point.
+So today offers us two choices:
+- One, do we reflect on the success of our current story and decide we’ve done enough?
+- Or two, do we rise up to write one of the worthiest chapters of our time that tells future generations who we are?
+Though we’ve accomplished much, we still face challenges that require us to push further.
+At the top of that list is the imminent threat of climate change.
+In just the past few years, our state experienced record-high temperatures, record-low snowpack in some locations, higher ocean temperatures and high acidity in our waters.
+Historic wildfires blackened our air so much that we had the worst air quality in the world. Not China, not India. Washington state. The smoke shut down outdoor pools in Wenatchee, and impacted all of us, forcing kids and older adults to stay inside to protect their health.
+Scientists say if we don’t act now, this will become the norm — a permanent degradation of what we love, our magnificent state.
+I don’t know of any other issue that touches the heart of things so many of us care about: our jobs, our health, our safety and our children’s future.
+But this doesn't have to be our future. Science affirms the necessity of action — this day.
+This is the 11thhour, but it is Washington’s hour to shine. It’s a time of great peril, but also of great promise.
+Clean energy and low-carbon technologies are increasingly competitive in the marketplace. Innovation brings us cleaner, cheaper, better fossil-fuel alternatives every day.
+This innovation benefits our rural economies as much as our urban and suburban economies.
+Just last year, I helped cut the ribbon for our state’s largest solar array in the small town of Lind. I was joined by Senator Schoesler and Representatives Dye and Schmick to celebrate the good-paying jobs the project brings to their community.
+These kinds of jobs have propelled our clean energy sector to grow more than twice as fast as the rest of our economy. There is no greater job opportunity than the opportunity of clean energy. It’s why a historic alliance of labor and communities of color has joined with conservation and environmental groups to push for climate action.
+Looking at the many new faces in this chamber today, I am more optimistic than ever about the clean energy future we’ll build together.
+We will pass legislation to transition to 100 percent clean electricity, transform our buildings with cost-saving efficiencies, and modernize and electrify our transportation system. We’ll phase down super-pollutants and phase in cleaner fuels.
+This means by 2035, nearly all our electricity will come from solar, wind and hydroelectricity, instead of polluting fossil fuels.
+It means you’ll save money on lighting and heating costs because our homes and businesses will be much more energy efficient.
+It means our transportation system will be the cleanest in the United States because we’ll power it with clean electricity and clean fuels.
+Combined, these policies will steeply cut emissions — the equivalent of taking about 3 million cars off our roads.
+This transformation has started but we need to do more, do it bigger and do it faster.
+So when your grandchildren ask what you did to protect them from climate change, you can tell them you weren’t sitting around saying it was someone else’s problem. You took action. Because that is who we are in the state of Washington.
+It’s going to feel really good to be part of the solution. It’s going to feel really good to make history.
+Another historic chapter we need to write about is mental health.
+While we’ve taken significant steps to improve our physical health in medical schools like the Elson Floyd College of Medicine at WSU, we can improve our mental health care efforts, too.
+We need to transform behavioral health from a system that responds to crisis to one that helps people before they reach crisis.
+For those with a loved one who has waited too long for the right kind of treatment, we know this challenge is urgent.
+Our families and friends are suffering and we can do so much better.
+We must find room for hundreds of people at new community-based facilities so patients receive services in places close to their families, homes, places of worship and communities. We must also expand our professional workforce so patients are treated.
+That’s why I’m proud to pursue a new partnership with the University of Washington to create a teaching hospital to serve these patients and to train behavioral health providers using a unique new curriculum.
+We can turn this story around and direct it toward hope.
+And I’m pleased that we’re at the beginning of a bipartisan effort to do just that. We will create a story this year about a holistic model for behavioral health that encompasses the family, the community and the promise of timely care.
+The third thing we need to focus on is saving the Southern Resident orcas.
+Despite our orca task force already in place, the event that truly told the story of the orcas’ fate happened last summer.
+Many of us watched as Tahlequah, a mother orca, carried her dead calf for at least 17 days. We saw a mother’s grief. We felt it. Our hearts broke as we shared in her loss.
+This cannot be their fate.
+We must make unprecedented investments to save our orcas.
+The demise of any species is a warning in our natural systems. We have to restore the balance of our ecosystem to sustain orcas, salmon and the quality of life for all Washingtonians. For as the orca go, so go we.
+We’ve received thousands of calls from people around the world pleading for us to do more. Our orca task force, led by Dr. Les Purce and Stephanie Solien, has spent hundreds of hours researching the science behind survival. We thank you and the members of the task force.
+The actions we have to take, such as increasing salmon stocks, fixing culverts and decreasing vessel traffic risks, are hard but necessary.
+We have just one last chance to save these orcas. In this perilous moment, we must answer back with action.
+The fourth issue — one still at the forefront — is education. I thank everyone in this chamber who has been part of the years-long effort to fully fund basic education. This was an enormously heavy lift that I’m proud we accomplished together last year. This was a remarkable bipartisan effort; both parties shared in that success.
+But we have always said we couldn’t stop at basic education. For anyone who cares about equity in education, early learning is the best way to secure a strong start for every child, regardless of their family’s economic circumstances.
+We’re investing in children well before they enter the elementary school classroom for the first time. In the past six years we’ve nearly doubled the number of children in early learning programs to more than 15,000.
+My budget builds on that to expand preschool with a new ‘birth to 3’ preschool program. And it would create a statewide referral system to connect families with early learning services and facilities.
+My budget would also offer universal home visits. This gives every new parent the opportunity to get a visit from a nurse during the first few weeks back home with their newborn to share important information and build confidence.
+And once those children reach the other end of their education and prepare to graduate from high school, we want to open up as many pathways as possible, including apprenticeships, certificates and degrees. For high-school students or individuals who seek an experience outside a four-year program, our Career Connect Washington initiative gives them that option.
+It links students to real-world experience in careers that interest them. And we know that experience is invaluable. It gives them a better shot when they apply for that first job.
+My budget will provide 100,000 students over the next 10 years an option to dive into their interests through apprenticeships and paid internships, and fall in love with a career before they graduate. This means more Washington students can take advantage of great careers here at home in one of the best economies anywhere. Don’t our kids deserve that?
+We’re also supporting future students who want more education but can’t afford it. The Washington College Promise is our new statewide free college program that guarantees state financial aid to eligible students. We did this because a student’s financial challenges should not stand in the way of the pursuit of their dreams.
+As we grapple with these challenges in our state, we must also confront other forces seeking to undermine our progress.
+During the past two years, we’ve been challenged by federal actions that appeal more to our darker natures than our better angels.
+But we know that’s not who we are. We are going to write an even brighter chapter of our Washington story.
+We’re the state that invests in our people. That’s why we’re the only state that ranks as the best place to work and the best place to do business. What an incredible achievement.
+We’re the state significantly ramping up efforts to help struggling Washingtonians find stable, affordable housing. I propose using more than $400 million for chronically homeless individuals, homeless youth and unsheltered families with children.
+We’re the state offering to pardon thousands of people with misdemeanor marijuana convictions.
+We’re the state that’s going to tear down the systemic barriers to work and education faced by people of color, people with disabilities, veterans and women. Initiative 1000 is a well-reasoned approach to do just that.
+We’re the first state to pass a bill requiring net neutrality, which will guarantee free and open internet. And we’re the state pushing for broadband for Washingtonians who want to start a business or further their education — no matter where they live in the state.
+We’re the state that believes women and survivors deserve to be heard. We will make sure our policies set the expectation that every employee feels safe and welcome in the workplace.
+We’re the state that supports a woman’s right to make her own health care decisions. I promise you, we will always provide reproductive health services to women in our state.
+While too many in D.C. remain in the grips of the NRA, we’re the state that stands up for common-sense gun-safety reforms. We’ve closed background check loopholes, banned bump stocks and approved protective orders that keep guns away from people in crisis.
+And at that same time, we’re making sure students don’t worry more about bullying or gun violence than they do about their algebra homework. We’ve heard over and over what an impact a caring adult makes in a child’s life when the child is working through issues like depression, bullying or peer rejection. That’s why we’re committed to putting more social workers, counselors, psychologists and nurses in our schools.
+We’re the state that put a stop to the death penalty, and I hope this Legislature acts to definitively end this practice once and for all.
+We’re the state that updated deadly force laws and require training to help law enforcement officers de-escalate violence. Communities and much of law enforcement came together on this and produced a model for the country on how to have what can be a very difficult conversation. I tip my hat to the people involved who helped form these changes.
+While there has been an unprecedented assault on working families, we’re the state that protects workers’ rights. We built the best-in-the-nation paid family and medical leave program, we’re supporting long-term care planning and we will fight for a public health option to ensure health care for all.
+While other places close their borders and fear the unfamiliar, we’re the state that opens our communities to refugees seeking safety, shelter and sanctuary.
+While the president stokes fear of ‘the other’ at every opportunity, we’re the state that embraces our differences and diversity. I’m proud of the incredible diversity of the people we’re appointing to judicial benches, boards, commissions and cabinet agencies. We’re the state making sure our government looks like the people it serves.
+We’re the state that passed the Voting Rights Act. And while other states threw up barriers to suppress voting, we’re the state that passed a nation-leading Access to Democracy package to make sure more people cast their ballots, not fewer.
+All this builds toward our promise for greatness.
+We’re constantly refreshed with new ideas, new cultures, new communities and new technologies. We seek out new talent from the world’s many pockets because that makes Washington stronger.
+We affirm that diversity is a strength, not a weakness.
+It’s the collective stories of all — the story of the refugee from Vietnam and the story of the third-generation Chelan orchardist — that ground us in longstanding Washington values.
+Now I know the things we’re proposing this year are not small or easy.
+But good things in our story haven’t happened through timidity. They happened because of our optimism and bold action.
+Good things in our story happened because we didn’t give up.
+Again, I ask you: Which Washington story will prevail? A story where we rested on our laurels? Or the story where we rose up, called out and wrote a golden chapter that’s worthy of our best selves?
+... This chapter will show we answered our obligation to lead with higher expectations;
+... This chapter will show that we made Washington better for everyone seeking a fair shot;
+... This chapter will show that we defended the values we stand for;
+... And more than anything, this chapter will show the heart of who we are.
+We’re the people who always make history. I really believe in the state of Washington.
+And I believe our next Washington chapter must show that we pushed the limit and moved beyond our plateau, that we always looked for the next beginning.
+So let this be our profound story. Let it be bold.
+And most of all, let it make history.
+

state-of-the-state/speeches/Wisconsin_SOTS.txt

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+Honorable Supreme Court Justices, tribal nation leaders, Constitutional Officers, Major General Dunbar and the members of the Wisconsin National Guard as well as active and retired members of our armed forces, Senate President Roth, Majority Leader Fitzgerald, Minority Leader Shilling, Speaker Vos, and Minority Leader Hintz, cabinet members, legislators, distinguished guests, and, most importantly, people of Wisconsin: welcome, and thank you for being here.
+
+Before we get started, I also want to recognize someone else who’s here with us tonight. He’s a Wisconsin institution and embodies both the soul of our campus and the spirit of our state, marching band director and director of bands at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Dr. Mike Leckrone.
+
+This year marks The Professor’s 50th and final year leading UW’s marching band as he will be retiring at the end of this year. He’s directed halftime shows for nearly half of Camp Randall’s existence and has seen coaches and chancellors and band members come and go. But even more than the “stop at the top” or the 5th Quarter post-game routines, The Professor will be remembered for what a remarkable leader, teacher, and inspirer he’s been, not just for his students, but for people across our state. So, tonight, we honor The Professor and thank him for his service.
+
+I’d also like to introduce my former junior prom date, Kathy, who’s up there in the gallery tonight. My daughter, Katie, is also here tonight, and my other kids are I’m sure watching from home with my grandkids who are going to be up way past their bedtime. Thank you for supporting me—I love you all.
+
+I’m Tony Evers, and I’m incredibly honored to be here tonight as the 46th governor of the great state of Wisconsin to say the state of our state is that we’ve got work to do, and we’re ready for bipartisan solutions.
+
+You know, a few weeks ago, I stood just outside of here where I took the oath of office and delivered my inaugural address. And I remind you today, just as I did weeks ago, of the spirit of our service, of the power that we have, and the responsibility that we bear.
+
+We are a state forged by the Wisconsin Idea--the notion that education informs our public policy and that knowledge should embrace the communities we're called to serve. But today, we are also a state among the worst to raise a black family, and we are a state that’s spending more on corrections than our entire UW System.
+
+We are a state that once cultivated new technology--from typewriters to automobiles, we’ve led the nation in innovation. But today, we are a state that’s behind on broadband expansion, and we trail the country in start-ups and small business creation.
+
+We are a state that was the birthplace of BadgerCare, and we’ve been a laboratory for democracy. But today, we are also a state where it’s become cheaper to get healthcare by driving across the Mississippi River.
+
+The realities we face are bigger than me or any political party. The magnitude of our challenges requires us to put people first because, as I’ve said, that is the promise of our service.
+
+So, tonight, I’m asking you to join me in making good on that promise by moving forward, together.
+
+Fixing our economy remains a priority. That’s why just last week I directed the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation to create an innovation and entrepreneurship committee focusing on supporting our small businesses, seeding capital funds, and technology development.
+
+But there is more to an economy than counting job creation. And the state of our state is more than just our unemployment rate.
+
+The opportunity we have to offer is not just the number of jobs we create; it’s counted, too, by the number of workers who will work forty hours each week and still won’t make enough to keep their family out of poverty.
+
+The strength of our success is not found solely in fiscal surplus; it’s defined, too, by the number of our kids who will go to school hungry tomorrow.
+
+The metric for our posterity is not just what we keep in the coffers for a rainy day; it’s measured, too, by the quality of the natural resources we’re leaving behind for our kids and their kids after them.
+
+The state of our state is the work of Lisa, who is also in the gallery tonight. Lisa is the Founder and President of the Foundation for Black Women’s Wellness. The Foundation serves more than 1,000 women and girls working to eliminate health disparities affecting Black women, their families, and their communities. Thank you, Lisa!
+
+The state of our state is also the story of Jen, who grew up in Cashton. Because of the Affordable Care Act, Jen has access to comprehensive, patient-centered care that is tailored to her needs. Being able to afford services and insurance has allowed Jen to take control of her health from preventative to reproductive to behavioral healthcare. Jen is also here in the gallery tonight. Thanks, Jen!
+
+The state of our state is the story of Jose who came to Abbotsford, Wisconsin, from Mexico with his parents when he was twelve years old. Jose learned English through Abbotsford’s English as a second language program and gained a sense of community when he signed up to play baseball in high school. Jose decided to stay here in Wisconsin. He still lives in Abbotsford where he’s raising his sons, Marco and Nickolas, and coaches their baseball team, the Broncos. And he’s become a naturalized citizen. Jose and his son Marco are up in the gallery tonight. Thanks for being here, Jose and Marco.
+
+The state of our state is the story of students like Alex from Boyceville Middle School. Alex’s teacher describes her as having the drive and passion that make her excited to come to work every day. Alex has worked hard to turn things around at school and is now passing all of her classes, has no missed assignments, and has gone above and beyond to help other students, too. And it’s also the story of students like Diamond from Parker High School in Janesville where the school nurse describes her as the strongest young lady she has the pleasure of knowing. Diamond’s family has had some tough times, but Diamond has persevered, is excelling in school, and has dreams of becoming a pediatrician or pediatric nurse. Diamond is here in the gallery and tonight I’m excited to announce Alex and Diamond are the first-ever recipients of the Star Student Award in Wisconsin.
+
+When I stood before you just a few weeks ago to deliver my inaugural address, I said it was time to get to work. And we have.
+
+But the real work—the hardest work—is yet to be done.
+
+Last month, Mandela and I traveled across the state listening to Wisconsinites talk about their values and their vision for our future. We talked about policies and solutions that connect the dots.
+
+And I keep saying that--connecting the dots--and I’ve been asked several times what I mean by that--it’s about seeing a forest through the trees.
+
+It’s about seeing the connection between how lack of access to affordable housing affects kids in the classroom. It’s about seeing the connection between drug and alcohol addiction and our burgeoning criminal justice system. It’s about seeing the connection between a budding entrepreneur who wants to start their own business and how the rising costs of health insurance might push that dream out of reach.
+
+The budget that I’ll be introducing in the coming weeks is about connecting those dots. And to no one’s surprise, it begins—as it always has for me—with education.
+
+Connecting the dots means recognizing that what’s best for our kids is best for our state. The investment we make in our kids today will yield dividends for generations. That’s why our budget reaffirms our state’s commitment to our kids by returning to two-thirds funding for schools across Wisconsin.
+I was pleased to learn that the Speaker has encouraged his members to support this provision in our budget, and I hope that I can count on your support going forward.
+
+In addition to two-thirds funding, we’re also going to make sure that we have resources to support our kids with special needs. For the past decade, we’ve not only cut funding for public schools, we've failed to fully fund services for special education. This has forced local school districts and taxpayers to squeeze resources from other areas to provide these critical services. Our budget will provide an unprecedented $600 million-dollar increase in special education funding. That means our school districts will have enough to allocate the resources they do have to other areas of high need.
+
+And we’re not just going to increase support for our kids with special needs. We’re going to get to work on closing the achievement gap for low-income students and students of color. Our state’s achievement gap is among the highest in the nation in reading and math scores. As State Superintendent, I submitted proposals that would’ve helped address our state’s achievement gap. Unfortunately, most of these proposals never made it through the Legislative process. I believe this is the year they will. And my Urban Initiatives programs will also empower minority students in our state’s highest-need districts by expanding early childhood education and summer school grant programs.
+
+It is urgent that we increase support for our low-income students and students of color. The longer we wait to invest in closing our achievement gap, the wider the gap will get, and the more it will cost us in the long-run.
+
+Finally, we’re going to propose a five-fold increase in mental health programs for K-12 students across our state. But funding mental health programming in our schools is not enough; so tonight, we renew our commitment to making sure everybody has access to quality, affordable healthcare.
+
+We’ve already started working to make sure healthcare in Wisconsin is affordable and accessible. We signed executive orders creating a Healthy Communities Initiative and calling upon the Department of Health Services to prioritize these goals. We also called upon our state agencies to connect the dots and work together on how we can protect healthcare coverage for people in our state.
+
+But our work can’t stop there. That’s why our budget will also seek to expand Medicaid in Wisconsin. According to the nonpartisan Legislative Fiscal Bureau, this will enable an additional 76,000 Wisconsinites to have access to affordable healthcare. This would also save Wisconsin taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars, allowing us to reallocate those cost savings to other critical programs.
+
+We have a real opportunity here, folks. At the end of the day, Mr. Majority Leader and Mr. Speaker, healthcare should not be a partisan issue--Republican states like Kentucky, Nebraska, and Idaho have expanded Medicaid, and so have Democratic states like Washington, California, and Minnesota. We should be able to get it done here, too.
+
+The people of Wisconsin voted for a change this November and asked us to stop playing politics with their health care. That’s why I’m announcing tonight that I have fulfilled a promise I made to the people of Wisconsin by directing Attorney General Kaul to withdraw from a lawsuit that would gut coverage for the 2.4 million Wisconsinites who have pre-existing conditions. I’ve said all along that I believe the best way to maintain protections for healthcare here in Wisconsin is to stop trying to dismantle those protections at the federal level.
+
+In addition, we’re also going to address Wisconsin’s transportation funding crisis.
+
+I appointed Secretary-designee Craig Thompson because I know that he will work on both sides of the aisle for a solution that works for Wisconsin. I fully expect that he will be approved with consent of the Senate.
+
+I’ve said all along that I believe we have to bring people together to work on this issue, and I believe Secretary-designee Thompson can get it done. In the coming days, we’ll be announcing a task force of stakeholders to get to work on proposing a bipartisan policy solution to be included in The People’s Budget. The task force will solicit feedback from key partners from all regions of the state, all sectors of the economy, and users of all different modes of transportation.
+
+And while I know that caucus members in both houses support different approaches to solving our transportation funding crisis, it’s going to take sacrifices and compromises to find a long-term, comprehensive solution that works for everyone.
+
+But roads and bridges are only a small part of the infrastructure challenges facing our state. That’s why I’m also declaring 2019 is the Year of Clean Drinking Water in Wisconsin.
+
+According to the Department of Health Services, 1.7 million Wisconsinites depend on private wells for water, and 47% of these wells do not meet acceptable health standards. Meanwhile, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, we have an estimated 176,000 lead service lines across our state. Removing lead service lines could cost over $2 billion. But Pew Charitable Trusts estimates that for every $1 we spend on replacing lead drinking water lines, we will see a 133% return on our investment in higher lifetime earnings and better health outcomes.
+
+That’s why, in the coming weeks, I’ll be signing an executive order to designate a person at the Department of Health Services to take charge on addressing Wisconsin’s lead crisis and to help secure federal funding for prevention and treatment programs.
+
+Finally, we’re going to cut taxes by ten percent for everyone making up to $100,000 and families making up to $150,000. But we’re not going to do it by spending money we don’t have or that might not be there in two years. I don’t make promises I can’t keep, and I’m not going to propose things that we can’t pay for. So instead, we’re going to fund tax relief for hard-working families by capping a corporate tax credit, 80% of which goes to filers making more than $1 million a year.
+
+An economy that works for all of us, healthier communities, more money for our kids and our schools, better roads and infrastructure--that is what the people of Wisconsin expect from us, and that is what the people of Wisconsin deserve.
+
+Given the challenges we face, I expect the Legislature will focus on these important priorities instead of being distracted by division and preventing us from working together to get things done.
+
+You know, in the Governor’s conference room inscribed on the ceiling is a phrase that reads, “The will of the people is the law of the land.”
+
+The will of the people is the law of the land.
+
+That means I expect legislation arriving on my desk will be passed with broad support and in the spirit of bipartisanship.
+
+That means instead of taking up an entirely new budget of its own, I expect the Legislature to take up the budget I crafted by and with the people of our state.
+
+I’ll tell you today as I told you a few weeks ago that I have never been more hopeful about our state and our kids’ future. I have no doubt that there will be issues on which we disagree. I have no doubt that there will be times when we will be frustrated by the deliberative process of democracy. But we will engage civilly. We will have discourse and dialogue, but it will not devolve into disrespect. And we will govern with a humble appreciation that the will of the people--our people--is the law of the land.
+
+Now, let’s get back to work. Thank you, and On, Wisconsin!
+

state-of-the-state/speeches/Wyoming_SOTS.txt

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+Mr. President, Mr. Speaker, Members of the 65th Legislature. Thank you for your
+welcome. It is nice to be here and will be even better to be back in the Capitol
+next year.
+Would you please join me in recognizing Secretary of State Ed Buchanan, Auditor
+Kristi Racines, Treasurer Curt Meier and Superintendent Jillian Balow. What an
+amazing team, what an amazing group of people.
+Mr. Chief Justice, I note, that this is the first time in our state’s history that we will
+hear a State of the Judiciary from a majority female bench. This seems fitting
+though, because 149 years ago Governor John Campbell, anxious to follow up on
+the monumental achievement of the previous year, appointed Esther Hobart
+Morris as the first female Justice of the Peace in America. The Sweetwater Clerk’s
+telegram announcing the event read, “Wyoming, the youngest and one of the
+richest Territories in the United States, gave equal rights to women in actions as
+well as words...”
+
+Justices, to each of you, thank you for your impartiality, dedication to the
+constitution and the law, and for your thoughtfulness in deliberation.
+Thank you also to the leaders of the Eastern Shoshone Tribe, Vice Chairman Leslie
+Shakespeare and Council Member Starr Weed Jr.; and to the leaders of the
+Northern Arapaho Tribe Chairman Lee Spoonhunter and Vice Chairman Anthony
+Addison. It is good to see you all again. I look forward to building an even more
+productive relationship between our governments in the years to come.
+
+1
+
+And to you, members of the 65th Legislature, I say on behalf of all citizens, thank
+you for your willingness to serve and your commitment to the great state of
+Wyoming.
+You are a true citizen legislature and represent the fabric of Wyoming: real people
+with real concerns, real jobs, and real families.
+Two days ago, I took my oath of office to be your Governor. What a day. I was
+both inspired and humbled by the wellspring of good energy that this state seems
+to be feeling right now. The state is excited and expecting good things from all of
+us.
+
+Even though I have had the great privilege of working with many of you over the
+past six years as your Treasurer, this is my first opportunity to deliver my own
+State of the State. Following close on the heels of an inaugural for only the fourth
+time in our state’s history, it has been, in fact, 56 years since that a newly elected
+Governor Hansen gave his Inaugural Address and his State of the State in the
+same week.
+
+I look forward to our work in this session as we grapple with the concerns of our
+people, the opportunities our state provides, sorting our budget priorities, and
+the other issues that a general session brings forth for discussion.
+Set our state on a sustainable fiscal path
+Let me begin by expressing my appreciation to Governor Mead and his
+administration for preparing a supplemental budget that speaks to continuing
+Wyoming’s efforts to diversify our economy, while also emphasizing the needs of
+higher education, local communities, effective government, and state
+infrastructure.
+
+2
+
+Every one of us in this room is familiar with Wyoming’s history of booms and
+busts. These cycles of instability are not new. In October, the group responsible
+for forecasting the state’s revenue struck an optimistic tone, which set the stage
+for an upbeat budget proposal.
+Last week that group met again to review and calibrate their October revenue
+estimates. Since October things have changed: global volatility has increased, oil
+and gas prices have declined.
+When I was Treasurer, it was more often than not that October has seemed more
+optimistic than January. The remainder of the year generally comes in
+somewhere in between.
+
+That is why I believe our best times will come when we assure a reliable and
+stable fiscal future. It is hard to find a consistent path forward when one chases
+revenue, hopes for windfall, or reacts drastically to downturns.
+It is important that we find a course where “steady as she goes” becomes the
+watchword.
+
+It is true that Wyoming has been responsible in putting together savings that can
+help stabilize the downturns. If we are to chart our own future, we must also be
+disciplined and refill and even augment those savings in the good times.
+We must be wise with our savings, using them when we need them. That is why
+as Treasurer, and now as Governor, I support a bill to better define the purpose of
+the Rainy Day Account, or LSRA, so that those nearly $2 billion can be invested in
+a way that, first and foremost, assures the money in it will be there for rainy days
+and second that it can earn incrementally better returns than it does now. This
+definition will also clarify when, how much, and for what purposes we have set
+aside these specific savings.
+
+3
+
+My father would often quote an Ogden Nash poem: “Here is a good rule of
+thumb, often too clever is just dumb.”
+Because all of us here run household budgets, we know there is a beauty in
+simplicity. Understanding the fact that a little more than 1⁄3 of our total portfolio is
+made up by the Permanent Mineral Trust Fund (this is money which cannot be
+appropriated), and another third is specific to various education missions (also
+permanent funds), this leaves only 1⁄3 for us to work with. We really do not have
+money to waste.
+Last year, investment earnings were the highest source of income to the State.
+Before we lend out money for low or no interest, please remember any reduction
+in earning capacity, in my view, is tantamount to raising taxes and none of us is
+eager to take on new taxes.
+That means we will first have to do our best to contain expenditures. A lot of that
+work is underway already, but I believe we must look both more broadly and
+deeply at finding better ways of delivering services and finding savings.
+But, I get ahead of myself. As I take up my part of the responsibilities that the
+people of Wyoming have entrusted me with, I am happy to declare the State of
+Wyoming is strong.
+We are strong because of our people, our resources, and our Wyoming work
+ethic.
+
+We live each day with courage. Just this Friday, some of our bravest were
+deployed to Afghanistan. We will be sending off another 327 National Guard
+Troops in 2019. What a deep commitment to the ideals of our nation these men
+and women show and have shown.
+
+4
+
+Tech Sergeant Ben Eckman was nominated for a national award for his exemplary
+service last year. Sergeant Eckman served for 8 months in Iraq. And his skillful
+work, under challenging and dangerous conditions at an Air Force base, kept
+aircraft and people safe.
+We all know that his wife Sunny, as the spouse of a deployed airman, made an
+incredible sacrifice as well. Serving our country is a family effort and we’re proud
+to have you both join us today so we can show you our appreciation for your
+service.
+
+I join with the Legislature in support of the military and our veterans. Let us
+commit to do more during this session.
+I commend to you the work of establishing Wyoming’s first Veterans Skilled
+Nursing facility.
+It has been a long time in coming. Building this facility will mark an important
+step forward for our veterans. As well as an opportunity to expand a talented
+workforce educated in our community colleges and university.
+More broadly, I believe we have an obligation to improve access to mental
+healthcare for our veterans, our first-responders, and ultimately for all citizens.
+Substance abuse, moral injury (the emotional and spiritual impact of participating
+in, witnessing, and/or being victimized by actions or behavior which violate
+persons’ core moral values), suicide and PTSD, these are all concerns we as a state
+need to address. We can do more in our communities to help support those who
+are struggling with crisis.
+Happily, in Wyoming there are many organizations working to help those
+wrestling with these traumas. Through improved coordination of these
+non-profit, public, and private programs, we can provide better mental health
+
+5
+
+services in the places where people live. We can save lives and even potentially
+reduce the overall cost of mental healthcare.
+
+One of those organizations is represented here today.
+Volunteers of America is an organization, which operates successful substance
+abuse facilities in Sheridan and Riverton, and provides services for veterans and
+those less fortunate.
+
+I mention VOA because it’s an example of the multifaceted approach we can take
+to addressing complex social problems such as community mental health care,
+prison overcrowding and homelessness.
+Jeff Holsinger is the CEO of Volunteers of America Northern Rockies, he and this
+organization have been dedicated to addressing mental health and community
+issues in our region for years. Jeff please stand and be recognized.
+Health services, family services, workforce services, insurance, and corrections
+make up some of the most significant expenditures in our state. This body has
+wrestled with how best to meet the needs of our people in a cost conscious and
+compassionate way. My administration will seek to better integrate our
+approaches across agencies not through bigger bureaucracies but by finding
+synergies and providing better service to our citizens and streamlining our
+delivery.
+Ensure citizens have access to quality education
+In this session, I believe we can take steps towards making our schools safer.
+There’s a bill and a budget proposal that I believe can make a difference for the
+safety of our kids. To be sure there will be issues to properly discuss. But I hope
+this session will close with all of us knowing we did our best to improve the safety
+of our schools.
+
+6
+
+Wyoming people do not ask for recognition. We like to do what has to be done.
+Even in our day-to-day jobs we are called upon to do extraordinary service.
+Last fall, a young person, stepped forward to tell Principal Terry Quinn about a
+fellow student who planned an attack in his school. After hearing this information
+Principal Quinn, immediately acted to locate and disarm the student, who was
+carrying a pistol and had another gun in his locker.
+When confronted, the student revealed that he had wanted to shoot as many
+students as he could. It is a sad thing that these sorts of incidents can happen.
+But, Principal Quinn and the staff at Sage Valley Junior High have created a school
+culture that fosters confidence in students to do the right thing and come forward
+when necessary.
+Principal Quinn is here with us today and I would like to ask him to rise so that we
+might acknowledge the courage of that young person who stepped forward and
+his quick and decisive action which averted a potentially devastating tragedy.
+I will join Superintendent Balow in launching a multi-year initiative to continue to
+improve student safety and health. We can find sensible and appropriate
+solutions that will enhance the physical, mental and emotional well-being of all
+students as well as make school buildings safer.
+But that is not all we need to do for schools. Over the next several years we must
+work towards a more stable and predictable way to fund education from our rural
+schools in places like Bill to our larger schools in Cheyenne, Casper or Rock
+Springs.
+Let me introduce you to an example of the kind of leadership that good education
+can provide. My friend and neighbor, Andrew Borgialli, grew up just down the
+
+7
+
+creek. I saw his work ethic firsthand watching him on his family ranch.
+Fortunately, he recently started a teaching career in Wyoming. Last year, through
+inspired teaching and mentoring, Andrew took a record number of kids from
+Thunder Basin High School to Washington, DC to compete in the prestigious
+Future Business Leaders of America national finals. Let’s all recognize Andrew
+and those great students of his. This is an example of the kind of leadership we
+grow in Wyoming.
+It is because of teachers like Andrew that I have faith in our education system.
+And why I urge this body to recognize this commitment, and support the Joint
+Education and Appropriations Committees’ recommendation of an external cost
+adjustment for our schools.
+Over the course of the last couple of years Wyoming, like a lot of states, is
+suffering from a lack of a skilled workforce. Education is changing. Our economy
+is changing. Today, more than ever we need to provide the educational
+opportunities to enable a nimble workforce to find a job with companies right
+here in Wyoming.
+That is why I support a suite of proposals including Wyoming Works, which
+promise new ways for high school students and even adults to continue their
+technical education and this would also stand up career and technical education
+programs in our community colleges. I believe Wyoming should create a new
+Trust Fund under the Amendment A provision, with private industry’s support and
+a Wyoming match, would offer scholarships for Career and Technical Education. I
+look forward to making Wyoming Works a reality.
+This proposed supplemental budget is right to place a priority on higher
+education.
+
+8
+
+To that end, I applaud those who are proposing bills that would help Wyoming
+students move more seamlessly from high school to college and from community
+colleges to the University of Wyoming. We are moving in the right direction.
+The University of Wyoming is our flagship and I am glad to support further
+funding for scholarships to retain our best and brightest students and to advance
+the effort to provide top-tier science programs and other strategic initiatives. I
+also believe that we should support UW’s efforts to retain staff and faculty.
+UW is responding to the times and proving to be innovative in its own right.
+I applaud President Nichols for launching the Outdoor Recreation and Tourism
+Management degree program. That aligns UW with the second largest industry in
+the state and gives graduates an opportunity for worthwhile and fulfilling work
+right here in Wyoming. I will also note that UW did this by raising private money,
+not asking for new state dollars.
+One of our university’s fundamental missions is to support another cornerstone of
+the state’s economy, agriculture. In this supplemental budget there is a call to
+further innovation in agriculture and in ranching through an enhanced UW
+program. I urge you to consider those proposals closely.
+Wyoming, like many western states, is struggling to contend with the spread of
+invasive species like cheatgrass, leafy spurge, and medusahead wildrye.
+These species are degrading our range, threatening agricultural viability,
+impacting big game, and raising fire risks across the West.
+In our quest to be a top-tier agricultural school, certainly one mission we should
+consider expanding is our research into better ways to expunge and control the
+spread of invasives.
+
+9
+
+In support of that effort, I plan to work with UW’s College of Agriculture and
+Natural Resources, our community colleges and the state’s weed and pest
+districts to put together a program that will combine research with management.
+Aiming to make sure Wyoming is a leader nationally on combating invasive
+species.
+I am also excited that we established a trade office in Taiwan last year and one of
+the first products to sell there was Wyoming beef. It is evidently much sought
+after in Taipei’s finest restaurants. And I am thrilled that after a hiatus, Wyoming
+lamb is again going to Japan. We need to expand on these efforts across Asia.
+Energy must continue to be one of the pillars of our economy. To that end, I will
+continue to support the UW School of Energy Resources’ efforts across the
+spectrum of industries that have helped to build our state. SER has become a
+recognized global leader in areas that will continue to underpin our economy.
+The world demands what Wyoming has to offer, especially when it comes to our
+mineral and energy sectors.
+In 2018, Wyoming hit a record for permit applications to drill for oil and gas.
+Wyoming also continues to be a global leader in trona, uranium, and bentonite
+production. We must continue to advocate for all of these industries, including
+fighting for level-playing fields internationally.
+I want to take just a moment to talk about coal. Coal continues to power this
+country and, despite market trends and politics, it will remain an essential part of
+America’s energy portfolio for decades to come.
+Around the globe technology keeps advancing, there is progress benefitting our
+world by burning coal more cleanly and efficiently. Japan and Korea have built
+the most efficient clean burning fleets of coal fired electric generation ever.
+
+10
+
+Technologies employed there, when paired with Powder River Basin coal, can
+reduce the overall carbon emitted to the atmosphere. That is progress that
+should be a gut cinch for those advocating to control carbon emissions.
+And yet, our access to these Asian markets remains restricted, tied up in permit
+after permit. I believe this to be an unconstitutional restraint of trade. And I will
+strongly advocate for access to all markets.
+I have invited my friend and a former colleague on the Environmental Quality
+Council, Wendy Hutchinson, to be with us here today. Wendy has been working
+for nearly a decade to open a coal port in Longview, Washington. This is a port
+that will expedite coal exports among other commodities to countries like Japan
+and Korea.
+
+For her efforts, last year Wendy was named one of the 100 Most Inspirational
+Women in Mining in the world.
+Wendy, I have asked you here today so that we can recognize you and the
+Millennium Bulk Terminal’s perseverance in navigating a complicated, time
+consuming, and inefficient, perhaps even now adulterated process. Would you
+please stand. Thank you.
+There are promising new uses of coal that can provide advanced building
+materials and innovative new products. Some of these are being developed at
+UW and others by private industry.
+Wyoming is the nation’s leader in advancing carbon sequestration and has
+launched the Integrated Test Center which is working on turning a byproduct like
+carbon dioxide into a valuable and marketable product.
+Here in Wyoming, we will continue to seek innovative solutions that support coal,
+address climate change, and grow our economy.
+
+11
+
+We in Wyoming are anxious to lead the way to a brighter future, not by following
+political fashion, but by rolling up our sleeves, doubling down on research and
+innovation, and solving our world’s energy problems.
+We can support this effort through the creation of an enhanced Energy Office.
+Our governmental resources related to energy are spread across multiple
+agencies. This Office can help speed up permitting for oil and gas drilling, better
+site renewable energy projects, all in service of improving our ability to wisely
+develop our full portfolio of resources in a transparent way. While safeguarding
+our wildlife, our open spaces, and our livelihoods.
+And it is not only with energy that I believe we can make great strides with
+efficiencies and productivity of government.
+Now, more than ever, to find efficiencies and build new processes means we need
+the best possible employees in state government. So, let us make that
+investment in productivity and our employees. Governor Mead’s budget
+recommends a raise for Wyoming employees. I support this request because I
+know how vital motivated and talented employees are to efficient, cost-effective
+government.
+I am not interested in growing the cost of government. I am interested in making
+it better. Working together with this legislature, my administration will drive
+towards more efficient government.
+Over the past several days, Wyoming has been talking a lot about opportunity and
+transformation. I mentioned in my inaugural speech, that this is a watershed time
+in Wyoming’s history. This is our time to reshape government.
+
+12
+
+With initiatives like the efficiency study, and the transparency work that Auditor
+Racines and I are spearheading, we can work within government to make it serve
+the public better, be leaner and be more efficient.
+Because I believe that when people are empowered to find better approaches to
+doing business, better approaches are found and more enthusiastically adopted.
+Our budgeting process has become complex. I can say this with some confidence
+having served as your Treasurer. Treasurer Meier and Secretary Buchanan, you
+each served in the Legislature. Would you agree?
+I would like to engage Wyoming more broadly in our budget discussions. We can
+start with a program I have asked my fellow statewide elected constitutional
+officers to help get off the ground.
+I have asked each of them, and the leadership of both Houses to sponsor a local
+high school of their choosing, so that students get the chance to build a state
+budget. If there are any other legislators who would like to participate in the
+Cowboy Budget Challenge, now is your chance.
+The rules are simple: sponsor a High School, direct participating students to the
+appropriate websites for information, and finally submit proposals.
+In the coming weeks, the Governor’s website will be publishing details of this
+challenge. This effort will better connect government to the people it serves, spur
+conversation, and better inform our citizens about our budget.
+Provide local communities with the tools and resources needed to thrive
+
+Ultimately though, to make Wyoming stronger, our focus must be on local
+communities.
+
+13
+
+Wyoming is blessed to be home to many community heroes:
+Jacob Carlson is one of them. He is an Army Veteran and currently serves with
+the Casper Police Department. On May 6th of last year he and his partner, Randi
+Garrett, responded to what might have seemed to many like a relatively harmless
+situation.
+
+Someone was letting a young child drive a car in an empty parking lot in East
+Casper. But, when Randi and Jacob arrived they immediately and unexpectedly
+put their lives on the line. The two police officers were fired on.
+Officer Carlson was shot at least five times. But thanks to his and his partner’s
+incredible bravery, skill and the aid of other capable police officers, EMTs and
+doctors. Jacob lived ... as did the two small children who were in the car.
+
+Officer Jacob Carlson, we are so grateful that you are here today and are
+recovering. We are also grateful that you have the strength and support of your
+wife, Tiffany, and your son, Zane. We thank you and commend you for your
+service and sacrifice.
+
+And we need to support our local police departments, sheriff’s offices, fire halls;
+our local communities.
+
+I believe the best decisions are made closest to where the impact of those
+decisions is felt. It is also at the local level where individuals and entrepreneurs
+can spur new businesses that align with a community’s values and assets.
+I applaud Governor Mead’s dedication to providing funding to locals these past
+eight years, and I will continue that work. But beyond dollars, I hope to move
+forward with improving the tools required for cities, towns and counties to
+prosper. This means finding ways to enhance the services of the State Loan and
+Investment Board. I also support the recommendations in the supplemental
+
+14
+
+budget to augment the Federal Natural Resources Protection Account; a good
+buttress against federal overreach.
+When it comes to the Wyoming Business Council, and other community
+investment opportunities. I am beginning a comprehensive review of how all of
+our economic development programs work and if they work together or apart. I
+believe we can improve our approaches and have already begun conversations
+with the Business Council and the Chairmen of the ENDOW and ENGAGE councils.
+
+I support the ongoing effort to improve access to broadband internet coverage
+throughout the state. This has been an appropriate partnership between
+government and private industry. Not only does broadband give our students a
+tool to compete with the rest of the world, it is necessary for healthcare delivery -
+especially in rural areas where other specialized doctors are not available.
+Lives are being saved now because of advances in tele-health. Neurologists in
+Casper are connected by internet-video to emergency rooms in Douglas and
+Sheridan and can help treat stroke patients by getting them life-saving drugs in
+time for them to have the most benefit.
+
+Advancements in technology like this improve the quality of life in Wyoming,
+solve complex challenges, create jobs and will allow entrepreneurs and
+established businesses to see even our smallest towns as fertile ground to grow a
+company.
+As governor, I will support our hometowns as they chart their own courses into
+the future.
+
+Likewise, I will always stand up for Wyoming charting our own course. This is
+certainly the case with healthcare.
+
+15
+
+We have been given an opportunity to craft a Wyoming solution for health care. I
+look forward to working with the legislature to bring forth state-led solutions.
+Health care is too important to our children, our parents, and to each of us. We
+certainly cannot expand the economy, keep our major employers or attract new
+businesses if we do not find ways to bring down health care costs.
+Wyoming is a headwater state.
+Wyoming has some of the cleanest water and cleanest air in the nation. Our
+heritage of wildlife, unparalleled vistas and open space, make us the envy of the
+world. These are important and special assets for Wyoming that inspire tourism
+and just plain make Wyoming communities nicer places to live.
+Over the past several years citizens from every one of the state’s nine judicial
+districts have brought a discerning eye to the projects supported by the Wyoming
+Wildlife Natural Resource Trust. Projects have benefitted Wyoming’s water, wild
+animals, and habitats. In its nearly 15 years the Trust has put forward $58 million
+in projects all over the state, often pulling matching funds to better lever results.
+This Fund has facilitated energy development and made our wildlife populations
+stronger by controlling invasive species, improving irrigation diversions, and
+mitigating erosion throughout Wyoming.
+The Trust has also made a difference for those of us who love to hunt and fish.
+Our wildlife populations are doing extremely well, and contributing more than a
+billion dollars per year to our economy.
+I could testify to this myself, as someone who enjoys hunting, but my experiences
+do not measure up to those of Ashlee Lundvall.
+
+16
+
+Ashlee is from Cody. My wife Jennie and I got to know her through the Wyoming
+Women’s Foundation antelope hunt.
+Ashlee is a remarkable individual who despite becoming paralyzed in a ranching
+accident when she was younger, is one of the most amazing and inspiring
+individuals I have ever met. She has redefined her life, and encouraged others
+with her powerful messages of living life to the fullest. She is an author, and a
+powerful motivational speaker, a passionate advocate for accessible outdoor
+recreation and someone you just have to respect for all that she continues to
+accomplish. At all times, she has been an ambassador for Wyoming, for the
+outdoors, and for our hunting heritage.
+Ashlee is here with us today. I would ask you all to join me in recognizing her.
+Thank you Ashlee.
+To further invest in our hunting, in our big game, in all wildlife, and their habitats,
+I would like to add to the Wildlife and Natural Resource Trust this session. With
+the aim of moving towards having the Trust be self sufficient. Let’s not let this
+opportunity to build a legacy pass us by.
+Now, I would like to take a moment to thank my family. Many of our kids have
+headed back to their jobs, but today we are joined by Spencer, Sarah and their
+son Everett.
+
+Jennie, I am so honored to serve with you. Wyoming is fortunate to have you as
+its next First Lady. You are someone as at home in the calving barn as you were
+two nights ago dressed to the nines at a black tie inaugural ball.
+For those of you legislators who do not know Jennie, we look forward to hosting
+you at the Residence and getting to know you. We are humbled to have the
+responsibility of being first family of this incredible state for the next four years.
+
+17
+
+I have to say the enthusiasm we have felt over the past couple of days should give
+us all optimism for our future. We are a resourceful people in an amazing state at
+an important time in our state’s history. Let us make the most of it.
+I thank each of you legislators for your friendship, for engaging in this
+conversation, and I look forward to hearing your ideas and learning your
+priorities.
+For those of you watching or listening at home, my hat is off to you for being
+engaged with your government. The topics discussed today and bills that will be
+debated can only get better with your input.
+And we can all applaud the legislature for advancing transparency and making it
+easier to participate in the legislative process.
+I cannot do justice to the gratitude and humility I feel to be standing here as your
+governor and governor of the greatest state in the nation.
+God bless Wyoming. And God bless America.