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tv   Tonight From Washington  CSPAN  January 20, 2012 8:00pm-11:00pm EST

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still understands the means to get pre-clearance before it can change permanent effect. it positively needs preclearance. it's never wavered from that recognition soon you go back to them. i would say if you go back the default problem here is there's an infinite number of solutions. is particularly with respect to the congressional map where there's nothing else to defer to them the judgment of the legislature reflected in this plan not withstanding that hasn't been cleared. thank you. >> thank you, counsel. i appreciate the extraordinary efforts to have over the holiday season. thank you very much. the case is submitted.
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>> in her annual state of the state address on wednesday, south carolina governor, trained to detect a better state's economy and job creation efforts. other topics included a government spending cap cover mental health programs and charter schools. this is 45 minutes. [applause] >> thank you very much. [applause] thank you very much for the wonderful welcome. mr. speaker, mr. president, ladies and joe of the general assembly, constitutional officers to make a carolinians. they sent every year we will continue the tradition that recognizes the certain truth
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that nothing sad in in this chamber tonight for a town in this chamber tomorrow would be possible without the commitment and sacrifice of the men in women in uniform who bravely serve our state and nation. the hardest part of my job is to cause i'd make to the families of our fallen heroes. but each time i put down the phone, i am touched and amazed by the strength, grace and the pride with which these brave survivors handled their tremendous sacrifice of their loved ones. so now, please join me as we pay tribute to those who gave the last full measure of devotion on the service that there's date and country this past year. senior airman, nicholas jay alden. sergeant first class, how then a foot right. staff sergeant, thomas jay dudley. sergeant beauchamp the evidence. private first class, kayla and
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c. l. johnson. sergeant first class, jonathan mccain. gunnery sergeant, ralph earl junior. >> private first class, desiree presley. master public safety officer, edward scott richardson. sergeant randy sharp. chief warrant officer. sergeant first class, and any bitnet junior. private first class, just in time but whitmire. [applause]
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we will never forget. where teacher at it people, south carolinians. we love our state of another country. we love our men and women who put on that uniform to keep it safe. they are our parents and children, husbands and wives, our mother is from our fathers are siblings, our friends. we are honored to have witnessed the parents of one of his heroes, lance corporal william kyl carpenter from gilbert, who was in afghanistan and is continuing his recovery at walter reid. the prayers of south carolina continue to be with kyl and all of our wounded veterans. mr. and mrs. jim carpenter, thank you for being here. please stand.
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[applause] tonight there are 766 families across the state with loved ones in the south carolina army and air national guard who are serving overseas far from their home. our family shares a special bond with the military families of south carolina, like them, we know the pride of watching our loved ones wear the uniform of the strongest, proudest nation in the world, loving his job. please join me in welcoming my head spin and not scare the south carolina national guard and the coolest first man ever, michael haley.
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[applause] i have often said and i firmly believe that if i am a good wife and a good mother, i will be a good governor. the greatest lesson of my life is being amounted to little ones, a daughter who is to dance, and a son who wants to be the next lebron. please let me thank my two little ones who keep me humble everyday and reminded that no matter whatever is happening in the world, the most important title i will always have his mom. rena and nalin, stand up and give everybody a big wave. [applause] i have great love and great respect for our state motto, "dum spiro spero," meaning, while i breathe, i hope. we adopted it in 1776 but safely
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at interpret the nation each of us is blessed to call home. it describes south carolinians then, tough, brazilians, ever optimistic and i discovered now. the people i call her friends and neighbors, the people who are known around the world to south carolinians cherish our faith, families and the values they instill in us. it was all with hard work and our great hope lies in starting a better tomorrow for children and our children's children. ladies and gentlemen, while i breathe, i hope and it is with great faith in those words, the words chosen by our forefathers that ict tonight that the state of our state is surging. when this administration came into office over a year ago, with unemployment in double digits and growing, our focus is on the singular, jobs. the reason is fairly simple. if you get a person a job, take care of a family. and we have a lot of families to
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take turbaned south carolina. the good news is your name my pledge to each evening before me tonight and more importantly to have for the 4.6 million south carolina and outside of this fault is that i will not rest until we create a climate in which every citizen of this state who wants a job has a job. [applause] we have grown and expanded our south carolina family atmosphere, welcoming some wonderful new partners. and after all is said and done, due to the time, cooperation throughout branches in all levels of government they can and should be spread eons the economic development arena, we were able to celebrate $5 million of investment in south carolina and the recruitment of almost 20,000 new jobs in our great state.
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[applause] in a few moments, i'm going to recognize a number of this new partners are michael and i have invited here tonight is our special guest. but before doing so, i want to focus a little on the cooperation mentioned earlier, i what it looks like and what it is that first day. we all remember the excitement that swept across south carolina back in the fall of 2009 samoan boeing chose north charleston as the location to build a new line of 78070 miners. we remember what a thousand initial jobs meant for people of our state and we remember it is to live to our economy and spirit that we needed. we remember the promise and thousands of future aerospace jobs both inside and out of the boeing plant and what those jobs will do for the next generation of south carolinians. it was the greatest economic development success the palmetto state has celebrated in almost
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two decades in the people of our state wrapped her arms around the newest member of the south carolina family. part of the reason our enthusiasm is that boeing knew no bounds. we've seen how they operated in washington state. they took care of those who took care of them. while they were creating a thousand jobs here, here expanded 2001 washington state. not a single boeing worker was hurt by their decisions. in fact, just the opposite. a commitment from boeing to estate to a community, to work for us is a real commitment, a proven commitment and we know the face of south carolina, would forever be changed. then this spring, the national labor relations board reared its head, suing boeing and what will surely be remembered as one of the most fundamentally un-american decisions ever handed down by the federal government. in south carolina would not stand for it. from every corner of our state,
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we protect our federal delegation coming business leaders and most importantly, the citizens of south carolina. and boeing stood tall under tremendous pressure from the president in his union allies, this great american company said no, we did nothing wrong and we refuse to cave. and late last year the nlrb back down and dropped his frivolous lawsuit. please take a moment to join me in expressing our gratitude to a great american and yes, a great south korean as he now has a home in the low country, judge michael looted, executive vice president and general counsel for the boeing co. and tremendous room to the state of south carolina. [applause]
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i'll run through the story that many of us already know because their number of important lessons that lie within. first is the lesson i want to make clear to the business community, both in and out of our state. when you are here you're family. no one will fight harder for you. no one will do to keep you competitive in this state and the people of south carolina. the lesson must be that if you are picking a fight with south carolina he better be prepared for one because of carolinians take him back home. and third come the lesson i hope you take away from this episode is together speaking with one person driving towards a clear and focused goal there is
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nothing that south carolina cannot accomplish. [applause] the sheer size of investment and the raw number of jobs we've seen come away this year during a time when state and nations are struggling economically in ways that the world has rarely seen is a testament to the truth of that idea. coming into office a year ago, secretary bobby hitt down in economic committee was fractured. the job recruitment is but very nature a new sport. you don't just sell a stay. you sell a state, a county, community and way of life. they say all politics is local. that is twice as true for economic development and the team effort has worked. we have so much to be excited about. and not just in the traditional economic hotbeds like charleston, orangeburg and union
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and denmark. please help me celebrate some of the great announcements we have had over the years. every south carolinians should be proud of the fact that, while the places in the world, these companies could have picked, they elected to make our home their home. when i call your name, please stand and be recognized. representing continental tire, in sumter, geoge jurch. [applause] you may want to hold your applause until they are standing. we've got a list. representing td bank, in greenville and lexington, david lominack. representing bridgestone americas, in graniteville, steve brooks. representing nephron pharmaceuticals in west columbia, lou and bill kennedy. representing bmw manufacturing in greer, who just produced the 2 millionth car and announced the new bmw exporter, mac
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>> off. representing otis elevator, in florence, torsha hick. representing 73. representing 73. representing innovative composites and orangeburg, rubens roque. representing mark blitzer and dave brown. representing some six gkn aerospace, in orangeburg, kevin cummings. representing tighitco, in north charleston, jeff winkler. representing gestamp south caroline, in union, john craig. please stand and give all of these fronts a great south carolina round of applause. [applause]
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[applause] would have another great reason to celebrate south carolina. from the tidal creeks that buford to the shores of lake keowee, south carolina's bus of the natural beauty who makes a family of the nation. and this was the first year we finally beat san francisco. charleston was named the number one top tourist nation and america. featuring me in congratulating mayor joe riley, who unfortunately couldn't be with us tonight and the people of charleston. [applause] but we can't lie on god's gift to loan to keep our tourism industry the second-largest in this state turning. we have to self south carolina and there is no better opportunity, no better showcase for our state and our citizens
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than a heritage golf tournament. for a generation, the heritage has been backed by longtime corporate sponsor. it was a shock to her system that we lost their support, but that shot did not justify the knee-jerk response from some in our government. it is not now, nor will it ever be the responsibility of the taxpayers of south carolina to find a ball tournament. instead, it is the responsibility of leaders of our state to do the work necessary. sometimes hard, sometimes less than glamorous to preserve the events that we value the pump dollars into our economy and energy into a community. on the hard work of many, duane parrish in particular and a host of stakeholders paid off. the nation will again watch the best in the world what on the 18th fairway at harbour town, albright said utf-8 setting of the state and graciousness of our people. south carolina has a new
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partner, a great friend. so please help me thank and welcome the title sponsor of the heritage golf tournament, rbc represented tonight by james tricolli. [applause] would also be remiss if we didn't think once again, boeing and the local presenting sponsor of the new rbc heritage. thank you. but we have made great progress, there is more work to do. we will continue to sell our great state each and every day to fight for the jobs are people made and the financial security they deserve. in order to better do that, we in this remake to focus on legislation that is pro-business and helps us create a more competitive environment. i have long said is a wonderful
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when recruiting companies to south carolina, but when one of our own expands, that is in the real celebration begins. we have to take care of the businesses we are in the house. and when they can grow and invest back in their people, their product in their state, we are doing something right. as we talk with ceos from around the world, their focus is clear. keep the cost of doing business flow. our agencies have taken strides to reduce regulation and to change the culture so that every single employee understands that if government is costing our business time, we are costing them money and that is unacceptable. speaking of lost time and money, i want to thank speaker bobby harrell and senator larry martin for leading the charge on tort reform last year. until 2011, south carolina was the only state in the southeast that did not cap damages from lawsuits. thanks to the people in this room, that is no longer the
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case. that was a huge first. my ask of you today is to remember there is always more to be done on tort reform. looking at the states we compete with, that tennessee's, alabama, virginia would be naïve to think that there would be settled for playing second fiddle to south carolina and economic arms race. they will scrap for jobs every bit as hard as we will and the greater the protection we give our people and businesses from frivolous lawsuits, the better position we will be to capitalize on other assets. the next step toward reform is a pay system, so there is a real cost of wasted time and money by businesses and none of our courts and that her companies understand south carolina won't stand for trial lawyers claim games with their bottom line. [applause]
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we also need to strengthen our workforce. it is critical on two levels. first, the ability of our state to prevent a company with the workers it needs to quickly move products is a huge component to getting them here in the first place. if they cannot find workers here, they will go somewhere else. specint and just as important, we want these jobs going to our people. 20,000 new jobs coming to a state is a lot more exciting when it means that 20,000 more self airline workers will be locking out the door each morning with their head held high, with a sense of purpose and pride able to care for themselves and for their families. the tools for an effective job training program are to exist. we just need to do a better job of putting together the puzzle. our technical colleges and vocational rehab programs are as good as any in the country. it has proven time and time again it can deliver the time we
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need swiftly. it is our responsibility to ensure that the left hand is talking to the right, that we are wasteful and that every dollar directed to workforce training is actually spent on training our workforce. before the month is over, you'll see us unveil a restructuring of our workforce training program. under the direction of general abe turner and a partnership with one of the most respected and effective private sector companies in america, we look at our community is ready and put south carolina back to work. finally, i love that we are one of the least united states in the country. it is an economic development tool like no other. our companies and south carolina understand they are only as good as those who work for them and they take care of their employees. the people of south carolina have a strong worth ethic. they value loyalty and take tremendous pride in the quality of their work. we don't have unions in south
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carolina because we don't need unions and south carolina. [applause] however, as we saw with the assault from the nlrb coming unions don't understand math. they will do everything they can to invade our state and drive a wedge between workers and employers. we can't have that. unions thrive in the dark. secrecy is their greatest ally. some might, their most potent adversary. we can only do do more to protect south carolina businesses by shining that light on every action the union state. with the help and support of chairman bill sandifer and catherine templeton, we will create a competitive playing field to the companies that choose to call her stay at home. we will require unions to tell the people of south carolina how much money they are making on our backs, with politicians they
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are funding and how much they pay themselves. we will protect the right of every private and public citizen to refuse to join it by executive order will make it clear that our state will not subsidize striking workers are paid employment benefits. we will make the unions understand full well they are not needed, not wanted and not welcome in the state of south carolina. [applause] all of the strong pro-business policies we have put into place won't matter, however, if we do not keep our fiscal house in order. during the past several years, agencies have faced financial challenges and used fund balances and flexibility to shift money between accounts to cover expenses like rent and pay road, with revenues increasing, state government needs to stop these nontransparent accounting
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practices. it is time for truth in budgeting. [applause] in my executive budget, we've funded agency operations with recurring fund so that taxpayers can see how much and where money is spent. no more agency shelving, nomar went time lending for multiyear expenses. much of the so-called growth in this budget is not gross at all, but simply as being honest about how much it cost to operate state government. to permanently control spending, our government can and must function within a spending cap. as you've heard me say time and time again, and a general fund above and beyond that cat must go towards tax relief, debt relief or reserve fund. we cannot continue to spend every dollar we have. it is bad policy and our homes and businesses, which i think we
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can all agree to have a know it is bad policy and state government. it has to end. clap back that friedman, the famed economist once said, one of the great mistakes is to judge policies and programs by their intentions, rather than results. we agree. in order to stay within the spending cap and deal with massive expansion shoe federate mandated programs like medicaid, we'd have to make unpopular decisions. we've also try to restore some of the programs and agencies that do pass the test, that to fulfill or functions of government. the protection of our citizens and communities allow for us to have the quality of life we enjoy in our state, which is why last week our budget strengthen south carolina not force the division. we have restored funding to a dna lab so they can clear the backlog. we've increased the number of sled agents, equipment and technology budget and we brought
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james mark home where he belongs so sled can return quickly to his mission, serving the chairs and chief across south airliner. [applause] we have also bolstered mental health, recognizing that feeling to provide basic care to those who suffer from mental illness will cost us more money in the long run. both in dollars and human costs. these are people who have treated campbell is safe and productive lives. if left untreated, they often end up in one wanted one of two places. our emergency rooms for our jails. finally, every child in south carolina learns differently.
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some more so than others. it is our responsibility as the leadership of the state to embrace that reality, not fight it and give all of our children the chance to learn, to grow and to thrive. so the times make real investment in our charter schools has come. our budget does just that. charters are innovators. we need those fresh insights and ideas to help improve the educational system for all of south carolina's children. yes, we cannot and will cut spending in the state of south carolina, but we must be smart about it. the time of across-the-board cuts is over. the executive budget also outlines a number of policy initiatives that will continue to move south carolina forward and make us more competitive and importantly. tax reform is critical to our state. every conversation we have the ceos at some point thrissur attack structure and we've been communicating with representative tommy stringer
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and his tax reform committee and how move forward with real changes this year. our budget includes almost $140 million in tax cuts for the people and businesses a south carolina. these cuts will flatten the individual income taxed and six brackets to three, reduce taxes for citizens of our state by almost $80 million in phase out the corporate income tax over a four-year period. injecting much-needed dollars back into our businesses and giving us an illegal economic development tool. the tax relief we ultimately adapt must be brought based, offering relief to as many south carolinians as possible. these tax cuts should mean lower rates, not more credit exceptions and loopholes that only benefit is chosen few. what we have laid out in the budget is a blueprint for how we believe the dollars available for tax reductions can best be spent. together i believe we can agree to a set of tax katzen make
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south carolina more competitive and son were dollars back with able on, in the pockets of the people and businesses of our state. [applause] the executive budget also presents a plan to give local school districts more control over school buses. there is absolutely no reason for south carolina to remain the only state in the nation that runs. it is cumbersome, wasteful and preventer department of education for from focusing at persuading it to be, and educating the next generation of south carolinians. under the new system come individual school districts will be given the opportunity to decide whether to operate, choose a private operation or develop a hybrid solution. the goal here is to give districts as much flexibility as possible as every district is made up with different students with different needs. we are not interested in mandating best choices.
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what we are interested in is giving them options and getting the state of south carolina out of the school bus maintenance business. i know many in this chamber are concerned about the situation with our ports. the concerns are valid because our ports are vital. let me start by assuring you that no one will work harder to get the funding necessary to do deep in the port of charleston, starting with creation of a port infrastructure fund in this years budget. florida south carolina advantage in recruiting industry is supported charlestown and is a huge part of why companies like redstone, continental and michelin come to and expand in our state. from the first day of our administration, i work at their federal delegation delegation to clear way of the impediments to make in charleston the premier port in the southeast, starting with getting the port to the post panamax steps of 50 feet.
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there's been much discussion about the decision on whether to viable ports in the region are good or bad for the economy of south carolina businesses in our state. i have said it before. i will say it again. i am not afraid of the 43rd georgia port 36 miles at the savanna river, confined to one-way traffic. you should not be either. let's quit bickering and worked together to stay charleston return to its greatness. jasper to have a future in georgetown to have a purpose. finally, the executive budget calls for an abolition of the way we fund higher education. our intention is twofold. we were the schools that will serve our students while providing real motivation for those that need to improve. i was a legislature. i remember the pressure that comes through the budget. i also know that they are needs to be a better more consistent way to fund higher education and went a son. and accountability, not what
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school is the most popular. by adopting a new accountability base funding formula for higher education, we all win. the schools get stability and flexibility. legislators will no longer be faced with the demanding dollar after dollar and above all, south carolina's parents and students will know that their education is fairly and appropriately funded. when this administration took off, were facing massive debts. corrections, social services and health and human services. i told she died that datasets are unacceptable in the healey administration. and tonight, i am proud to say that not one cabinet agency is running a deficit of even a single dollar. [applause] i'd like to request that the best cabinet a government could ever ask for.
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please stand and be recognized. [applause] the largest of those deficits as hhs, the scenario of $228 million. in response, ask you to release the handcuffs off the department said they can truly manager medicaid program. under the leadership of senator harvey peeler come you didn't do that i thank you. since then, hhs hasn't aggressively to find problems. today is avoiding the massive service and reimbursement patent others experience. this past week we announced -- enhanced fraud prevention and quality controls to reduce
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eligibility and payment errors found in audit said the agency agencies were under previous administrations. the way to provide other help to our citizens was not just massively expanding a broken system by giving of our money. medicaid is that broken system. there is too much ways, too much fraud and too little focus on prevention and personal responsibility. almost all of those problems are caused by mandates of the federal government. but here in south carolina, under the leadership of your nerve tony kaye, we are not just the symptoms. health care providers are now working in partnership with us to improve quality and lower costs. we identify payment reforms and align incentives between health care providers, payers and patients of the top priority and implementing strategies to do just that.
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we are shifting towards medicaid managed care can watch independent study shows a death warrant of the first better quality than traditional medicaid. and for the first time, we are giving managed care companies a financial stake in improving quality year after year. no longer will the status out carolina bear the cost of for the managed health care alone. we will continue to push back against the federal takeover of our health care system. south carolina does not want and cannot afford the president's health care plan. not now, not ever. [applause] to that man, we will not pursue the type of government rent being forced on us by washington. despite the rose-colored rhetoric coming out of d.c., these exchanges are nothing more than a way to make the state it's spending of massive amounts
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of taxpayer dollars on insurance subsidies that we can afford. we will have no part of that. instead, we will continue to fight to increase transparency between patients about yours and doctors and insurance companies and to get south carolinians invested again in the health care. as a nation, we can no longer allow ourselves to be divorced from the true cost of health care and in south carolina, we won't be. last year, we spoke openly and honest about the fact that it was a tough budget year and for some groups in some programs, it is going to hurt. in some respects, the same is true this year. i have been pleased to see what has been accomplished on pension reform in the last few. specifically, i want to recognize center greg ryberg who is banging the drum as well as key lettermen and thomas alexander, representative ryan white and jim merrill and return the correct her, bill blume.
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the seriousness of focus of which you have been reforming our retirement system is comme the seriousness of focus of which you have been reforming our retirement system is commendable. let's be clear. the size of our pension system, the size of the unfunded liability has ballooned from $199 million in 1999 to $17 billion this year. if we are to honor our commitment to those who have fired a dedicated their careers to public service, then no one can dispute that this is an issue we must resolve into it today. fortunately, some steps of argument taken. the recent decision to lower the assumed rate of return was an important one. not just because ms will finally be mum on on us about how much we can expect retirement systems aaron, but it forced us to confront the fact our current policy of automatically awarding cost-of-living increases is irresponsible and unsustainable. to protect our pension funds, we must have 19 cost-of-living increases to our retirees in
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years when the funds are losing money. it may not be politically popular, that it is the only response will thing to do. there are a number of other reforms he must adopt in order to show our retirement system and to curtail further abuses. we need anti-spanking provisions to keep employees from using sick leave and vacation to artificially inflate their pension payouts. for new enrollees, we need to close the doors to the teri program once again on chad and for all to prevent double dipping. [applause] and while we're on the subject of double dipping, waiting to shut down the general assembly's own retirement system. it is time that legislators receive the same benefits as other state employees. [applause] if we take these steps now, we
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can ensure that our state employees have a reasonable, sustainable, comfortable retirement. if we don't promote continued to stick our heads in the stand i didn't have a retirement retirement at all. it is not the only reform you need to move forward with. just this summer we were reminded that happens when you have an agency that answers to more than one bus. at the department of transportation, we have a secretary appointed by the governor who runs day-to-day operations and a commission that sets policy and approves projects as a balancing act, one that has the entire department answering to two buses. where's the commission system is entirely political and regions of our state against each other. how could i possibly have a statewide road plan with every project was initiated because of parochial needs and interests. the honest answer is we cannot.
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dig cannot repeat the mistakes of this past summer and they will fix structural issues causing this problem. but it is time for the two buses system to go. i ask you supports broker pro tem jay lucas was one of the cosponsors joined him to restructure the department of transportation. [applause] many in this room were on this issue in 2007. we knew then that the actions we took were simply the first step. it is time we finished with johnson to solve the transportation commission. speaking of restructuring, two decades ago, governor carroll campbell made the following comment in his state of the state address. quote, ladies and gentlemen, 1992 is the time to start whipping government into shape. we must reform government and we must start now.
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for at least 62 years, governors have stood at this podium appealing to the general assembly for an efficient government accountable to the people. a daddies spanning 70 years ago this call, yet much of government answers to no one, and quote. 20 years later, we are closer than we have ever been to ridding the people of south carolina are backwards 19th century government structure that continues to keep us down. constitutional amendments to allow for the appointment of the superintendent of education in the government and lieutenant governor to run on the same ticket through the house with your committee and on the senate calendar. let's bring them home. and then there's the partner of administration. chairman jim harrison in their offices searched on the development of the nasty amendment in the senate. we ask you support it. it is finally time to abolish the budget control.
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[applause] the bill is now on the senate floor. many in the senate committee to people of our state last june at the department of administration will be the first task you can leap this year. i thank you for that nine other people will hold you to your commitment. i understand all too well the politics that seen in the way bill landing on my desk, that the leaders in south carolina for far too long put politics ahead of progress and our constituents deserve better. they deserve a government that hears them when they speak, the response to their needs, waste glass and serve better. and reserve a government that is truly, finally accountable to them. please don't get distracted. this is not about politics. this is not about power. this is simply about moving our state forward in responding to the will of the people. it's time to put this issue behind us, celebrate together and move on. the first year of anything --
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the first year of anything that brings challenges and opportunities, pleasant surprises in the critical disappointments. this last year for me has been no different. i've been pleasantly surprised by the willingness of legislators to work together and find common ground for the betterment of the people of south carolina. it is my sincere hope that the way mr. manes and we progress on the issues we touched on tonight. my biggest disappointment has been just as surprising. although the puzzle is so. i simply do not understand the culture of negativity that exists within our political class. the initial response to almost every reaction is for someone to say kant and know when to file lawsuit. i think differently. i believe the only way to make south carolina better, stronger is to take that same negative energy and turn it into a
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positive and focus on can and will instead said it and won't. no greater example of this negativity exists then the response of the few naysayers to the phone reading recruited for state employees. then they tell you how this story came about. while the primary focus day today is on getting our state working again, i also understand we have a chief executive of her and try to do what i can to improve the morale of employees and remind them that our mission this customer service. one afternoon i was in my office thinking about the closer of negativity we were trying so hard to change, so i made my way to sheila jones, receptionists and i asked her to try and turn the phone, it's a great day in south carolina, how may help you and to let me know if the responses. on the first try, the caller responded, you know it is a great day in south carolina. it was all the confirmation i needed. the goal is for state employees
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to feel proud of where we live in what we do and have a constant reminder that we work for the person on the other side of the line. what could possibly be so wrong with that? [applause] so let's think about this. in 2011, we started with the deficit and ended with a surplus. we announced almost 20,000 jobs in $5 billion invest it. i legislate to show the people they understood the importance of putting their votes on iraq. in past torts, unemployment and medicaid reforms. we've protected the integrity of the election process for voter fraud and the citizens from the dangers of illegal immigration. we saved the heritage golf tournament and we won the fight with the national labor relations board. those are reasons to celebrate.
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but what i love is that we are a great state was good, hard-working people. we are patriotic and love our country. we appreciate the simple blessings of life. we understand that the hospitality we show visitors is reflect to all of us. through our challenges, we will never forget the importance of holding onto her face and families and always taking care of our neighbors. pat to me is more than enough reason to say, it is a great day in south carolina. and we've only just begun. thank you, god bless you and may you continue to smile on the state of south carolina. [applause]
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[applause] >> new york governor come andrew cuomo delivered her second date of the state address at the empire state convention center in albany last week. he announced lance for the nations largest convention center in new york city and a $1 billion jobs initiative for buffalo and plans to repair 2000 miles of roads and bridges' this is an hour.andrew cmo. [applause] the mac thank you. a
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thank you very much. [applause] thank you. ank thank you, thank you, thank you. happy new year, new york. it is going to be a good one. first, lieutenant governor bob duffy, isn't he great?we tion, star [applause] superstar. let's give him a round of applause, lt. governor bob duffy. [applause] ve anol heler was a time he was a formeran assemblyman.rmer
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[applause]er anotr another gentleman who had a ver important job when he was the state senator still has an important of attorney general eric schneider. [applause] majority leader talking about broad players, the last person to have a rookie season was derek jeeter. a pleasure to be with you. [applause] speaker sheldon. th had two rookies to deal withi last year. the speaker both myself and the -- i can tell you this the speaker was always constructive it's not that we always agree o everything but the question is are you positive and are you constructive and are you working
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towards a solution and of the speaker was always constructive and was always supportive of me personally. we all owe him a debt of gratitude for a great job lastgr year. [applause] my friend john simpson pleasuree o be with you. thank you for being here. [applause]n alre minority leader brian. thank you very much foryou very vice, your serviceof the court of app especially chief judge lipman, an honor to be with you, and as a point of certainly privilege, i hope you noticed there's been a certain amount of restoration that's been going on in the capital, the ogs, office of the office of general services team has done an outstanding jom
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headed by commissioner rohan to] speed up. [applause] the assembly never forgets their own. did you ever know that? executive deputy commissioner, joseph urbino, mark shamming from the museum has done an outstanding job. harold is there from the metropolitan museum. give them a good round of applause. thank you for your help. [applause] o and tof all of you, my fellow ns yorkers, thank you for taking the time to be with usa today. y it was just about one year today we were in the stream at this point to talk about the state and trajectory of the state. and we sat at that time the wa state is at s a crossroads.yorke that new yorkers were hurtingd r leaving 800,000 unemployed ord d underemployed.all
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they may try to ship and anxiete and anxiety all across the state and people needed help. the government, however, waslle still at race with partisanshipt in this state was divided inany many ways, divided at stake in the downstate than a millionstra nice, middle-class, democrats and republicans. but a fiscal deficit even morebn difficult a progress in both thf performance deficit with the integrity deficit state is also sufferingng from. new yorkers deserve better thanw what they're getting an new yorkers knew it. our capital was a symbol of the deterioration in decline.ation it was under a renovation for 1 years, believe it or not, scheduled to take four more onars. the vati by the time the renovation wasai finished, we would've had toon start a renovation all over again.
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the situation was grand. our people have problems and our governments didn't have the capacity or the credibility tof be absurd.we we at a we were at a crossroads. we had a choice to make and we made the choice to remainchoice. dysfunctional and decided orethm come together to reestablish th government of the statego of new york and to go forward to our state.tate. well, we made the right choice.h we achose to begin to change the culture of albany, to put people the trust toe restore our deteriorating o. thh 234th legislative session has an historic success for the s people of this state. [applause]ked the meand
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that man's a man and women of the assembly and senate to reco please stand so they can the gea recognize you and give your round of applause for the great work t you did in this legislate session. he restored the faith of the people at this stage and we thank you.we all t wehi all thank you. [applause] them back on what we accomplished makes me tired. we started by closing awih $10 billion deficit with no taxes and got a budgete done oe time. we enacted the first-ever eroperty tax cap after 20 yearst of debate and discussion. clap, tom levitz, clap. we closed 3800 prison beds bed because we finally realized that
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prison operation is not economit development. we eliminated the mta.we we eliminated the mta we passed the toughest rent we passed the toughest rent regulations in 30d years.a we launched the new york open for business campaign andgionalu regional council considers licy reenergizing the entire state. we passed an affordable policy with new york on financing andwd after he cares the past edticle x.eratey need we provided desperately needed flood relief for homeowners in small businesses. the past ethics reform to restore trust in government and we attacked chronic high unemployment among inner-city d disadvantaged youth with anuth a innovative jobn s program. [applause] we restored new york'sbetored reputation as the progressive capital of the nation.we hav
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we had landmark achievements in andarea of social justice economic is. jt millions of new yorkers hadseon- retreated as second-class citizens for too many years.we d we ended the injustice. we stop the discrimination. m we made history. we lead the nation. we passed marriage equality for allm new yorkers and we did it together. [cheers and applause] but we didn't stop there.ades for decades, new yorkers were burdened by an unfair tax code. under our old tax code, what do you make $20,000 or $20 million, a cute pay the same tax rate, believe it or not.
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it was just plain wrong. we brought fairness to new york. our principle is very simple. the more you make, the higher pay.ate you it has a flat tax is just not ae fair tax and that is what we understand and believe in the state of new york. [applause] under our new fair tax plan, we added new brackets to protecte n the middle class and a high earner bracket. and under the fair tax plan, wey stimulated the economy by providing a middle-class tax e cut.is everyone agrees to stimulate the economy whether its president reagan or presidenat barack obama, that tax cuts stimulateec the economy. and everyone agrees that the middle class has been struggling for too long without any help and without any assistance and we provided a middle-class tax'o cut for the lowest rate in 58
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years. [applause] .. now 58 years. just think about that. it was a really long, long time ago. the year was 1953. was tom dewey was governor of the state of new york.the the first culbert television sets were just being sold. orckie robinson was playingse f second base for the brooklyn dodgers. [applause] the first corvette was created. [laughter] i was just a twinkle in myer's e father's
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[laughter]doub may be a double trinkle. [laughter] the majority leader what was only 4-years-old. [laughter] what a war daper lad he was, he? wasn't he? [laughter] speaker silver was only 8-years-old. 8-ars-old. but even at eight, speaker silver was speaker silver. [laughter] [applause]what is ve what is very heartening is that even then you should know theyo were both working together handr in hand and a spirit ofe spi bipartisanship. let's give them a round of hem applause. [applause]down 2011 will go out and historybo oroks as an extraordinary success and the members of thees
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legislature should be very proud of of what they have accomplished. unfortunately, that wasn't the only s story of 2011.as 2011 maza also a veryallging challenging year for the state in many ways.wa especially outside of albany.wed we had a terrible situation with the tropical storm hooley iain hurricane irene that caused terrible damage in the parts ofe the state that could leastafford afford it, the mid hudson, the southern sustained terrible damage. dam but maybe in our darkest hours, new yorkers shined the brightest. the way the new yorkers came the r together in the spirit of community if a volunteer as some was inspiring. the way the first responders came together all across a state as models of courage and public
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every inst service when every instinctin in your body says run to save the first responders ran to provide safety and other neighbors and other new yorkers. if it wasn't for theof rdtrao extraordinary work of the firste responders, what we went through would have been much, much worse. [applause]are we are joined today by many of the first responders who savedna lives during that terrible o n period for the state of new york. i'd like them to stand at thise time and let's give them a bigea round of applause and garzalunt. their courage and service and voluntarism. [applause]
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the [applause] 2011 we accomplished much therec is no doubt.oubt, 2011 w 2011 we've been through much, there is no doubt, but there iso also no doubt we've only just begun to do the work that this state needs chung. we have established credibilityb we have reversed decades ofecad decline ines the state, but nows the time to actually get to work
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building a new new york. weav we have big problems in new york and bigger solutions and new york. today i'm going to put forth afr three part plan to make the new new york a reality. the nexta phase in our economit blueprint, part to the real and imagined a government that can make a reality and part three the new york vision for the futu future. comes to economics andomics dand getting a the economy moving,in our challenge for 2012 is this. how does any government, the national government, how does government spur job creation ina a down economy while limiting spending and maintaining fiscall discipline. the answer is create create partnerships that leverage state leve resources to generate billions c growth and create jobs and that is the challenge thatl we face.fa spurring the private sector to
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create jobs without spending state resources that would ta actually hurt the economic situation of the state. let's begin by building on oursg economic strength. th we knowa that new york is the destination location. tourists spend $50 billion in 2010 alone.20 alone. new york is the place to be and the place people want to, but new york must stay ahead of the competition.competn the convention centers are important economic generators.rn right now when you look at theew list of weare new york is in terms of convention centers,sadk certainly new york's conventionn center on the west side ofdown manhattan is down at the bottom of the list after places likelia anaheim california, washington, d.c., los angeles come others new york. right now the jacob javitsconven convention center is not
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yompetitive.new york onom that is the economy isn'tttiw getting the shows here.th the largest convention center in the country is in chicago in the place of 3.1 million. javits is 800,000 square feet.so this isn't a new problem.yo we talked about it for years, ys possibly expanding jobs.obs. it's hard to expend the centerbe because it's locked. the the hudson river is on the west side in the development to the north and the east but today is different.t today is dif, ferent because we are not just going to talk aboub our problems. we are not just going to talk about the challenges.utcha we are going to talk about the opportunities. and today is different becaused we are not just going to talkali about this challenge. we are going to dogo something about it.. nventibuild the largest convention center in the nations there is. [applause].e]
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we believe we can attract at $4 billion in private sectort to investment to build a state oft the art convention center at the aqueduct racetrack. it will be all about jobs, jobs, jobs, tens of thousands of jobsd building the number one the num onvention center in the in t country.co we will go from number 12 to number one because that's where we deserveon to be, the number e state in the nation, period. we can then transform the current jacob javits site andtsd master plan the 18 acres and revilize new revitalize new york city's list site and follow the park city model which is a tremendous success. the government master plan thecn project, the private sectorua developed battery park city hast residential units, hotels,
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cecreational facilities, parks,a but they literally teach about ehe battery park city in thek ch urban planning and design schools around the country.the . we would follow that model for the jacob javits site.cob we believe we can attract te billion in private sectoriona development to give a sense of the size of the site is is 18 acres.. the united nations is 17 acresrd and is 16 acres.javen so the javits center is a large tract of land and has great potential for the west side ofr manhattan. it is also bordered by thethe hudson and moynihan station project which is under way. when you put javits, moynihan and the hudson together you'reco talking about a comprehensive revitalization on the west side of manhattan which can make a major difference. while we are investing on our stren strength, we also have to inves in the struggling areas of our
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state. many of our struggling areas have been ignored for too long. new york is stronger when every region of the state is strong. we must address the crisis inin west new york and buffalo in b specifically. [applause] buffalo, my friends, has theie third hndighest poverty rate ine nation.atin. in the nation.yo not new york but in the nation t behind new york and cleveland. 28% of the people in buffalo are living in poverty. at a time when the state population population was growing, the buffalo laws, -- buffalo lost 10% of its population. this is another issue that has gonen fo gone on for many years while the state sat by and did not take te
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action. it doesn't have to beac that war 5 years ago the capital district region that we are inon today, albany, had a struggling economy. the state began investing in albany the's high-tech industryn today albany is home to the world class sense of technologye as the speaker mentioned we signed a new agreement with intel and ibm bringing thousands of additional jobs and there's s vibrancy in the capitol region around the technology that would ot have happened but for ther state's investment. if we did it in albany we can db it in buffalo.ieve in we believe in buffalo.bu let's put our money where our mouth is. we are ready to investst delop $1 billion in an economicecon development package for the city of buffalo to bring business back to buffalo.ff it's gone on for too long. it ought to stop today.day. [applause]
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that is a big be standing foral buffalo and standing foro billions. we are going to work with thee regional councils which have been a great success in thesch buffalo regional council workin very well to create thousands of shou jobs and attract companies internationally or nationally and we will put together an economic development package that works for the economy. we believe our 1 billion can n leverage of least $5 billion in economic activity. last year we got serious aboutt economics development all across the board and we have a two-part strategy. we hadp a macrotop-down strategy open for business weird new york state sets the template, setste the table, and a bottom-up strategy in the regional council. it has worked very well.w the regional councils havel exceeded everybody's
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expectations. there is an energy that is out there. there is an optimism, there is hope, there are partnerships. iocal governments are talking,lk the private sector is workinge u with the public sector, peopletr of different parties are talking. even yankee fans are talking to. mets fans. it's unbelievable. it's working. and the credit for this great accomplishment goes to one man specifically, if, all public servant our lt. governor bob duffy and we want to give him aw round of anapplause.e [applause] it has worked so well the we we want to keep going.ng. we want to launch a second round of competition for an additional
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$200 million. there's great momentumere's grt especially in upstate new york.r let's offer by isk. the second round and agree that momentum even stronger. [applause] the new york open for business campaign is going to be extending this year and gogo global and the port authority in will coordinate an effort to bo boost internationalin competitiveness because we arewe not just competing with other states we are competing withs others across the globe. we we have to realize that and beee prepared for the competition.enr the open business campaign wasa also extended to promote tourist and will be running televisione advertising campaigns to attract people to the state highlighting theou regional treasures like te gountry in the long islandthe ln beach. the of the greatest site in the country. andcoun let's promote and generate tourism tori allow the state state especially in upstate new york.u [applause]poteial econ
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another potential economic engine for the status on casino gaming. i believe we are living in a state of denial. it's time that we confront the reality. it is not a question of whetherr or not we should have gaming in the state. we have gaming in the state of new york. wew of tribal casinos all acros the state. ss don't realize it. we don't regulate it.realize we don't capitalizeit on that bt we have gaming. as a matter of fact we have 29,000 electronic gaming machines. that is more than an atlanticthn city. that is more than any state in the northeast of the midlanticah
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so we don't want to go into the gaming business it isn't true. we are in the gaming business.w weno are not doing it well, we t not doing as well as we shouldng be doing it, but we are in the y gaming business. we are also surrounded by sate. casinos on a virtually every border of the state. massachusetts justso legalized ga casinos. so not only do we have gaming within the state, we all also surrounded by gaming. and for us this is not about chips and cards.casi this is about the jobs the casino industry generates. we estimate $1 billion ofe of nk weonomic activity for the state gamiew york if we recognize the reality and regulate and capitalize on gaming the way weo should.gh
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let's amend the constitution, let's do gaming white, let's make it safe and protect ourk people but let's get the jobs back in new york and take the first step this year. [applause]work. we have a great opportunity to, rebuild new york. safe.ed jobs, we need to be competitive, we need to be safec we need to rebuild our infrastructure. 32% of the bridges are deficient, 40% of the roads, 82r of the state parks are in aate f state of disrepair. we have much work to do and wewe need a new approach to get it done. i'm proposing setting up the nes york works fund task force. this task force will be made upd of public and private sector experts and members of the legislature. will coordinate for the first
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time ought state's capital construction to do it right now believe it or not agencies and authorities to their own construction, their own development of their own master plan all disconnected one from the other without anymta haa conversation. so the mta has a capital plan that they are pursuing. of the different in the port authorityh that has a capital plan which i. dierent . different from that part of catp erent ortation which has a capital plan different from thet department of housing which has. a capital plan that it is it pursuing. it makes no sense. it never did. time to it is not time to be squanderins coming resources.h you can't have that manywn agencies and authorities coming up with their own vision and the state. you need a comprehensive visiont and we need the expertise do frankly to help us getne it don. it's not the state's forte. there are people in the private ex hector who are expert at this
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who want to belp helpful. we want to invite them in and put together a task force andehe actually lead this effort. all we need a comprehensive master plan of all of the state's how construction over the last few years and how we can coordinate aalso wimize that work to have a positive synergy among thee projects. we also want to accelerate thev. construction.is ioing we can't do this on government time. tois is going to have to happen on real time.ovel in it can't take three years to pu a shovel in the ground. n they can't work that way anymore and it's not going to. [applause]ing, tha the as i sit in the beginning, theve task for us is to find leverageo with private sector partners. thewant to find a 20-1 of leverage through the projects that we maximize the impact of
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the state money. we are planning to improve more than 100 bridges which will include finally building a newb. bridge because 15 years of planning and talking and commemorating is too long. it is time to build and act and perform.oads. we are going to repair 2,000 miles of roads from go buffalo to new york city fiveo times and we are going to finance upgrades to the 90 municipal water systems and improved 48 state parks and historic sites visited by aer 37 million people per year. after hurricane i mean the end of the storm prepare 114 flood control projects all across the state. we need power to power ours economic growth. let's build an energy highway system n that doesn't exist now. we have supply is of power in i
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northern new york. forhave power supply in western new york.power we have a tremendous need for power in the downstate new york. let's connect the dots. let's connect the supply is to the needs. what eisenhower did in the 50'sa by building of the interstatetox system is what this energy highway can be to the next we generation. if we want the state to develop and we need the jobs and we neey the businesses we are going to er and this is the syem andre going to do it. the state can master plan a we system'l and issue an rfp and tt private sector companies can we come and we believe they will te finance it over a period of time and we believe it can generate $2 billion in infrastructure.
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ce 15 billion infrastructure and 4 billion for the convention center 2 billion for thergy transformation for the highways lllie willion for gaming and buffalo and would generate additional money from theate se. private sector a total of about $25 billion.r this program will make a major s impact on the trajectory of thi despy needomy if we get it done and the people of this state o desperately need it because it all comes down to one word. is jobs, jobs, jobs. [applaushat people need in the state and that is the focus of the plan. [applause] part to.t realeed a real and imagined a quvernment that can make the plans a reality.around this isn't going to be a srted question of tin lkering around e
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edges. we started last year with our stage project. the more i've seen the worst tha saturation is. this is going to be a ground up reorganization. we are going to be giving more t details in the budget. but the system is just got intoa a point where it is notnddget fr operational and we've beeneduc cutting the budget foring manywn years and reducing personnel. we never reduce the workload, and the wheels have come off of the car. we need to fundamentally imaginw how the government operates. and we are going to need a government that performs bettert and costs less. co the government that works for the people of the state must d ve the fiscal discipline. cree the disadvantage is created whet we axare reducing taxes, noto hd raising taxes. on we have to commit to hold the line on spending this year and
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close the remaining budget mustit with no known taxes and no fees. we can do it. we must do it. [applause] we must do more on the mandate release because the pensions ars going sky-high as you know. 100% increase from 2009 to 2013 believe it or not. we need to reform the pensionnew system and create a new tier ins the state. i understand the politics andut the political opposition. the choice this year is this emees,e are talking about pension reform for the union employees we are talking aboutts union employees who don't even accessed at this point in time because the current employees are covered by the currenta pension system. we are talking about changing ae
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pension system for employees whm may be hired in the future. o employees who may be hired inenn the future.as a no one ever said a pension pass froms a legacy or an inheritance or it got passed from one person down to the next. i refer to these people as theaf unborn.ook they are not even hired yet andt if you look at a job for thedeco benefit package the slides to bt take the job with the benefit package, that is their decision and their opinion. but to protect the pension for years in the future as a legacy when theaf taxpayer of the stage cannot afford it anymore is a violation of the public service and the h public duty. we are taxpayers who are y and taxpayers who need help today. and let's respond to them. to
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[applause] l we need to help local passrnments. the property tax cap that weford passed worked. it forced fiscal discipline forn an operative word. property-tax is are going up at a rate that is unsustainable. 7, unsustainable 6%, 7% every year. it's on automatic pilot and you heard it all over the state. the tax cap doesn't stop as we know. the taxes from going up, that it engaged the citizens. what is the tax cap what is this about?up at more people are now turning up the discussion of global budget discussions because citizens arl engaged and it's put pressure in local officials to think beforeo increasing. but that is exactly what we
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wanted to happen and we want the citizens engaged and it isso rig working. have but the local governments also right that we have to do more oe mandate relief. we set up a mandate reliefn. council to last year's legislation. h i won that mandate relief public hearing all across the statecal with citizens to participate ant local elected officials to participate. let them come up with a package that we present to the legislature this year on a mandate relief andur let the legislators to get up or down both this year because the local government deserved that. [applause] we must change the focus and we. imagine the government in our mi priority area. priority mission for the stage . government is public education i think that we ca tn all agree.
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i want you to know i learned my most important lesson my first year as governor in the area of public education. ucatio i learned that everyone ini education has a lobby. i'm not kidding.ntendent [laughter] superilontendent they have a lobbyist. principles, they have a boar lobbst.t. school boards also have a lobbs. lobbyist. the maintenance personnel have lobbyists. bbyisthe bus drivers have lobbyists. the only group without a lobbyist for the students. [applause]e studen d this year, my friend, the students to have a lobbyist. i am taking a second job.
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i am going to be the governor in the state of new york, and i also going to be the studentlau] will be guest. [applause] [cheering] we are going to have to take an fundamental look at what we have beenrp doing because the purpose of public education is to helpes heildren grow.row t the purpose of education is not bure to grow the public education democracy.business educion.riven by the business of education. busiss of achievement in andcation. business of public education and
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business of speo the public education is brought to n the point where we spend more than any other nation.hieve the lack of focus on the stud achievement and the studentswhee have brought us to a point where with 38 graduation rates. is noa it's not about the business. it's not about a lobbyist it's about a the students and thee or achievement and we change our focus and switch those numbers.. they may be a success in public education. [applause] we need major reforms. we have to change the paradigm f acen it comes to transforming education we need tohi focus on student achievement and we are going toev need a real teacher 2010 d evaluation system. the law that washe passed in 20d ard of the race to the top just doesn't work.
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ng recently even saw the board i of regents threatening to stop c money going to school districts because the teacher evaluation system has never been put in place. for two years yand it hasn't en started yet.than that. our children deserve better that that. and hopefully they get it this year. [applause]form we must also transfer education when it comes to the management of school districts. there is a vast disparity money between how school districts manage their money and managethn the system. enme are managed much better than others. it is a point that hasn't been evaluated or looked at.ficiency we need to demand the efficiency and have a real management alonh evaluation system along with the teacher and school academic system. we need a new blueprint forlly education. w i want to form ait commission ta really come up with an overallm.
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i wa for our education system. i want to do it on ant bipartisn where basis. i want to do it cooperativelywe but i with the legislature or whatever joint appointments, but i want to report them this year because we have wasted enough time, and i want to do it together. [applause] education is a core mission. no. we simply cannot fail. it's we will not fail. futur we ale.l say that it's about the children and the future. it is about children and it is about the future and that is one obligation that every person in this room takes seriously and i know that we will accomplish it through the legislative session. public safety is also a corehe mission and we learn the hard we way last year that we mustergen. anticipate and be prepared for all emergencies. we need a statewide network of emergency responders to our prepared for anything at anyte time. wening ornt tloo baget into a g debate about global warming can
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whether it is happening ors. whether it's not, lob i can tele you this the 100 year flood happens every two years now. so, something is going on.year wiwitnessed firsthand last year the work we need to do in theunn breakdown in communication bettr transportation and the need for better deployment of personnele throughout the state. we have a spotty emergency response system. expertise some areas of the state haveore more expertise and more equipment and more personnel. sthers other parts of the statee don't. we must have the best state emergency management operation in the country. of it is literally a matter of life and death. it is one of the foremost are responsibilities of government.a expece blessed to have a gentleman who i has more experience in this area thanme ncerge i'vet. ever met.
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he's joined us for our stately emergency operation. oti he previously ran the emergency operation for the city of new york o and for the state ofingtn indiana. is a he then went to washington where he is a bayou defense expert at the u.s. h sealth and human anrvices but he is a new yorker first. we asked him to come back and leave washington to put togethe. fur network. debt o he agreed and we are in a debtm of gratitude to read and excitei to have him let's give a big bir round of ouapplause. [applause]sive part three the new york vision for the progress of future we sn have the financial crisis still taking a terrible toll on the state's homeowners. last year we created the department of financial services
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headed by benjamin lost key to the deal was a new york state innovation which combined p financial regulation and and this yrr protection. this year will establish the foreclosure release unit which n will provide counseling and ban mediation services to help yoers [apps' resolve mortgages and helped new yorkers stay in their homes finally. [applause] enact last year weed enacted the bestn regulations in 30 years.e'll alawsear we are going to make sure the regulations are being enforced, creating the protection unit as thend department of homes and renewable to investigate fraude and prosecute unscrupulous landlords. too many have been abused forven too long and it stops now. inpanduse] we are committed to expandingf opportunities and doubling the goal of 20% for the m wb.obstach
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we've identified an obstacle ceich as many of the companies can't obtain the bonds that aree necessary in this contract we will now be providing support ms for that bond which will allow 0 companies to qualify for a $2,200,000,000 in state contracts. [applause]is te our system is the great famil equalizer, and for working families the sunni system said that any student in new york could get the best college ha magnation ins the nation and sunni has done thatyears. magnificently well for many years. it is a precious jewel of this state and that we started publishing last year and we are
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going to continue to be we started the new york sunni 2020 program last year that allowed campuses to compete for grants but to improve the academic excellence of the college also an academic development generator for the region. it i the research center's completed last year is going very well. we want to expand that thepetition to the 60 other campuses all across the state and have free awards or $20 million each to spur for competition and provide fundingm to reach bill level ofit i excellence we want them togram. reach. it is an exciting program. sunni is doing magnificentlyagcy well. we are blessed with a great leader. let's give a big round of round applause to the chancellor.applu [applause], we
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for all the progress for all of our sophistication, we still have longs to write in some ofon them are frighteningly basic. one and six children in new yorh lives and homes without enough food. and when you think of that statistic would fall but we hav, accomplished, with all but we cn have, we still have in thisngry. state children who go hungry.une my fptriends, that is just simpy unacceptable in this great state in the year 2012. the federal food stamp program n is available for many of these families who are not taking whor advantage of it. food for 30% of the people who were l eligible for food stamps don'tee enroll. that is 1.4 million people in the state.
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ereillion in federal funds are unclaimed. we want to start a program where we promote outreach, increasend enrollment and ended the stigma he applying for food stamps.e ot one of the things we do now, s which makes the stigma actually foard to the culberson creates a barrier for families comings forward to get food stamps is we require fingerprinting. i am saying stop fingerprintingn for families with children for e food, stop it all across the state and let's stop it this year.derstand i understand fraud detection, i understand fingerprinting but de don't make a child go to bedd hungry because your government wants to come up with a programp that requires fingerprinting. [applause]hild
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and we will make sure no childs. goes to bed hungry in thisna state. i want to expand the data bank which has been a great technological revolution in thes area of criminal justice. or it helps to guilt or proven ahed sense. it's helped with 27nnocent appld totions of people. all right now the data please is pre played to 50% of all crimes i al propose we expanded to one under% of all crimes let's provide justice for all and onces be the first state in the nation to. new york can lead the way once again. [applause] itomes toone great work when it comes to top. e ise is more work that we can do. we can go through that code ando close loopholes.we can we can make it more pro-growtht there's a lot of work to do.want
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i want to support them to go through the whole code to close bipartanholes and do it on a bipartisan basis in partnership with the legislature.also they also incentivize job growt. in this state. [applause]la and going to be sending you ag, bill on campaign finance reformr that puts the match i contributions, were limits andto increasedf enforcement at the rs board of elections. new york currently rates 48 in the country in the voter be turnout. we have a government that we can let'buildof. let's have -- let's build on that and have elections new yorkers can be proud of also. [applause] what's ad campaign finance reform and let's do it this year. sapplause] thi
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in closing, let me say this. by all accounts, last year was m historic success.sure i'm hearing it and i'm sure you peop ask ag it. people ask all the time how did you do this?ap how did it happen? and they have all sorts of succl complicated answers for why we have aco successful year of i complicated theories. is i think it is actually simpler than that. i think we had a change of attitude last year, collected change of attitude. we were done with a dysfunction withlbany, with the label of being dysfunctional. we were tired of dealing with the incompetence of government o and we made up our mind that we were going to change it. the
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we disregard of the political extremist spigot on the left and on the right and we did what wa best for the people of the state. we believe in the people of thet state ande. we honored the peope of the state and showed a mutual respect to each other. institutional and personal. by the end of the year i really believe we put our politics demt aside and we were no longer democrats versus republicans first. we were new yorkers first and we acted that way. [applause] and worked, and we delivered ane we got things done and made this state a better state and that ip why we are here in the first place and the people get, and i
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andso honored, so honored to be a part of what you did. and i have been so overjoyed tot be able to go to the people ofa the state andan explain to theme our accomplishments and how we work together to make this state a better state.re now you will hear the naysayers and the cynics are saying well, what happened last year was a fluke. you can't do that again. plan that was for whatever reason the stars, planets but it was a onetime situation now we are going to slip back to the olddy. ways and into this function. that's when you'll hear. you and i am here to tell you the cynics don't know less and theys don't n know new york because ba
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there is no way we are going back. we are going forward.down there is no way we are going down. we are going up. [applause] st on a am telling you we have just startedpa to explore the potentl of this partnership. we've just started to explorer the limits of our imagination.e we've just started tackling the todaisms that this state needs tackled. this agenda that we laid out, today is an ambitious agenda but ithan anything this government has done in decades and decades but it is an agenda that i know we can do because we are new yorkers and we are part of the best government historical nomination and we cad
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do this we can build the largest conv convention center in the countrd and buffalo we can trends from the jacob javits site and build a whole new energy highway system.. c have that capacity. it's who we are. it's where we come from and we are not going back. this whole state legacy, our aag history was about seeing challenge as an attacking deutsch allin jindal is going forward. we did all sorts of things theyt said we couldn't do. buildi we built that empire state building 102 stories 400 days in upe middle of a depression. when you were driving across upstate we took the erie canal and opened the entire west to it commerce we did it on time and di on budget with men and women. cp we've always been the progress of capital of the nation. t ended slavery in this stategd for 35 years before they signed the emancipation proclamation.nc we declared independence from
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si britain before they signed a a declaration of independence. we have the women's suffrage rtd movement, the workers' movementt all of them were born in thisn state in this capital by this government. [applause]e]we'v this state has served so manyo purposes we've been the gateway to immigration. buil while other states build walls to keep people out we open our a arms and invite people in. celre we are not afraid of diversity, we celebrate diversity. we are a state of immigrants. [applause] and we are of state andte and downstate and we are black and white and gay and straight, but
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we are one state at the end of r the day and we acted that way. we come together because we are new york and if we remember us. those lessons my friend there is nothing this stopping us. this isn't the and this is the hginning to last year we learn to walk next year we will learn. to run. have th we have the challenges, we have the need, we have the know-how, we have the confidence, we have the credibility, we have thengo talent, we have thethis relationship, and we are going e to deliver for this great staten 2012best there is to be pitied they haven't seen anything yet. 2012 is the year that we are going to make the empire stateme the empire state once again and we are going to make the dreams of this stateth a reality. thank you and god bless you. [applause]
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[applause] new jersey governor chris christi delivered his second state of the state address since taking office in 2010. governor christie was originally scheduled to deliver his remarks last week but postponed the speech after the sudden death of the top republican in the state assembly to read coverage of this 45 minute speech comes courtesy of njtv. [applause] >> thank you. thank you very much. lt. governor, madam speaker,
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mr. president, members of the 215th legislature, members of our congressional delegation, members of the supreme court, our former governors and the people of the state of new jersey this has been a difficult week for all of us who work in the state house and are committed to public service. over one week ago, we lost our friend. during this week we have celebrated his life in this chamber at his week and a funeral mass and undoubtedly in the homes of the thousands of new jerseyans. we count that recognition today by fleeing all flags on government buildings across the state at half staff in his
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honor. now if you will all please join me in a moment of silence to honor alex's life and legacy. >> thank you. knowing alex as i did over the last 19 years, i know at this point he would tell me enough now, let's get back to work. that is exactly what i intend to do. it's a pleasure to return to the chamber to report to you on the state of our state. today i am proud to report that the new jersey comeback has begun. [applause]
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how do we know it's begun? look around you. in the last two years we've come together to address the mess of the state budget, the decline, deficits and departures that plagued the state just two years ago but have been reversed. the budget is balanced. our unemployment rate is no longer going up. it is coming down. job growth has been restored. in the private sector where we want it. new jersey is back. we've restrained the growth of property taxes and put our attention on the more stable and sustainable footing. and in doing all of this, we have restored confidence and pride and new jersey. it's taken place in large part because of what we have done in this chamber would together with we've done something that
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trenton hasn't seen a very long time. we work together. we achieve compromise and put new jersey and its people first. [applause] for new jersey today the debate is not about who can blame for our failures is how to blame on our success. it's no longer about how to deal with devastating decline. it's about how to push new jersey even further ahead better than we thought we could be. in these last two years new jersey set the standard for governments in america. be honest, don't mix words. to the big and difficult things not only because it is right but because it lays the foundation for future greatness. now it is our job to finish the
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task. job number one is the economy. consider where we were just two years ago. what i raise my hand to take the oath of office then i couldn't say with confidence the states would meet its payroll within two months. imagine that. new jersey, unable to meet its payroll. that is the gravity of the mess that we were left with. deutsch the mismanagement that rains in this town before our a rival. our deficit for the fiscal year already more than half over was more than $2 billion. the budget problems for the next year, fiscal year 21 record deficit of $11 billion. the solution wasn't easy but there was also not complicated. we have spent too much as the state and we have lived beyond our means. and by trying to tax their way out of it from a previous governors and legislators have left new jersey and future place dead last among the place and
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among the total tax burden on the citizens. we have the highest bill to implement in the quarter century and the largest budget deficit per person of any state in the nation. step number one was to stop the bleeding by stopping the spending would cut three utter 75 programs in the first fiscal year and saved $2 billion for the taxpayers and brought john karzai and's budget into balance. next with your health we enacted a budget that imposed discipline in the form of another cut in spending for the second year in a row. cutting spending for each and every department of state government. that was tough medicine. but it was the beginning of better health. last year because we took that medicine we were strong enough to reduce business taxes and improve the climate for job
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creation. i want to thank this legislature for joining me in recognizing that to grow the sector jobs again we must reduce the tax burden on our citizens and all businesses. [applause] step two is controlling property-tax says. as everyone already knows, they have risen 70% in the ten years before i became governor. rising property taxes were driving people out of the state. and so we joined together again and i want to thank the legislature and in particular your leaders, speaker oliver, property-tax growth of no more than 10% a year and we put the same 2% cap on interest arbitration award that we are giving rise to higher taxes. we must never forget that the
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root cause of the rising property taxes is always excessive government spending. as with all problems you must get to the root cause, and together we did it. here's the good news. it's working. two weeks ago the state of largest newspaper announced the result of its comprehensive study of property taxes in new jersey. the headline said it all tax relief. step three is to get a grip on our long-term liabilities. our pension system as $54 billion in debt at the start of 2011 scheduled to be under water by $180 billion in three short decades without a change of course. it is imperative that receive the pensions for the middle class and at the same time lifting the burden off of our taxpayers and create an unrealistic promise made by career politicians so we
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confronted the obvious, negotiated solution and save taxpayers over $120 billion. the pension of every state worker of every teacher and of every retired municipal employees are more secure today by the tough choices we make together we save their pensions. [applause] again, the solutions were not easy and they were not always popular with were also not complicated. we have to raise the retirement age of it and get a grip on the we have to make sure that the contributions of the employees were fair and the state kicked and also but by taking the steps we made a dent in the problem.
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at the same time we had a public employee health system that was $67 billion in deficit in january of 2011. we rely on two simple principles first. we should give employees more choice. everyone must pay their fair share. once again we compromise with each other to write a system and in the process made political history in new jersey. we came together we took on the special-interest. we put our citizens first of the time "the new york post" said we had pulled off something of a miracle in the pension reform. as you know it wasn't magic. in a country dominated in so many places by partisan bickering we had to be honest and realistic about the math and grown-up about the answers and the good news is this the people
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of new jersey can take the truth. we have shown the rest of the country that we are jersey strong. today the result of that jersey strain and attitude are beginning to show. since our administration can into office, new jersey has added over 60,000 new private sector jobs. remember in 2009 the year before we came into office new jersey lost 117,000 jobs. according to rutgers university economist 2011 was the best private sector job growth here in new jersey since the year 2000. 60,000 new private sector jobs since we took office the best job growth in more than 11 years. now here's my problem with the people the new jersey. we will keep the momentum going. i will not permit anyone to reimpose the tax raising overspending and irresponsible
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ways of our past which relate to the dark decade of joblessness in new jersey. stand strong with me and i will stand up for you. we are going in the right direction. [applause] .. we've been able to attract new
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jobs from around the country to new jersey. from watson pharmaceutical 232 parsippany, which pentacles as mr. chairman hill. employers begin to understand new jersey is one weekend a friendly state for businesses and jobs, a great place to work and a better place to raise your family. it's not just around the country. people are recognizing the new jersey comeback all around the world. der pettis north american headquarters in morris county. novo nordisk in middlesex county and lg electronics in bergen county. we have begun this turnaround in space a strong national headwinds. across our country, growth is still anemic. there's been no solution to our debt and deficit problem, no catalyst for growth, new leadership on the economy. the politics of envy have overtaken the imperative of
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opportunity. our economy suffers while washington politicians fiddle. america's position of strength and leadership around the world deteriorates other leaders bicker and blame them for the last two years come in new jersey the exact opposite. we achieved results because we did it together. over the last two years, we said let's put aside our differences on some issues that were able to work together among others. now come it doesn't mean they didn't shout at each other. it doesn't mean we didn't get angry. you may recall that even some of my friends has some very comical nicknames for me. [laughter] [applause] now, now that anger is natural.
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that passion is good. but we have showed that on the important issues, on the really big things we can still come together to lead the people at the jersey to a better outcome. we have shown that it's possible to hold fast key principles and still reach compromise. we have shown new jersey and america that there is a better way, that divided government can work, that democrats and republicans working together as possible. in fact, it is necessary. two years ago at nine i ago i asked senator sweeney and speak all of our teacher in me and a handshake to demonstrate our commitment to working together, sticking to principles and finding common ground for the good of the people. our handshake that day was a symbol because it was nothing more than that. that end, we had nothing to that people that are good faith and the promise for tomorrow.
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today, no symbolic handshake either. thankfully, we have shown through our deeds that we are willing to work together. substance on reform, accomplishment over partisanship i want to say thank you to steve and she left for being my partners in that progress. [applause] so when this year in 2012, but it continued to show the state and the nation what is possible. let us continue to have new jersey set the example. the new jersey continue to lead the way and lets do it together. over the last two years, we've had to make some tough choices. it was important to do what is
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difficult and what was necessary to take new jersey out of its hole. because it is hard decisions, the shared sacrifice and because we stuck to her discipline, we can now focus on our priorities. we will have to continue to hold the line on spending. i guarantee this, the budget i submit next month and any budget i will ultimately into law in june will be truly, honestly balanced. but we have been working to get to this moment. to finally have new jersey right side up so we can focus on the big things. to challenge ourselves to be better, to strive for greatness, to ensure that every new jersey is given the opportunity to have the life they want. so in my budget, i will fulfill a promise i made to all the people in new jersey in 2009. real relief from the heavy, personal income tax burden that the strength of our families and
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forced many to move away. i propose to reduce income tax rates for each and every new jersey in. and every tax bracket to 10% across the board. [cheers and applause] [applause] i also propose to fully restored at the earned income tax credit for new jersey's working poor, which were forced to cut through the dark days of 2010 when growth was gone and we had no money. so understand what this means. every new jersey and look at a cut in taxes.
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the working poor, the struggling middle class, the new college graduates getting their first job, senior citizens who have already retired. the single mom, the job creators, the parents trying to send their son or data to college. ever make the sacrifice and everyone will get the benefit. [applause] also sent a loud signal to new jersey and it would be to jerseyans in. the families now living here and families who have left. businesses of job creators thinking of coming here and those who have struggled to stay here. new jersey is once again a place to plan your future, raise your family come and grow your business and someday retire. the new jersey comeback has
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begun. [applause] now, let's be under no illusions. our job is turning new jersey round is far from finished. there is much work to be done. make no mistake we are in a competition. a competition for jobs among countries yes, but also amongst the. in the last decade, two thirds of all companies which move jobs to a new location did not move to other countries. they moved from one state to another. here in our region, our most direct competitors are making very different choices and connecticut governor's race income tax rates on top earners, small businesses and job creators in new york last month enacted legislation to do the very same thing. other big states are also raising taxes. california's governor has
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proposed to at the top rates among the highest in america by up to two percentage trade in illinois has adopted a lot to raise all income taxes rise 67%. now in this environment, the best way to compete is to show a completely different direction. let others choose tax increases. each is responsible tax cuts together overburdened citizens relief and help new jersey girl. [applause] now some argue, wait a minute governor, your friend andrew cuomo in new york only raise taxes on the rich. why not adopt governor cuomo's package for new jersey? well, here are the facts. if we enacted the exact same income tax rate for july by new york last month, every person earning less than $100,000 in
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new jersey, which makes a tax increase of anywhere from 150 to 200%. and by the way, those earning a million dollars would get a tax cut. is that what we want? is that fairness? i don't think so. an across-the-board tax cut is fair. every new jersey taxpayer will benefit. every new jersey is rates will go down. every new jersey and was a relief. even those who don't pay any income tax at all. that's exactly what i was talking about when i took office, that the tough choices would lead to the right one. today because we have put our fiscal house in order, we can budget for our priorities and give tax relief to other people. tax relief that will lead to better lesser citizens and were jobs for our state. job number two is to reform our
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education system to strengthen our schools. over the course of the last year, my proposal i averted this legislature in a bipartisan basis to put in front of you package of bills that will address the biggest challenges facing public education in new jersey. we've had a year to debate, discuss and deliberate. now 2012, it is time to at. new jersey in so many ways is biased. the majority for school children continue to perform well. above most other states a national student has come a new jersey as so many teachers producing so many great students. too many in the educational establishment however you said your success as a camouflage for abject failure elsewhere in new jersey. to use its success about this as to but change for those we are failing is not only wrong, it is immoral. two neighbors schools are schools are failing our children
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and they have been failing them for far too long. we live in a time in educational attainment and economic success are correlated as never before and that's a good thing. it means that for this generation of americans, what you can achieve not by who you know, that buy what you know. these look only at the recent harvard columbia study of 2.5 million students over 20 years in america. it's independent research supports what i told you from my heart and from this podium one year ago. great teachers have a more significant impact on their students future success than average. but even more importantly, average teachers have an even greater effect on their students when they replace underperforming ones. research that confirms our own common sense. tenure reform will lead to even greater student achievement because replacing
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underperforming teachers with even an average teacher raises these classrooms lifetime earnings by over a quarter of a million dollars. so let's act in real tenure reform now. let's replace the air with hope in every classroom because i believe if it seems to be satisfied when a chance for a life filled with hope and opportunity is determined not by how hard you're willing to work, but by where you happen to live. not by your intelligence, that by your zip code. and let's face this fact. more money does not necessarily lead to a better education. today in newark we spent $23,000 per student for instructional services. 22% of ninth graders will receive high school diplomas in four years. entry into a similar at almost $30,000 a year. nearly 75% above the state average.
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the dropout rate is almost 10 times the state average. in math sat scores lacked the state average by 180 points. it's time to admit the supreme court's grand experiment new jersey children is a failure. 63% of state aid over the years has gone and the schools are still predominantly failing. what we've been doing this organ for children failing districts and it is unfair. fundamentally unfair to the other 557 school districts that state taxpayers to spend more per pupil than any state in america. basic human decency and simple common sense it is time for a different and better approach. [applause]
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the tools to give our children and their grandparents are confronted failing schools the chance for a better outcome might be for you. they are embodied in bills, which are bipartisan in nature and consistent with reform advocated not only by me, but by president obama come education secretary duncan and most recently come up a by new york governor, andrew cuomo. by proposals reflect the input administrations received hundreds of millions of educators, parents and professionals around the state. they are supported by independent research done at harvard and columbia. most importantly, they reflect the intention we should all have to put children first. now the momentum to put children first began last week when he passed and i traveled to san diego but hope that. it will allow school districts to partner with experts in the
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dirt to build and operate renaissance schools in these districts. we've given some of our urban schools the signal but hope is on the way. i like to think senator and mena made for their support of this idea. you and i both know this is a good start, but only a start. there's much more work to do. here's what i propose first. reform tenure and measuring effectiveness as professional observation and it checked if quantifiable measures of student achievement and tenure to those of strong evaluations and taken away from those whose ratings are unacceptably weak. we cannot, as parents to accept failure and teachers when their children's lives hang in the balance. it is unacceptable for us to turn our backs on this issue any longer. second, if lives are necessary, remove the least effective
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teachers instead of just the most junior ones. it's time to end system of last and first up, which protects some of the worst and penalizes some of the best. third, pay teachers more. when they are saying to a failing school or to teach difficult subject. compensation should be designed to attract and retain effective teachers where we need the most. force. let's enforce treatments. teachers should not be sent to schools about the mutual consent of the teacher and principal with an exceptional place that can't be found for 12 months comest pull districts have the right to place a teacher and current unpaid leave. this, we should reform our process for authorizing charter schools to attract as operators to new jersey, streamlined process for the best performers, should focus on our failing school districts and to encourage innovation. we must give parents and children are failing schools
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districts have many alternatives as we can. last and perhaps most importantly, let's establish tax credit to provide scholarships for low-income students in the worst performing schools in the state to enable them to attend better schools. opportunity should not be offered to only those in an excellent school district where parents have the money to release their children from the prison that is a feeling old. let's pass the opportunity scholarship that now. [applause] these are not radical reforms. they are common sense. they are not rash. they are long overdue. and they are not luxury, which can afford the language for another six months or another year. they are essential for new jersey's future success.
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i have a message that is not for me, but for a single mom in new york, a struggling parent at campus and the olive our state education reform, real education reform has laid upon enough. new jersey is one of america's most diverse state. this means we have diverse problems, but also diverse opportunities. it means we must build the skills and improve the opportunity for many types of people from all backgrounds and walks of life and it means we must work in multiple ways to improve the quality of life for everyone. as we discussed creating jobs and fixing schools are probably the two most important is to do that, but they are your stats we can take us all to improve the quality of life here in new jersey. this leads me to job number three. we need to reclaim our entry cities, respond to other regions in the age and most vulnerable
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than. a few months ago i hosted a town hall meeting in union city with senator brian scott, a woman from new york with their. a mother, neighbor, concerned citizen. that day she asked me a very direct question and i believe it was a question for all of us. she said this. i just wonder, governor if the amount of violent, the amount of shootings, the amount of murders that take place in the city of newark, i just wonder sometimes if it bothers you like it others us. particularly the mothers who have lost their children. and she ended her question with the plea. helpless she said. help us. well, that woman was strand three and i met with her and her neighbors in this building. she is here in this chamber today. pascal of you to send a message to new jersey and we are craving a place where everyone is given the opportunity to live the life they want. i ask all of you to join me and
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saying to cassandra, yes, we will help you. [applause] [applause] here's one example. we can improve our quality of life that keep it in less them as they let criminals out the streets. so i ask you to approve my bill reform package which would appear the federal system and keep offenders with a history of violence in jail until the time
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of trial instead of releasing them back into society to prey on the public. this may require a constitutional amendment. it is reform that is long overdue. as you know, the person arrested a long record of violence, we can't detain that person in jail pending trial. we must release that person regardless of how dangerous they are to potential witnesses or to innocent members of our society. let's amend our bail laws to allow judgment to consider the factory changers and straight communities before we release a violent person back on the street to maim or kill while they await trial. [applause] this too is just simple common sense. but at the same time, let us reclaim the lives of those drug
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offenders who have not committed a violent crime by investing time and money in drug treatment and an in-house secure facility, rather than putting them in prison. [applause] experience has shown us that treated nonviolent drug offenders is two thirds less expensive than warehousing imprisoned. and more importantly, songs they've not violently that to my society, everyone deserves a second chance because no life is disposable. [applause] i am no longer satisfied to have this as merely a private project. i'm calling for transformation for the way we do with drug abuse and incarceration in every corner of new jersey.
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today is this legislator and the chief justice to join me in this commitment that no life is disposable. i propose mandatory treatment for every nonviolent offender with a drug abuse problem in new jersey. not just a select few. it will send a clear message to those who have fallen the time to the disease of drug abuse. we want to help you, not throw you away. we will require you to get treatment because your life has value. every one of god's creatures can be redeemed. everyone deserves a second chance. [applause] [applause]
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so, these are the big things i'd like us to focus on in 2012. these are my priorities. you know, we know in our hearts that we represent some of the toughest, mr. radek honest people in america. a group of people destined for great things. we just give them the opportunity. but we also know that for too many years, these same people were depressed about what new jersey had become. our leaders disappointed us in many different ways. promises are made that our economy suffocated under the wet blanket of overtaxation, overspending, over borrowing and over regulation. our education system failed those who needed it the most inerrant leaders stood by and say be patient. we'll fix it.
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popular culture in new jersey became a punchline rather than a place of pride. so what is happening over the last two years? over the last two years new jersey has seen around the country once again not exclusively as the of late-night jokes, but a focus of the evening news in sunday talk shows. why? because once again we are leading america by taking on the big things in public policy. we've known all along that our state is destined for great things. we just needed to give the people of our states the confidence to come from watching leaders work together and from a state rising again all around them. to everyone in this room, to everyone watching at home are listening in your car, i was temple message. for the new jersey comeback to continue and grow, we must all come together. this obligation is not just mine and it's not just cans. it's not just these were she
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less. it is not just tom or john's. the new jersey comeback is not about what happens in trenton alone. all of you are in this, too. our wins and losses are your wins and losses. our successes and failures are your successes and failures. the new jersey comeback didn't come to see her and it won't be sustained just here. the new jersey comeback is yours, too. and so i say to you today, regardless of where you've are, regardless of that region of the state you come from, regardless of what political party you call home, you have had a stake in what has happened over the last two years and you have contributed to make it happen. now is not the time to start. now it's time to to double down. now is not the time to put the brakes on new jersey's growth. now is the time to put the foot down harder on the accelerator. now is not the time to turn back. now is the attempt to make new
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jersey greatness of reality again. [applause] that is what the next two years of my governorship will be dedicated to every day. we have climbed out of the wolf that was left to us together. now it is time to raise the great flag of the state of new jersey as high as they can together. i cannot do it alone. republicans cannot do it alone. democrats cannot do it alone because it's martin luther king once said, we may have come in different shapes, but we are in the same boat now. we must do this together in every town, in every city in every county across our state.
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if you're ready to join that fight with me in the next two years have you had in the last two years, we will be here two years from now, looking at a state that once again is the leader for a rejuvenated america. if you are willing to join that site, so am i., on your behalf. that is what you elected me to do and that is the solemn commitment i made to you again today. thank you. god bless you, god bless america and god bless the great state of new jersey. [cheers and applause] [applause]
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[applause] >> in a moment, more state of the state address is on c-span 2. we will hear from washington governor, chris gregoire. >> hoover argued a couple things. he argued that american policy towards japan in 1940 and 41 was rather provocative than perhaps any juvenile way, he said we are putting pants and a rattlesnake and eventually the rattlesnake will strike back.
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>> washington state governor, chris gregoire announced last year that she is not speaking a third term. in a 35 minute speech, governor talked about maintaining the state highways. she also urged lawmakers to pass the marriage equality bill in this term.
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[applause] >> thank you, everyone. thank you. [applause] >> thank you, everyone. thank you. [cheers and applause] thank you. thank you, everyone. thank you. thank you all very much. thank you all very much. thank you. thank you, everyone. let's start this morning to observe a moment of silence for
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some who have served washington so well and who have passed away recently. let us remember your colleague, senator scott way to sadly left us in the prime of his public service. let's remember two men who gave us so much during a time in office, senator alex deccio, senator bosman and let us remember always senator al rosellini. i was a mentor to me in one of the best friends the state ever had. and also, please remember that nine washingtonians who lost their lives in afghanistan and iraq serving our country. and just last week, normally i do like mount rainier national park was witness to the loss of park ranger, margaret andersen who died in the line of duty. what you all please join me in a moment of science and -- silent
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in their honor. thank you. good afternoon, everyone. first, can i stay thank you, bishop bishop boerger for somewhat uninspiring. this morning. we thank you, god bless you. and thank you for your beautiful performance of our national anthem. you are our future. remember public service, political office is in your future.
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my daughter courtney and her son-in-law, scott with me, but i am pleased to say they are moving back to this washington. my effort was not subtle, that it has been steadfast and finally i've gotten my wish. my extended family, thank you for being here with me today, all of you. and to nana gregoire watch the homer turned 90 years young were sorry you're not here with us today. here with me however is my daughter michelle, nice thick air lost in. she loves it, go figure. [applause] and my husband, mike, i think you all know he is number one champion for the veterans of the state of washington in this nation. thank you, mike.
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[applause] mike is not only a great husband, my best friend and a great dad, but i am noticing something else lately. as he gets older, he's becoming even more athletic. g-golf on channel 68, football and channel 13, soccer and channel 32. [laughter] so michelle, dad will not be making dinner this evening. as for me, i have a very complicated relationship of growing older. first i get hard data in the tavern and now i get curing it offers in the mail. but as mike and myself will tell you, i am not slowing down, not this year. and that is because today i begin my last year as governor of my beloved, great state of washington. we are in a time of great challenge and even greater opportunity. yes, challenge and opportunity. take so much else, the 24 hour
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news cycle, these words of lost a bit of their meeting. but not today, not for me, not in the year 2012. for me, if ever those two words meant anything it is right here in this right now. while our challenges are unprecedented, so too are our opportunities. curing our washington return crazies into opportunity. why? because we have a culture and a history of both personal and shared responsibility. when things get tough, we stepped up. we stepped up individually and together to build our future. today we govern in a nation where someone even talk to each other, much less compromise, believing that compromise is just another word for surrender. but here in our washington, we don't say my way or the highway. we say let's work together to solve our problems. what is best for our washington is more important than politics.
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many believe that government is the whole problem and many believe it is the whole solution. but that is not our washington. you would know that government can't do it all, but we also know we need great schools and universities, good highways and faith communities. many believe we should just write out this great recession or use this time of economic stress to dismantle our government. but that is not our washington. here we build the roads and bridges are people and businesses must have in order to succeed. we keep our streets safe. we hope the poor and the vulnerable. we educate our children and young people. we keep our land, air and water clean for them and their children. many believe the whole system is broken and there are no answers. but that is not our washington. here, if things don't work would reinvent them. we fix things be a computer software, better strain of
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wheat, new airplane for a better, faster, cheaper government. we are built on innovation and we always steadfast spirit that is why we are the home of boeing and microsoft, amazon, starbucks, nordstrom's committee gates foundation, paccar, clean energy competitions and the most inventive and dynamic people in the world. and that is why eastern washington, because of its agriculture is called the refrigerator of the world. today it's our time. it is our time to practice the courage and compassion that has been handed down to us by her parents and grandparents. if you attempt to rebuild our bridges and highways. it is our time to create jobs now and for the future. it is our time to keep our streets safe. and it is our time to give our young people of the education and knowledge they will need to succeed in a world economy. we must succeed. you know, i just read a great
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new book called "that used to be us." it's by thomas friedman and michael mandelbaum. but to take a critical look at where america has been in for me, one metaphor really stood out. for generation after generation, america knew how to win in the turn, wind in the turns. and what does that mean exactly? in short, it means the winner hits the gas pedal just when everybody else is hitting the brakes. visualize yourself on a racetrack, racing along in a sunny day and suddenly without warning you are in a sharp high-speed turn. when and if you make it through, you find the world around you has utterly changed. the winner of that race, the one with the determination to thrive in a changed world is the one who sees a sudden turn as an opportunity. the winner takes the risk to pass everybody in the turn and
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is now leading the pack. that is winning in the turn. and the great economic turn weary now, some question of our country or state to win this time. when the recession ends, what would be out ahead of the competition in education, infrastructure, economic development? will they come out and in turn of the pack and ready to go? or will we be stuck back were fighting for position would be also ran. also ran? not our washington. we must, we can and we will be out ahead. [applause] we know how to win in the turn. we know how to come out ahead. we've done it time and time again. there was a recession in the early 70s, so bad that somebody put up a billboard asking the last person in seattle to turn out the lights.
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but governor dan evans worked with the legislature, controlled by democrats, to carry out his washington future and send five ballot measures to the voters. the result was new community colleges, water systems for home, industry and irrigation. new and refurbished recreational policy and expanded public health facility. democratic legislature, republican governor and the people of washington won in the turn. there is a scary turn in 1883, the worst recession before this one. governor john spellman come a democratic senate and house have the courage to protect the future of our children. they approved a penny increase in the sales tax focused on education. again, we won in the turn. and by the way each time washington survived an economic crisis and we built this feature, it has not been about political parties.
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it has been about the future of our great state. [applause] is now up up to last. this is our time. our time to win, our time to build a better future for our children and grandchildren. so in the next 60 days, i ask you to do four things. one, use the year they start you got in the summer and pass the budget. two, ask voters this spring to approve a temporary has penny sales tax increase for statements in their future. three, [applause] three, passing a school reform. and four, passed a major transportation jobs package.
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[applause] first, let's solve the budget problem. he made a down payment in december. i know these are some of the most difficult decisions of your career. but i ask you to finish quickly because every day the problem gets bigger and the choices get harder. since wall street handed us this nesting of four years ago, we have cut and cut and cut. a projected $10.5 billion we're still not done yet. we have cut k-12 by 26%. for your colleges by 46% of community college is by 26%. our social safety net has closed five major institutions including three prisons and one juvenile facility. the last time we shut down even one with nearly 40 years ago.
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now some states are talking about reform, but we are not talking. we are reforming. we made our pension system one of the five most sustainable in the united states. [applause] our state work force is down nearly 10% and falling. those employees left are working harder with lower salaries and paying more for benefits. i want to thank them for serving particularly in these uncertain times. [applause] we have made the biggest recessive state government in decades. today, we are more cost efficient. we are smaller, faster and effective. we are working towards a more sustainable budget in the long-term. historic reform brought flat
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worker comp rates this year in historic lows in unemployment insurance aid. that's good news for small businesses, which have been hurt the most during this recession and which are absolute key to a recovery. [applause] one of the fastest growing, biggest and most complicated of our budget is health care. we are bringing in mystic to get results. we've cut medicaid inflation to 2.3%, one of the lowest in the country. [applause] and unlike other states, we have not used this recession to undermine environmental protections that provide what we value. clean air, clean water and healthy natural resources.
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[applause] that doesn't mean our work is done. no one comes to public service thinking the status quo is good enough. no one comes to public service and we should find a better or more efficiently to do something. it's the whole reason this is no different. what we must have we must also bring real reform that will serve our ability to serve our citizens while modernizing our practices. and why we must cut and reform again, we must also realize that this problem demands a courageous solution. we must look for new revenue for the state of washington. [applause]
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so close tax loop holes, the same vital services like basic health program. it's a matter of fairness. [applause] i'm not brings me to my second point. we must protect our vulnerable seniors and the developmentally disabled. we have to educate our students and provide public safety for our family. so i asked you to send to voters a temporary three-year accent sales tax to save those fido services. ladies and gentlemen, [applause] ladies and gentlemen, make no mistake, we are about to shred very core services. it is time for all of us here in this chamber to stand up for washingtonians.
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well, i know the sales tax is regressive. you know what i find even more regressive clinics its cuts in education that will get a low-income students the hardest. it is markup in our social safety net for seniors, people with developmental disabilities in its cut to public safety that will impact our poor neighborhoods the mouse. that's regressive. [applause] remember, the last time that we raised the state sales tax was 1993 under a republican governor during the worst recession until this one. so today i ask you to listen to your heart's as well as to your head. will that 85-year-old woman was feeling how can you tell the vintage indy at home front
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regressive clinics that faces a difference between meteor education front regressive. without them i live living in fear of a criminal getting out of prison five months earlier with little supervision front regressive? now, they will say it's the right thing to do because the days and they will remember that we didn't wait for things to get better. we made them better. [applause] without the hat on it, we lose far more than we can. we lose our future. we lose our values. we lose our way. let governors and legislators in the past, it is our time to do something very hard. it is our time to ask for sacrifice from everyone. ask everyone to contribute to our future so everybody wins.
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now how do we win in the turn? hideaways beat the rest of the world and the rest of the country? we outpaced out educate and outperform. our businesses, state, children and grandchildren cannot afford any more deep cuts in education. about 411 million of the 494 million sales tax revenues would go to k-12 and higher education. [applause] we need the school day to be 180 days and longer, not 176. we need to help our property poor districts and we need to stop raising college tuition. [applause] it comes down to four simple
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words. no education, no jobs. this is our time. the value of quality education just as our parents and grandparents did. so today i urge you to act in my third request and improve school reform. now it's governor, i had been too many schools and i have never seen a great classroom is not a great teacher or a great school with a great principle. we have a new evaluation system built from the bottom-up. now we must ensure that every classroom throughout our state has a good teacher in every school has a good principle. our state deserves nothing less. [applause] we must turn around our failing schools once and for all. we are going to do that by asking their public universe
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used to use old renovated programs and partner with low performing schools. they'll innovate, research and teach. give our students the educational advantage they need and take their successful work and scale across our state. like so many of our reforms, i protect this to become a model for the nation. we cannot address the education gap we have with the rest of the world until we address the one we have right here in her own home state. speaking of education gaps, thank you for acting so quickly to make certain that we have trained workers and engineers for growing aerospace at your. and i'm asking you to fund opportunities. other opportunities, not just those who can afford it must have more scope for more knowledge if they're going to be able to compete in this century.
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in business, they find cracks in the system and they fix them. in government, we find cracks in the system and the study of them. with an office of student achievement, we can move to action and fix the gap spirit from high school through college to ensure students enter the workforce not behind, but ahead. that in return. when i ask voters to invest in education, let's show them to be getting their money's worth. good teachers, good schools in the most knowledgeable graduates in the united states. [applause] speaking of innovation and competition, let's celebrate. let's celebrate our work on early childhood education, resulting in the race to the top award of $60 million.
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[applause] the federal government found out what we know. and that is if we invest in early learning and make certain a child is really ready to learn when they hit kindergarten, they will succeed in life. we started the department of early learning in 2006 and created a public or the partnership. that small investment will bring returns throughout the life of the child and their state will be better for it. if we invest $411 million in our schools and colleges, if we implement these innovative reforms and if we use our can-do spirit, we can give our children the best education in the united states. the fourth thing i ask you to do is create jobs now and for the future by investing our
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transportation infrastructure. we have got to step up the proper maintenance of our very valuable transportation system. from having some bridges to theories and city streets. when we build roads, they don't take care of themselves. when you buy a car come you pay for it and maintain it, rotate and make the repairs. it is the same as favorites, bridges and theories. we bought them new, but unfortunately we didn't put money aside for maintenance. the consequences for us as a wake-up call. we are facing a $1.6 billion shortfall over the next 10 years just to maintain our state's highway. without maintenance that means bad risser potholes, more congestion. further, we are facing a $1.3 billion deficit in our system maintenance. i sounded the alarm last year.
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without new funding, our ferry system will not surprise as we know it. we would completely eliminate fibers with service and runs throughout the entire system. just to maintain where we are today, we must act. so today, i propose a $3.6 billion ten-year package to create about 5500 jobs a year to maintain our transportation infrastructure across the state. in addition to small fee increases, i will ask you to pass a modest $1.50 fee on every barrel of oil produced in washington. our oil companies are getting all the profits and made enough with the bills. we can do better. [applause]
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this package will also get money to our cities and counties to fill potholes, repair roads, of tape ridges and keep us is running. it will give them the option to raise additional money for maintenance and transmit. we can't wait until roads, bridges and theories are falling apart to fix them. we can't kick the can down the road and satellite future generations with the repairs that we fail to make. ..

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