veterans. for the state capitol in springfield, this is half an hour. [inaudible conversations] >> ladies and gentlemen, please take your seats. please be seated. mr. governor. >> thank you. president cullerton, speaker madigan, leaders radogno and cross, attorney general madigan, secretary white, comptroller topinka, treasurer rutherford,

members of the general assembly, distinguished guests and fellow citizens of illinois, i'm here today to report to you on the state of our state. but before i begin, i know i speak for all of illinois in wishing our senator mark kirk a speedy recovery. [applause] we're all pulling for you, mark. and i also know i speak for all of illinois and all of america in thanking our servicemembers in every branch of service who have volunteered to protect our democracy. we're here today because of you. we are especially proud of the servicemembers of our illinois national guard. in the early morning last december 18, a convoy of the

illinois national guard's 1644th transportation company led by their commander captain michael barton, crossed the desert of southern iraq into kuwait. their unit had made 73 dangerous convoy trips between kuwait and iraq. they drove nearly 4 million miles. their convoy was one of the very last to leave iraq. the war was over. and today, captain barton's wife kelli, and their daughter myleigh are with us. on behalf of a grateful nation and a grateful state, thank you kelli, thank you myleigh, thank you captain barton and thank you servicemembers of the illinois national guard. you are our heroes. [applause]

[applause] i'm very proud to be the commander in chief of the illinois national guard and i'm proud to be governor of our state illinois. almost exactly three years ago to this day, i took the oath of office at this podium during one of the darkest moments in illinois' history. one former governor was in jail. another was under arrest, impeached and removed from office. both my predecessors had disgraced themselves and brought profound embarrassment to the people of our state.

at the same time, our entire nation was in the throes of a massive economic crisis, caused by disgraceful conduct and greed on wall street. our large and small businesses were reeling. our automakers were in dire straits. across illinois, families were losing their jobs, losing their homes, watching their savings disappear. we were off course and adrift, lacking leadership, and weighed down by a culture of corruption. on the day i became governor three years ago, i promised to restore integrity to illinois government. and we have. through tough new ethics laws, campaign finance reform, and establishing the ability to recall a corrupt governor, we have made illinois a more ethical state. but we didn't stop there. by legalizing civil unions, by raising the standards of nursing

home care, by abolishing the death penalty and by protecting the funerals of our military men and women who gave their last full measure of devotion to our democracy, we have made illinois a better state. we have never forgotten we had to help everyday people by building and growing illinois. we have invested in our state, making it a better place to do business. and we have invested in the people of illinois, helping our working families and improving education. the results are in from major export growth and the largest public works construction program in state history to solid gains in education. we're back on course - illinois is moving forward. [applause] now we all know that the economic storm is far from over.

while we have downsized illinois government more than ever before, we continue to face very difficult decisions to restore financial stability to our state. suffice it to say, we must have medicaid reform and public pension reform in the coming year. [applause] we must have. [applause] we took the first step on pension reform in 2010 when we enacted landmark changes that will save taxpayers billions of dollars. but there's much more to do. fixing the pension problem will not be easy, but we have no choice. we must do it together in a way that is meaningful, constitutional, and fair to the employees who have faithfully contributed to the system. that's why i've assembled a pension working group to propose

a solution that can be enacted this year. i will have more to say about these serious matters during my budget address three weeks from today. but we must always remember that strong economic growth is essential to resolving our financial challenges. cuts alone will not get us to a better budget. we must build and grow our illinois economy like never before to keep illinois moving forward. [applause] in the past three years, we've worked together to strengthen our economy and make illinois a better place to do business. we've reformed our workers' compensation system. the reforms we put in place will protect the safety of our workers and save illinois businesses at least a half billion dollars every year.

we've also reformed our unemployment insurance system. we've preserved benefits for unemployed workers while saving businesses $400 million. we've cut red tape for employers that need environmental permits. and we've worked with our union partners to overhaul workplace rules at mccormick place to lower the cost of conventions. already, new conventions are picking illinois and putting our people to work. each of these landmark reforms shows the power of bringing everyone to the table to repair broken systems. that's moving forward. [applause] but we've just begun -- [applause] but we've not just made illinois a better place to do business, we've also invested in our public works our highways, our bridges, our railroads and our schools to make illinois stronger. we've created good-paying jobs

while laying the foundation for future growth. thanks to our illinois jobs now! plan, illinois has the largest capital construction program in our history. over the past three years, we have been building, repairing, and modernizing. every day, you see the fruits of our labor. all across illinois. we have improved 5,948 miles of highways and 842 bridges. in southern illinois, we're building new lanes on route 13. in rockford, we're building a new morgan street bridge. and in east peoria, we're building technology boulevard. we've also built and renovated more than 400 schools from from western wind noise newberger for campus in moline to the new transportation education center at siu in carbondale and from the

repurposed cole hall at northern illinois university in dekalb to the new electrical and computer engineering building at the university of illinois in urbana-champaign. we've also invested in more than 40 public transportation projects. we're working with chicago mayor rahm emanuel to rebuild the cta's red line. we're working with rockford mayor larry morrissey to build new passenger rail from chicago to rockford. we're working with elected officials in the south suburbs and will county to build a new airport. [applause] and we're building high-speed rail from chicago to st. louis and a new bridge across the mississippi river. [applause] all these projects and many more have created thousands of jobs.

i want to stay thank you to the men and women of illinois who are doing this hard work. here in illinois, unlike other states in the midwest, we believe in the right of working people to organize. [applause] your hard work is why illinois is moving forward. speaking of hard work, i would like to salute secretary of state jesse white. for the first time in history, we kept fatalities on illinois highways below 1,000 for three consecutive years. [applause] thank you, secretary white. [applause]

there's a passage in scripture. i want to thank secretary white for his commitment to highway safety and saving lives. we all know that automobiles are essential to the success of the illinois economy. our automakers and their suppliers are thriving today because state government has rose to the occasion and helped meet their needs. three years ago, the ford plant on the south side of chicago had only one shift. in 2010, ford added a second shift and now they have started to hire for a third shift. thank you, ford. [applause] tomorrow i'm traveling to the chrysler plant in belvidere to announce the creation of

hundreds of new jobs to manufacture the new, 21st century dodge dart. thank you, chrysler. [applause] the reason that ford and chrysler are creating new jobs here is because of our skilled workforce. illinois is not only a land of skilled workers. it's also a land of creative entrepreneurs. people like karrie gibson and her company, vintage tech recyclers in romeoville. our investment helped karrie grow her recycling technology business from 1 person to 77 employees. thank you, karrie. [applause] illinois is also a land of technology. we're in the process of laying 4,100 miles of new broadband

fiber optic cable to light up 5,000 of our schools, libraries, businesses and hospitals with world-class information networks. we started illinois' first venture fund to encourage investors to jump into cutting-edge technologies. we've renewed the research and development tax credit, which helps businesses bring new ideas to market. and our innovation council launched an open data initiative which has made more than 5,200 illinois data sets available online. we're going to lead the nation in putting more public data online in one place from communities and universities across the state. already, young innovators like tourmcclusky and elizabeth park have designed smart phone apps

using our data to help everyday people. in both of them here today. i want to thank torre and also bit for their creation and ability. please stand up. [applause] we're going to continue to think big in illinois. today, i'm announcing a $2.3 million dollar investment in ,a new technology center at the merchandise mart in chicago to foster and launch digital start-ups. today, i'm also announcing a $6 million dollar statewide competition to build ultra-high speed broadband in neighborhoods across illinois. through this challenge, we want our neighborhoods to become gigabit communities with

internet connections more than 100 times faster than today! our goal is to build smart communities that will foster the job engines of the future. illinois is already a leader in green technology. we lead the nation in operating wind turbines with 404 and growing. we believe in wind. [applause] we're also working with argonne national laboratory, the university of illinois, the university of chicago and northwestern university, to develop the next generation of energy efficient batteries. even as we've fostered innovation and the industries of the future, we've also increased export opportunities for illinois businesses to move their goods to new global markets. the illinois economy is the 18th

largest in the world and our state has tremendous potential to grow a whole lot more. we have aggressively pursued export opportunities, from our mighty agriculture to our mighty manufacturing. a quarter of our soybean crop is sold to just one country china. illinois farmers are feeding china's new middle class. thank you, i burkhalter. thank you, illinois farmers. [applause] our manufacturers like john deere in the quad cities and caterpillar in peoria had outstanding years. caterpillar's increase in sales and revenue last year was record-breaking, the largest percentage increase in the last 64 years. and a lot of it was driven by foreign demand for caterpillar

products made by illinois workers. we want to thank caterpillar and think those workers. thank you. [applause] more exports to more foreign markets means more jobs for more illinois workers. our exports have jumped 30% this year almost double the national average. and today, to strengthen that growth, we are announcing an export advisory council made up of private sector leaders and chaired by navistar ceo dan ustian. this council will help us reach our goal of doubling our exports by 2014. navistar has recently added more than 500 new jobs and it employed more than 2,000 union construction workers to renovate its new corporate headquarters in lisle. since 2010, employers like

navistar have added almost 100,000 jobs to our economy. illinois businesses have created almost 20,000 manufacturing jobs during this time. us news & world report placed illinois in the top 5 business friendlystates that are gaining businesses. that's good. [applause] careerbuilder ranked illinois as one of the top ten states to find a job. and last year money magazine rated illinois as the top state for making a living. now that is moving forward. .good. we want to keep it going. [applause] and definitely, in an age of big bureaucracy, big corporations and big money, we can't overlook the millions of illinois consumers who need advocates to

look out for them. i want to thank attorney general lisa madigan for joining me in our never-ending battle to protect illinois consumers. thank you, lisa. [applause] we all believe in fighting for the moms and dads and children of illinois. that's why for the first time in a decade, we significantly increased tax relief for working families. thank you representative barbara flynn currie, representative john bradley, representative david harris and senator toi hutchinson. you help get the job done with your colleagues. [applause] by doubling the illinois earned income tax credit and improving the personal exemption, we are providing targeted tax relief to a million working families and their children. people like rhonda jones.

rhonda is a single mom who is raising five children on the south side of chicago. she works as a public high school counselor for a modest salary. she knows what it's like to live from paycheck to paycheck. year after year, the federal and state earned income tax credit has been her saving grace. she uses that extra money to help pay bills and support her kids through school. three of her children are now in college and two more are on the way. thank you, rhonda. thank you for being a great person. [applause] from the moment i took office, my goal has been to advance education for everyone. so we passed landmark education laws that are a model for the

nation. laws that improve school report cards so that parents have more information about the schools that educate their kids. laws that set clear benchmarks for teacher evaluation and put performance above tenure. and laws that lay the groundwork for a longer school day and a longer school year. our education reforms put the children of illinois first. that's moving forward. so, thank you to senator kim lightford, representative linda chapa la via, and the many others who helped lead this effort. [applause] we also took a big step forward by passing the illinois dream act to help high school graduates from immigrant families. in the years to come, more kids will go to college. more kids will chase their dreams. more kids will grow up to be

illinois residents who work hard and contribute to society because of the dream act. i think it's very important that we understand that we all have a stake in the future of illinois. indeed, we are custodians of that future. we owe it to the next generation to continue our progress of the past three years. to create jobs and grow our economy, we must continue to invest in illinois and help everyday people. with this in mind, i am proposing the illinois jobs agenda for 2012 so we can build and grow our economy today and tomorrow. the illinois jobs agenda includes three targeted tax cuts that will build and grow our economy by helping our employers, our working families, and our veterans. first, i propose that we

permanently abolish the natural gas utility tax in illinois. this tax is an unfair, regressive tax that is not based on the ability to pay. regardless of income or whether or not you're making a profit, you pay this tax. by abolishing it entirely, we can provide targeted tax relief to both consumers and businesses. the elimination of this tax will save money for households and cut costs for employers across illinois. illinois will be the only state in the midwest without a natural gas utility tax on manufacturers, retailers and everyday families. in addition, we need to establish a child tax credit in illinois for parents raising children. there's no more important mission in life than raising a child. investing in our families is good for illinois.

the illinois child tax credit will provide $100 of direct tax relief every year to the typical family of four. this targeted tax relief will stimulate consumer demand, which is 70 percent of our economy. and it will create jobs for our local merchants. finally, we must adopt a tax credit that helps our veterans find employment. unemployment for young returning veterans in our country is 30%. that's shameful. our military men and women are heroes who have served our country and they deserve our everlasting gratitude. veterans are committed, disciplined, and experienced. they know leadership, and how to accomplish a mission. we need these heroes in our workplaces! so today i propose a hiring veterans tax credit.

we will provide a significant tax credit for every unemployed veteran of iraq and afghanistan that a company hires. this tax credit will help businesses create jobs. and it will give those jobs to the veterans who have sacrificed so much in serving our state and our country. [applause] the illinois jobs agenda for 2012 will also move illinois forward by investing in education. the best economic tool a state can have is a strong, innovative education system. jobs follow brainpower. so i want to thank lieutenant governor sheila simon for doing an outstanding job on her community colleges report. having visited all of illinois' 48 community colleges, sheila has proposed many good reforms

that need to be implemented in the coming year. sheila and i have a mission in illinois by 2025, we want at least 60% of adults in our state to have a college degree, an associate degree or a career certificate. right now, we're at 43% - better than the national average, but not good enough. if we want 60% of illinois adults to have a meaningful career certificate or degree by 2025, we must invest in our students from birth to higher education. that starts with investing more dollars in early childhood education. [applause] learning begins at birth and those first years of a child's

life are the most important. our youngest and most vulnerable citizens need our strongest support. research has shown that without an early learning foundation, children fall behind in school. illinois, we can't leave our youngest behind. that's why i'm calling for a major investment in early childhood education this year. we've got to do it. clap my last week, president obama called for states to raise the minimum attendance age of students in schools to 18. president obama, we hear you in illinois. we know how important it is to do everything possible to keep our kids in school to earn that diploma. and that's why we must answer the president's call. we must raise the minimum school attendance age to 18 and we must

work together this session to do it. we can do it. [applause] now, at a time when student loan dad in our country is more than credit card debt, too many deserving students don't have access to higher education. while nearly 150,000 illinois students received state map scholarships last year to attend college, just as many qualified applicants were denied because of lack of funding. so today i ask the members of the general assembly to invest invest -- in our students. i urge you to act in the coming year to make a significant investment in more state map scholarships to help our bright young students attend college.

[applause] ..

which is vital our economic recovery. while we have helped thousands of families stay in their homes and find affordable housing, we must do more. so today we're launching the illinois foreclosure prevention network, to connect struggling home owners with every resource available. from counseling to legal assistance and mortgage relief. in the coming weeks i'll get with cook county to announce a major housing initiative that will help return vacant properties to good use. that will move us forward. finally, we have to move forward on clean water. clean water is the life bread of our people and our communities. illinois is blessed with abundant water, from lake michigan to the illinois river to the mighty mississippi, but many illinois residents are living with aging water mains that are nearly 100 years old. and scores of wastewater

treatment facilities are in dire need of repair. the illinois jobs agenda for 2012 will put thousands of people to work, replacing broken water mains. building treatment plans, upgrading sewers, and cleaning up environmental threats. we're going to be working with mayors from chicago and the suburbs, to everybody part of downstate. we believe in clean water. it's very important we understand we work together for something as important as clean water. members of the general assembly, the illinois jobs agenda is a comprehensive jobs initiative for the people of our state, to create jobs and grow the economy, we must enact targeted tax relief for illinois employers, for illinois families and for our veterans. we must invest in college scholarships and early childhood education and 21st century

schools. we must invest in affordable housing for our residents and clean water for our communities. and i look forward to working with you to find the proper funding to meet these urgent needs. by investing in illinois, and investing in our people. we are building and growing our economy. we are moving illinois forward. i know that no reform is easy. reforming our medicaid and reforming our public pension systems will require political courage. by the same token, no major investment is easy. moving forward on the vision that i have laid out today will require true partnership. we have real challenges to tackle, and like all of you, i recognize the severity of our financial situation. but cuts alone will not resolve this situation. we must build and grow our

economy. now is the not the time to pull back. to abandon our children. to abandon our parents, and to abandon the unemployed among us. their well-being is our common cause. [applause] and our commitment to them requires that we join as partners to invest in our state, and invest in our people. i'm proud of what we have accomplished together over these last three years. abraham lincoln once said, i like to see a man proud of the place in which he lives. abraham lincoln said, i like to see a man live so that his place will be proud of him. so after three years of hard work, and tough decisions, illinois is back on course. illinois is moving forward. and illinois is a place that we

can be proud to claim as our own. i look forward to working with you in the coming year to make the people of illinois even prouder of our state. together, we can make the will of the people the law of the land. thank you very much. [applause] [applause]

august 2009 after jon huntsman resigned to become u.s. ambassador to china. this is half an hour. [applause]

on behalf of the legislate, i welcome governor herbert, first lady. welcome. >> are we ready? lieutenant governor and mrs. bell, president waddoups, speaker lockhart, member office the utah legislature, member office my cabinet, justices of the utah supreme court, utah's first lady, my beautiful wife, jeannette, and my fellow utahns. it's an honor and a privilege to address you this evening. as we assemble in this beautiful and historic chamber, let us take time to acknowledge those who protect our freedoms and keep our homeland safe. this past august, i traveled to iraq and afghan to meet with some of our deployed utah service men and women. it was a humbling experience.

our by, the free exercise of our god-given wrights -- is preserved by the men and women of our armed forces who willingly put themselves in harm's way for god, family, and country. this past year, in the span of just over a month, we lost six utah soldiers, sailors, and marines in afghanistan. these brave servicemen made the ultimate sacrifice in defense of this nation, and the ideals which make it great. we also acknowledge the loss of agent jarred francom, track include killed in the ogden shooting incident few short weeks ago. tonight we have as honored guests in the gallery, family members of those who have lost lives broad. as they stand, please join with me to acknowledge them and thank

them for their loved ones service and sacrifice. [applause] [applause] >> as governor of the great state of utah, i am pleased to report that the state of our state is strong, and growing stronger. i want you to know that i am very optimistic about utah's future. while our national economy continues to struggle, the economy in utah surges ahead. our unemployment rate continues to steadily fall. we currently have the second

fastest rate of job creation in the nation. every sector of our economy is growing again, except one, and i'm proud to say the sector that is not growing is state government. [applause] utah's success is not only consistently recognized, it is increasingly praised by those outside off borders. now, some people have said that i talk about our rankings a little too much. and it may be a fair observation. but i hope you are as proud of utah as i am. we have a great state, we have a great message, and we're making great progress. i believe utah's governor should be the state's chief advocate and champion, and i am simply not going to stop touting utah's accomplishments. i should point out that our

accolades have less to do with me and everything to do with we. indeed, they reflect the efforts of individuals here in this room and many others across the state. some of our recent recognitions including being named the state with the best economic outlook, and the most dynamic economy. and for the second consecutive year, utah has been named the best state for business by forbes magazine. [applause] these rankings speak to utah's economic strength. but this is not just about rankings. it's about economic recovery for the people of utah. my focus is on growing economy, because i know a strong economy fosters healthy communities and pros suppress -- prosperous

families. while recognition is nice, the underlying reasons for the recognition is what is most important. forbes wrote, and i quote, no state can match the consistent performance of utah. it is the only state that ranks among the top 15 states in each of the six main categories on which we rate states, close quote. those six categories are, economic climate, growth prospects, labor supply, business costs, regulatory environment, and quality of life. tonight, i will use the criteria of those economic experts to highlight or prospects. let's start with our current economic climate in 2011, we added more than 36,000 jobs to our economy. our up employment rate has dropped from 7.5 to 6.0. a full 2-1/2% lower than the national average.

gross domestic product, personal income, and business income continue to steadily rise. and utah still leads the nation in export growth. you might remember that last year's state of the state, i challenged our business community to further increase our export growth. and they have responded with vigor. in 2008, we saw a 41% increase in exports. breaking records we set in 2009 and 2010. utah's economic climate is healthy. but we must not relent in our efforts to improve. i recognize there are people who are still hurting financially. i have meat with many of you throughout the state. i want you to know i am committed to working for all of you. there are in fact approximately 80,000 utahns who are looking for work, and i will not rest, and i know that you, the

legislature, will not rest, until every utahan who wants a job can find a job! [applause] >> my goal is to accelerate private sector job creation of 100,000 jobs in 1,000 days. i emphasize private sector because it is the private sector, not government, that creates wealth, creates jobs, and creates opportunities for utah's citizens. government must create an environment where free enterprise can succeed and then get out of the way. [applause] let me give you just one of many examples where business is thriving in utah's fertile field. started 25 years ago in a

garage, lifetime products now employed more than 1,300 people in utah, and was recently court by many other domestic and international locations for a planed expansion. ultimately, lifetime determined that its home state of utah was the best place to invest. this story is repeating itself hundreds of times across our state, and utah's steady job growth reaches far beyond just the wasatch front. last year, i visited 28 of utah's 29 counties, and don't worry. daggett county, i'm headed your way. in my travels i have been amazed at the creativity and ingenuity of our rural employers. for example, in the tiny town of grouse creek, i met heather warr, who is here with her family tonight in order to supplement her family's ranching economy, heather started an

ecommerce business, selling western apparel and foot wear online. her company, standup ranchers.com, now employs seven people, making heather a major employer in a community of 100 residents. [applause] from fiberoptic communications providers to hay exporters to composite manufacturers to online retailers, people are fining unique opportunities and advantages in rural utah. and heather warr exemplifies the innovation and initiative inherent in utah's people. the second cite tieron is growth prospects. utah is a fertile field in which to grow a new company or to relocate or expand an existing company. this past september, i went to new york to meet with executives

from l-3 commune indications, $16 billion high-tech company with locations in 30 states and 20 countries. the purpose of my visit was to convince them to expand their utah operations. and i've got to admit, it wasn't much of a hard sell. l-3 told me they love doing business in utah. in fact their salt lake city unit is one of their most successful and profitable divisions. not by coincidence, just last month, l-3 announced it will be concentrating its growth here in utah, building new office space and hiring hundreds of new employees. [applause] and in the past year expansions of new jobs have been announced not only l-3 but by poo ooh intern national companies like

ebay, boeing, morgan stanley, and pepperridge farms just to name a few. i can say something not many governors can say, our state is growing now, today, and as we look to the horizon, utah's growth prospects are truly bright. anyone who understands the free market knows that there are few things that hinder growth more than onerous taxation. as i did last year, and the year before that, in order for us to sustain our successful economic recovery, i say to you today, and to the people of utah, no new taxes. [applause] and in fact, i want too go one step further. due to our wise trust fund

management and our nation-leading record of helping people move from unemployment back into the work force, utah is in a position to reduce our unemployment insurance tax rates. i call upon you, the legislature to support senate bill 129, sponsored by center curt bramble and representative jeremy peterson to provide this timely tax cut to all of utah's 85,000 employers and allow them to create more jobs and to hire more people. [applause] the tried cite tieron is labor supply, or more aptly put, a skilled and educated work force. i have said before, utah is the best state for business because we have the best people for business. utah has natural advantages with ourdown, fast-growing tech-savvy, highly educated,

bilingual and industrious work force. utah is a proud right to work state and we are going to keep it that way. [applause] in today's global marketplace, educating and graduating job-ready students is an economic imperative. with the help of representative mel brown and senator lyle hilliard, we have expanded earlly intervention programs for at, risk programs to help reach our critical goal of reading proficiency byes of the the third grade. we'll soon introduce additional online courses providing another avenue for high school students to away college credits before graduation, and we're expanding utah futures.org which provides students with career counseling

to ensure the education they receive today will get the them a job tomorrow. my message to students is simple. if you want want a good job, gea good education. now, it is up to us, assembled here, to make sure that they can. [applause] my top legislative priority is to fund the growth and continued innovation in our education system. my budget calls for maintaining base funding and for $111 million in new money for our public schools, including a modest, but well-deserved pay increase for our teachers. [applause] postsecondary education is increasingly become agnesty in

today's global marketplace so i have set a goal that 66% of utah adults will have a degree or professional certification by the year 2020. this is an ambitious goal. but an essential one. remember the goal, 66 by 2020. and i believe working together, we will reach it. the fourth cite tieran is the coast of doing business, particularly the cost of energy, but utah electricity costs are an impressive 31% below the national average we have a competitive advantage over other states. in order to protect that advantage we must secure utah's supply of stable low-cost energy, and we must do it now. with utah's first 10-year strategic energy plan i put in place last year, we are creating

the framework to secure our energy independence. my administration is aggressively promoting responsible energy development in utah. we have demonstrated, in the basin and elsewhere, that developing our energy resources and being good stewards of the environment are not mutually exclusive propositions. [applause] one of the major challenges for energy development is that many of utah's natural resources must be distracted from federally managed public lands. while we have made progress in persuading the federal government to site and permit oil and gas wells, there remains great challenges still ahead. we cannot and we will not let the federal government halt responsible energy development in utah. [applause]

and because we owe it to our children and their children, we must also innovate safer and cleaner ways to distract natural resources and to utilize energy. as governor, i am calling on the private sector and our major universities to lead out. our goal is to create an energy research triangle that launches utah into a new era of energy technology innovation. i firmly believe that all solutions and all opportunities must be based upon principles of free markets and free enterprises. therefore, we will partner with industry and caring citizens to tackle one of the greatest challenges we have with energy development in our state, the issue of air quality. [applause]

we cannot control the weather, but neither can we ignore the human and economic consequences of poor air quality. i am taking the lead on this issue by building partnerships with utah industries and households to set achievable and vital air quality goals. i will be announcing the details of my plan in the coming weeks. i can promise you this. the solutions to our unique utah challenges with air quality will come from utah. [applause] i do believe that together we can all do something to improve utah's air. insure insure now, the fifth category is state regulatory environment. before they invest precious capital, entrepreneurs want a stable and predictable

environment and a responsible government. utah boasts a long history of fiscally prudent governance. in contrast to the federal government, utah has made the tough decisions to keep our fiscal house in order. we balance our budget and we save taxpayers millions each year by protecting our aaa credit rating inch addition, my budget proposal eliminates our remaining structural imbalance and calls for no additional borrowing, those decisions provide the stable and steady environment that the marketplace seeks and needs in order to thrive. in my travels around the state, one of the most common concerns business owners share with me is the cost, the complexity, and the uncertainty created by excessive government regulation. and last year's state of the state you'll remember i ordered a review of all of utah's business rules and regulations. it resulted in 368 proposed rule changes to improve utah's

already laudable regulatory environment. and we will work with you, the legislature, to modify or repeal those rules that no longer serve a compelling public interest. [applause] now, frankly, the vast majority of regulations causing the most harm to utah businesses come from washington, dc. part of that regulatory colossus created by an overreaching out of control and out of touch federal government. i am determined to work with our congressional delegation and my fell gores to tell the washington bureaucrats to get out of the way of utah's economic recovery and stop the senseless flow of owner rouse and misguided regulations from our nation's capital. [applause]

the last category by which forbes judged utah the best state for business is our quality of life. we truly blessed to live in the beehive state. not only are we surrounded by unsenior passed natural beauty. we also enjoy the beauty of strong communities, strong families, and a culture of caring and service. two months ago, a devastating wind storm tore through two counties, leaving tons office debris and millions of dollars of damage in its wake. with the second storm threatening, local leaders were

concerned debris could become airborne and cause further damage. tens of thousands of citizens sprang into action and fanned out across neighborhoods to assist in cleanup efforts. volunteer crews accomplished in days what it would have taken city and county crews months to do. it was a stunning and moving example of the spirit of volunteerism and love of neighbor which permeates utah and which creates so greatly to utah's outstanding quality of life. it is also an impressive example of another utah trait. our self-sufficiency si. in utah, we do not expect others to solve our problems. as a sovereign state, we know that we have an obligation to find utah's solution to utah problems but we have a right to do so. [applause] ...