companies considering expansion or investment also value great infrastructure. so whether they're accessing just in time supplies, moving products to market or transporting employees between home and office, we want them to know that they'll find they need in see fert and not bang alohr. we made the decision together to invest $40 million to further support the roads and bridges and we've created the delaware infrastructure fund has already paid off with amazon's decision to expand here. that's also why we invested in $10 million in the port of wilmington. and in the coming months we'll consider opportunities for a public/private partnership to expand and modernize the port. significantly increasing our capacity to handle global trade. and doing so will not only protect those jobs currently at the port, but it will also sow

the seeds of future growth as we leap ahead. now, when companies decide to invest their next dollar in delaware, it's not just the quality of our roads and our bridges and the port that they care about. they want to know that our air and our water are clean. and that our communities offer the parks and the recreational trails that make life for their employees and their families healthy and rewarding. you talk with business leaders on a regular basis and it quickly becomes apparent, quality of life matters deeply to them because it matters to their work force and overlook it and your state is likely to get overlooked. now, our focus on quality of life is proving that economic development and environmental protection are compatible goals. this focus resulted in nrg transforming the indian river

power plant from one of the dirtiest coal-fired power plants in the country into one of the cleanest. and it's leading to the conversion of the energy center in dover, from coal, to cleaner burning natural gas. all the while creating hundreds of construction jobs in the process. cal pine has converted the edge moor plant in wilmington to coal to natural gas and taken together, these and other improvements are modernizing our energy fleet and reducing air pollution in a way that equates to taking 450,000 cars off the road. now, our efforts to promote a high quality of life are not limited to reducing pollution from our power plants. we seek opportunities to cos an the history and natural beauty

that the first state has to offer. through an innovative public/private relationship, we're helping a company rebound from bankruptcy and retaining its mill townre initiative is enhancing the spectacular nomy y restoring critical wildlife ha and improving access for world-class hunting and fishing and kayaking but one of the best ways that we can improve our quality of life and promote healthyifestyles at the same time is to make our state more walkable and bikable. and in the next year, working with representative keely, and senator venables, we will launch the first state trails and pathways plan and i'm proposing that we dedicate the $13 million to build miles of new and enhanced trails throughout our state for every delawarean to

enjoy. and building on the strong foundation of existing trails and greenways already in place, we can make delaware one of the most walkable and bikable states in the country. now, employers looking to create jobs also care about the availability and the cost of electricity. now, that's why we've reduced the utility tax last spring. and while we've provided incentives for businesses to invest in energy saving technology. we need to continue to promote energy saving investments. but when i talk with business leaders about investing in delaware, i sometimes hear concerns about municipal power rates. and the lack of any choice in competition to hold down prices.

now, let me be clear, i have been approached by a number of businesses which because they're located in the service area of a municipal power system they're required to procure their electricity from those municipalities at rates that are uncompetitive with those charged elsewhere in delaware and importantly uncompetitive with other parts of the country where they have similar facilities. now, i'm sensitive to the revenue needs of our municipalities. but if these businesses leave our state, these jobs may well be lost forever. expressed to me by senator simpson and representative dan short, we need to work together to meet the expectations of companies choosing to doed by here, that the rates they'll be charged for municipal power generation will be fair and competitive. and i'm ready to begin that conversation with our municipalities.

now, creating jobs must remain our number one priority. and this is particularly true when it comes to our returning veterans. i was privileged to visit recently with our troops in kuwait and afghanistan. around -- and we have with us today sergeant bruce stephens of dover and senior airman jason dercheck of wilmington. both of them served admirably in afghanistan. and the first thanks that we owe

all of our veterans when they come home is the chance to partake in the abundance of opportunity that they make possible for the rest of us. their mission puts them in harm's way. their morale is high, their skills are exceptional. let's work together to ensure that they have the opportunity to put those skills to work when they come home. you know, we ensure that state employees who serve are able to return to their jobs. but we should be and we are going farther. thanks to the advocacy of, we have added representation of veteran owned delaware businesses to our diversify council, to ensure that they have a fair opportunity to compete for state business. and one of our biggest private

sector employers, jp morgan chase is leading in this area, hiring thousands of returning veterans and providing incentives for the vendors to do the same. and to encourage others to follow their lead, we will propose expanding tax credits to delaware businesses that hire veterans. now, the biggest driver for a business when deciding where to locate and where to expand is the quality of the work force. that's how it will determine whether the business becomes an innovation leader or gets left behind in the creative dust of its competitors. the late steve jobs put it bluntly, he said apple employs 700,000 factor workers in china

because it can't find the 30,000 engineers in the u.s. that it needs on site at its plans. we need to do something about that. and this is why when the history of our time here is written, the determined push that we're making to push student achievement will be the biggest game changer of all. because we have come together, parents and teachers, administrators, private employers, foundations, public officials to develop and implement a carefully crafted plan, that aims high and puts children first, we have been recognized as a national leader in education, winning the nationwide race to the top competition. and together, we're making great strides. we have established high standards to ensure that we are being honest with our children

about what they need to learn, to succeed in the global economy. we have put in place an improved assessment system so parents and teachers can track student progress and identify when students risk falling behind. 'r with resources that help them raise student achievement and we're moving forward to evaluate our teachers in part on the basis of students make. now, in today's global knowledge economy, those who are not pushing forward are falling behind. and for delaware to maintain its position of leadership, it is absolutely vital that we keep pressing ahead and i thank senators se cola and representative skoally for their leadership in this area.

now, i realize there are those who are uncomfortable with the changes that are being made, and that not all these changes will work exactly as intended on day one. we will learn from our mistakes and we will continue to maintain an open dialogue to improve. but even if you believe that what we did in the past was sufficient for those times, it will not be sufficient going forward. around the world, young people are working hard in schools that are dramatically improving, and if we stop our own efforts now it will be to the detriment of our kids and their future.so pr implementing without additional delay our performance appraisal system. which this focus on student progress. now, these implementation plans have benefited considerably from the advice of hundreds of delaware teachers and we are grateful to them for their help.

this is a challenging process. and it is one that must succeed. now, as a parent, and as somebody who has visited dozens and dozens of our state schools, i want to ensure that our changes help our children, not only to score well on tests, but also to develop a love for learning that will inspire nations in their creativity. this is a difficult balance. but it's one that's already being achieved in many classrooms throughout the state. andd o work together to expand. and because i have visited all and teachers and other school staff, i know firsthand that there are truly great things going on in delaware's classrooms. but we need to do a better job of getting the word out.

and howard weinberger, the state delaware association, has asked me to join with him and his association and the business community to let the people of our state know how many great things are going on in delaware schools, and that is an invitation that i'm excited to accept. pressing ahead also means moves forward with our world language expansion initiative. our students have got to master world languages to work with and compete effectively against workers around the world. now, we've already made completion of a world language a graduation requirement. over the next five years we are going to create partial immersion programs where

students will spend half the school day learning in another language. and finally, pressing ahead means acknowledging what research has clearly established. raising student achievement begins before children enter kindergarten. now, i have heard this message from hundreds of teachers. children receiving quality early care and education are more likely to be successful in school and in life. and investments that promise high yields get my attention, and in the realm of public policy there is no higher yield investment than this one. so last spring, we joined together to make some of the

most significant investments in early child education in our state's history. and as it turns out, those investments are paying dividends sooner than we expected. the judges of the national race to the top early learning challenge noted our commitment and they rewarded us with significant additional federal funds. now, here's our plan. first, the professionals who care for our children will have the proper training. second, the early child care facilities where our children spend their days will have the best teaching and learning tools. third, the successes and challenges of centers will be closely monitored to ensure continual improvement. that's our formula for success. and we expect to raise the percentage of high-need children in quality-rated programs from 20% to nearly 80% over the next four years.

and to let us know where our kids stand when they start school, we will introduce a new kindergarten assessment and i thank dsea and our kindergarten teachers for their work with us on this initiative. now companies that don't invest wisely wither away and perish. to succeed, we invest in our business supporting infrastructure, our quality of our life, our children and our work force. we're only going to be able to make those necessary investments if we govern responsibly. and this requires a state government that's innovative, efficient and transparent. governments that are open and transparent are more likely to manage taxpayer resources responsibly, and that's why we

launched the i found a cheaper website to make it easy for state employees to report when our contracts don't offer the best value to taxpayers. that's why we are making it easier for all delawareans to access information about their government. when citizens want information, they should get answers, not bureaucratic barriers. and thanks to the legislation passed by this general assembly, and an executive order that i signed a few months ago, quote, you have come to the wrong place will no longer be an acceptable answer to request for public records from the executive branch of government. i urge our counties and our towns and school districts to join us in this commitment to transparency. now, thanks to the leadership of all four caucuses, the general

assembly has made significant progress over the last three years in making the legislative branch more transparent. legislative committees are now subject to open meeting requirements. last year, our budget was completed and posted online, well before june 30. now, transparency needs to extend to the way the lobbyists do business here at legislative hall. which is why my administration will team up with president pro tem deluca and speaker gilligan and blevins and schwarzkopf to provide some common sense measures we hope you'll support. citizens deserve to know who is lobbying and what they're lobbying for. we will make it soon with the new online reporting tool, where citizens can see by piece of legislation which lobbyists are advocating for their clients. and we have been successful in pulling together in tough times

in no small part because of faith and the responsiveness of delaware government. the trust of people and their state government should not be undermined by a perception that lobbyists have hidden access here in dover. now, governing responsibly means governing efficiently and working closely under the leadership of representative williams. and senator mcdowell. we have eliminated more than 1,000 positions in the executive branch. we slashed our vehicle fleet. we renegotiated our lease space to save millions. we stopped unnecessary printing. last year, we confronted the unsustainable long term costs with our state employee and pension and healthcare plans with the prospect of the looming

costs gave rise to shrill rhetoric and pitched battles in other states, but here we worked together, my administration, representatives from both parties and both chambers, the leadership of major public education unions, and we achieved results. a package of reforms that will save the taxpayers more than $480 million over the next 15 years. now, our search for greater efficiency continues with an extensive examination of the criminal justice system. and under the leadership of lieutenant governor den, and with the participation of attorney general biden and law enforcement and the judiciary, we're conducting a thorough review to figure out how we can get the most for the taxpayer dollars that we spend on public safety. we look forward to receiving the

recommendations of the justice reinvestment initiative task force later this spring and to working with you to implement those reforms that can have the most positive impact. now, there's one cost driver that looms above all others. and will swamp all of the savings we achieve elsewhere if not addressed. it's the cost of healthcare. last year, we increased spending on medicaid by $56 million. my budget will recommend an additional $21.7 million increase for next year. over the last ten years this program alone has grown 127% to the point where federal and state spending together exceed $1.2 billion each year. the total commitment of taxpayer dollars on healthcare is

staggering. yet, the expectation is that year after year will continue to pay more for health care, whether we receive quality results or not. the incentives that we have in place in our healthcare system will reward neither efficiency, nor quality. these incentives encourage more services and tests, not better results. we've got a system that doesn't encourage healthy behavior in patients and doesn't discourage unhealthy behavior. in essence, we don't have a healthcare system. we have a sick care system. now, you know, we're not going to solve the national healthcare debate here in dover. but we can reduce our costs and we can improve quality by focusing on how the state

procures healthcare. the idea may sound farfetched, but we've quietly been making progress. we know that seniors requiring long-term care often prefer to stay in their homes and so long as they get the care at home that they need, the results are often better and less costly. starting april 1, we will replace our traditional reliance on institutional care for seniors with the strong emphasis on community living. this will improve care and save money and i want to thank secreta secretary landgreb and her staff for making progress on this very important issue. our housing authority, our department of health and social

services, our kids department are using the same approach to improve the quality and reduce the cost of the care that we provide to those who have traditionally been cared for in our state hospital. and to young people aging out of foster care. young people like mindy and matt stephenson and nicole byers. and they join us here today because when it comes to issues affecting the teenagers who age out of foster care we will make no decisions about them without them. so these three agencies that are

partnering to provide housing and the support of wrap around social services, so these individuals can achieve independence and we will propose to expand this initiative. now, the use of technology in healthcare is critical to improve quality and reduce costs. when you go to the doctor or the hospital in delaware today, you may find your doctor can access recent lab work and pathology reports instantaneously. and soon your doctor may be able to pull up your prescriptions and your x-rays and your mris. this allows your doctor to make quicker and better medical judgments and makes it less likely that your doctor will order unnecessary tests. in this use of information technology to provide better, less costly care is increasingly a reality. now, the next step to leveraged technology is to have a claims

and cost day databases by. the key to improving performance is toing aggregate and then anae the data. this will allow us to figure out why some providers get better results and why some create more costs without better results to show for it. we'll be in a position to reward what works and to change what doesn't. while this innovative technology is important, delaware's biggest purchaser of healthcare, the state, needs to insist on incentives for providers that are aligned to improve quality and discourage waste. taken together, our medicaid population and our state employees and retirees represent nearly 40% of the health insurance market here. accounting for a total of $1.7 billion of taxpayer

expenditures. we look forward to working with the provider community to get these incentives right. because the incentives that work today are the wrong ones and we're pleased that the delaware medical society are already active on this issue and have agreed to work with us. now, providers are not the only ones who have roles to play here. moving from a sick care system to a health care system require take responsibility for making healthy choices. we need to encourage them in these choices. for their own sake. and for the sake of all of us who end up absorbing higher healthcare costs in the form of higher premiums and higher taxes. about two years ago, i created the governor's council on health

promotion and disease prevention. they have done some terrific work. as has the sussex outdoors initiative. and some of our institutions of higher education are also working to provide an incentive to their employees to take better care of themselves. we will build on much of this work. and within state government, it's time to make all of our campuses in their entirety smoke free. but otherwise, we are facilitating behavior that's not only harmful to those who engage in it, but that we know with certainty will heavily burden future generations of taxpayers. turning around this cost curve will not be easy and it will take time, but it's work to

which we must commit urgently and earnestly. if we are to put ourselves on a sustainable financial course and retain the freedom that we all want to invest in our children and in our future. this is delaware's time to lead. creating more and better jobs. improving our quality of life. providing the best schools and learning opportunities for our children. getting the most out of each tax dollar. strengthening the trust of our people and their government. these are challenges even in ordinary times. we don't live in ordinary times. change and challenge accompany us each day. alan's family foods is no longer selling chickens across our region. now it's part of hiram,