so i had access in that way to watt himself. but he said based on his information that the states did not really want the land. they were concerned the management cost would be too high, so the man transfer ideas and proposals of the early 1980's went nowhere. i decided to take a longer strategy of thinking and writing about the future of public lands. if any major public land reform is going to happen, a lot more public knowledge and understanding would be necessary. i've been working on this project now for more than 30 years, including three books. one in 2000 with the title -- a case for abolishing the u.s.

forest services. to the schooled of public policy at the university of maryland where i am still based today. 20 to 30 articles and other publications over 30 years are posted at my school website. i would also like to say the recent developments in the west goes back to the old fiscal impact issue of the 1980's. it brought me back to the old question -- the fiscal impact on the federal government and the state transferring much of the ordinary public lands to the western states. fortunately, the state of utah issued a 732 page report in november 2014 that made it possible to answer this question with a brand-new degree of accuracy. at least for utah. the bottom line is that despite of manyments and fears

people, assuming all the federal rules transferred to utah. the federal government continues to pay for protection. the fiscal cuts come close to a wash. $20 million from the federal government and minus $20 million for utah. there are no major financial obstacles for comprehensive land transfer. i think this is very important point to make clear in this continuing public debate. so, the question of federal lands really comes down then to a basic question of american federalism.

i will turn now to the broader issue of the history of the public lands which i have spent a lot of time thinking and writing about over the last 40 years. i've sometime ago came to recognize that federal land management over the past 200 years has been a history of failure. the roots of that failure lie in american national ignorance of the real circumstances in the west. time and again, members of congress and the wider american public have projected utopian fantasies on the west and enacted laws supposedly to realize these fantasies and then be left to westerners to find a way of living with these

misguided laws. the first washington fantasy concerned the disposal of federal land in the 19th century. federal officials wanted a publicly planned, orderly process of land settlement. another key idea was that since the lands were federal property, their disposal should raise large revenue to fund the federal government. even then, washington was dysfunctional. it is not a new thing. the federal officials were very slow to work out these plans and put them into action. at the same time, millions of americans, many recent immigrants wanted land of their own. unwilling to wait for a federal government to act, they moved on to the land in large waves of occupancy. large parts of the midwest and the west in the united states

were settled by squatters. congress were then engaged in fierce debates about whether illegal acts should be reported bygranting -- rewarded granting this waters the land. squatters the land. congress effectively gave up in 1862.act in the aftermath of the homestead act, settlement was moving into the areas of the west where 160 acres, which was a limitation in the act, was unworkable. westerners in the early 20th century were left to develop new forms of the federal land laws. the next great american utopian fantasy projected on the west

was shaped by the progressive movement at the end of the 19th and early 20th centuries. it's theme was the scientific management of american society, displacing the crude interest group politics of the gilded era. the idea was that american governments could be separated into two distinct domains -- one of democratic politics and another of expert implementation of the politically determined goals. american universities were gearing up to provide of technical knowledge and professional personnel to put it into practice. fou chool of four stre restry was to provide necessary forestry professionals. this meant the disposal and arrival of the new era of

progressive management. the forest service was created in 1905. the first wildlife refuge was established in 1903. the federal government seized and thesals in 1910 park service was created in 1916. by the 1950's, leading american scholars were describing the progressive governing scheme as unworkable in practice. theic land management is leading example which turned out not to be scientific management, but political management. they sought to create appealing images to maximize their political support. smokey the bear was a great public relations success, although prominent scientists were warning of the problems of total fire suppression. we are now dealing with the consequences of the forest

service itself finds a way to survive, now spending half its budget on wildfire suppression and prevention. by the 21st century, an increasing number of americans that federal scientific meant dysfunctional management. in the recent failures of american governance, a political leader offered the forest service as a leading case example. the most recent of the great public land fantasies took shape in the 1960's as reflected in the wilderness act of 1964. instead of the old progressive movement, we saw the emergence of the environmental movement. pristineidea was that nature was being trampled by the

american pursuit of industrialization and other forms of growth and economic progress. the resulting harms were seen as essentially a moral evil pitted against nature itself. implicitly, a part of nature little touched by human hands was a remaining part of god's creation. disturbing the natural areas, human beings were stepping into the role of god. typicallyribution, in the form of an environmental calamity was sure to follow. .t was all very biblical secular environmental fundamentalism spread across the american society in the late 20th century with the same power as christian fundamentalism. interestingly, the agreed on one thing -- the god of economic

progress has won so many converts in ht 21st century -- the 21st century was a false god. it was symbolized by a fundamental shift in the official management goals of the federal land agencies. reflecting progressive era thinking, federal lands have been guided by the utilitarian goal of multiple use and sustained yield. in the 1990's, the new purpose was ecosystem management focused on new objectives such as protecting the intrinsic value diversity ofe and the human impacts. resorts, weew ski have high mountain wilderness. instead of timber harvest, we

dedicate millions of acres to protecting endangered species like the spotted owl. instead of roads easily accessible to most americans, the clinton administration would commit itself to doubling the size of roadless areas in the forests. secular environmental religion never had enough public support to get official approval from congress. instead, ecosystem management was put into practice in both the clinton and obama administrations by executive action. even more influential was the american judiciary which in the 1970's effectively replaced the as theservice and blm leading driver of public policy. the clash of environmentalism with scientific knowledge is increasingly recognized by many american environmentalists.

we live in what is increasingly being recognized as an anthropic age. there is no pristine nature to protect from human impact. this has all been something of a very happy delusion. the obama administration sees itself as the virtuous spokesperson for hire american values. are int of us americans essence country bumpkins. the obama administration fails to recognize that the grounds of its supposed yields have been grumbling in the 21st century. projecting fantasies on the west is nothing new, as i have been describing. the most recent example of all of this was the announcement last week by the obama administration that it is suspending federal coal.

it was under pressure by many current environmentalists who increasing demand that america should be fossil fuel free. they were also pressing to keep it in the ground in the west. halting coal leasing is a symbolic incremental step to the realization of that goal. as always, the public lands in the west are a guinea pig, the projection of the latest idealistic fantasies of a truly natural world. easier toctions are make when the land is public and subject to federal decisions in washington. it would be much more difficult to try to put these fantasies into affect -- effect if the land is privately owned. in the west, i don't see any prospects of that. state transfer is what we have to look for. in conclusion, i remain an

optimist that reality can be introduced in the federal land. about 30% of federal lands are being managed by their supposed . it may be a fiction but people believe it. the political compromise i would be willing to accept his continued federal ownership. exempting the national park areas. the rest of the land, seems to me quite compelling. i have been saying this since the early 1980's. i have given you the rationales of how i came to the conclusion but it seems rather obvious that if we were to apply any normal understanding of american federalism principles, we would transfer the ordinary or the mostly used public lands to the

states. [applause] thank you, dr. nelson. next, examining the revenues and expenditures associated with land management and comparing them with state management in several western states, we will hear from mr. matthew anderson, an analyst for the coalition of self-government in the west, an organization based in salt lake city. he will briefly explain the experience of western states that experience great outcomes when the performance of absentee bureaucrats is compared with those of the livelihoods of those that depend on the effective management of that land. mr. anderson. [applause] matthew: hi, everyone. it is an honor to be here at the heritage foundation. today, i've been charge to talk

about the economic impacts on western states in five minutes. that is a tall order but i will do my best. 90% of all federal lands are located in the western united states with one out of every two acres being managed and controlled by the federal government. that's one out of every two bureaucratstrol by nearly 2000 miles away from people who know the land. dr. nelson talk about the environmental impacts. certainly, we see that every day as westerners. smoke, decimated wildlife and dying forests are a reality but the economic ramifications are just as real. we see our oil and gas industries and other energy develop industries are languishing under federal regulation. what is this doing? real communities are experiencing a mass exodus out of the state to other communities were jobs are abundant.

clearly, federal lands impact westerners, especially in our pocketbooks. --begin with -- there we go from 2008 to 2014, pennsylvania experienced a 2000% increase in the production of natural gas. my home state of utah, 1%. this is not a matter of geology or natural gas in pennsylvania. we have plenty of that in eastern utah. what is his federal management. the federal government only controls 2% of the state of pennsylvania. utah, 66%. huge difference. so, when we consider that, we need to consider how long it takes for these oil and gas wells for permits to be approved. in 2011, the blm reported it took an average of 370 days to

gasove of new ooil and permits. that is when permits to get approved. the obama administration has put a cease and desist on all new permits for coal. that is what actually happens. when we combine this backlog with all the federal lands considered off-limits by the federal government, is there any surprise that states like utah are languishing under this federal regulation and not producing as much? we have to ask ourselves the question -- what if the federal government loses its grip and we have the opportunity to use these lands? an economics professor at the university of wyoming has the answer. proposes13 study, he three scenarios based on the amount of oil and gas wells, permits as well as the economic impacts it will happen the federal government were to approve these. a high, medium and low scenarios

as you can see. themedian scenario -- approval of permits would go back to the original levels they were at the fourth 2008. there was a huge shift in the amount of permits being approved. we see a huge increase to the economic benefit to states and the rocky mountain region. over 600 more gas and oil wells will be drilled every year. $10.6 billion in increased revenue from oil and gas. 87,000 jobs and more than $3 billion in tax and royalty payments. exorbitant amount of money that is going unused and being backlog by the federal government. the problem is this is not likely to happen with federal management. a property environmental research study released a study examining the expenditures on

state land versus federal. these four states we are examining -- new mexico, arizona, montana and -- pardon me -- montana, idaho, new mexico and arizona. these states were a great comparison for the research center because they had different economies, very different state management agencies and natural resources. that theo no surprise state managed their lands much more effectively than the federal lands. the federal government lost $2 billion every year on their land management in the western united states. they were producing a substantial amount of revenue. as you can see over here, for every dollar the state spent on the then management, and produced $14.51.

whereas the federal government dollarsing $.27 on every and producing $.73. that is amazing. the federal government does not have the same incentive the states due to produce economic benefits. they don't control for costs the way the states to. they don't produce the revenue. you can seeto this, the federal government spends nearly six times as much per acre as states do for their management. huge economic ramifications occur. wethe federal lands debate, hear the question if these lands were transferred over to the state, how would you manage them? the real question should be how are the feds managing to do this? simple answer -- taxes. this is not just a western problem. this is a problem that impacts all of us. utah is paying for this, arizona

and colorado. maryland, new york and other eastern states are. the civil fact is these lands need to be transferred to the states based on the capability, know-how and the ability to manage these lands responsibly. thank you. [applause] stan: thank you. focusing on the legal dimensions, on december 9, 2015 , scholars and experts presented a legal analysis on utah's claims for the federal government to transfer land to the state. the 150-page analysis of the history, constitutional construction and jurisprudence concluded the property clause was to dispose of public lands, not forever retain them. we won out here a brief -- will now hear a brief video message

distinguishednd professor at chapman university. medially following his remarks, we will hear from mr. george group a partner in a law and leader of the legal team commissioned by the utah legislature. rotunda: i want to thank the good people that heritage for inviting me. i cannot be at two places at once. i have been involved with constitutional law since i graduated from law school in 1970. this is one of the most exciting cases i have worked on because it relates to us a basic principle of states rights. it is not to give rights to the state, it is to give rights to the people. when states got together, they understood some states had a lot of land like virginia.

some states have very little land like rhode island. virginia claimed land on the eastern shore all the way to the west coast. part of california was originally part of virginia. that is the title from the king. people did not want that to happen and they didn't want some states to be unequal to others. they should be equal with sovereign powers. they should have the same power over the land as other states. there is a principal with the supreme court which is a doctrine. all states go in with people footing. the framers wanted to make sure there was this obligation to dispose of the land. it is a way of developing the nation. the idea was they would turn over the land to the federal government, the unincorporated land, the public land so they

can give clear titles. the federal government, state government -- now, everyone understood that the federal government would engage in this distribution of the land and they did that. they did this for 38 states -- maine, texas, vermont, kentucky. in all of those, the federal government turned over to the state the public land when they became states. not so for utah, oregon and other states. position,han like they are less equal than others. if you drew a longitudinal line through denver, to the right of that line, the federal government owns hardly anything. to the left of the line, the federal government owns at least half. if you subtract from all that -- thehe federal parks

grand canyon and so on -- it is miniscule compared to all the rest the federal government owns. for example, in utah, the federal government owns more land than the entire state of new york. an of the counties owns amount of land greater than the entire state of connecticut. over two thirds of the state is owned by the federal government. people of utah, the governor all agree you cannot string fiber-optic cable across the state without the permission of federal bureaucrats in washington. that is not what the framers intended. it is not this country until about 1976. people don't seem to understand it. policy andderal land management act tells us in 1976

is that 12 of the 50 states will be treated second rate. not unequal footing. first,not know that at but the way it has been interpreted, we have figured out that the federal government is not about to allow these 12 states to be like the others. what is there to be done? what we don't have to do is what they are doing in oregon now -- taking over the land. the constitution has given us a remedy. the states have the power to sue the federal government. i'm pleased to be working with a great team of lawyers. who has john howard been working on lan problems for years. a tremendous knowledge of the early history and case law. jim jardine was a respected practitioner in east salt lake city. richard siemens, a professor at the university of idaho. he has argued over a dozen cases

before the u.s. supreme court and an expert on supreme court practice. george wentz has a lock on in louisiana and very knowledgeable about the area. this is a good solid case. what the federal government is doing is wrong. states, if they uniformly object of federal control, they know how to take care of the land. they can do a better job than people several thousand miles away. george: i think they went back to my high school yearbook to get that picture. i'm george wentz. if can get this to work, we can start. there we go. ok.

they gave me 15 minutes to cover 400 years of history and jurisprudence so oi'm off to the races. i think professor rotunda has shown us what is going on very well. when it comes to the land, utah is treated very differently than 38 other states. today, we will talk a lot about the quality of the states, the sovereignty of the states and the way the state government interacts with the federal government. we all know nobody ever went fishing with the state or nobody ever sat down to dinner with a state. when it comes down to it, what we're talking about is the issue of kids, their future. this is my son. when we talk about these legal theories, i want you to understand all of these legal theories we are going to discuss a designed to affect the kids. the biggest change i have seen

is progressive growth of the federal government. i think the concentration of power in washington, d.c. is probably the largest threat in my son's future. when i talk about federalism, the structure of the constitution, a lot of thought went into that -- the founders wanted to protect that kids future. let's talk about equal sovereignty principles. line ofg to an unbroken supreme court cases, the states of the union -- you can see the states -- they created the federal government in order for the system that i tried to to work, this picture, that states need to be equal and sovereign power. here is how chief justice roberts put it in 2013 in shelby county v. holden. not only the states retain sovereignty under the constitution, there is a

fundamental principle of equal sovereignty among the states. over 100 years ago, this court explained our nation was equal in power, dignity and authority. indeed, the constitutionally qualities of the states is essential to the harmonious operation of the scheme in which the republic organized. the fundamental principles of equal sovereignty remains highly pertinent in assessing subsequent treatment of states. subsequent treatment of states. so, the equal sovereignty principles make perfect sense when you consider that we are a federal republic. we are a federation of states. the central government was created by independent sovereign states that have fought long and hard and defeated the most powerful military in the world together independence and their sovereignty. they were not about to go into a union where they had to give that up. they were going to be equal.

now, the government takes the landion that dominion over within the borders of the state has absolutely nothing to do with state sovereignty. nothing to do whatsoever. let me show you where this thing started. where the states started first arguing about equal sovereignty. dominion over land. claimed airginia massive amount of land all the way out to california. marilyn had this little land- bound state. maryland said we are not doing a bete where we will swallowed up by virginia and we are not willing to join a union of states where virginia can create subsequent -- states. if it is virginia's land, they can create another state.

you vote the way i tell you to vote. maryland was extremely worried about this. they held out in joining the union over this. six states had western land claims, not just virginia. they were all over the place. france was standing by to join the fight against the british, but they were not going to join until the united states got their act together and formed an effective government. maryland insisted that the states with western land claims give those up. ok, to whom, to what? the only answer was to give them up to the new central government that they were forming to be divided out into new states that will become equal members of the union. held out longand enough to get congress to pass this resolution, that the

unappropriated lands that may be relinquished to the united states by any particular state shall be disposed of for the common benefit of the united states and be settled and formed into distinct republican states. and have the same rights of sovereignty, freedom and independence as the other states. maryland finally relented in march of 1781 after virginia and the other states with western land claims agreed to this resolution. almost immediately after that, france sent over 20,000 troops, they sent over their fleet. in five months of maryland signing this, the war was over. i don't know how many men died while maryland held out due to the principle of equal sovereignty, but i can tell you it is a fundamental sounding principle of our nation. it is in the fabric of the way

we were destructive -- constructed. in addition to the rulings of the supreme court, history dictates states must be equal in sovereign power and the states have from the beginning scene that equality as having a lot to do with dominion over the land within their borders. history, theer of government's position that dominion over land within borders had nothing to do with but iignty was wrong, also think they are wrong as a matter of constitutional law. in a federal system, as you can see on the screen, the states create the central powers. it only works of each one of those states, when they are bargaining with each other, can protect their interests. that only works if they have equal sovereignty. if you have weak states, the get ganged up on by the stronger states who control their votes

and the deck gets stacked in congress. it would be exactly the situation that maryland held out for during the revolutionary war. utah weaker than new york because you talk does not have dominion over its land when new york does? the answer is absolutely. thes talk about two rights supreme court has recognized. taxes and self-governance. taxes are the fuel of self-governance but utah cannot tax to be 6.5% of its land. 66.5% of its land. payment in lieu of taxes. do you think there is any political pressure in congress associated with congress issuing those checks for utah? let me read you what senator mike lee had to say on the senate floor in explaining his

voting against the farm bill. here's the beginning -- its power over western communities to extort political concessions from them like two-bit reckoning. acketing. nice school your kids have. it would be a shame if anything were to happen to it. these states and communities are looking for certainty and equality under the law, yet congress treats these not as rights to be protected, but vulnerabilities to be exploited." this is not what the framers had in mind. our federal system simply cannot work as designed with some states are weak and their votes in congress can be controlled by the strong states. the citizens of the week states will never be equal to the citizens of the strong states. this is happening now throughout the west. second, the federal system is based on a concept called dual

sovereignty. the federal government up top. duality in the system. what is that all about? that is all about protecting the citizens of the states from tyranny and protecting their individual liberty. it comes down to people. here is how the roberts court put it in the first obama case. ante sovereignty is not just end of itself, rather federalism secures the citizens the liberties that derived from the diffusion of sovereign power. because the police power is controlled by 50 different states instead of one national sovereign, the facets of governing that touch on citizens daily lives are normally administered by smaller governments closer to the governed. the framers thus insured that powers which in the ordinary course of affairs concern the

lives, liberties and properties of the people were held by government or local and more accountable than a distant federal bureaucracy. the independent power of the states also serves as a check on the power of the federal government. by denying anyone government complete jurisdiction over all the concerns of public life, federalism protects the liberty of the individual from arbitrary power. how does that work when you got the federal government owning 66.5% of your state? it does not work. dual sovereignty is swept away. unelected federal bureaucrats thousands of miles away exercise police power over far more of utah then the governor and elected state legislatures like we have here. the citizens of utah cannot vote out unelected federal bureaucrats if they don't like what they are doing. utah citizens do not have the

same protections as arbitrary sovereign power the new york citizens do. it is a huge problem. utah is denied the same sovereign power to take lands. we have heard proceedings. you want to build a road? 66.5% is utah's federal land. you cannot condemn it to try to build a highway. try to string a broadband system, right? you cannot do it. you can do it in new york. you cannot do it in utah. that is another sovereign right taken away. think about that right. commerce attracts industry, population growth, ok? highways and broadband make commerce. let's ask this -- how is federal political power doled out among the states? the way it is is through the senses every 10 years on the

basis of population. weincrease our population, get more house seats and more votes for the president and electoral college. but, because we have no sovereign power and we cannot broadbandhways and and other things to attract commerce and industry, we cannot increase our population. no population, no political power. no dominion over land, new ability to develop commerce. no commerce, no population. it is a vicious cycle. if you look at this map, if you want to gerrymander the nation so that the west would be permanently denied political power in washington, d.c., you do exactly this. government, i believe, when it's his dominion over land has nothing to do with sovereign political rights, i think they are simply incorrect. the fact is the system was

designed to work only if states had dominion over the land within their borders, for all the reasons i have described. doctrine thater we rely on called the equal footing doctrine. it stems from the equal sovereignty principle that the court emphasized in the shelby case. it is only logical if everybody in the club have to be equal, if you bring a new member, they have to be equal too. that is a pretty simple concept. -- those western states let's go through the equal footing doctrine. let's talk about it with relationship over dominion of land. we all know historically in every instance, ownership of the unappropriated lands within a sovereign are an inherent right of sovereignty that they get. sovereign gets on appropriate lands. the 13 collinoln

nies is the original sovereignty. they exceeded the unappropriated lands as sovereignty. new states are admitted as equal sovereigns. i can quit right now. there is no way utah did not get its land, but it didn't. what happened? what went wrong? what we are missing is a little bit of history called the compact theory. the deal was the federal government was holding the land in order to dispose of it and give it out to states. so, the new states were brought in with the explicit understanding that they would get the land over time through the disposal of the land and grow to become equal. here is what the supreme court said -- whenever the united

states should have fully executed these trusts -- they were holding the land in trust to develop new states -- the municipal sovereignty of the new states will be complete throughout their respective borders and they and the original states will be on equal footing in all respects. that is exactly what happened 1913 -- youtil that know what happened in 1913? we passed the 16th amendment and we created income tax. we give the feds a new source of revenue and suddenly they lost all interest in liberating western lands. not only did they lose interest in liberating the lands, as professor rotunda pointed out, in 1976, congress discovered instead of holding all of that land in trust for the states, it was really theirs an congress owned it and they were going to keep it and not give it out. the compact they made with a 12

western states went out of the window and the mechanism for doing it, the clause was breached. here is what we have now -- the united states will never fully execute the stress. trusts. they and the original states will never be on equal footing. look, with soft about three theories but there's really one. . if they are equal, they have to be equal. the compact theory is at the top, it means we are going to allow the new states to grow into equality. if you breach the compact, then you have violated two bedrock constitutional principles -- the equal footing doctrine and the equal sovereignty doctrine. utah deserves to allow this compact to go forward and grow into an equal sovereign. [applause]

stan: thank you. as professor rotunda and mr. wentz, explained, there is no constitutional authority for the federal government to treat western lands like second-class citizens. the legal analysis makes it clear they are ready to halt the disposal of federal lands in 1976 with the management act. the framers of the constitution intended to grant the power to regulate public lands only in the context of their disposal, not to permanently retain the majority of the land within a state. quo inproblematic status the western states in terms of economic and legal dimensions. we will have the opportunity to listen to gregory, the speaker of the utah house of representatives. under the leadership of speaker wentds, the legislature to address it.

in the interest of time, we will forgo the introduction of his colleague and iac knowledge his presence. we are pleased to welcome speaker greg hughes. [applause] mr. hughes: thank you, stan. i want to thank the heritage foundation for formats like this and the opportunity for utah to come out here and talk about some of the things that actually impact not only our state or western states, but whole country. i'm not originally from utah. i grew up in pittsburgh. my mother is a single mother. i went out to utah to go to college. i only bring that up to give you the perspective that i'm a city boy. utah, our issue was about land.

land sovereignty comes from the rural folks. ande other guys out there dealing with and trying to interact with the bureau of land management. impacte to tell you the of a growing federal government in our state, in particular as you saw the map, in western states, it impacts our communities down to the urban districts and your suburban districts. i bring it up for another reason. there is a guy here from mount lebanon high school. when i was a kid, it was like a school.ky they were the first to have artificial turf for their football field. we were all playing in dirt andt they had artificial turf. that is because the property tax in the school district afforded them the ability to have

football field with artificial turf. if you look at this country, most of education funding is from our property tax. it is the fuel that drives these classrooms and teachers salaries. when you get to a state like utah and look at a map that shows very little property is even available to be taxed, how can a state like ours actually fund our public education system? in the depression, because there was not a lot of available funds, the state legislature enacted a state income tax. our state income taxes dedicated to public education. still, with that income tax, if you look at the national ranking, utah has more children for taxpayer and the least amount of writing per child than any state in the country. feel the impact of not being able to access the land or use some of the other practices and other policies that other states

are able to used to fund something as critical as public schools. if the environment is something you care passionately about, and i believe much of the stewardship or the idea that we would stop disposing of land like the country had done up to 38 states, with 12 states where they started to hedge their bets and said maybe not. the 1996 legislation was done in regards to improve or protecting the environment. today, we can show you the state management of land protects the environment, makes sure those forest fires do not rage beyond innumerable acres that are damaged. on environmental concerns, you can make an absolute verifiable argument that we would be better stewards of the land when the local states are able to control and manage those lands. we can show for our case in utah, our education system would be turned around overnight with

the ability to do what 38 states in our country have already done. why does this matter to anyone here that does not live in utah or in a western state? it was mentioned -- payment in lieu of taxes. when they decided they would stop the rules, we will give you some money for your trouble. are going to give you these payment in lieu of taxes. they are pennies on the dollar. the reason why do some a lot of that disposal of land over time was because the treasury in the federal government needed those dollars. point was aat some new federal income tax that went into the book. the need for the treasury to see those lands disposed of in the way they were and not become so urgent. it was $19 trillion of debt. i think this treasury might not

need to send to tilt payments to states any longer. i think there is an absolute strong argument to say taxpayers across the country no longer need to send to states what they are sending in payment in lieu of taxes for those federal lands. there is a way for states that manage leonard lance to see resources -- that manage their lands to see resources and manage $14 of every land. the federal government loses dollars in their attempts to manage our lands. my point today, and i will try to be brief, is that i think we are all in this together. i was elected in 2010 to the state legislature. i served as a public education standing committee chair for two terms, i was a majority whip and last year i became speaker of the house. i would put my money on the state and the legislatures of

this country every single time. i'm not talking republican states. i'm talking every state, republican or democratic majority -- they balance their budgets. they manage the policies in front of them. we as a nation need to look at our state wherever we live and say we know the newly elected representatives, assembled members, senators, they can do this job. see inat 38 states and i the state that i grew up in, i see a great opportunity. . the toolbox to do the job -- tools in the toolbox to do the job that the people should be provided. you get to those 12 states and you see very different set of rules. we have worked with other states that have been impacted this way. this is a conversation that needs to be much broader. you heard from mr. rotonda.

you heard from george. what we did as a state, we have had this discussion for a long time, we needed to do something different. we did through an rfp, we asked for request for proposals for legal scholars, attorneys, law view to propose a way to -- if these issues we brought up today were valid, is it something we should pursue? you see the product of that in our discussions today that we body of workstive and a case to be made that there is something we should be doing as a country on this front. our commission -- let me get the name right. the commission for stewardship of public lands has republicans and democrats serving on the commission in our state legislature.

there was an rfp done. i think it is a dream team. i think this is one of the strongest legal cases you'll ever hear about why 12 states in this country are not on equal footing and not having the opportunity and citizenry, not having the same opportunities afforded to them as 38 other states. that is not the way it was designed. we are moving forward. this is broad. i said finally about five minutes ago -- i will just say this, you don't know what you don't know. i'm absolutely convinced the states in this issue are a lot more than we realize. i believe if you are advocate for good quality public education, you should be paying attention to this issue. if you care about the stewardship and being good stewards of our environment, you should care about this issue. if you believe in transportation -- technology that we have to

get. we have to get fiber, these technology natives. we have to be able to get the technology infrastructure to the schools. that is something the federal lands keep us from doing something letting commerce occur. there are so many different stakeholders in this. i don't see this as a partisan issue. i think this is bipartisan. i think any state in this country regardless of makeup of the state legislatures would do well to have this kind of autonomy. i'm here today because of that. if you go back wherever you are from, i think a robust discussion about this and even in the questions and answers that we will have today, let's do that. i think that are critical issues. i thank you for your time. [applause]

stan: thank you. in just a moment, we will take the opportunity for those of you here to pose some questions. join me in thanking our panelists. [applause] becky, you can indicate how long we can go here. we will open it up to some questions that anyone here might want to post the members of our panel. right here. >> you mentioned the federal or something.ays what will be the average days for utah lands? >> if it was changed over or how

it currently sits? >> you were saying how long it was with the feds because the permits take a year. how long would it take on your lands today? >> i don't know that. the study did not break it down. it was all permits regardless of which state. i don't have the answer for you. stan: we have a question right here. >> i read your legal report. it is great and very convincing. i would like to ask you another legal aspect of it which is the tion by the federal land managers that they have power over the lands. it is a growing problem. be that the states

are not legitimate. i wonder how the state of utah might somehow reassert its powers on the federal lands through the state legislature and government? >> good question. the case that the federal government is always going to in property clause issues is new mexico. there was a power over the properties to regulate. they have never addressed our issue, but even in that case, justice marshall recognized the extent of the property clause was not being done by the court. he also said there was an overlap of jurisdiction and that the states had terminus

when i look at the case law, there is an indication the power you have discussed is not legitimately exercise. if i look at the caselaw is in a federal system, and the way that works in the protection of the liberty, i don't see how in the world the federal government exercises police power it is the dual sovereignty issue. we are not supposed to be -- you get a mexico city, you will see federal police. they carry guns, they protect, and police. their system is very different. we have never had federal police. show us your papers -- that is not how we do it. -- when i moved from louisiana to idaho after katrina. i went to the west -- you see

and its on the site says, federal police. never have i seen that. i don't believe that power should exist. i don't know if it has been challenged. the exercise of the police powers -- has always been reserved for the states. why? so we can vote them out. faceless unelected bureaucrats -- that is not a good term, every bureaucrat has a face. should notureaucrats be exercising police power over any land within the borders of the state. it was a territory -- that's another issue. and a sovereign state, no can do. >> thank you. the question back here. hi, i guess the question as you have great legal analysis, documents, what are the next up

-- next steps? legally, where is this going? >> i will continue to refer to our counsel. i will say that there is a legal half that needs to be read -- pursued. the green light -- is it on? there is a legal path. i will let george talk about that. the critical thing for us, we have to have a game plan. we have to know, they are not the speaking about how important this is, but had we get me different than what we have already had. let me give you the opportunity to describe. c? do you have a life migc announcer: we take you like to the state capital in lansing, michigan. governor rick snyder, the 48 michigan governor and his state of the state speech coming up.

expected to focus largely on the drinking water emergency affecting the the of flint, michigan. live coverage here on c-span. -- the city of flint, michigan. live coverage here on c-span. [applause] [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2016] [applause]

[applause]

[applause] governor synder: thank you, thank you very much. thank you. >> members of the joint convention, the governor of the state of michigan, rick snyder. [applause] governor synder: thank you, thank you very much. please, be seated. thank you. thank you for joining me tonight. kelly, eagern kevin cotter, senate majority leader, and the senate minority leader, house minority leader tim greville, members of the supreme court, members of the

court of appeals. secretary of state bruce johnson. attorney general bill judy. congressman fred upton. congresswoman brenda lawrence. my cabinet. ladies and gentlemen of the legislature, fellow public servants, citizens of michigan, and my family, i welcome you here tonight. i would like to begin by also moment, that is for a visit law enforcement, national guard members, and veterans. let's give them a shout out. thank you. [applause]

thank you. i do want to share one special situation with you, with respect to our military. deployed 127thd air wing out of selfridge. they had two key elements in terms of their aircraft. the a-10 war hawk which is a close air support unit that was deployed in the middle east dealing with terrorists and other issues there. it also is the k-1 35 tanker which was deployed refueling hawk andlike the war other aircraft, to make sure they can run those missions. we should be so proud. our a-10 pilots actually flew the equivalent of three years of flying and six months -- in six months. in terms of the k-1 35 pilots,

they did incredible work. they actually have a very special mission critical role. they had an inspection while they were deployed. they did something that had never been achieved in the history of the air force. not just the regard -- the air guard. they had an inspection with a show 100% of the members received 100%. they were perfect. that shows the spirit of michiganders. to recognize them, i am proud to say we have general leonard isabel, the commander of michigan air national guard, we have john slocum, the one 27th commander from selfridge. we have command sergeant major, daniel lincoln, the state command sergeant major. if you could rise and give them recognition. [applause]

they returned before christmas. i was happy to say i had the opportunity to attend the returning ceremony. -- about their compliments, i had to share it with you. they showed what they were doing and harms way to keep us safe. in addition, it is important to recognize we have over 400 michigan national guard members serving overseas as i speak today. all of michigan should be glad marine veteran of flint was released from iran, and we will be welcoming him home send -- soon in michigan. [applause]

before i begin him in terms of the speech itself, i would like to ask for a moment of silence for all of those who have fallen and protection of our communities, and defense of our country. thank you. tonight will be a different state of the state address. there is so much we could discuss about how we could make the great state even better, stronger over the next year. tonight i will address the crisis influence, first, and in-depth. to begin, i would like to address the people of flint. your families face a crisis. a crisis you did not create, and could not have prevented. i want to speak directly, honestly, and sincerely to let you know we are praying for you, we are working hard for you, and we are absolutely committed to taking the right steps to effectively solve this crisis.

do you, the people of flint, i as i have before, i am sorry, and i will fix it. no citizen of this great state should endure this kind of catastrophe. the government failed you. federal, state, and local leaders by breaking the trustee placed in us. i am sorry most of all that i let you down. you deserve better. you deserve account ability -- accountability. you deserve to know that the buck stops here with me. deserve to know the truth, and i have a responsibility to tell the truth. the truth about what we have done, and what we will do to overcome this challenge. my 2014 i will release and 2015 e-mails regarding flint to you. the citizens. you will have answers to your questions about what we have

done and what we are doing to make this right for the families of flint. anyone will be a livery this information for themselves. it is at michigan.gov/snyder. the most important thing we can do right now is to work hard, and work together for the people of flint. [applause] thank you. thank you. please be seated. i no apologies will not make up for the mistakes that were made. nothing will. i take full responsibility to fix the problem so it will never happen again. let me tell you what has been done so far, and what we will be doing in the coming days, weeks, months, and years to keep our

commitment to you. to make flint and even cleaner, safer, stronger city than it was before. that is what you and your families deserve. we are working to do whatever we must until the crisis is resolved. the people of flint have chosen a new mayor. committed toly work hand-in-hand with mayor weaver so we can rebuild the trust that has been broken. i have already taken steps to bring new leadership to the department of environmental quality. these are individuals that understand the severity of the problem, and will effectively communicate to the people of the state. for those whose mistakes contributed to this disaster, we are fully cooperating with investigations, and we will hold those individuals accountable. let me be perfectly clear to all of state government, in situations like this they must come to my desk immediately. no delays. no excuses.

period. [applause] thank you. we will provide resources to help anyone and everyone that is affected. just as we have provided since we first learned of the crisis. in addition to e-mails, tonight i am releasing the cover has a timeline of the steps we have taken, and the actions underway to solve the crisis. -- me walk you to the facts first, this crisis began in the spring of 2013 when he flint city council voted 7-1 to buy water from the cato you a -- kwa, the former mayor supported the move, and the emergency mayor approves the plan.

the department of detroit water and sewer provided notice of termination effectively one year later on april the fifth, 2014, flint began to use water from the flint river as an interim source. second, soon after the switch from detroit water to flint river water residents complained about the water -- the color, the smell, rashes, and concerns with bacteria. watertely localized boil advisories were issued by flint, each lasting several days beginning august when he 14. third, the department of environmental quality and the and -- federal and viral protection agency began reporting led concerns integrate 2014 -- february 12 14. sadly, both did not address the problem. the epa did not act with sufficient urgency to address

concerns with one of their experts about the approach and risk of lead contamination. inmate why 15, led service lines to one resident were removed and replaced due to a high levels of lead. still, they both failed to systematically identify and solve the problem. four, in july 2015, my office proactively asked about the quality of the water, test results, and blood testing. us that flint was in compliance with the lead and copper rule. they said there was one concern with one house that was corrected, and there was nothing widespread to address. the department of health and human services oso told us the elevated blood lead levels were to be expected because they follow the normal seasonal trends. these conclusions were later shown to be incorrect when the department of health and human services conducted a deeper analysis of the relevant data.

may, professor mark edwards from virginia tech, and a doctor sounded an alarm about lead in flint's water. tragically, based on what deq and the department of health and human services had seen on the ground, the initially ailed to reach the same conclusion. i want to thank the professor, the doctor, and the concerned people of flint for bringing the issue to light. we are actively in -- investigating why the agency's got it so wrong. i believe we have the doctor with us tonight. i would like to recognize her. if you could rise him a please -- rise, please. [applause]

dr. hana, i apologize. september 20 8, 2015 -- 28, 2015, i was -- i had a phone call. epidemiologist validated the findings, confirming the lead problem in flint's water supply. at this point, i immediately ordered them to develop and implement a 10 point land that includes the immediate dissolution of water filters, immediate testing of water in schools, expanded water and blood testing for anyone exposed. about 12,000 filters were the stupid. 700 water test. and 2000 blood tests were conducted in the first two months. on october 8 i announced the flint water system would be

reconnected with the detroit water system to minimize further dimension -- damage. later that month i announced the independent flints water -- flint water organization to address the crisis. issuedk force recommendations, and identify critical problems in mid-december, specifically, they pointed to a primary failure of leadership at the deq, and a culture that led to this crisis. the task force was right. i immediately took action, appointing new leadership of the department. ninth, i declared an emergency in flint on generate fifth, to access additional resources and additional support, including the michigan state police, and the michigan national guard. these critical resources were needed to help families get and any risk or

of a -- exposure for every resident of flint. presidentialted a recommendation for federal emergency which was granted. for members of the congressional delegation here tonight, this is a challenge we must work together to solve. i look forward to working with you to bring additional support from the federal government to the people of flint. , more than 37,300 cases of water, more than 53,700 water filters, and more than 7300 water testing kits have been distracted -- distributed. more than 21,300 homes have been visited. this is not enough. i and increasing the support from the michigan national guard starting tomorrow to ensure that every home we need to visit in flint is visited as soon as possible. i am appealing the president's decision not to grant a major disaster declaration.

we will continue to deliver water filters. we will not stop working for the people of flint, until everything will person has clean water every day, no matter what. [applause] thank you. thank you. that is why today i made an official request to the legislature to fund a series of immediate actions to provide everyone in flint clean water act, and care for the children. millionion to the $9 supplemental appropriation for flint made in october 2015, the request today is for $28 million with $22 million from the general fund. it includes additional bottled water, filters, replacement

filters for anyone needs these resources. assistance to the city of flint to help with utility related issues. testing and replacing fixtures in schools, day care's, and other high-risk locations. highment of children with lead levels, including diagnostic testing, nurse visits, and assessments. services will be available for the treatment of potential behavioral health issues such as adhd. for those who have had, or could have had elevated blood lead levels. we will also work with local primary care providers and hospitals to educate the committee about toxic stress, and how to identify develop no delays -- developmental delays. for children and adolescent health centers, and additional support for children's health care access. infrastructure integrity

study using outside, independent experts. an important note -- this will not be the last request for flint. additional resources will be needed for water related needs, health-related needs, educational needs, economic the elements needs and more. if you would like to help flint .com. help for flint if you are a flint resident who needs help getting the water you need, go to helpforflint.com these are the facts of what we have done and what we are doing. as solvingortant short-term needs and improving long-term solutions, we need to make sure this never happens again in any michigan city. [applause]

thank you. we began this process by creating the independent flatwater task force, and asking them to report on exactly what happened, what accountability measures must be in place, and what investments need to be implement it. -- implemented. this month i issued an executive order to make sure leaders had everything they need to clean up this mess. anyone withat lingering health care concerns is quickly, compassionately, and effectively treated. i know there will be long-term consequences, but i want you to know that we will be there with long-term solutions, for as long as it takes to make this right. there can be no excuse. when michiganders turn on the tap they expect and deserve clean, safe, water. it is that simple. it is that straightforward. that is what we will deliver.

to the families in flint, it is my responsibility, my commitment to deliver. i give you my commitment that michigan will not let you down. [applause] in addition to the issues in flint, we have a statewide infrastructure challenge. flint is not alone. michigan is not unique. we have a national problem with the infrastructure. michigan's infrastructure was ranked d by the american society for civil engineers, worse than the national ranking which was a d plus. we need to get this right in michigan for the long-term. we need to invest more and smarter in the infrastructure so we can avoid crisises like this

in the future. one illustration of success was roads. this last year we made the largest and interest rotation funding in the last half-century. it will allow us to fill potholes, rebuild roads, and make bridges safer. i want to thank the speaker and a senate majority leader for all of that leadership in making this happen. thank you. [applause] but more than roads, we have a restingroblem, we have bridges, we drive on the roads, and feel the potholes, and cracked concrete. underground, some types are over 100 years old. some are made of wood mothers led -- others are made of lead. many burst in the winter. out of sight, out of mind, until we have our problems, or the freeway flood because the constant work. lead pipes, aging natural gas

infrastructure, wastewater overflows, energy reliability, ports needing emergency dredging, line five underneath the great lakes, even the sealock, we need better solutions. we can come up with better solutions. one illustration -- we have made progress with respect for iron pipes for natural gas transmission. across michigan we have many miles with the iron pipes for natural gas. this is not a theoretical risk, it is a real risk. i was a couple met the michigan public service commission in 2011 for identifying this problem and starting to take action. they made a commitment required raising rates. we started to replace a number of those old cast-iron pipes to make it safer for people, the environment. we were smart. we began the process when costs were low so we could afford to replace the pipes. we still have many more pipes to go.

this is the kind of problem solving we need in the future. here are some actions we can immediately take on the infrastructure. first i want to issue an executive order -- i will issue an executive order to the michigan department of transportation, that they will confer with local officials and utilities every time we do a new road project. it is the best opportunity quite often to replace the aging infrastructure underneath those roads, when the road is torn up. we can save money, and do the smarter. i ask the legislature to consider looking at the same issue when local government does road projects. how can we partner if the roads are torn up, let's do more while we have the opportunity. when led investigations are made in the state, we do not currently do this, but we should be checking water sources and critical areas. in addition to checking for paint, dust, and other environment factors. we should be ensuring that all schools test for lead in michigan, putting up priority on

those in areas where we know they have aging infrastructure, or let problems in the past. we should be increasing led education efforts in schools as well. overall we need a smart, strategic plan for all of us. it requires an honest assessment of the challenges, opportunities, and costs. that is why i will be recreating the commission for building the 21st century infrastructure. we need experts steeped in credibility, visit -- visionary leaders committed to michigan's future. they will study what michigan needs, develop a plan, for making the right investments and water, sewer, transportation, broadband, and other areas. also discussing how we will pay for the investments. i will have for the report in september of this year. in addition to infrastructure in flint, i now want to talk about detroit and education.

great challenges cannot be addressed without hard work, long hours, and true partnership with the communities in need of new hope and a fresh start. selling is not impossible, and certainly not without precedent. let's look at detroit, when you're after leaving bankruptcy. rebuild,t continues to it should give every city in this great state, a hope and belief that we can deliver new opportunities for everyone. who would've dreamed possible that the idea that just a year after bankruptcy our state's largest city has become a hub or innovation and excitement. there is dynamic economic roads downtown and the town. it is keeping and drawing young people to the state. it is important to note there is much more work that needs to be done, especially in the neighborhoods. but progress is evident everywhere. there are over 59,000 lights that have been turned on.

more than 7600 structures demolished since 2014. violent crime is down 18% since 2012. we're showing what detroit can do. as part of that i would ask recognition for the mayor. please stand up. [applause] thank you for your partnership and helping rebuild a great city. our recent work at detroit gives us a measure of pride, the schools are in a crisis. the detroit schools are in need of a transformational change. are failing ats their central task of preparing our young michiganders for successful rewarding life. put, not all detroit students are getting the education they deserve.

this is a large problem. nearly a -- nearly 100 schools in detroit public schools, 60 charter schools in and around the city, 18 educational achievement schools, several adjacent charter and school districts, yet parents cannot find the quality education they seek. one of the issues is detroit public schools are in debt. by this summer it will be over $515 million in debt. to achieve the needed academic outcomes financial stability and detroit public schools must be achieved. going1100 per student is to debt service, and not to classrooms. problem -- let's solve this problem and help the kids. prompt legislative action is needed to minimize the fiscal impact on both detroit, and the rest of michigan.

the time to act is now. and avoid court intervention that could cost all this much more and be more detrimental. i want to thank senator hanson for the legislation and the input of many legislators that they provided over the last several months. i asking don't move with haste. senator, please rise. [applause] -- i ask that you move with haste. senator, please rise. [applause] the detroit education coalition also recommended a detroit education commission to help students achieve a result in all schools. this is a good idea, but has not drawn much support. we should keep looking at this key element to help detroit's kids. ,he school reform office working with detroit public schools and local leaders will

actively address the issues in lieu of the commission. all of us from state and local toicials, education charitable, and civic leaders, parents, too concerned citizens, need to work together quickly. the challenges are well-known. the alternatives are defined. now is the time to get something done. great schools are critically important for the city of detroit, and the entire state of michigan. let's address this decade-long crisis now. [applause] every michigan child deserves an education that launches them into a successful career path in life. the best careers in the modern economy require training with access to programs that gives them the skills, and experience. necessary to prepare them for college, career, and life. we have made progress.

we have made some good reforms. we have added tougher academic standards without federal mandates. we've talked about teacher effectiveness. we are a national leader in funding preschool. we created early literacy programs in terms of pre-three rating. in terms of stem programs, we are a leader with programs like first and square one. we have done wonderful things with early and middle college programs. we have made a commitment -- i have made a commitment to make sure that we are the nation's leader in career technical locations. these are -- vocations. these are all great priorities. one illustration i would note tonight, hopefully that the program -- i want to recognize the wonderful young student that designed the program cover. from seventhrise, grade in new baltimore anchor bay mills school.

-- middle school. [applause] alina, you're the future of the state. i appreciate your parents bringing you here tonight. i like that thumbs up. but, all of us, whether we are a policy leader, and educator, or community leader, or a parent, or a student, we all have to have some accountability for achieving these outcomes, and to be blunt, we have a 19th century education system in the toy first century. -- twice for century. tury.st cen it is time to ask why. we have cover hints of studies, when on funding, and one on technical education. we have had wonderful task force with actual items.

i am proud of the one we did with pre-three reading. that was completed. we have another one coming soon in special education, in terms of recommendation. we also have one on stem coming. more needs to be done. i want to recognize the partnership of our sick -- state and the state board. brian winston has done a great job. he went through a complicated process with multiple stakeholders and developed an excellent set of goals to make michigan a top 10 state in 10 years. brian, please stand up so we can recognize you. [applause] i want to show partnership with the state superintendent and the state board of education by creating a commission for 21st century education. let us do a bipartisan, multi-stakeholder effort.

look at all of these studies and recommendations that investigate what have been the obstacles holding us back from greater success? and let us deliver recommendations to building michigan educational structures. what is the appropriate structure? what is the appropriate governance? how do we find it? -- fund it? i ask for results by the end of november. let's transition to talking about the economic future of the state. our economy might in good today, but we need to take action to make sure it is good in the future. we should not take it for granted. that is how we had the mess up in the last decade. in terms of the compliments we should be proud from a job creation point of view. since december of 2010 we created over 420,000 private sector jobs. we ranked number six in the nation. that equates to 232 new jobs

every single day in the state. [applause] we are number one in the nation and manufacturing job growth. our unemployment rate has been cut i more than half since december 2010. we are third in the nation for the largest reduction on unemployment in that time. importantly with it though, it is not just about more people working, personal income is increasing again in michigan. we saw a huge loss in the last decade. i am proud to see in 2014 we increased 3.9%, more than doubling the prior year's growth rate of 1.4%. that weis important remember that not everyone has participated in this comeback. we need to take special efforts to make sure the people in

places that have not participated join us. we have created programs that do this. we need to continue to wrap them ramp them up, with respect to the urban places. one program i am proud of -- we have another -- a number of others, that it is community ventures. that was a program we built from soli state resources. the click civility to be done, and get it done. it has been successful. it has employed over 400,000 people by partnering with 110 companies. the retention rate after one year is nearly 70%, 69%. are $11.80n average an hour. if you think about it, what a great start. but what i will tell you is, that is not a final point. that is a point to get people successfully working that have

not. then we can apply traditional programs to give them upward mobility. more opportunity for a bright, long-term future. in flint alone, this program has accounted for 618 jobs already. we need to help other places though. i mentioned urban areas. too often we forget we have rural communities, we have smaller communities that also suffer poverty. we cannot leave them behind either. i am proud to say laster we launched a program called rising tide. the program is based on the premise to go to each one of our 10 regions in the state and identify a challenge community. we have gone to those communities and said, we want to present a team of resources. it is not just about money, but people that can help. we have a collaborative effort between economic development resources, community development resources, and talent development resources all

teaming together to go help those communities. join the rest of us. as soon as we get those communities succeeding and we are seeing progress, we will pick new communities to take their place. we will keep going down the list until we have covered every corner of michigan. that is what we should be doing. in terms of michigan's economic future, if you look at the industries in michigan we have automotive, agriculture, and tourism, i like to say our victory -- our big three. they are all doing well, extraordinarily well in some ways. the one in particular is the automotive industry. we should be so proud. we set u.s. records for car sales in this country over the last 12 months. next year is expected to be even better. michigan has been the beneficiary of that. we are still the heart and soul of the auto industry, make no mistake about that. we should carry a special private that. over 70% of the research and

develop and in the u.s. auto industry happens right here in michigan, in addition to building more cars than any other state. [applause] but i want to share something with you, it has been a tremendous opportunity and privilege for us to help support that industry and the wonderful, hard-working people on the lines building the cars, the supplier base doing the hard work to make the world's best products. youave a threat, i can tell if we did what we did in the past, we could lose the auto industry out of our state, in terms of leadership. why is that? the auto industry is transforming to something new. the world is changing. the auto mobile industry of today in 10-20 years will be

called the mobility industry. it will be about how people travel, not just about the vehicle they travel in. -- it is time now to understand we need to look towards the future, not just admiring the past. this area in particular, we need to make investments. we have started the process. we have made some good investments. the primary being the area of intelligent vehicles. autonomous and connected vehicles, and smart infrastructure, and how it communicates with vehicles. several years ago we created something exciting, in partnership with the university of michigan called the chagrin mobility transformation system -- center. this is a real project you might not realize was taking place in southeast michigan. literally have a testbed of thousands of connected vehicles talking to infrastructure, even today. when i say connected vehicles, do not worry, many of you might confuse that with autonomous

vehicles, these still have drivers. you can feel safe on the road. this is part of our future. we need to do more. just this last year we did a partnership and launch something called the m city. it is a 32 acre campus at the university of michigan for testing autonomous and connected systems, a closed loop with different environments. it is swamped. the auto industry has overwhelmed this place with demand. they were looking for a place to do this kind of work. m city is not good enough. propose to you, and i often working in partnership with the congressional delegation, and i thank them for their efforts is to look to create the american center for mobility at willow run. we have an opportunity to create over a 300 acre campus that would be the world's best place to test intelligent vehicles, whether autonomous or connected.

this place is critically important. the industry needs it, but we need to bring in the federal government, and say, this is the place for the standards for safe operation should take place. right here i'm in michigan at miller run -- willow run. it can be the base for international standards. that is how we can help keep leadership of the auto industry in michigan. by making that future looking investment, and doing the right thing. to make sure that exciting car you saw at the detroit auto show in 10 years -- just think. it will still have wheels, but it is a computer on wheels. we need a place like this to make sure we maintain our leadership for the long-term future. [applause]

thank you. ,he last item i talked about about automotive going to mobility was an opportunity that could become a threat. now i want to talk about something that has been a great opportunity for many years, but we face a major threat. sioux lo sealock -- cks. we hours talk about it, and we are proud of it, but often we do not talk about how important it is to more than 400 ships annually use it. they are crucial to supplying the iron or that makes this deal for all of the vehicles i just talked about. and many appliances. if you look at it, most of the tonnage goes to one specific pollock. bullock --

the other ones cannot accommodate the carriers. it is absolutely critical to the future. one.ssue is, there is an analysis was done, what would happen if that one lock went down? it would devastate michigan's economy. to be blunt, it could devastate the national economy. think about it -- we would run out of steel. this is the kind of steel that does not come from other places. it is based on the or that comes through the sioux locks. it is interesting if you look at the history, a second thousand foot lock was actually authorized, believe it or not and 1986 by the federal government. congress approved the second lock, they said we allocate the money to build it. this was something we need to work with congress on, on getting up done -- it done. i am proud to say we have partners in the federal government we have been working with to make sure we explain

this issue would be public, to leaders in washington, and a commitment to get it done. i would like to recognize two great partners -- up in the gallery. we have captain steve, and lieutenant colonel michael sellers junior of the united states army of corps of engineers. please rise. [applause] just as i mentioned a commission on infrastructure, a commission on education. when those commissions get their work done, we need to aggregate this to talk about the economy of the future. aam also going to appoint commission on building a 21st century economy. our economy is more productive than it has been in years. we are doing better. the better is not good enough.

-- but better is not good enough. we need to continue to improve, delivering a healthy economy that the chicken deserves. one that provides opportunities for every person that wants to work hard, get ahead, and stay ahead. network of thet first two commissions, but let's also add the confident long-term and economic tools, and creating a culture of continuous innovation. i am proud to say, we have a group that really represents that here tonight. i made a trip to the upper peninsula last year. i visited northern michigan university. they took me to a place, i think it was an old bank branch, not near campus. i walked in, it was about students helping inventors. the inventors were walking in with ideas, the students were talking to those inventors about the ones that could be made into real products. it is happening. marquen market today --

tte today. this should be all throughout michigan. think about this engaging students with inventors. creating new economic opportunities. it is exciting. i after recognition -- ask that you give recognition. we have students and other leaders from nmu, please rise. [applause] we need to create an environment that supports economic development, and encourages businesses to grow. opportunity needs to be part of our dna and the state. i will for the report by the end of december -- ask for the report by the end of december.

the challenges we face in flint, in detroit, and beyond are serious but solvable. the question is can we come together today in a spirit of cooperation to find the solutions that people deserve, or will we succumb to crisis, and allow politics, and finger-pointing to overcome the ?eal needs of real people we have to solve this challenge. every single citizen depends on us. we need to give them a better am a brighter future. they deserve it. to raise a family, to work hard, to get ahead. the personally committing next three years of my administration to tirelessly work to ensure the families of ,lint can heal from this wound

and every michigander enjoys the quality of life they deserve. to do this, i asking return -- ask in return that your prayers include the people of flint. i ask for continuing strong partnership council and commitment of all of our legislators gathered here. for the commitments of all of our citizens to work together as michiganders with relentless, positive action, and to hold me accountable for results. i thought the office of governor of michigan -- i saw at the office of governor of michigan to reinvent the state. we were broken. we have repaired and reinvented many critical items in the last five years, including issues that many did not think of be solved -- could be solved. the crisis in flint makes it clear to me that more needs to

be done. it is truly a humbling expense to see the people you work for, and care for, harmed by the people that work for you. but michiganders do not quit. we do not give up. instead, we will work with more passion and commitment to truly improve the state for everyone who has chosen to make michigan their home, this is more than a promise, this is my commitment. thank you, and god bless michigan, and our nation. [applause]

[applause] >> the escort officers will escort the first lady, the governor, the first family from the chamber. 48ouncer: rick snyder, governor of michigan, the republican taking office in january of 2011, delivering here in flint, his state of the state address. spending time in the address, the early part talking about the water crisis in flint, michigan. the epa acknowledging today that state officials did not respond fast enough to the crisis over led contaminated drinking water there. the statement was one of several development unfolding about the city's drinking water. the health and human services department announced they would lead the that all government's

emergency response. the white house of pointing and hhs official to coordinate the effort. as part of today's briefing with josh earnest. >> as well is the president going to detroit tomorrow -- a disaster declaration i believe, or emergency declaration. does he plan on visiting flint? did sign president this declaration that would allow the federal government to provide up to $5 million in assistance to state and local officials trying to manage that response. this comes on top of the assistance that the federal government has already provided. in the form of expertise and support.l obviously the city of flint, and the citizens of flint are going through a very difficult time.

the u.s. government is determined to do what we can to support the state and local officials who are responsible for responding to the incident. let me tell you about a couple of things we're doing. later todayou that the department of health and human services will designate an woman's name this is dr. nicole re:. she is assistant secretary of preparedness and response. she will be the lead federal appointee. the lead federal official to coordinate the federal response to this particular situation. given the significant public health equities involved, it makes sense that somebody from hhs would play the role. she will be principally responsible for dealing with , and and local officials coordinating the assistance that can be provided by the federal government, not just by hhs, but also federal agencies like the department of housing and urban othersment, the epa, and

that the united states department of agriculture -- they can provide some assistance here. i can also tell you that the mayor of flint, karen weaver is visiting the white house on a prescheduled trip. the u.s. conference of mayors is meeting in washington. there is a special session for newly elected mayors. i know that in advance of that group meeting with other newly elected mayors, mayor weaver had the opportunity to sit down today with valerie jarrett, the president's senior advisor to discuss some of the challenges the city is facing right now. obviously it is a newly afflicted -- elected mayor. she has a lot of responsibilities she is trying to juggle. felt it was important for staff at the white house to have the opportunity to hear at some length, the challenges facing the city. i would expect, before the end of the day, the president will have an opportunity to visit with mayor weaver as well while she is here.

again, it is an opportunity for the president to hear from the mayor of flint on the significant challenges facing the city. iven all of that activity, would not expect the president. in flint on his trip tomorrow. schedulesly has a full where he will spend time talking about the tremendous economic recovery the city of detroit has made. a lot of that economic strength and recovery was possible only because of the difficult decisions this administration make they on to recovery possible, and reinvigorate the american manufacturing center. over the weekend hillary clinton brought up race in relation to the flint water crisis. saying essentially because it is a majority black town, the issue is being ignored. does the president share that to you -- that race played a role?

from thean tell you perspective of the obama administration, based on what i told you about the fema response and the hhs leadership role, and meetings that will josh earnest: there are questions that have been raised about the conduct of state and local officials leading to this amticular situation, but i thated to speak about because there is an investigation in this matter. in terms of the response, this is a clear response that is and should be led by state and local officials, but the federal government is mobilizing resources. >> 35 years ago tomorrow, iran released hostages that were held for 444 days in the u.s. embassy in tehran. we invite u