the house has passed those repeatedly. south carolina thanks you for that. the senate has refused to even vote on either repeatedly. let's break this down a little bit. house members, we're not going to talk to you right now. [laughter]. >> senators, we see an opportunity. we see an opportunity because the state is watching. we see an opportunity for you to show where you stand. so i'm going to ask for every senator that is for income

[ applause ] >> stay standing. stay standing. i'm going to ask for you to continue to stand if you support true independent investigations. please stand. [ applause ] >> ladies and gentlemen, we finally got to see what that vote might look like. i hope that this will be the last year we talk about ethics

and i look forward to working with all of you so that we can celebrate. as you may have noticed, i love to celebrate. we build things in south carolina. we build planes for boeing. we have five international tire companies. we are the bmw capital of the world. we broke ground yesterday on a billion dollar investment by the largest producer of carbon fiber in the world, tory streeindustries. we will soon be building more automobiles than ever before. mercedes benz vans will soon be manufacturing sprinter vans in south carolina. their custom automobiles are developed for commercial and freight transport and for executive.

imagine. they truly are the coolest vans you'll ever see. and we want every company across south carolina and the world to buy these american-made vans. also has freight lining chassis operations. today they announced an expansion with a $22 million investment. please help me welcome, and i'm going to ask just these two to stand up in the gallery, please. please help me welcome michael baka and roger nealson as we give our total support to daimler and mercedes benz vans.

>> in may i sat with secretary bobbi hit with carol campbell's portrait looking over us. we took a long awaited call that volvo's partners begin their journey of manufacturing in america. volvo is known for its quality and safety. we are so proud that they trust south carolina to help continue to their customers. to our friends at volvo, i have total faith in our work force. we won't let you down. please help me welcome, catarina

[ applause ] >> and there's more to celebrate over last year than these two major editions to the south carolina family. south carolina's unemployment rate sits at 5.5%, the lowest since 2001. in the last two years, we've saved businesses more than $151 million in unemployment taxes. we've cut our debt service by almost half over the last five years. while at the same time, doubling our general reserve. we've moved almost 30,000 people from welfare to work. the most recent data shows the rate of released inmates returning to prison has decreased by more than 25%. 2015 was the third year in a row with record breaking tourism and there are more people working

history of south carolina. these things don't happen by accident. world class manufacturers don't make multi-billion dollar decisions to call south carolina home on a whim. and our historic employment levels are not a result of a great string of luck. we have worked for our successes. we have been smart. we have paid attention to the changing world around us. and the growing competition for good jobs that pay good wages. we have kept our fiscal house in order and protected our credit rating. we have invested in our ports, in our work force and in our children's future. it's a great day in south carolina. but as i learned a long, long time ago, good times don't last if we squander them. so let's continue to be smart to work together so that we grow

complacent and watch it drift away. to that end, transportation has been a topic of great interest and even greater discussion as of late. so i will be brief. and also, i hope, very clear. i think no differently of our road situation than when i stood before you one year ago. i will not sign any piece of legislation that raises taxes, not in year one, not in year five, not in year ten. i will not sign any piece of legislation that does not include real reform to the department of transportation. the days of horse trading south carolina roads has to end. and i will not buy in to the idea that somehow we cannot afford to cut income taxes for our people. in december, an economist said,

state's economy, rarely have i seen it in such good shape, in such steady footing. we had a billion dollars in new revenue last year. we have 1.3 billion in new revenue this year. my executive budget includes every dollar needed to pay for this year's tax cut. next year's will, too. this is not our money. it belongs to the taxpayers. we can and we should return it to them. pass legislation that cuts our taxes, reforms are flawed transportation system and invest in our roads and i will sign it. pass legislation that does not do all three of those things, and i will veto it. the choice is clear and it's all yours. i cannot end the speech about where the state of south

2016 without first talking about the most impactful experience of this year. the mother emanuel tragedy. sharonda coleman singleton. middleton doctor. cynthia herd, suzy jackson, ethel lance, clemente pinckney, myra thompson the nine we lost in the most sacred of places. their memories will forever be with us. my family and i pray for them and theirs every day. when i speak of the tragedy, i no longer speak of the emanuel nine. i speak of the emanuel 12. why? on june 17th, there were 12 men

bible study. i've said it before, but i imagine i will say it until i no longer have the capacity to speak at all. those 12 people did what so many south carolinians do on a normal wednesday night. they went to bible study to profess and to grow their faith. but that was not a normal wednesday night. that night someone else joined them. he didn't look like them. he didn't sound like them and didn't act like them. they didn't call the police. they didn't throw him out. instead, they pulled up a chair and they prayed with him for an hour. the reasons only god knows, we lost nine amazing souls that night. though, too, for reasons only he

ready to take three more but he still had work for them to do. i ask that you join my family as we pray for mrs. felicia sanders, for her 11-year-old granddaughter and for mrs. pauly shepherd as they continue to live with that memory. mrs. sanders and mrs. shepherd are here joining us in the chamber tonight. i'm going to ask that they be the only two standing in the upper chamber. i am so grateful that they are, just as the nine we lost

must exist in heaven. these two women and the precious little one who was with them that night are proof that we have angels living on earth. please join me in expressing to mrs. sanders and mrs. shepherd, the warmth, the gratitude and above all, the love that the entire state of south carolina feels towards them.

[ applause ] >> ethel lance, who despite losing her daughter to cancer, was a woman of love and joy. known for constantly singing her favorite song, one day at a time, sweet jesus, that's all i'm asking of you, she would sing. just give me the strength to do every day what i have to do. just give me the strength to do every day what i have to do. we are a different south carolina than we were one year ago.

what we have gone through and not come out changed on the other side. the questions we in this room must ask ourselves are what does that mean? what do we do with it? my hope is that we follow the example set by those around us. those 12 who prayed with a stranger, their families who forgave a murderer, that community that came together. our state that inspired a nation. there is greatness in south carolina. a greatness embodied by our people. a greatness unequal in our country. we have all seen it. we all know it. it is my fervent wish that in this year, we as the representatives of those people, act in a manner that is worthy of that greatness.

to where we can take our state. for i will continue to work toward a brighter future. i will continue to believe in a stronger south carolina. and i will continue to pray that god gives me and you the strength to do every day what we have to do. thank you. god bless you and may he continue to bless the great state of south carolina. [ applause ] >> we were watching governor nikki haley's state of the state address where she said the state is bent but not broken. and not the same south carolina we were a year ago. >> we're now going to get the democratic response to the state of the state address. here is senator mandy nurel. >> hello, i am mandy powers noel.

of lancaster county. like governor haley, i was also born and raised in rural south carolina and educated in our public schools. we have similar backgrounds, we see things from different perspectives. governor haley describes a south carolina from the perspective of those from the top. i see it from the ground level. and from the perspective of a mother of teenagers in public school and a small business owner, i see hard working people struggling to make ends meet. senior citizens having to choose between making their mortgage payment and buying their medicines. teachers trying to make due with moderate to little funding. 25 years ago, governor haley and i were both finishing high school. she was in banberg and i was in lancaster. our roads and bridges were some

our neighbors had jobs with reliable health insurance and stable retirement plans. the future looked bright. what's changed in the past 25 years? i'll tell you one thing that's changed. here in that time, republicans have been in almost total control of state government. they've had the governor's mansion, the house of representatives, senate. and republicans currently control every state wide elected office. are you proud of our public education system? are you satisfied with the conditions of our roads and our bridges? are you confident that if you got sick, you could afford the treatment? in the past 25 years, our state has declined in almost every category. we've been duped. i grew up in a small town. both of my parents worked for spring wells and i worked, too,

those our republican led education system is not preparing. in the past two decades, public education has become grossly funded. if you find that hard to believe, did your parents have to send packs of paper, disinfectant wipes and glue sticks to outfit your classroom the first year? republican leaders refuse to minimally adequately fund our education system. now they're refusing a supreme court order. this pattern of defunding is no accident. if public education is brought to its knees, then that strengthens the argument that those republicans who want to divert our tax money from public schools to private academies.

the great equalizer. it's a promise of who you are and where you come from, if you're willing to sacrifice and work hard, you can achieve anything. when i ask kids what they want to be when they grow up, they tell me the same thing. they want to be a doctor, lawyer, policeman, a president. a child from a low income family, the chances of realizing these goals is not as great as it was just a generation ago. a democratic legislature who invests in public schools the way they did. we need to start today to prepare them for success in this quickly changing world. i bet you agree. while republicans talk a big game about economic development,

just one month ago, governor haley turned her back on our agriculture community. farmers reeling from the flood asked her for disaster assistance. her unwillingness to help our state's largest industry has put the future of agriculture in south carolina at risk. the south carolina farm community can trust and believe that you have a friend and unwavering advocate in democrats. you've heard a lot of businesses state. sure, the economy has improved in many ways. i will submit to you that south carolina's recovery is part of a national recovery. happening in every single state. not just south carolina. january marks the 70th straight month of job growth in our country. south carolina is sharing in this national trend. it's true that we have brought

overseas corporations. but what about the local businesses who are being taxed while their larger competitors enjoy subsidies. that's not fair. what about workers who are displaced? who are too young to retire but all the available jobs pay only a fraction of what they used to make. what if we didn't have to hand out hundreds of millions of dollars in tax incentives to convince companies to move to south carolina? world class public schools, a healthy work force and great roadways would be worth far more than the incentives that recruit these companies now. speaking of safe roadways, why haven't we passed a bill to improve roads and bridges? i remember hearing my republican

that that was the most important thing. lately you heard governor haley talk of the fighting is within her own party. republicans in the senate actually fillibustered their own bill last summer until it was dead for the year. while republicans are fighting amongst themselves, our citizens continue to suffer with tattered roads and dangerous bridges. democrats, on the other hand, remain unified in our. we hope republicans will join us. but make no mistake, if democrats were in control of the legislature, we would have a bill on governor haley's desk in days. we still have no solution for our roads and bridges.

you do, too. i especially love living in my home town where i know the people i meet on the street every day. i know the police officers and emergency workers who protect me. our greatness comes from our people not from our politicians. we have a moral duty to take care of our people, our greatest resource. under republican leadership, though, south carolina remains one of the most unhealthy states in the nation. with one of the highest rates of uninsured citizens. did you know that we actually turned down $11 billion in federal funds? it would have created 44,000 new jobs in our state. did you know that if you are working but making minimum wage, you would have health care coverage at no cost if the

the democrats to accept these federal funds. and this money would have come at almost no cost to our state, either. we've already paid for it with our federal tax dollars. but republicans said no. this does not make sense for our people who need jobs. and it especially does not make sense for those in our state who are sick and cannot afford to go to the doctor or the hospital. our state has been through a lot in the past year from the unspeakable tragedy in charleston, these events tested our fabric and showed that south carolinians are made to endure. but the storm is not over for many south carolinians. the flag has come down and the flood waters have receded. as state leaders, it is our responsibility to continue to unify our state and help these affected families make a full recovery. we are waving together with love

we have so many critical issues before us still. the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result. yet for a generation, we have continued to elect the party that refused federal healthcare funds, that under funds public education and refuses to fix our roads and education. the democratic party has made mistakes, too. the other side defines themselves as the moral party. the truth is you cannot lead a moral issue if you mislead a substantive one. you cannot alleviate the hurt of working people by giving tax cuts.

drilling. you can't lift people up by pushing them down. you can't call yourself pro-life if you are anti-child. and you can't ensure a good education for every child if you take money from our public schools and give it to private schools that cater to the healthy. if the republicans could have given us the south carolina we want and we know is possible, they would have done it a long time ago. it's time for us as a state to look up from these distractions and misinformation because we are better than that. you're smarter than that. we as south carolinians, we are family. and i and my colleagues urge you to come home to the democratic party, the party that cares about you and your family. everyone is welcome here. good night. god bless you and your family and god bless the state of south carolina. >> you were listening there to

lancaster county giving her rebuttal to the state of the state address that governor nikki haley just gave. nurel asking for immunity between the parties. >> as well as more spending on roads and education. as well as healthcare through the obamacare care expansion of medicaid medicaid. >> we have it in its entirety on our website as well as representative nurel's response.

then he flipped, and worked with liberal chuck schumer to co-author the path to citizenship bill. he threatened to vote against it. and then voted for it. he supported his own dream act and then he abandoned it. marco rubio. just another washington politician you can't trust. jeb bush. he's a leader, so you always know where he stands. right to rise usa