[cheers and applause] it is now my distinct honor to present to you the governor of the state of vermont, the honorable philip scott. [applause] thank you. Governor scott madame sergeant at arms. Vermont state senate. Distinguished guests and fellow vermonters, since 1778, vermonters have gathered to open session. Slative they left farms, families and businesses, traveled over winding valley roads from every corner of our state to come together to solve problems, to shape the future. The work of those who came before us carved out vermonts place in the world with a greater share and influence in our small size population would subscribe. Through our courage and conviction, vermont has pushed forward with progress when progress seemed unachievable. Weve been the example, set the tone, and helped usher positive change into our nation when the need for change was essential. My friends, weve reached that time again. History has placed us together in a difficult moment for our state and our country. Here at home we must address economic and Population Trends that have diminished our ability to sustain what we have and invest more in our priorities. Nationally, weve faced political divisions and polarization so deep and broad they seem to shake the very foundation of our republic. The challenges we face are great but none greater than proceeding with the work ahead of us in a manner that vermonters can be proud of and our fellow americans can look at as an example of what it means to truly serve the people. [applause] Governor Scott these are not small issues. The path forward requires each one of us to Work Together pulling in the same direction toward our shared goals. When we do, our people, our communities, and our values will carry us forward because the state of the state is very strong. [applause] Governor Scott but make no mistake, vermonters need and expect us to follow through on our promises. Their call for balance, moderation, and fiscal responsibility has been loud and clear. We cannot let them down. A year ago, i stood at this podium and laid out my vision for vermont, one that set clear achievable goals and was honest about the scope of the challenges we face and the need for courage to confront them head on. I vowed to always put vermonters first, to put myself in their shoes and their boots, to better understand what theyre going through. I pledged to work with the legislature to create better opportunities and outcomes for our children and families, to reform State Government by listening to front line employees, using their ideas to more efficiently meet the needs of those we serve, and to do it all while allowing working vermonters and our retirees to keep more of what they earn. [applause] Governor Scott together we were elected to chart a course that restores the economic and fiscal fundamentals required to invest in our future. Imagine a future with classrooms that are actually full of kids, where more students go to college, who are trained in a trade and have an opportunity to live and work right here in vermont, a future with vibrant communities, a thriving economy in every village, town, and city and where vermonters can retire right here after a lifetime of labor. A future where the economy is growing faster than the cost of living, and our state is more affordable each year for families and businesses. Where we have a cleaner environment and safer neighborhoods with fewer suffering from addiction and when we never struggle to meet our obligation to protect the most vulnerable. Thats my vision for vermont. Even if we dont agree on which policies will get us there, i know we share these goals for our state. [applause] you Governor Scott but here is the blunt reality, we must first restore our economic and Fiscal Foundation to ensure we have the funding needed to achieve our aspirations for vermont. Early in my career, working construction, i learned that when you find yourself in a hole and have a problem, the first thing you do is stop digging. Im proud to report last year we stopped digging. We passed a budget that invested in our future and economy without raising a single tax or fee. [applause] Governor Scott we closed a budget gap of more than 60 million and limited budget growth to just over 1 while wages grew at about 2 . This means for the first time in recent history the State Government actually helped people keep more of what they earned, but this is not the time to return to the spending policies of the past. In three weeks, ill present a budget that continues our transition to a strategic and resultsbased approach, one first championed in this very chamber. It will once again be tied to a growth rate calculation based on real data, reflecting growth in wages and the economy, not predictions that have fallen short for too often. Ill call for continued fiscal discipline because vermonters still cannot afford higher taxes or fees. And i, along with my administration and members of the legislature, stand ready to prevent taxes and fees from increasing again this year. [applause] Governor Scott and just so im clear, that includes statewide property tax rates. [applause] Governor Scott having fiscal discipline means facing facts. We know our School Population is shrinking. Weve lost nearly 30,000 students in the last 20 years. Yet Staffing Levels and costs continue to rise. Special property taxes continue to overburden families and businesses. Today, we spend 1. 6 billion to educate 76,000 students. These children are our future engineers, educators, and technicians, our future leaders, parents, and citizens. Think about it. If i came to you with a check every year for 1. 6 billion and asked you to educate the same number of students, i dare say that our system would look much different than it does today. It would be much stronger, more nimble, and responsive to every child. It would be the envy of our nation and one of the best Economic Development tools we could ever have. [applause] Governor Scott if we Work Together to transform our k through 12 system based on the needs of our kids and not nostalgia, we can invest much more in early learning, Technical Education, Work Force Readiness training, and Higher Education without raising the price tag on vermonters. We made some progress towards this cradle to career vision last year, increasing investments in our Childcare Financial Assistance Program by 2. 5 million and the Vermont State College system by 3 million. In our work to lower costs while protecting programs for our kids, we reach an agreement to return 13 million to taxpayers through Health Care Premium savings. [applause] Governor Scott this year, we have an even more urgent need to act, and i look forward to working with you to find solutions because if we dont, we face a significant statewide property tax increase. We cannot let this happen. Vermonters cant afford it. The state cannot sustain it, and i will not accept it. [applause] Governor Scott vermont has so much to offer, from innovative entrepreneurs and the hardest working people in america to a quality of life thats unrivaled. We frequently rank as the safest, happiest, and healthiest. We offer the best local food, beer, and maple syrup in the world, and we are known for commitment to justice, equal rights. [applause] Governor Scott as younger generations place more value on social responsibility, health , and community, these ideals should make us a top choice for young families, but unfortunately that alone hasnt been enough. This is exactly why i focused on affordability is so critical to our work. Last years budget milestone was an important step, but our cost of living from utilities to housing to taxes remain among the highest in the nation. So despite our many benefits, these costs deter young people from moving or staying here and encourage older vermonters to leave for a more affordable retirement elsewhere. In fact, according to irs data from 2013 to 2016, 2,000 more tax filers moved out of state than moved in. This alone represents 150 million in adjusted gross income leaving our state. I know many of us have seen this in our own families. We have children, grandchildren, siblings, or Close Friends who grew up here, moved out of state and may even want to return home, but theyve settled for a more affordable life elsewhere. Were also seeing workers age out of the labor force faster than we can replace them. Here are a few facts to consider. We have 23,000 fewer people under the age of 20 than we did in the year 2000. We now have nearly 30,000 more over the age of 65 than we did in that same year. There are 30,000 fewer people between the ages of 25 and 45 than we had ten years ago. Ours is the second oldest population in the country. If we do nothing, well soon be number one. And think about this, outside of Chittenden County we are three to four years having just one worker for every retiree being a dependent of the state. This has got to stop. Its simply unsustainable. [applause] Governor Scott reversing these trends should be the top priority of every elected official regardless of party or political beliefs. These arent just numbers. The human and Economic Impact is real. This fall i visited mack molding, a Manufacturing Company in arlington, a great business with a strong work force, but in order to compete on a global scale, it needs to hire about 50 people to keep up with demand. And they are not alone. We hear from businesses around the state. L. E. D. Dynamics in randolph wants to hire 40. Chroma technology in bellis falls is looking for 20 in the next two years. Nsa industries will put on 50 tomorrow if they could. And global foundries in Essex Junction is hiring nearly 100. This is great news. These are great jobs, but we need the people to fill them. Whether employees are needed for business to grow or just to keep its doors open is a common theme here. We need more workers. We cannot afford to ignore this any longer. [applause] Governor Scott these trends also shift the tax burden onto fewer and fewer people, seemingly leaving us with few choices. Cut programs we value or raise taxes. There is a third option. We can come together and focus our efforts to growing our working age population. If we do this, we can expand our tax base. We can put kids back in our schools, help our businesses innovate and grow, and we can protect and make more of the public investments in the areas we value. Theres nothing wrong with wanting government to invest in programs that enhance the lives of vermonters, but the fact is, until were able to increase the size of our work force and grow the economy, we will not have the revenue to meet current or future demands. My administration is developing andmy administration is developing a work force Expansion Plan that looks at how we educate and place our students, train and retrain to create more opportunities, and how we recruit families and graduating students to live and work here. A good place to start is in recruiting from a pool of talented committed workers already here in our state. Our National Guard and retired fulltime service members. The vermont National Guard has nearly 3,500 members here in the state, a third of whom arent vermonters, so when they leave the guard, they leave vermont. Additionally, young people in our region signing up for Service Often do so in other states because they offer more and better benefits. These are the men and women who bravely serve our country and communities. They have valuable skills that benefit our employers and economy. They can help us grow our work force and put kids back in our schools. Thats why im proposing a package to level the Playing Field by offering Tuition Free College in vermont for those who commit to serve in our National Guard. [applause] Governor Scott in addition, when a veteran is looking to transition from fulltime service to the work force, were going to make sure they receive credit for the skills they learned while in uniform by working with the secretary of state to expedite professional licensing. And if we want to compete with other states, we must make vermont more affordable for retired veterans. [applause] Governor Scott heres the best part which is why ill propose to remove the income tax on military pensions. [applause] Governor Scott access to postsecondary training and retraining is important to all vermonters. My budget address will outline a plan to expand adult Technical Education and other proposals to better serve the current needs of workers in our businesses, but we also must do more to reach workers, specifically younger workers and entrepreneurs who currently live elsewhere, who would like to live and raise their family in the safest and Healthiest State in the country. Thats why in my budget address ill propose a bold Sophisticated Campaign to identify and persuade working age individuals, families, and entrepreneurs to relocate to vermont. This program will use state of the art targeting to direct out reach to individuals and businesses to increase the number of workers, and with a selfsustaining funding model with measurable results, the return on investment will be tracked and reported to me and to the legislature. Building on our Work Force Development initiatives, we must also continue to invest in a strong economy. Last year, we made the single largest investment in history with a housing bond which leveraged more to increase availability and decent Affordable Homes for our work force. This will result in over 600 Additional Units with more than 100 under construction this year. They will employ 1,000 it will employ new workers, attract new people to the state and generate 10 million in wages. As well, we invest in our communities, supporting our downtown and building centers. Propose continued investment in these areas. And with thised economic tool, communities like springfield, and newport, with muchneeded development we are going to leave this program to take you to camp david for remarks from the president. President trump thank you very much. It is good to have you at camp david, a special place. We started
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