Good evening, thank you so much. Thank you, thank you. Thank you so much mr. The tenant governor, for the kind introduction and thank you for the friendship you and the speaker continue to offer me because together we honor our great state and her people, i will always consider myself fortunate to have served with , you and your respective members, speaking of mississippi, my favorite one is seated right behind me, she has devoted herself to improving the lives of all of our citizens. Children and our 441 years, she has lovingly and patiently put up with me. Ladies and gentlemen, the first lady of mississippi and my wonderful wife, deborah. To the members of the house and senate, thank you for your attendance, i do not take your kind attention for granted. Thank you for allowing me to stand in our beautiful capital and to offer my continued vision for how we can reach even Greater Heights together. I realize that many of us here tonight and to those watching and listening, there sometimes seems to be to mississippis occupying the same time and space. The verb real critics will have you believe that this is one of a declining state whose people theysuffering mightily, suffer problems as if there was ever worked for finding them. Whenever i am even while the agitated by this i remember one of my favorite president s, Theodore Roosevelt who said it is not the critic who counts, not the many points out how the whether a stumbles or do or of did yesterdays couldve done a better, the credit belongs to the man and the woman in the arena. The colonels who knew him would have had little patience for someone in todays cynical climate. He studied any source that lasted across the front page. Fortunately, the other mississippians fill with progress, it is inhabited with caring and hardworking people of all races and ages who strive valiantly every day to make this wonderful state a better place to live and raise all of our children, many of these dedicated mississippians are in this chamber tonight. You serve your state as a citizen legislator, a leader in your community, most of you have very busy careers of family and all the responsibilities that company our lives as public servants. I know that each of you believe in his or her own way that we are making a difference and i can assure you here tonight that indeed we are. I know that we still have much work to do but there is so many a couple spins to be celebrated, to be proud of. Twice last year the Unemployment Rate of mississippi fell to 4. 9 . It was 4. 8 in november. That is the lowest unemployment level since they began to be recorded in 1979. [applause]. I believe every mississippi and deserves an equal opportunity for a good job, i am working hard to make this believe a reality. As Ronald Reagan once said, the social program is a job, that is a program we have been very successful in expanding. In the past, mississippi has had people looking for jobs, today we have more than 40,000 jobs looking for people. Expansion,gan this we have added more than 60,000 jobs and billions of dollars of foreign and domestic investment. Mississippi industry. I am also encouraged to report that existing industries example,to grow, for we will walk you to edit just 160 new jobs to the 1400 team members already working at address manufacturing in jackson and bring with and a Distribution Center that has branch,ed in olive mississippi, this is a Corporate Investment of 33. 4 million. I can assure you that tools makes the best politics power tools in the world. Im proud to say they are made in america and perfected in mississippi. Am honored i am honored to have in the gallery tonight, the manager of milwaukee tools in greenwood, mississippi, my friend, jack. Where are you . Thank you, jack. Currently, 70 of the United States navys combat Service Vessels protecting americas interest on the high seas were made in pascagoula, mississippi and with a special of the shipyard and the reopening of its short, ingles is where the navy feels the warships that keep america free and secure. It is now the nations most productive shipyard. They spend a second plant in marshall county, adding 90 additional employees and a 49 investment toward grumman and jackson county. They had existing Aerospace Jobs and made a 3. 79 Corporate Investment and the radius and with plant, and us an additional millionstment of 20 and added 75 jobs to his water valley plant these and so many more other projects and expansions are proof that when government creates a tax and regular tour climate that encourages growth and then get out of the way so the private sector can harness its ourvative Character Congress arrives. I could continue with many were businesses, large and small that have expanded but in the interest of time, i would say that the numbers are impressive and encouraging and they are growing. By now, all of us know the , the tire Company Coming to mississippi and billion, it will be one of the most respected and successful plant in mississippis history because this is the most respected Tire Companies in the world. It will be more than one billion square feet spread over 900 acres. It will be the most sophisticated plant ever constructed by continental tire. This facility is scheduled to open late next year and will ultimately employ 2500 mississippians. It was identified as the Top Economic Development project for 2016 and led to another milestone, every development ourzine for the mississippi first gold shovel for excellence and Economic Development. Because of these and many other successes, mississippi now ranks in the top 10 states in the nation for Economic Development opportunities. Working together, we also made it easier for our own spinners to pursue the american dream, ridding our occupational licensing system of red tape that for too long has served as nothing more than a various market interest, other states are now just moving to adopt our plans to reduce Regulatory Burden on percent professional services. It has become known across the United States simply as the mississippi model. This session, i will have other recommendations to reduce more government regulations and unleash the independent spirit that will make mississippi the most job from the state in america. I want to say how sincerely grateful many of us are for your approval last session of a new Trooper School. With your help, we bolster Public Safety by putting more Highway Patrol officers on the roads, i will ask you for another Trooper School this year. In order to meet the enforcement needs and save lives on our highways, if we are countless this goal, we could have more troopers on the road by next year than any time in the history of the mississippi Highway Patrol. Like most of the other states, mississippi is struggling with an opioid and illicit drug iidemic in december of 2016, issued an executive Order Granting the governors opioid and Heroin Task Force to address the problem, pharmacists and Mental Health professionals came together and began to attack his killers of over 200 mississippians in just the last 12 months. I am proud to say the recommendation and resulting actions by the Task Force Members were swift and courageous, the path toward a solution was not easy. There was a popular in some instances, fortunately i have an extremely competent director at both the department of Public Safety and the mississippi girl of narcotics who were once courageous and compassionate, theyre done an outstanding job and i am proud to have the and the director of the Mississippi Bureau of narcotics with us here tonight. Thank you for your work in law enforcement. At the risk of affecting her status among her coworkers in the media, i will take this opportunity to recognize a reported was done an outstanding job informing us all of the horrific events resulting from opioid and illegal drugrelated criminal activity. Them for all think shining a light on the horrible consequences of this behavior. As atand as an example journalist who has made a difference. Thank you. Our educational system, though far from harvard is clearly better than it has ever been before. For the first time in mississippi history, more than 90 of our thirdgraders have anded their reading exam our High School Graduation rates have risen above 80 . More than a hundred Million Dollars has been directed to teacher pay raises, we ended the election of local superintendents and dyslexia identification in response have all become a reality, charter schools, Early Learning and School Choice for special needs judgment all exist today because of the difficult decisions made by many of you here tonight. Still, we have far too many failing schools whose students lag behind their counterparts across the nation. The reasons are systemic and are often related to a variety of conditions, poverty, abuse, neglect, lack of to address these issues, we created the government state Early Childhood advisory council. It is composed of state and National Experts in education and health care and child welfare. The council has become the central Meeting Place for stakeholders in mississippis Early Learning system. Its familybased system is the new blueprint are managing the spectrum of problems affecting children and for ultimately finding solutions. Working with the Mississippi State department and our Community Colleges, the council began a program work child care workers will receive training to provide a learning component in day care centers. Remember, most of our children will spend an average of 12,000 hours of their most formative years in childcare or a custodial environment. It also provides help where it ,s needed with Health Care Workforce training and additional Educational Opportunities for the parents themselves. Leaders generation of are today in a childcares childcare facility. Mississippi is looking to make sure that they have the skills needed to succeed. You should know, mississippi spends 97 million per year on federally funded day care through the department of Human Service and 109 million of federal funds on Head Start Centers across the state. Graduatesississippi spends another 3. 4 million on the states dropout prevention program. 800,000 came from the general fund. The remainder was raised through private donations and corporations like at t and energy. You to return funding to help for mississippi increase the Graduation Rates to the National Average and build our workforce. Over 90 of these at risk students graduate. Of those fine jobs are going. O Higher Education combined, they represent more than 300 million in public that isn investment rarely, if ever, reported. It is time we began to maximize the use of these federal and private funds and evidencebased results for every taxpayer taxpayer dollar. [applause] betobryant it should anyone that i am a strong supporter of updating the adequate education funding. Ormula i believe it should serve as a roadmap to success for every child in mississippis public schools. It should not be a political prop used to allege someones failure to support education. Patrick has not worked in the past, and it will not work this year. Trick has not worked in the past, and it will not work this year. Most of us want more than an adequate Education System in mississippi. We want a great one. [applause] gov. Bryant thank you. Want a great one. [applause] one thing i am willin of, that greatness not be possible without every classroom having the right teacher. Our power tol in allow good teachers to become great ones. This should it clued include teach for america and nationally boards of fine certified teachers. Teachers and almost every instance produced better results. We have so many Great Teachers across the state. Like me, you are very proud of them all. [applause] this session, i will ask you to expand School Choice for certain categories of children, offering special needs scholarships to even more students. I continue to believe that parents should have the freedom to use their tax dollars to send their child to the school of their choice, not one decided by the government. I want to thank you again for creating the department of child totection services to attend our foster children. Nothing we do here will be more important than caring for them. I am forever grateful to former Supreme Court justice first seeming leadership of the agency. I will remind you that jesus ,dmonished the the disciples let the little children come to me. The kingdom of god belongs to such as these. Our Community Colleges are the center of workforce development. Dozens of mississippians have been given this goes to allow them to get a good job in mississippi. We can do more to help our Community Colleges which the skills gaps that exist today. There is little doubt that employers consider an educated and skilled work force as their top priority. To meet this demand, we targeted Certain Industries and emphasized training for these needs. We created a Furniture Academy in northeast mississippi. Two academies have started in columbus. We continue to work to provide Skilled Labor needed in our robust automotive and aerospace innovation. We have invested millions of dollars in the mississippi works fund. That revenue has been generated by savings in the mississippi Unemployment Compensation fund, due to the record growth in employment. This has been a great resource and recruiting new industries and expanding our existing ones. We must do more. Our attitude to create the Scholarship Fund to provide more opportunity for Mississippi College students, Community College students, to qualify for targeted workforce training. We must increase our workforce, and we must do it now. [applause] together,t working we have also built a new worldclass medical school at the met mississippi at the mississippi medical center. It is desperately needed. Because of your help, we are well on our way to achieving our goal of adding 1000 new positions by 2025. The medical profession is an economic driver and has become an reality in mississippi. Physicians today are responsible for more than 51,000 jobs and have a total economic output of over 8 billion annually. Our beloved Childrens Hospital in jackson has announced 180 million expansion. Is becoming arps reality. It stretches from the medical mall to new clinics, medical Specialty Centers and medical Device Manufacturers across the river. Ladyeadership of the first , University Medical center and department of Human Services, we will soon begin to construction on a pallet of care Palliative Care unit. [applause] gov. Bryant this center will offer a homelike treatment for the medically fragile children, are now living in this will be a life altering experience for those patients and their families. Ofthere is ever a Mission Mercy we can achieve, it is this medical home for the children. [applause] gov. Bryant we have an additional opportunity in jacksons medical zone. I believe real potential exists in the department of Public Safety headquarters or unit we have a good location in lincoln in near the crime lamb Rankin County near the crime lab. A new medical Conference Center could be constructed. This facility would become the gateway of the medical corridor. Rising out of the piney woods of harrison county, complete with a new Pharmacy School and nursing and Simulation Center and National Diabetes research center. It is the result of partnership between William Carey university and the cleveland clinic, one of the top rated medical entities in the world. Obesityl help us fight and diabetes, often associated with it. With the help of the cleveland clinic, this is a fight i expect to win. [applause] even with all of this progress and the help of our population, it continues to lag behind most of the nation. Many of these problems are of our own making. We have an overwhelming tendency to be our own worst enemy when it comes to obesity and substance accuse abuse. If we are to solve these problems, we must face the uncomfortable fact and take the necessary steps to assist those suffering, while encouraging them to be more responsible for their own Preventative Health care. The Poor Health Care choices have resulted in higher mortality rates and the treatment of more disabling illnesses. Consequently, medicaid continues to increase, straining our state and federal budget. We spent far too many years believing that funding for medicaid is unlimited and should be unquestioned. We must change that way of thinking. We must also insist that positive Health Care Outcomes be the first responsibility of medicaid recipients. [applause] patients providers and Management Companies should realize a more a new normal will exist from this day forward. To be prevent for health care from getting worse and to get medicaid patients well. I have requested a workforce requirements for ablebodied adults. A punitive action aimed at recipients. It will actually help this population reads the rewards of the rewards reap of a good job. Passed the department of Human Services and medicaid to Work Together to identify needs for beneficiaries and address them in a more proactive and effective manner. I have contemplated moving Medicaid Eligibility to dhs. Something that is done in 46 other states. However, the change in leadership of the division of medicaid, i believe it would be prudent to delay such a transfer and tell a complete review of its benefits to providers and beneficiaries can be completed. I believe the current leadership at these two agencies can create a Seamless Service model, and it can be implanted. We must not only manage medicaid for todays needs but for sustainability for future demand. Those in extended care facilities should not be told we cannot continue to fund their very existence. If we manage the system properly, eliminate the waste, fraud and abuse, we can ensure better quality of life for those truly in need. Your assistance in properly framing the medicaid technical amendments act will certainly make all the difference in maintaining an effective and Sustainable Medicaid Program for years to come. [applause] i am honored to report to you that mississippi has completed an amazing yearlong celebration of our bicentennial, a record 23 Million People visited mississippi. Hundreds of events took place across the state, many including music, the arts and Educational Opportunities. The grand finale of this onceinalifetime celebration was the opening of the museum of mississippi history and the mississippi civil rights museum. I am grateful to the president of the united dates of america, who came to jackson is the city to honor the opening of our to be a great museums. Two great museums. [applause] i am told some 20 Million People watched the president s tour and remarks that day of the civil rights museum. The entire world was watching as mississippi told our own story. To quote the iconic, i was proud of the state of my birth. Kind and gentle souls captured in the inspiring speech that delivered on that cold and snowy day. ,hat remarkable event mississippians of every color and persuasion came together with an understanding of the tragedies and violence perpetrated on innocent people, who simply wanted to exercise their right to vote. There was more than our collective condemnation of the racial atrocities on exhibit in the museum. There existed a feeling of mutual reconciliation and joy and realization that this day had at long last the come a reality. Museums display thousands of years of our states history. They tell the story of our strong native americans. They recount the tragic civil wear and celebrate our athletes and worldrenowned entertainers. There is no effort to conceal the transgressions of the past. Slavery, the indecency of jim crow and dark days of segregation. They were laid bare for the world to see. Awayes in a museum, put and hope to never be witnessed again. [applause] gov. Bryant all of us experienced something very special. The anger and the fear fell away. Melted intoendas morning snow. We saw what mississippi could be when our common bonds overpower our differences. We accept the reality that we can disagree without being disagreeable. We peered into mississippis soul and saw that it was cleansed of any deceit or malice. The soul of mississippi now contained a love for all its and ourits traditions future. My dear friend and civil rights legend, dr. John perkins said it all comes down to love. Love will be our final fight. Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome to this chamber, my dear friend and someone who loves mississippi, dr. John perkins. [applause] gov. Bryant each year i ask you to set aside your political agendas and focus only on what would be best to mississippi. Understanding that we may have to a betterths tomorrow, but remaining hopeful that we can agree on a direction and destination for our state. This year, the plea to Work Together will be no different. I do have a renewed faith in the outcome. I have seen the results of our mutual efforts and know that they for farce the past the temporary gain of political posturing. I have seen dramatic improvement in mississippis public Education System. Ive worked to turn our state into a leader in health care and Economic Development. We press forward together, we can and we have achieved greatness. If mississippi is to make the leap from good to great, we must have a dedication to achievement. We must inform our people that selfdestructive behavior is contagious and can cause an entire state to struggle. They must know that individual responsibility would guarantee will guarantee a better outcome. After two hundred years of trials and tribulations, wars and reconstructions, storms and recessions, we continue to persevere. With your help, i believe this legislative session can be the best ever. It can be the year that we come together in a common bond of commitment to our peoples best interest. I promise you my door will always the open. The open. I will listen to your concerns. Closing, i wish to thank you again for this opportunity to reflect on the state of the state and we dedicate myself to. Eing governor for all people now let us go from this appointed time and place, committed to serving the people of mississippi and making this wonderful land a better place for tomorrows generation. May god bless you, the great state of mississippi, and may god bless the United States of america. [applause]