He gave his final state of the state address from the capital where he told legislators the state was stronger than ever and he also talks about jobs, Climate Change, clean energy end of the economy. His address runs about 30 minutes. [applause] thank you. [applause] thank you. Good afternoon. I would like to start by thanking reverend eisenhauer for the invitation. You always inspire me. Sheila rose mccarthy, bobby ray. Lets bring some harmony to this discussion. [applause] and for the university that gave us an incredible season. Mr. President , madam speaker, mr. Chief justice, distinguished justices of the court, members of the legislature, tribal leaders, members and most importantly my fellow washingtonians, i come to you as a governor, as a granddad and as a washingtonian and i want to start by thanking you and your families for their contribution to the mutual efforts. My staff and their families also deserve as well particularly my family and a very special person. I love seeing the Childcare Center she inspired us to build for capital families and that is among many causes shes advocated for as spouse. [applause] this isnt in the script but i want to share a little secret with you. I love you, trudy, and im not alone. [applause] lets cut through the chase. I am happy to report that we have been, we are and we will always be the strongest state in the nation. In fact the state of our state is stronger than ever. For over a decade, we have advanced leading policies to support working families. Weve grown our economy and have acted boldly to protect our states iconic places. Icweve advanced equity and have build more housing. We fought for the womans right to choose and we ushered in a clean energy economy. [applause] it is fair to say that in an era of tremendous change, washington has emerged as a beacon of progress for this nation, and this year we are going to make. I have a bigger audience every year. There are 1 million more than when i took office. Because washington is the place to be and i welcome the new washingtonians whove seen the genius and promise of our great state. The minimum wage was nine dollars. Today it is over 16. Wages overall have grown by 39 . Double the national rate. Our gdp has grown 45 from 528 billion in 2013 to 768 billion today and we should be proud of this. We are among the very few states that rank as both a top state for business and workers. Weve done some great work. [applause] as we contemplate thisas next yr and the work ahead, i think back to my dad who coached track. He told his runners to imagine the finish line was actually 10 yards beyond. He wanted toto make sure they wouldnt let up before the race was over. My dad always said, and this sticks with me, run through the tape. We are going to run through the tape this year and just as i knowhr you will give the state your best work, i will give them why. So this is not a farewell speech. These are not famous last words. Im not writing into the sunset. They said that this isnt a time timefor ease and comfort. Its time to endure so we will not relent to our greatest challenges. We will not go backwards. This is both the evergreen state stateand ever forward state ande should be proud of that. [applause] we are Going Forward on our evergreen agenda. We know Climate Change is hurting us now, today but climate collapse does not have toe. Be our inevitable future. This legislature put us on a clearr and necessary path to Greenhouse Gases by 95 by 2050. Any delay would be a betrayal of our childrens future. We are now on the razors edge between promise and power. We know this when they got homes that have stood for the generation or when wildfires force the evacuation of entire towns. Last year before that and the need for Climate Action is still for those livingth with polluti. There are neighborhoods today in our state where people are dying to and a half years younger on average because of pollution. This is harmful to the lives of washingtonians in communities like everett, the tricities, the valley, south king county and tacoma. There are neighborhoods in these communities where people are forced to live sick and die young because of this pollution. We have made a solemn oath to our children and their children, and we will neither fail. Wewe will go on to give the grandest of lessons a healthy washington. We will not take with the defeatists who live in the great twilight of pessimism. We will stay the course and we will win. [applause] thanks to the legislative priorities and the climate commitment act, we can help more people likee elisa garcia. Her home was one of 32 that had rooftops Solar Installed thanks to a program specifically geareg towards farmworkers. Her home now produces 100 of its energy from her own roof. Her families energy bills are zero, and it would not have been possible without this legislature. They are here today. Thank you for inspiring as many people to follow in your footsteps. Youre going to hear many more stories this year like this and beyond about how the claimant policies are making life better. The commitment act is leading us reduce pollution and creates good paying jobs. Its funding electric school buses. 8 million free transit rides for youth and counting. Filtration systems into schools so students can breathe when theres wildfire smoke outside and chargers for electric vehicles. I think its important to note this is money going right back to washington families. Its not like houston or other homes. We have more we can give back to the communities. I am proposing a 200dollar utility bill credit for one out of every three households in ehwashington. That is nearly 2 million low and moderate. We will help thousands more families install Energy Efficient heat pumps to cut emissions and energy bills. This makes it easier to invest in the infrastructure including safer pedestrian routes from Sustainable Aviation fuels and battery manufacturing to electric buses we are attracting thousands of good paying jobs in clean energy and Clean Technology and training the folks these jobs are coming on so quickly. The new Pacific Hydrogen hub could create 8,000 alone for the production and distribution of hydrogen too reduce pollution. Heres Something Else of the fossil fuel industry. For decades weve been subjected to the roller coaster of gas prices. We are going to do something about the Price Transparency in Washington State this session. The oil and gas Industry Books are closed to the public and its time for transparency and accountability and i look forward to that. [applause] i believe the legislature is capable of even more extraordinary achievement on top of these because ive seen it happen every year that ive been here. Dont forget moments like 2018 at the end of the saga where we moved heaven and earth to fulfill the duty of funding the education in the state of washington. Now iin hope you will join me by increasing pay for 32,000 educators by three dollars an hour. Again raising the cap on special Education Funding and creating incentives for teachers to serve special needs students. [applause] once students have graduated, they now have more pathways to success than ever. This legislature has created the most generous College Financial aidra programs in the country. [applause] but, college is not the only pathway to success, which is why we also increased support for apprenticeships. Brian of auburn was going to be an engineer but then he was in a dramatic car accident followed by high medical bills and he had to leave college. Fortunately, he got connected for computing for the Pre Apprenticeship Program which is this legislature designed to help support the connected washington gramps. Now he is a developer of a Mental Health app and here today with a bright future. Thanks for allowing us to tell the story. I appreciate that. Thank you. This legislature cares about people. I know that because of what youve done. Theres thousands and thousands of lives when covid struck. We are now one of a handful of states with the tools to curb excessive drug costs. We have more ways to grow the healthcare workforces. Weve passed the nations best paid family medical leave program. There was a story about this the other day. I went to the town and the counter said i have to tell you something. Now when you hear a constituent say that, you could be in for anything so i was prepared. But heres what she said. Governor, i had a broken wrist last year and i couldnt do my job. The only thing that kept my family afloat was the paid family medical leave law, and i hope you are having those conversations in your districts as well because your policies are making an enormous difference in peoples lives and now weve got more work to do. Protecting access to healthcare is helping washingtonians like Sheena Wilson from mount vernon. They expected healthcare costs to go up to 3,000 a month until she access to the benefits of the cascade care public option. Her family now p is just 108 a month and of the most they will pay out of pocket this year for her husbands Cancer Treatment is 2,500. They are here tonight an example of your work. Thank you for allowing us to tell your story. [applause]e] the policies changed lives when they are focused on the people we are here to serve. We get people the chance to succeed. People focused policies are also how we are addressing homelessness. Some think we can just wave a wand and of those living in homelessness will simply disappear. But this is the real world and we have an honest solution. Build more housing, connect people to the right services and they will have a chance to succeed. At this time last year a woman found herself in a rightofway in seattle. We know that no one can live in danger and expect the conditions to improve. No one can be swept from a dark corner to another and expect life to get better. We must lift people up and give them the tools, the services and the power to get his life back on track. The state and local collaboration and she said of the program it renewed my trust. Now shes got a safe place to liveve and is here today. Congratulations. [applause] washingtonians can see the dozens of encampments along the highways are no longer there and we need to know that that will continue only if we make it additional necessary investments, and they are going to see thousands more units thanks to yours as well. Thank you for going big on housing last session and trusting that it was a necessary Decision Just under 1 billion toward new housing already this biennium. This isnt the only way that we are making life safer while ive been in office. We all want to take steps to increase public safety. And in that regard its not just one solution. Butar its many. This legislation was bold enough to stand up to the nra and pass some of the best gun reform in washington and it didnt matter how many defeats we had to take we finally banned assault weapons in the state and gun reform as public safety. [applause] Washington State also needs more Police Officers, and thats what this budget i hope will do. My budget funds more state troopers and forensic scientists and organizes Retail Theft Task force is thanks to the idea from the attorney general and more funding from Drug Trafficking investigations. We are removing barriers by establishing Training Centers all over the state. More recruits are getting some of the best training in the country including importantly deescalation training. We are joined by the Police Departments own body jeff went as. She wouldnt be a Police Officer today if the legislature had not invested in more criminal justice Training Centers like pasco. Its important to spend four and a half months away for training the end during she would have had to have done but because we invested in the Training Centers the officer got to go home from the academy and because of that resource, the people are safer. Thank you for what you are doing. [applause] now we all know we must also continue improving Behavioral Health services inin our state. I recently met someone whose family was devastated by fentanyl. They called it the Nuclear Weapon of drugs. Weve proposed 64 million in new spending to fight against opioids and fentanyl. We are going to invest in education, community health,al overdose prevention, Treatment Access and recovery support. We are going to support people with stories like holly edwards. Holly is a member of the tribe whose life languished in addiction. Holly got herot life back and is herself a recovery counselor helping people on the same journey of the wellness center. Holly is here today and i want to thank her not just for helping tribal members but the whole, community. [applause] this Legislature Works wonders when it embraces. We passed to the two biggest transportation funding packages in state history during my time in office connecting washington and moving ahead. We know we still face questions about how to meet our ambitions. I dont expect we will have all the answers this year, but there are things we can do in the next 60 days including helping the system. We are investing in clean are more efficient fairies and ive directed in any way they can to expedite both construction. But we also must do everything we can to increase staffing. I proposed several things to help us do that and i hope you will pass those measures as well. We needed in the state of washington. We have some of the most transformative policies in the nation while ive been inve this position. Forr example, the leaders of the state are under no illusion that social justice issues were somehow settled 60 years ago with the passage of the civil rights act. We will continue advancing social justice and weve made equity a part of everything we do in statee government. With Environmental Justice policies. [applause] weve done so with Environmental Justice policies like the act and the agency of equity. We must maintain our progress against racism, pernicious influence on the path. The genius of america i believe is that we can recognize that we are not yet in a state of perfection. But we will always work to form a more Perfect Union and that is what we are doing in the state of washington. Before i close, i want to say that there are two grave threats in the United States and unfortunately in the state today. One threat is to the very basic blessings of democracy. The other is t the ongoing assat on a womans right of choice. We have not forgotten the decision to eliminate roe v wade. Ta fundamentally, this is an issue of freedom, freedom of choice when facing one of the most intimate and personalma decisios in life. Most in this room are committed to helping protect that right. But none of us are going to holt these seats forever. We must face the harsh reality that there are forces in the nation and in our own state intent on destroying the right ofof choice. We need to join eight other states like ohio, alaska and illinois. We need to enshrine reproductive freedom in the constitution and pass an amendment protecting the right of choice this year and i hope to work with you to get that done. [applause] i would like to share with you why im so optimistic about this session. If i learned anything with each subsequent legislative session, are that washingtonians always capable of doing more than others thought we could. When i took office, we had audacious goals that defied the odds that have become a reality. I had a confidence we could tackle these challenges because ive always believed in the unique talent and ambitions of washingtonians. Washingtonians have more resilience and fought for the state and more endurance to push towards the future than any other people on the planet. The next two months, we are going to make the state better at Mental Health. Safer against opioids, more support for educators and students and more committed to our Climate Action. We may hope for the future possible because washingtonians are never restricted by the past were the bog of the status quo. Inevitably, we will always be called upon to do more for the people of washington and no matter the challenge, we will always do more than we thought possible. It is an honor to be washingtonians. It is our privilege to do this work and it is our destiny to succeed. Run through the tape. Thank you. Good luck. [applause] thank you. [applause]