America. And now the georgia governor nathan deal talks about Economic Development, education, and transportation investment. This is about 45 minutes. Thank you all. Thank you all. Thank you for that kind introduction. Oh, my goodness. Thank you. Lieutenant governor kagl, speaker ralston, speaker protem jones, members of the General Assembly, constitutional officers, members of our judiciary, and my fellow georgians, this marks the eighth and final time i come before you to report on the state of the state. In preparing to do so, i thought back about all the challenges that we have faced for the better part of the last decade, and of all the successes that have been achieved together. I considered the plans we have set into motion that will carry us well into the next decade and beyond. I looked back on where we started in 2011 when only 111 of the legislators here today were serving in this General Assembly, and i was very pleased to see just how far weve come. And now as we embark on a year of transition and set our gaze on what the future of will hold, im reminded of a sort of a parable that has passed down through time from ancient israel. Its one that each generation and many different civilizations have adapted to and adopted to their cultures over the centuries. As the story goes, there was once an older man who went out one day and planted a tree in his yard. A neighbor passing by saw what he was doing, stopped, shook his head, and began to laugh and said oh, man, youre a fool. What good will it do you to plant a tree now that youre so old . You may not live long enough to be able to sit under the shade of that tree or enjoy its fruits. The old man rose from his knees, looked at his neighbor and replied, im not planting this tree for me. Im planting it for those who come after me. Someday they will come here during the heat of the day and be cooled by the shade of this tree. When i was a small child, i could eat fruit because of those who had planted the trees before me. Am i not required to do the same for the next generation . Over the past seven years, we have endeavored to plant whole orchards of opportunity. Some of which will not bear their fruit until those of us have come and gone and there will be others sitting where you sit today. We have done so not only to bring georgia out of the Great Recession and make our people prosperous once again, but also to ensure that our children and grandchildren will live in a thriving, safe, and resilient state that they can be proud of. A place where hard work can lead to fulfillment of a lifes dream. Seven years ago georgias Unemployment Rate stood at 10. 4 . Since then we have created roughly 675,000 new private sector jobs and our Unemployment Rate is at its lowest level in over 10 years at just 4. 3 . [ applause ] it bears my saying one more time. On top of all that, weve been named the number one state in which to do business for the fifth consecutive year. [ applause ] just this past fiscal year alone the Georgia Department of Economic Development helped to generate some 6. 33 billion in Capital Investment here in georgia. That outstanding growth as a result of 377 expansions and locations that cover every region of our state. You know, many people think that Economic Development projects only happen in the metropolitan atlanta region, but, in fact, 80 of those in fiscal year 2017 took place outside of the Metro Atlanta region. Our dedication is to the whole state, and the results of our topranked development of Economic Development department of economic developme development bear that out. We have with us today all three of the commissioners who led that agency during my time as your governor. Will you gentlemen please stand so we can thank you and your teams for the exceptional work youve done. [ applause ] as we consider the achievements of their respective dedicated teams, we should take notice of a tree that we replanted, you might say. Its taken deep roots in recent years and has born greater and greater harvest with each passing year. Im referring to the Film Production industry. Just ten years ago this industry generated 241 million in Economic Impact for our state. This past fiscal year alone, it generated 9. 5 billion of Economic Impact. [ applause ] thats quite impressive growth for this tree of opportunity. So great have our gains been that in 2016 georgia was named the number one filming location for the most successful movies. Our growing georgia film economy and the list of studios in our state will also ensure that this years Production Industry impact will be greater than even those records that have been set before. In just two years roughly 1900 students have utilized our film economy courses and a further 625 students are currently enrolled this semester. So effective has this program been that it now spans 13 university and Technical College partners and it is quickly becoming known as the Gold Standard in film and Television Production work force training. In fact, when other states and countries around the world seek out guidance on building their own production work force, the Motion Picture association of america now directs them to the georgia film academy. That same association tells us that the Film Industry is responsible for more than 92,000 jobs in our state. These are high quality jobs with an average salary of nearlil 4 84,000. Thats 74 higher than the average salary in our nation. More than 200 companies have relocated. These businesses and the infrastructure they build are creating permanent job for costume and set designers, actors, and other skilled industry professionals. We seek to make georgia a leader in all industries, however. Thats why we have invested so much in our k through 12 education system, because we know that the students today will indeed be the work force of tomorrow. As the man in our parable remarked when i was a small child, i could eat fruit because those who came before me had planted trees. Am i not required to do the same for the next generation . For however long were granted the privilege of serving our fellow georgians, we must strive to do the same. So i would like to highlight the orchards of opportunity that we have planted together, and they have had the most farreaching impact in our state. Theyre the ones that have affected georgias youngest citizens direct thily. We have increased education spending by 3. 6 billion over the last seven years which includes my final budget proe proposing. Making the total expenditures for education 14 billion. No other administration in Georgia History has planted so many trees of knowledge. [ applause ] one such tree we planted this year is a center for early language and literacy at Georgia College and state university. Its a training and Research Center that focuses on children from birth to third grade. Perhaps the most critical period of any childs development and education. It is during this window of opportunity that we can best lay down a strong enduring foundation for all other aspects of a students academic career. If we fail to reach georgias youngest minds during this time, if we feel to get them reading on grade level by the end of the third grade, they are much more likely to fall behind. Both in the classroom and the life that awaiting them beyond. So i want to take this opportunity to recognize and thank one of the greatest standard bearers of this issue of childhood lit literacy that georgia has ever been blessed to have. She is a loving mother of four and a grandmother of six. She spent much of her life in the classroom as one of our states many dedicated educators. When our parents grew older and endures poor health, she invited them into our home where they lived for many years. She looked after them and provided for their needs. Her kindness is genuine and powerful. To those who are in her company, it seems almost infectious. And it has touched countless hearts over the years. Especially mine. Over the past 51 years that ive been blessed to call her my wife. An english author wrote no man succeeds without a good woman beside him, wife or mother. If it is both, he is device blessed indeed. I am one of those individuals who has been twice blessed indeed to have such a magnificent partner, friend, wife, and mother stand beside me all of these years. What joys i have had the privilege to have in this life and in this profession are thanks in no small part to her generosity and her efforts. Her passion is always and continues to be improving the lives of children. When she became the first lady of our state, her efforts to improve Child Welfare and Educational Opportunities did not stop. They only grew and took on new forms. I can tell you that she has visited all 150 159 counties, some of them multiple times, all 181 School Systems multiple times and in total shes visited 834 individual School Visits and has no plans of slowing down any time soon. But the real importance of those numbers can only be understood if you have the pleasure of seeing her in a classroom. What comes to mind to me is brooks co brooks coleman. She doesnt just visit a school with a handshake with a principal and take photo. She reads to children. She listens to them intently. She hugs them in the way that only a mother or a grandmother seems to know how to do. So that they know that she cares about them, and she is concerned about their future. You know, after these visits we usually get a stack of letters from the children thanking her for her visit. These are just little tokens of appreciation often written in crayon that we receive on a regular basis. One such package was a letter from a student in an early grade who wrote to sandra and said, thank you for visiting my school. And thank you for running the state of georgia. [ laughter ] [ applause ] sandra showed me that letter because she wanted me to know that the students appreciated her real job. She also wanted chris riley, my chief of staff to know who ran the state of georgia. [ applause ] will you join me in welcoming the first lay dody of georgia ws truly the first lady in every sense of the word . When i took office in 2011, there were many dilemmas facing our state. Before we even began to plant new orchards of opportunity in the Fertile Ground of georgia, we went about the business of saving those trees which were in danger of being felled by the economic downturn. One of the most critical was our hope scholarship and Grant Programs which were literally on the cusp of bankruptcy. The legacy of a man who impacted georgia perhaps more than anyone else in the latter portion of the 20th century, governor zel, it was one of the most generous meritbased scholarship programs in the country when he created it. It continues to be so today because of the reforms we put in place seven years ago. Thank you to governor miller and for all he did to establish this farsighted and continuing program. [ applause ] because we together did the difficult but necessary work of saving that tree of opportunity many more students will sit under the shade in the years to come and benefit from its fruit of Higher Education. Whether it is in the form of a certificate, an associates degree, or a bachelors degree. Our public colleges and universities have been and will continue to be a source of pride. In fact, according to 2018 u. S. News and world report, Public School rankings, georgia is currently one of only three states of more than one Higher Education institution in the top 20. Our state will depend on the continued production of quality graduates from these types of institutions if we want to preserve our educated, trained and sustained work force. In order for us to achieve that goal, we must have workers who process the reknowledge and skis for the jobs of today and the future. Some of the jobs will require a college degree. Others will require specialized degrees from a technical school. We need both our university and Technical College systems to remain competitive, and i am happy to report that both have adjusted their degree and Training Programs to meet the needs of our states Diverse Economic climate. With us today is the new commissioner of our Technical College system. He is matt arthur who also, by the way, helped lead the university of georgia bulldogs to the 1980 National Championship as an offensive lineman. Matt in recognition of your leadership on the field and in the field of education, would you please stand and let us recognize you . [ applause ] while we continue to support and expand the opportunities within our University System, i have also been pleased that in recent years we have added certificate and degree programs within our Technical College system that provide a solution for the problems we faced coming out of the Great Recession. At the height of our Unemployment Rate, i asked the employers of the state, can you find proper candidates in georgia for the open positions in your company . Their answer was often a very loud no. So we created a program known as the hope career grant. It covers 100 of division for technic Technical College students who enroll in one of our high demand fields. Although this program is only a few years old, it is already bearing exceptional fruit. In fact, of those students who take advantage of this resource, 99. 2 find employment upon the completion of their training and studies. That is why i was proud to grow that forest of potential by adding five new categories to that incredibly successful program. So as of ten days ago, we now have 17 specific fields that allow our employers to answer yes when i ask them if they can find qualified candidates for open jobs. Throughout our state at all 22 tcsj campuses, we have pockets of excellence in terms of Economic Development. In order to better leverage those tools, i am happy to announce well create a new Deputy Commissioner position within our Technical College system. This individual will develop and maintain a unified process within our 22 campuses, coordinate with the University System and the department of Economic Development so that in these as they interact with companies here in the state of georgia, this will create an organized and seamless effort to assist existing businesses that can benefit from tcsg training in an ever changing and evolving marketplace. I would like to introduce to you the woman who will fill the Deputy Commissioner role. Shes with us today. Laura gammage, please stand and allow us to recognize you for the important job you will be doing. [ applause ] to further aid those coming into our work force, well be making to the Technical College system. In addition, well be relocating the states customized Recruitment Office to tscg, further consolidating the separate Work Force Development components in a streamlined system. Our Technical College system is a resource whose benefits to the entire state will only increase as the number of students increases. In light of the fact that 30 of georgias High School Students choose not to pursue further Education Opportunities after they graduate from high school, we initiated a broad Marketing Campaign over this past year that showcases all that a Technical College has to offer. It is already producing great results. Reaching young adults throughout our state who would not have considered previously a Career Opportunity at one of our Technical Colleges. To build on that success, my proposed budget includes an additional 1 million for this campaign so we can strategically market the colleges clout throughout georgia. I want to share with you some of the fruits of our labor today. Direct your attention to the following videos that feature students telling us about the opportunities available and youll hear from a young man whose life journey was significantly altered by specialized training offered through tcsg. Now is the time to answer. Whats next . With the Technical College system of georgia, quality education is affordable. Offering courses that will transfer to a long list of fouryear universities and an opportunity to pursue a career in a highdemand field. The grant could cover 100 of your College Division costs with 22 colleges and 85 campuses. Tcsg, meaningful careers start here. Visit tcsg. Edu to learn more. While youre in high school, you can take college courses. This is the first step toward doing what you love at the Technical College system of georgia with over 22 colleges and 85 campuses. Save time. Save money with dual enrollment. Get a jump start on your college experience. Tcsg, meaningful careers start here. Visit tcsg. Edu to learn more. I thank you for taking the time. You have a great story and one wed like to talk more about that exemplifies with tcsg means to georgia. Im joshua, im originally from dawson county. I made some bad decisions in my life. Got put in prison. While i was there, west georgia tech gave me an opportunity to get involved in a welding program. I completed the program. Got my certificate. I got out. The day after i got out, i got a job. I make 18 an hour. Ive got my life back. I got my son back. I got a job, a car, a house. It really is all because i got out and had a skilled trade from west georgia tech when i got out that i could present to somebody and tell them that im a skilled craftsman, and they hired me on the day i got out. What does that job mean to you . It means everything. I mean, i i probably could have got out and got a job at a fast food restaurant, but being able to go through this program with the help of the instructors and teaching me how to weld, i was able to get a job where i could get on my feet and do something while i and not have to go back to where i came from. How long was the program . It was six months. It was six months to complete. Did the mobile lab come to you . Where did you have the welder . We had a trailer out on outside the prison. And they moved a trailer in, put in a bunch of welders and brought someone out there to instruct us and we started hammering it out. And there was ten of us. Nobody knew how to weld or nothing, but all ten of us passed, graduated, and passed with flying colors. So now youre a certified welder by the state of georgia . Yes, i am. Congratulations. I think the thing the state of georgia has done to help inmates is one of the best things. The whole time i was in prison, i never seen nothing like it. They have vocational things, but when you leave with an actual degree from a Technical College saying you completed this course and youre certified, theres nothing like it. At no cost to you. At no cost at all. I mean, i got out. I had my boots. They let me keep my welding helmet and i got out so i was fully prepared to get a job. Its been a blessing. Whoever set it up to do these vocational things for inmates to get out and have a better life, its one of the best ideas. One of the rock stars in your situation is a woman named laura gamage. She cut through all the red tape and had this program put together and got off the ground at west georgia tech. Thats amazing. We are pleased to have joshua hutchson with us today along with his welding instructor, scott edison. Welcome them both as they stand for us today. [ applause ] joshua and others like him are why im adding 1 million to my amended Budget Proposal to help those studying welding in the tcsg program. Another area were planning samplings that will soon cover our entire state is in the field of transportation. Three years ago i asked this General Assembly to act boldly and provide a means of transportation funding capable of addressing our aging infrastructure. Because of your brave action and the bipartisan support, we were able to make the first meaningful transportation investments in an entire generation through projects that are now sprouting up throughout our state. Thanks to the transportation funding act, we are preparing for future generations, and the sustained growth were seeing throughout our state through our unprecedented tenyear, 11 billion transportation investment plan. Now, speaking of highway infrastructure, the last time i really spoke to this gathering was last year. The same day that a fire was set under a portion of interstate 5 85, and it collapsed. As youre leaving town this year, after this, please dont start any fires. Of the many men and women throughout georgia who we have to thank for our transportation improvements, there is one in particular who deserves our gratitude and our for making our department of transportation the most capable and the most cutting edge in the country. Were fortunate to have that man with us today, so i would like to ask commissioner Russell Mcmurray to stand as we give him a round of applause. [ applause ] over the past seven years we have partnered together on many great undertakings that now serve as the standard for other states to emulate. One of the proudest of those has been our overwhelmingly successful and bipartisan criminal Justice Reforms. This is a tree wellplanted, and one that is changing the lives for the better every day. Were also doing what so many others thought impossible only a decade ago. And that is offering to those who have made mistakes but are willing to work hard to correct them a Second Chance through our Accountability Courts. The roots of this growing system have taken time to grow, having met obstacles along the way, but they have proven to be the most effective component of our overall criminal justice tomorrows. Individuals whose lives were once controlled by addictions are now able to reclaim por fitted potential, reconnect with their children, retain employment, and contribute as tax paying citizens and restore hope for a brighter tomorrow. If you do not think this makes a difference, i invite you on behalf of all judges of Accountability Courts in this state to attend one of their graduation ceremonies. You will find that your money has been well spent. From the time we first began our criminal Justice Reforms, the number of state funded accountability programs has increased from 12 to 149. And i am happy to report that every one of our 49 judicial circuits now has at least one type of Accountability Court in operation. [ applause ] when we consider the savings to all georgians in the form of lower public expenditures, lower rates of crime and lives made whole, our criminal Justice Reforms, especially our education and reentry initiatives have been well worth the investment. This tree of reform and redemption has taken root quickly and is growing new branches of reclaimed opportunity every day. It is now greater than any other tree of its kind in the nation, and one that will continue to put georgia at the pinnacle on this issue. We would be remiss if we did not take this opportunity to thank all of those who have had a hand in planning our criminal Justice Reform tree. If you have been a member of the criminal Justice Reform council, would you please stand and be recognized . [ applause ] new members of this General Assembly have almost naunanimouy supported this councils recommendations over the past six years. This year ill be asking you to favorably consider more of their recommended reforms further enhancing our public safety. A couple of weeks ago i had the pleasure of addressing georgias newest georgia Trooper School which was 101 Trooper School. A fitting conclusion to the 80th anniversary of the Georgia State patrol. These men and women of courage who wear a badge and a vest each day in service to their fellow citizens help make our communities safer places to call home. They along with our local police officers, our gbi personnel, our dnr rangers, our corrections and parol offices and our national guardsmen, they all help protect our lives and our property. It is because of their valor and remarkable devotion to duty that we as georgians can live in a safer state. These everyday heros are the ones who protect our trees of opportunity and ensure that they can grow unabated for future generations to enjoy. Will you join me in recognizing that valued service of our Law Enforcement officers in this state . [ applause ] this past year we planted a tree of hope for families that confront Mental Health issues. My office created a commission on childrens Mental Health last june. Charging them with providing recommendations on improving state Mental Health services for our children. I can now tell you that the commissions report has been received and my Budget Proposal includes 22. 9 million in funding based on their recommendations. I dont know what you think about what ive said up to this point, but i want to make it clear this is not my obituary. For a farewell address, but it is the last time that i will have the opportunity to address all of you in this formal setting. We have much work to do during this legislative session. I want you to know that i will work vigorously with you to continue to polish the apples that we are harvesting from our orchards of opportunity. In a little over a years time sandra and i will depart from public life after almost four decades of service to the people of the state. [ applause ] but others in this chamber and beyond will continue to have great opportunities to serve their fellow georgians. As you do so, i urge you not to neglect the trees and the orchards that we have planted over these past seven years. What we do in this historic building, the actions we take in these chambers of service, the choices we make while in positions of elected authority must be for the betterment of all georgians. We must adopt the same mind set and gaze as the pecan farmer in south georgia who plants a tree and knows that its growth is well worth the decades of careful attention it will take to nurture it to it greatest potential just as a parent does the same for a child. That is who we planted these trees for, after all, our children and our grandchildren. They are who we must call to mind on every bill presented, with every vote cast, and with every campaign announcement. Will our actions help or hinder those who come after us . My administration and i have worked diligently these past seven years to serve our fellow citizens. But we have work yet to do in this final session. But soon we will be looking to you, ladies and gentlemen, to water and tend the orchards of opportunity we have planted together and to continue planting seeds and saplings of potential, not for personal gain but for those who will in future years come during the heat of the georgia day and be cooled by the shade of those trees