[ applause ] [ applause ] [ applause ] [ applause ] it is my pleasure to be able to introduce to you his excellency, the governor of the commonwealth, charles d. Baker. [ applause ] thank you. Thank you very much. Thank you. Thank you for all being with us tonight. Thank you. Tom, nice to have you with us. Thanks for being here. Mr. Speaker, madam president , members of the house and senate, congressman neal, thank you for joining us. Fellow constitutional officers, members of the governors counsel, mr. Chief justice, welcome. Members of the judiciary, members of the cabinet and my administration, sheriff, district attorney, mayors, local officials, reverend, clergy, distinguished guests. Members of my family that are here this evening. [ applause ] angie, kristen, and william, our children, charlie excuse me, hes the naughty one. A. J. And caroline, and my wife, lauren. The love of my life for the past 30 years. And an outstanding and committed first lady. [ applause ] and to my fellow citizens. When Lieutenant Governor and i began this journey three years ago, we set out to create a State Government that worked well for the people who needed it most and would be as creative and thrifty and hard working as the people of massachusetts. While much remains to be done, with your help, we have made great progress towards these objectives. We began with a 1 billion structural budget deficit. Today, we have reduced that deficit to less than 100 million, without raising taxes. [ applause ] we began with 1500 homeless families stuck in hotels and motels, isolated from their support systems. Today, there are fewer than 60 families. Thats a 95 reduction. [ applause ] we began with a department of children and families in freefall. Today, 99 of its social workers are licensed with the lowest case loads theyve had in years, and clinical teams to support their work. We began with a Health Connector that was by all accounts a mess, and today, it just finished its third consecutive positive open enrollment providing more than 240,000 working families with Affordable HealthCare Coverage here in massachusetts. [ applause ] we began with a State Hospital in bridgewater that for decades was beset by a series of te terrible tragedied and nothing was done. Today, with the help of the legislature and others, bridgewater hospital is a completely different place, and families who never expected anything to get better finally have hope. [ applause ] we began in the midst of an opioid kricrisis, and with deat overdosed and prescriptions have been growing by double digits for more than a decade. The worst case of negative momentum i have seen. Today, with your help and support, we have reduced opioid prescribing by 29 and Overdose Deaths dropped for the first time in over a decade by 10 . [ applause ] weve made significant progress in many other vital areas that directly influence the quality of life for everyone here in massachusetts. For the first time, were directing capital grants to vokashzal technical schools. To upgrade equipment and expand popular programs. Providing students with realworld skills and experience and employers with jobready employees. Public private partnerships with colleges, universities, researchers, and the federal government, and materials, advanced manufacturing, robotic and digital health, are incubating the next generation of great generational clusters. Partnerships have translated into billions of dollars of downtown and Economic Development projects creating thousands of jobs and preserving and creating thousands of units of affordable and workforce housing. In working with you, we have allocated more than 700 million in local road and bridge funding, the largest investment in years, and another 3. 6 billion has been spent on hundreds of road resurfacing and improvement projects. In all, we have repaired or replaced 80 bridges and paved enough roadways to crisscross the commonwealth five times. [ applause ] we have also built on this states historic equipment to bipartisan commitment to veterans. We enhanced the benefit for gold star families. Enacted the home act, created a tax credit for Small Businesses to hire veterans and committed to funding necessary to rebuild the chelsea soldiers home and to celebrate this milestone, were joined tonight by u. S. Navy veteran tom miller, who lives at the soldiers home, director of nursing debbie an tonelly, and sheryl poppy. God bless you and thank you for joining us. Tonelly, and sheryl poppy. God bless you and thank you for joining us. , and sheryl poppy. God bless you and thank you for joining us. I, and sheryl poppy. God bless you and thank you for joining us. [ applause ] as you all know, our Public Transportation system collapsed during the brutal winter of 2015. But three years later, the t is investing hundreds of millions of dollars more on upgrading its Core Infrastructure than it has in years. Modernizing its operations, and rescuing projects like the green line extension. And after more than three decades of lip service, were going to make Commuter Rail from fall river to new bedford to boston a reality. [ applause ] we have much more to do on the t, much more. But for the first time, the plan to modernize the system is in place and moving forward. Fixing decades of neglect doesnt happen overnight, but make no mistake, we will deliver the Public Transit system that the people of this commonwealth deserve. Economically, were hitting on all cylinders. In 2017, we had more people working than at any time in state history. Our economy has added 180,000 new jobs since we took office, and best of all, the number of people looking for work has dropped in every county over the past three years, and in most cases, by more than 35 . [ applause ] the progress weve made together has been noticed, and it should be. Bloomberg ranked massachusetts number one in innovation for the past two years. The United Health foundation called massachusetts the Healthiest State in the nation. And in 2014 national survey, thumtack gave massachusetts a dplus for Small Business friendliness. Last year, they gave us an aminus. U. S. News and world report ranked massachusetts the best state in the nation in which to live, work, and raise a family, and for the third time in four years, the new England Patriots are going to the super bowl. [ applause ] full credit for that one. So i can stand here tonight and say without question that the state of our commonwealth is strong. A strong commonwealth is built on a foundation of strong communities. Friendly, welcoming, bustling neighborhoods and downtown. Great schools, safe, accessible, attractive places to play. Growing local economies, and a belief that anything is possible. And thats why for the past three years, we have focused so much of our time on strengthening communities. Our First Executive order created a new partnership between state and local government. Funded by the legislature, and overseen by the Lieutenant Governor, 330 cities and towns have joined this partnership. Adopting more than 800 best practices and everything from Financial Planning to regional collaboration, this is how government should work. [ applause ] when we took office, more than 50 communities in western massachusetts didnt have access to highspeed internet services. I first heard about this when a local official told me Horror Stories about what life was like without it. He mentioned students like sorry from mt. Washington, who often did her homework sitting in the car next to the library after hours so she could get access to their wifi. Now, sarahs a straighta student in high school, but come on. The parking lot . Now, heres the good news. Mt. Washington now has highspeed internet, and sarah is applying online to colleges using the wifi in her home. And the vast majority of the communities that had none when we took office either have it now or have plans to install it. And thanks to this legislatures help, with funding for the buildout, they will all have this musthave infrastructure over the course of the next two years. [ applause ] our program to plant 10,000 trees in gateway city has been a success, and we look forward to planting 10,000 more. By the fall of 2018, 71 of all street lights will be l. E. D. S, saving communities millions of dollars and cutting power usage by 60 . To support our coastal communities, we revived the seaport council, established a statewide task force to study resiliency and adaptability, and begun making millions of dollars in Strategic Investments to preserve, protect, and properly use this critical natural resource. With the help of Community Leaders and our legislative colleagues, we instituted problems for small bridge, maintenance repair, made Major Investments in bike paths and walking trails, and delivered predictable investments and unrestricted local aid to municipal infrastructure. We also worked together with our colleagues in local government to welcome fellow citizens from puerto rico and the Virgin Islands after the devastating hurricane. [ applause ] state agencies have worked together to help thousands of families relocate here and find housing, schools, and jobs. Our budget will include additional aid for the communities hosting these families. Over 20 years ago, we committed to what became a longstanding bipartisan investment in k12 education. High standards, equitable funding and other major reforms, and it worked. We continue to finish first for the tenth year in a row on the National Assessment of educational progress exam in both math and english. We have the highest fouryear Graduation Rate and the lowest dropout rate we have ever had. To continue that momentum, were funding k12 education at the highest level in history. More than 4. 7 billion, and tomorrows budget submission will boost that number by another 100 million, representing an increase of nearly half a billion dollars since we took office. [ applause ] the commonwealth efforts, as you know, dont stop with k12 education. For students and families struggling to pay for college, well expand three key successful initiatives. First, well increase College Scholarship funding by more than 7 million, so that all Community College students who qualify for pell grants with an unmet financial need will have their remaining tuition and fee fully paid for. [ applause ] second, well significantly expand our Early College programs, which give students the opportunity to take collegelevel courses and earn College Credits while theyre still in high school. This prepares students for academic success, reduces their cost, and boosts College Completion rate. And third, well continue to expand our commonwealth commitment plan, which makes it possible for students to earn fouryear degrees for less than 30,000, and thats before including scholarships, state or federal grants. [ applause ] in addition to help the next generation of students get off to a good start, we delivered with the support of this legislature one of the largest increases in funding in Early Childhood education in over a decade in our 2018 budget. All in [ applause ] all in, we increased state spending on Early Education rate delivering a 45 million wage increase for teachers. [ applause ] for seven years in a row, massachusetts has been ranked the most Energy Efficient state in the country. In a few days, the commonwealth will announce the results of the Largest Renewable Energy procurement in our history. The process enabled by our 2016 legislation will lead to clean Energy Pricing thats competitive with carbon emitting fossil fuels, which is a huge win for our families, our businesses, and our environment. And later this year, well complete a competitive process that could lead to the construction of the largest offshore wind power operation in the nation. This effort will further reduce emissions, create thousands of green jobs in places like new bedford, and solidify our standing as a Global Leader in innovation in clean energy. Were also making new investments in the development of energy storage. By helping bridge the gap in peak demand, expanded storage will boost the effectiveness of wind and solar power. Provide further price relief for rate payers and pave the way for a future independent from fossil fuels. [ applause ] but despite the tremendous progress weve made and will continue to make here in massachusetts, our climate is still changing. And thats why well dedicate an additional 2 million to Climate Adaptation and resiliency efforts in our budget, providing Additional Support to municipalities. On health care, we made a strong statement that in this commonwealth, everyone will have access to quality care. [ applause ] by working with governors and members of congress, we were able to preserve the Health Insurance program put in place in the commonwealth a decade ago. But we must continue to be vigilant to protect what has worked for us, and well continue to advocate for bipartisan fixes to the Affordable Care act that many governors, democrats and republicans, fought for last year. And we made an equally strong statement on Womens Health care when we pledged that regardless of the outcome in d. C. , no woman in massachusetts will be denied health care reproductive services. [ applause ] now, we have just six months left in this legislative session to Work Together on a long list of important initiatives. Lets start with the opioid epidemic. In 2015, boston mayor walsh and i testified on behalf of opioid addiction legislation which this body enacted several months later. Mr. Mayor, i want to thank you for your steadfast lifelong leadership on this issue. [ applause ] recently, secretary mary lou suters and i testified in support of the c. A. R. E. Act, which is a followup to that 2016 law. The c. A. R. E. Act will provide a framework for after School Education and broaden pathways to treatment for people dealing with addiction. Since 2015, we have added over 1100 treatment beds, increased state spending on Addiction Services by 60 , upgraded our prescription monitoring program, required medical, dental, nursing, social work, and fa pharmacy schools to teach every student about opioid therapy and pain management, increased access to narcan, certified hundreds of sober homes, expanding school based education, and creating new pathways to treatment. And over the next five years, we plan to add 500 more treatment beds and increase spending on Addiction Services by more than 200 million. But everyone in this room knows we need to do more. Please move quickly to enact the c. A. R. E. Act. [ applause ] in addition, we have to deal with fentanyl. Fentanyl was present in less than 30 of Overdose Deaths in 2014. But it was present in more than 80 of Overdose Deaths in 2017. Federal, state, and local Law Enforcement agencies are working this issue hard, but we have more to do to drive this deadly drug off our streets. A bipartisan bill that makes it easier to arrest and convict dealers and traffickers is in your hands and i ask you to inact it as soon as possible. [ applause ]enact it as soon as. [ applause ] we also have work to do to bolster Behavioral Health services. The budget we file tomorrow will include more than 83 million in new funding for the department of mental health, to strengthen Community Based services for adults with serious mental illness. [ applause ] in addition to integrating behavioral and physical health care, these services will provide active outreach and engagement support, residential support, clinical coverage 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and include peer and recovery coaches as part of the treatment team, and we would ask that you make this Initiative Part of your budget. As many oz you know, we significantly expanded our investment in workforce and Affordable Housing over the past three years. Investing hundreds of millions of dollars to create and preserve over 30,000 units of housing. Often combining them with transit oriented development. But here, too, we must do more. Its been decades since this state produced enough housing to keep up with demand. And the result has been predictable. A limited supply creates overheated demand and rising prices. Young people, seniors, young working and middle class families cant afford to rent or buy a home here in the commonwealth. We filed legislation in 2017 that will make it possible to build more housing. Our goal is 135,000 new units of housing by 2025, and we ask that this proposal be taken up quickly because for far too many people, housing in the commonwealth is simply unaffordable. [ applause ] to increase the takehome pay for more than 400,000 families, we worked together to expand the earned income tax credit in 2015. Were proposing another increase in our budget that would result in a doubling of the credit, and i look forward to signing that provision into law. [ applause ] you guys you just. Well also include additional skill building funds for lowincome workers and those funds will be targeted to job openings in each region so that people can take the next step up the wage ladder and well be filing an Economic Development bill in february that will build on the success of the legislation that was signed into law in 2016. [ applause ] thanks to the strength of our economy, our welfare case load has dropped by 25 and our budget will include reforms that will help thousands more on public assistance find good jobs. Now last spring [ applause ] im with ya. Last spring been, i appointed a council to address aging, with a goal of making massachusetts the most agefriendly state in the nation. The councils been providing a platform to think beyond Public Programs and to draw on experience and technology, health care, business and innovation. Were pleased to announced at aarp has formally designated massachusetts as one of only two agefriendly states in the country. [ applause ] thank you, sir. Yeah. Exactly. That seems to matter more to me every year. [ laughter ] well also be increasing state support for the councils on ageing in our 2019 budget to the highest level ever. [ applause ] there we go. And our discussions with the legislature and other interested parties about mass health have been very helpful, and we believe our shared goals of quality care and longterm sustainability can be achieved. Now, finally, while our k12 schools are the envy of the nation, we still have more to do to close the opportunity gap. An Innovative Program in springfield to address this issue is producing impressive results for middle and High School Students and deserves our attention. The springfield empowerment zone gives teachers and administrators a chance to share decisionmaking on professional development, curriculum, budgets, the works, and it seems to be working for kids. I visited these schools three times and every time i came away filled with optimism for all involved. Collaborative approaches like this one are working in springfield and can work in other strugglings districts as well. Two teachers are in the empowerment zone, and when i visited with them, they told me this was a gamechanger for them and the kids they teached. Theyve joined us tonight and i want to thank you for being here and i want to thank you and your colleagues for everything you do for our kids. [ applause ] now, this is my fourth turn behind this podium, and i know i speak for the Lieutenant Governor and myself when i say the opportunity to serve has been the honor of a lifetime for both of us. [ applause ] and with this in mind, i want to close with a few thoughts on the responsibility we all share in serving our commonwealth while in public office. I dont think im being too simplistic when i say we are all here to help people. We may differ about how to get that done, but we all share that goal. We all want to create opportunities for people. To help them get a great education, to live in a great community, to get a great job, to live a long and healthy life, to believe in their own future and the future for their kids and their families. But we also want people to believe in their government. [ applause ] thank you. This requires, among other things, that we commit ourselves to a common decency in our debate and in our dealings with one another in the public. That doesnt mean we always have to agree, because we wont. There are 200 members of this legislature, thousands of elected and appointed local officials and millions of adults in this state who all have Life Experience and a point of view. Some of us will agree with each other most of the time. Some will agree some of the time. And some will never agree at all. Thats okay. Thats called democracy. And more often than not, it works. And finally, we should recognize and never forget why we have this precious chance to serve our fellow citizens. The most heartening responsibility i have as governing is to meet a family at the airport as they stand silently waiting for the military casket of their loved one to come home. I always say the same thing, im sorry to be here today and i know you are, too. And if i can do anything for you, just ask. And each time ive said those words, that parent, spouse, sibling responds with a heartfelt thank you. Think about that. In the midst of their immeasurable grief, they are kind and generous, grace beyond compare. For generations people put themselves in harms way so the rest of us could create and nurture a democracy, a democracy based on a very simple concept, out of many, one. We owe every citizen our best efforts, but we owe those who have paid the ultimate price to keep us free something more. [ applause ] we owe them the humility to understand that what we do in this building is tied to something so much bigger than partisanship. Its our job to create the cohesion and vision by those who came before us. To move this state forward, to protect and fight for its interests and its people and to never forget that we are the lucky ones. [ applause ] we live in a great state filled with creative communityminded hardworking and decent people, and what they want from us is opportunity, possibility and hope. Not noise. Not namecalling and not fingerpointing. [ applause ] we want progress on the things that help them help themselves. Now weve done great work with you on many important issues, but our work has just begun. We stand ready to work with you to do so much more on housing, Economic Development, life sciences, education, criminal justice, community building, transportation and addiction. But most of all, we all gather here tonight as the grateful recipients of a profound opportunity to serve the great people of this great state. Lets make the most of it. God bless this commonwealth. God bless the United States of america. Thank you. [ cheers and applause ] [ sustained applause ] here is a headline from politico, President Trump calls for shutdown if congress doesnt pass Border Security measures. The president made the remarks at a white house roundtable focused on the ms13 gang. If we dont change the legislation, if we dont get rid of these loopholes where killers are allowed to come into our country and continue to kill, gang members, and were just talking about ms13. There are many gang members that we dont even mention. If we dont change it, lets have a shutdown. Well do a shutdown. And its worth it for our country. Id love to see a shutdown if we dont get this stuff taken care of. So we have to strengthen our borders, not by a little bit, but by a lot. We are so far behind the time, and, by the way, the world is laughing at us because they cant believe these policies. They dont have it. I could name 15 of them right now. No other country in the world has what we have. And were going to get it stopped. If we have to shut it down because the democrats dont want safety, and unrelated but still related, they dont want to take care of our military, then shut it down. Well go with another shutdown. The president s remarks came as congressional leaders continue to work on a temporary government funding measure which the house voted on and passed earlier. The senate will take it up ahead of the thursday deadline. Well have the president s entire remarks at that white house ms13 roundtable coming up later in our schedule. Up next on cspan3, we look at the Emergency Alert system following last months false alarm in hawaii, and author and historian talk about what he calls the growing partisan nature of the u. S. Senate. Cspans washington journal live every day with news and policy issues that impact you. Coming up wednesday morning, Oklahoma Republican congressman steve russel will join us to discuss the latest on the deal to avoid a Government Shutdown and the governments waste watch report. Were live from jackson, mississippi, for the next stop on the cspan bus 50 capitals tour. Joining us