my fellow arizona, and thank you so much for the warm welcome. it is great to be back. , i allow me to start with a question. a show of hands, who here today in this chamber was born somewhere other than the state of arizona. i will always be a kid from toledo and we have folks here from all over the country and all over the world, it's uniquely arizona. we live here, work, here make this home and were not alone. as we stand here today, more than 70% of our adult citizens were born somewhere else. so were some of our greatest state icons. leaders like secretary of the air force barbara barron, trail blazers like role castro, legends like jerry co-and yellow, quiet states like bill bid well, giants like sandra day o'connor, and heroes like john mccain and pat tieleman and the newcomers keep coming. last year reports to 7 million people in left massachusetts in the dust. but the time i finish the speech, 14 new arizona residents will have arrived. i'm not known for bevy. i think it's fair to say that i speak for all of us, the native arizona and the newcomers when i say they love it here. there is, gentlemen i'm proud to report state of our state is strong. and the best parties is only getting better. look at all it's happening around us. our crime rate is dropping and school test scores arising. our credit rating is up and our debt is way down. out having his job faster than any other state in the nation. as we enter a new decade, things look a lot different than when we entered the last one. today, arizona's economy is more diverse. we have more manufacturing jobs than construction jobs and we are top ten in transportation, science, technology, and health care. our national reputation has never been better. our leadership with mexico has ever been stronger, i'm with the new usmca we have paved the way for an even stronger trade relationship with our value neighbors to the south. we got here by doing things our way the arizona way and i'm here to tell you, you ain't seen nothing yet. . your comments and still rules the day. other states and d.c. politicians might be focused on growing government. arizona grows opportunity. our population is surging, but the size of our government is actually shrinking some of. all while providing faster, more efficient customer service to taxpayers and citizens. in arizona, we believe in maximizing freedom and limiting government. we believe government should do fewer things but do the things it does well. let's continue hacking away at the permanent bureaucracy and the mother may i state. the people don't need the government's permission. the government needs the peoples permission. we believe in the freedom to work. on arizona's 50th birthday, someone wisely predicted arizona will continue to be the haven for people who seek an outlet for initiative and a reward for work. that was very goldwater in 1962. in that spirit, we passed universal recognition of occupational licensing, allowing anyone in america had to bring their skills to arizona, and get to work. up on the governor's office our phones have been ringing off the hook. red states, blue, states all wanting to replicate what arizona has done. representative, peterson house that for model legislation? fact is, if imitation really is the sincerest form of flattery, then arizona should be blushing? we were the first state in a nation to pass the american civics act. 34 others have followed suit, only 15 more to go. our unanimous were gone opioid was the most aggressive incumbents of policy in the nation and prompted other states and the federal government to take notice and take action and way back in 2016, we protected free speech on our college campuses. it takes texas three years to catch, up you know we're doing something right. here, you can brew beer, turn ice cream, what we need is uber and lift back at sky harbor. we will launched the happy baby's program to let new parents bring their infants to work. and how do we know it was a great idea? because in california, it got vetoed on. we fired the lobbyists, freed the blow dryers and along the way even managed to legalize potlucks of. cutting red tape? we were doing it before it was cool, but the most surprising news is not everyone is mimicking us, places like california, illinois, washington state, connecticut and new york, they are taking the opposite approach. higher taxes, more regulations, wasteful spending, mountains of debt. that's the wrong way. will stick to the arizona way. the residents are flocking to arizona. here we are not just open for business, were open for opportunity for everyone. we are now the number one in downstate in america. our economy is roaring. 350,000 new jobs since 2015. it's reflected in our bursting general funding growing revenues but for those of you who don't know me that well yet, spoiler alert, we are not going on a spending spree full. but old habits die hard for the spending lobby. there's a course of special interest scheming, plotting a clambering for a new and higher taxes. it isn't to import those bad out of state policies. , is to escape them. it bears repeating, no new taxes not this session, not, accessions out here in this chamber not at the ballot box, not on my watch. we are running a billion dollar surplus, and somehow that still not enough? give us a break. even better, give the hardworking taxpayers of break. and let's start with the ones who we can all agree have sacrificed the most. we are blessed to have more than 600,000 veterans in our state. one of the largest population of veterans in the country, from world war ii to post 9/11. , our greatest generation to our newest generation. he's brave men and women are heroes to whom we the citizens iowa debt of gratitude for all the freedoms we enjoy each and every day. i'd like to ask all the veterans in the chamber today to please rise so we can recognize it on your service. yours is a public service in the league of its own. as president lincoln said of our veterans, the world will little note nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. to say these individuals are great americans is an understatement. once retired, our vets continue to give back. we can never repay them, but we can at least do our part to demonstrate our appreciation. our vets have already earned their benefits, put their lives on the line. the government should not be taxing their service to country. it should be honoring their service to country. our budget does this pile limiting all state income taxes on our veterans, military pensions, once and for all. we have a goal to make arizona a home base for veterans everywhere in the country. these women and men make our state stronger. do all our veterans everywhere from california to new york state, arizona wants to, all of you. you've put our country first and now with this budget, arizona will put you first. a limiting tax for veterans as well why were not the only way we honor our heroes. we're connecting veterans jobs and were working towards the opening up to new veterans homes and the battlefield is not the only place where our service men and women's rights is at risk. once they come home they face new challenges, with suicide rates three times higher among arizona's veterans, our department of veterans services, under the direction of -- is a national leader in addressing veteran suicide. through the be connected program, veterans are connecting with one another for support and behavioural health services. what more needs to be done for all of arizona and struggling with his growing crisis? it is now the eighth leading cause of death in our state. this is a national problem, one needing arizona solutions. last year, doctor cara crist, we are at the department of health services, convened a group of stakeholders and mental health experts to develop a plan to combat suicide and save lives and when it comes to our kids, in the iphone era, they face a world dramatically different than the one we grew up in. modern technology, social media, loneliness, vaping, we need solutions that focus on the whole child, promoting personal resilience, leveraging our community in a supportive environment. let's start by increasing access to mental health care. we are going with senator kate briefly mckee and representative jean flight occur on a long overdue reform. insurance companies should be covering mental health just like they cover an annual physical and were going to make sure they do. i've called on you to get rid of old laws. today i'm leading by example. moments ago, i rescinded 23 old executive orders, resulting in the elimination of 18 boards and commissions we just don't need? don't worry, i'm not gonna go through the list. you will mess. it that's the equivalent of 134 million dollar tax cut without impacting a general fund one penny. but were not done yet. i've issued a new executive order with a new reform. if the government ever deemed a new regulation absolutely necessary, it must first identify three others to illuminate. you get it. the result, new regulations will naturally mean last regulations. overall, we are doing more with less. our hardworking state employees are rooting out waste. they've consolidated even eliminated entire state agencies and they've reduced the state fleet by 767 vehicles, saving taxpayers 31 million dollars. facts back other areas of government could follow their lead. there are hundreds of unelected boards and commissions. they exist in the dark corner of state government, often escaping accountability and scrutiny. we've sought to chip away at the d pretty colonialism but there is still too many insiders and industry good old boys. it's time to clean this up. senator michel has a bill that puts real people on these boards. last year, during budget negotiations, senate democratic leader david bradley alerted us to something new. boards, stockpiling cash and sitting on bank counts of millions in reserves, all while continuing to burn real people with these. it's time for that to and. let's freeze the fees and free the people. climbers, barber, is nurses in engineers, no one should ever have to buy their freedom back from the government, least of all the men and women who have served our country. you heard me say i want arizona to be the national leader for veterans. well, representatives joanne osborne's got the bill for our heroes and military spouses. polish your resumes. were getting rid of your fees. we are also going to target more resources towards our trade programs with an eye toward -- at our community colleges, a full restoration of i.c.e. am and workforce development funding. in our public schools, more hours to see trade programs to train students in high demand careers of the future. . these are worthy and responsible investments so with money in the bank let's make them. . we prioritize just corresponds ability, we've learned from the mistakes of the past. this building, we now own the deed. we are sitting on our highest credit rating ever. treasurer yuri, how about that permanent land endowment trust fund? 6.2 billion dollars, the largest in history big. and last year, instead of going on a sugar high and spending through our surplus, we brought our rainy day fund to a record breaking one billion dollars big. this allows us to return dollars back to the hard working taxpayers and make smart, targeted investments like a new roads and bridges. we fully and permanently restored transportation hours for our rural communities big. the widening of i-17, state route one 89 in novelist, u.s. 95, last week i called on the federal government to fund the toronto -- . and we cut the ribbon on the newly created loop 12 to in the west valley. it's progress and next on the list, i-ten. the phoenix tucson corridor is an economic artery for our state and needs expanding. it's time to accelerate completion of items widening in both direction egg. between our two largest cities, our market put the pedal to the metal, with the construction of a new bridge over the river. this replaces a 56 year old bridge, 60,000 people drive over every day. that's 23 million a year so, let's break ground asap. we need to connect all parts of our growing state. rural areas still lack high speed internet. let's triple our investment in rural broadband grants and invest 50 million in smart highway corridors to install broadband along our rural interstates. this will make our highways safer and smarter than ever before and pave the way to get all of rural arizona logged on. egg all throughout our priorities will see a focus on rural arizona because there are 15 counties and news flash, there are needs outside of the great state of maricopa. nearly 20 years ago, arizona voters passed tribal state gaming -- . it's been a positive for arizona and. he's come as we can expire in the next two years. we've been working to develop a modern, updated agreement, one it is regulated, safe and limited and that preserves the culture of our state. i'd like to thank all the travelers who've been hard at work on these negotiations. it's been a given take and an agreement is this close. we owe it to our tribes and our citizens to get this done. last year we came together and passed the dread contingency plan. it was the most significant water policy in 40 years. we will continue to protect lake mead, the colorado river. from our own water in our egg jobs but we shouldn't be dealing with this issue one generation at a time. we need a strategic ongoing effort to turn arizona into the international capital for water innovation. look at all israel has accomplished. why not arizona? we've been a leader on water and with this approach we will be an even stronger leader far into the future. now, there is no new shortage of jobs in arizona but many vital jobs remain unfilled in our rural communities so, we've got a plan, a rural jobs initiative. first, tourism and state parks. there is no place more beautiful vacation then scenic arizona and with an infusion of new dollars going to work with tourism director debbie johnson to ensure the whole world knows it big. next, workforce. small business is the backbone of our economy so, we are launching a partnership of local first arizona to strengthen small businesses. get rule arizona is back to work and bolster our local economies fog. our community colleges are creating a pipeline of talent so we are expanding these efforts with a 4 million dollar investment in our rural colleges. there are currently over 2000 manufacturing jobs available outside maricopa and pmo counties. let's get these jobs filled, and attract even more. they asked you juve an and here you have also stepped up to fuel our economy and were about to pour on the gas. regions chair doctor larry pedal has proposed what he calls the new economy initiative. it's an innovative approach than enhances our capacity to graduate more students from the critical jobs of today, and tomorrow. it is just the latest effort by our universities to solve problems and to do it the arizona way. (applause) (applause) like working to address the national teacher so shortage, through the arizona teachers academy, we made a commitment to our aspiring teachers use day, you teach in arizona, and we will cover college tuition. the effort is paying off. enrollment in the teachers academy has skyrocketed with 2170 students now participating. we are proud to have some of the students and graduates of our teachers academy here today ladies and gentlemen will you join me, in welcoming these new arizona teachers. (applause) (applause) this year, we intend to build on arm romantic with some reform sponsored by paul boy or senator allowing students to go through the academy, students he can getting degrees and math and science, teachers specializing in educating blind children. arizona's future depends on these educators. let's provide them with access so that they can get to the front of the classroom debt free. there is still work to do to address the teacher shortage. a recent study by the center for american progress is encouraging. arizona has experienced the second highest growth in new teachers unruly in teacher preparation programs for actually only one of five states out of 50 seeing an increase in enrollment. this is news we can all celebrate because the state of our state, can only be strong with strong public schools. (applause) here are the facts. over the past five years we have increased student spending more quickly and consistently then it any time in the past 20 years. today or a zone a is one of only a few states in the nation demonstrating academic improvements over the last decade. we provided funding to get schools built faster and on time to meet growing demand. and most importantly, are the start of the new school year, teacher pay, will be up 20%. (applause) (applause) (applause) (applause) in total we've punt 4.5 billion in new investments in arizona schools. with our latest budget, that figure will rise to 6.6 billion. we have done all of this, without raising taxes. (applause) in addition, and even larger investment in school counselors cops on campus, and school safety. a stronger focus on ctv and trades, more money for the arizona's teachers academy and teach for america. and, a full complete and accelerated restoration of flexible funding to years ahead of schedule. speaker powers, president fan, when you are ready to vote, i am ready to sign. there is still more we can do to help children in our state who are facing the biggest challenges. the late great john mccain, called education a civil rights issue of the 21st century and he was right. as he put it, what's the advantage in a low income area of sending a child to a failing school and that being their only choice? in that spirit we have worked hard to create more choice and opportunities for kids and their parents opening roman, public charter schools, education savings accounts, and in arizona much of this work has been bipartisan we are celebrating 25 years of. public charter schools in our state another arizona idea that's been a model for the country and today, we are honored to have the two trails lasers who led this bipartisan innovation, one republican, one democrat. they are back in the chamber today, former superintendent lisa graham kagan and former state senator are mandala rewet is. this is truly something that makes arizona unique, the arizona way. here, kids are not trapped in failing schools and despite what you hear from some folks on the national campaign trail, school choice is not about charter schools versus private schools versus district schools. it's about kids and families. when we debate these issues here at the capitol, it's easy to forget the fact that real people and real kids are impacted by these policies, kids like adonis watt. at age five, i don't us was diagnosed with a rare form of congenital glaucoma and as a result went blind and while he may have lost his sight, he did not lose his drive. today, at age 15, adonis is a hero of many, a superhero to be exact. his passion is an inspiration to fellow students at his prep school and to everyone who sees him score a touchdown at a friday night football game and now his story is being shared across the world through marvel comics first rail comic book, the unstoppable adonis. and as you can see, he's here today with his mom, veronica, let's all recognize arizona's own superhero adonis watt. faced with the expense of braille textbooks and specialized education needs, veronica chose to pursue adonis is education using an essay. he is just one example of how school choices helped so many families and empowered so many arizona children. children of men and women in uniform, children with special needs, and our native american population. like every other arizona parent, savannah james has -- is dedicated to ensuring that her child bethany receives a quality education. she selected a school near their home on the navajo nation. for years, hilltop school served bethany well. imagine their surprise when they received a letter from the heavy hand of government declaring the school out of bounds and demanding repayment of their funds from their education savings account. this is an example of government losing side of the people it's supposed to serve. . savannah and bethany are here today and we have a message for them. we won't stand for it and help is on the way. we plan to focus our resources on the precision, the most difference. targeting the achievement gap low income schools, we have reduced waitlist and expanded in replicated success. in mary veil, a new vista college prep is evidence, more than 90% of their students qualify for free and reduced lunch. the school, is the recipient of the prestigious blue ribbon award nationally for closing the achievement gap. this, this is what equal opportunity in education looks like. this is what we need more of in the state of arizona. results based funding has been one way to reward and replicate success in our best public schools. it is working. let's expand it and continue to recognize the achievements and the needs of high poverty schools where educators are doing amazing things, to beat the odds. we are also going to finally fund, and fully fund, the cost for low income students to take the advanced placement tests just like every other arizona kid they can earn college credit while still in high school. and we have a proven model to scale success in our most struggling schools. avondale elementary school district serves more than 5000 west valley students, nearly 70% of them residing in low income areas. in 2015 superintendent betsy hard grove did not like what she saw on the report card. so she rolled up our sleeves, to turn things around. and did she deliver. by 2018 through a targeted strategy, the district had double digit growth in map and in an english. the triple the average growth of other arizona schools. same results in deer valley and we can bergh. superintendents betsy hard grove curtis fitch and howard carlson are here today please join me in congratulating these school leaders. with these proven results in outcomes, we intend to invest more and transform more arizona schools. the idea is straightforward. help struggling schools with tools resources and expertise to produce better results for students. we call it, project rocket. we are working with representatives michelle you'd all to make this reality. we owe this to the kids in the schools. they are waiting let us not within let them down. we will continue to lead as the state that prioritizes our nations founders and their founding principles. four we are called to participate as citizens not spectators. that responsibility demands knowledge, and action. today only one in four americans can name all three branches of government. 70% do not know the constitution is the supreme law of the land. in arizona, we have taken steps, to ensure that the next generation is equipped to inherit our republic. already or high school students must pass the citizenship tests before graduation. i am proposing we expect more. we should start them even earlier and give our middle schoolers a chance to complete this exam. them because there is much more to learn. as margaret thatcher said, european nations were made by history, the united states was made by philosophy. unique among all nations, the united states knows precisely when and exactly why it was founded. we are blessed, to have one arizonan who is the ideal of this aspirational creed. her life, is a living civics lesson and arizona is fortunate to be home to the institute that bears her name. i am talking about justice sandra day o'connor. who better the to hold as a model for the next generation? that is why i am calling for a day when classroom instruction will be dedicated entirely to civics. sandra day o'connor civic celebration day. it is not enough to teach the values of our founding principles. we must demonstrate them in our daily lives. around the country, free speech and other constitutional rights guaranteed to the people are being assaulted or abandoned. some people would rather silent speech then here in opposing view. half a red our constitution? do they know why america was founded? thankfully we have three university presidents crow robinson chain who would ensure invest arizona campuses our models for the rest of the country. where the marketplace of ideas is alive and well. and where diversity of thought and discourse are given room to grow. the arizona way. the safety of our citizens. this is what keeps me up at night. as you will see in our balanced budget. we continue to put a focus on our border strike force to combat the influx of dangerous drugs crime and border. new surveillance cameras in southern arizona and in upgraded state-of-the-art radio system for law enforcement. in arizona, we are fortunate. we have so many brave men and women protecting us. they are 24/7. our national guard, active duty military personnel, our first responders, firefighters, and our crops. they brave challenges. on duty and off, they have courage they have dignity. in december, phoenix fire chief kara koch printer shared the news she was diagnosed with fresh cancer. with the same strength she confronts the most blazing of fighters. she took the diagnosis head on we are so grateful to have her here with us today. thank you chief, we are with you. these men and women run into danger. they protect us. we saw this recently one of our own state troopers brutally attacked in tampa fighting for his life after what seemed like a routine stop. by the grace of god, trooper you grant is here with us today. he is a hero thank you to power grant. incidents like these are reminders of the dangers law enforcement face every day. these are the good guys. we should do everything in our power to protect them. that is why our budget includes funding to finally put body cams on every state trooper. this is an idea backed by law enforcement in clear research so let's make it happen. there is no doubt about it, public safety is the most important thing that we do. in correctional facilities across the state, we have led to provide second chances to those serving their time. we are setting up job training workshops and we are partnering with employers since 2017 more than 3900 of our fellow arizonans, asked completed second chance program. a clipping them with the tools and skills to make a better life. more than 2400, had a job upon release. with hundreds more in programs now. we know these programs work. this year, we are doubling down on this successful model to give more individuals the opportunity at a better choice and a better life. the new director, david chen was a former marine. turned public servant. he is dedicated his life to this noble cause. he is building on these efforts to transform our corrections system and change how we think, and how we speak. going forward the department will take on a new moniker. one more clearly reflects the agency's mission. the department of corrections, rehabilitation and re-entry. (applause) (applause) we have provided more opportunities and we have decrease the amount of people returning to prison. we have help many find meaningful work. there is another marker were going to meet this year. we are shutting down a state prison. (applause) it will enhance safety at all remaining facilities and