[ applause ] thank you. Thank you very much. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you very much. Honorable Supreme Court justices, tribal nation leaders, constitutional officers, member of the Wisconsin National guard, active and retired members of our armed forces, cabinet members, Senate President roth, majority leader fitzgerald, minority leader shilling, speaker voss, minority leader hence, distinguished guest, and most importantly the people of wisconsin, welcome and thank you for being here tonight. [ applause ] my partner in mischief kathy is in the gallery tonight with our daughter katie, our soninlaw collin, our granddaughter anna and our daughterinlaw landa. Where are you folks . I cant see you . [ applause ] thank you so much for your love and support. Im with you and i wont embarrass you tonight. Im tony evers, and im incredibly proud to be here as the 46th governor of the state of wisconsin to deliver my second state of the state address. [ applause ] as i reflect on my first year in office, although there were set backs and occasional political posturing, what i call hufring and pain and suffering, we also had a lot of success and im proud of everything weve accomplished in a years time. One of the best parts of doing my job is getting out of the capitol and visiting with people across the state. And thats what i did. Lieutenant governor barns and i visited all 72 wisconsin counties this past year. [ applause ] actually the bad news is Lieutenant Governor and i raced to see who could be the first to visit those counties and he beat me by about five days. But the good news is were just a few weeks into 2020 and ive already got a head start on you this year. This past year we also brought science back to the state of wisconsin. [ applause ] and we acknowledge that Climate Change exists and its a threat we need to start taking seriously. [ applause ] Lieutenant Governor barns is the chair of the Climate ChangeTask Force Working with multiple governments, governance, industry and Business Leaders and people across the state on sustainship. Thanks Lieutenant Governor barns for your great work on this. [ applause ] im also proud that i was able to sign executive orders affirming equity, inclusion, respect, and dignity for the state workers in this great state. [ applause ] last year i visited every single one of our agencies to thank our employees and hear about the great work theyre doing in our state. We should be proud of the folks that serve wisconsinites every day and i look forward to listening to elevate their voices and their work. [ applause ] i also promise that criminal Justice Reform would be a central part of my administration. Although we have a lot of work to do on this issue, we made some important progress this year. For the first time in eight years, a governor stepped a foot inside of one of our correctional institutions and actually wasnt just one. I visited six. [ applause ] the Wisconsin Parole Commission is working to make sure we get a parole system back on track. Our parole commissions chair is here with us in the gallery tonight, and he has been doing a great job. Thanks for all your work on this issue, john. [ applause ] part of reforming our criminal Justice System is believing in forgiveness and the power of redemption, things that i think speak to the character of our state. This past year i also made good on my Campaign Promise to reinstate the Harvard Review board. We granted the first pardons in our state in nine years offering forgiveness and a Second Chance to those folks who made amends to folks in their own communities. Thanks to the people we have pardoned. Two of them are in the gallery. Thank you for being with us. [ applause ] my last state of the state address i asked the legislature to set politics aside so we could Work Together on the issues facing our state. I said i expected bills to be passed with broad support and in the spirit of bipartisanship. One of the things im most proud of is more than 90 of the bills i signed my first year in office had bipartisan support. Major accomplishment. [ applause ] by golly, people worked together on important issues. They came together to work on expanding access to health care in rural areas by making sure that medicaid covers Telehealth Services in wisconsin. [ applause ] thanks to senator shatner and representative, voters will not be denied their right to vote because they have a disability. And because of representative bowen, senator johnson, and senator darlings good work, we signed a bill to train commercial drivers on recognizing and preventing Human Trafficking in wisconsin. [ applause ] these bills exemplify what we can accomplish when we focus on what unites us rather than what divides us. So i want to thank all of you for this good work. So, i believe as ive often said theres more to an economy than just counting job creation. Asking job creators across our state, and theyll tell you that investing in a foundation of good quality of life and a diverse workplace is critical to a growing economy. We have to connect the dots and focus on the fundamentals of Economic Development. Its Pretty Simple stuff, folks. Good roads, good schools, and good health care. [ applause ] this year we got back to the basics and made a down payment on these important priorities. Economic Development Starts with education. You know whats best for our kids is whats best for our state. Although the budget although the budget i signed did not include my proposed 1. 4 million for our kids, we provided the largest increase in general aid to the schools in more than a decade. [ applause ] working together, we were able to invest more than 500 million in k12 education including first increase in special education in ten years. Thank you. [ applause ] i also used my Veto Authority to add nearly 100 million more in pupil aid than the budget passed by the legislature. [ applause ] but when we talk about education, we cant ignore the elephant in the room of student debt. Ill be signing an executive order creating a task force on student debt in wisconsin. [ applause ] we have to work on making Higher Education available to more folks in our state. We have to understand how educationrelated death affects not just our students but the families too. And we have to address the fact that student debt is preventing folks from buying a car, starting a business, saving for retirement, and starting a family. So, thank you to our department of Financial Institutions secretary who is going to be leading the effort. Im excited for the task force to get to work. [ applause ] in addition to investing in our kid this is year, we got back to the basics of Economic Development by investing in our transportation system. The budget i proposed provided a sustainable longterm solution to our transportation funding crisis. And by the way, it didnt include raising the gas tax by a dollar. That said, the budget i did sign however provided more than 465 million of new funding for our highways, worker roads, and transit needs, 320 million of which is going to fix the highways across the state. We did that all by keeping bonding at the lowest level in 20 years. Thank you all for that. [ applause ] we were doing important work in making health care more affordable. We werent able to expand medicaid into our health care system, but the peoples budget still made important investments, stabilizing the individual Health Care Market and lowering Health Insurance premiums and expanding access to rural health care. [ applause ] finally, i delivered on my Campaign Promise for a 10 tax cut for wisconsin families. The peoples budget together with Assembly Bill 251 provided more than 500 million in tax relief for working middle class families. Thats money back in your pockets, folks. [ applause ] i know the budget i signed didnt include everything everybody wanted. I know it didnt include everything i wanted. But because of the budget we proposed, we were able to move the needle on critically important issues, some for the first time in a generation. Now, as 2019 came to a close, we also began the new decade. And while theres time to contemplate ten years worth of successes and failures, we must fight the temptation and cling to the nostalgia of yesterday. Theres too much work to find comfort in complacency. We must set out in a new decade with a renewed set of purpose. We must be resolved to confront the challenges we face today, and we must be eager to embrace what may come tomorrow. The struggles we face will test both the depth of our empathy and the strength of our selflessness. Wisconsinites i know we are up to this task because it is the depth of our empathy and strength of our selflessness that has defined who we are as a people for generations. People like julie and john who after losing a Family Member to suicide last year decided to use the corn maze they host at their farm to raise awareness for suicide prevention. Julie and john are here tonight with us. Thank you so much, folks. Please stand. [ applause ] people like reverend mowers who after the only homeless shelter in his area closed a few years ago worked with the department of safety and professional services to expedite a shelter and get it open so his neighbors can have a place to stay. Reverend mowers is up in the gallery tonight and welldeserved thanks. Thank you very much. [ applause ] and people like dua who when a gunshot rang out in the halls of her high school ran to the nearby mosque where her father works and took more than 100 students with her to provide them shelter and cover. Thank you for your courage and your bravery. [ applause ] its because of of people like dua, dave, julie, and john and people just like them all the way across wisconsin that i have never been more hopeful about the future were going to create. When we get to choose how we define the next decade and folks, were going to do that tonight. Were starting tonight. In wisconsin, were known as americas dairy land [ applause ] its on our license plates. And for good reason. In 2018, we produced more cheese than any other state, producing more than 26 of the nations cheese. And we account for more than 14 of the nations milk production. And all that dairy production and processing posts 43. 3 billion in Economic Activity and supports almost 79,000 jobs. [ applause ] theres some milk in there. [ laughter ] and its not just cheese and dairy, folks. Our agriculture diversity is one of the strengths of our state where one of the leading growers and processers of vegetables from potatoes to green peas to snap beans and ar rots, and we produce 62 of the nations cranberry crops. In 2018, we exported more than 3 billion in agriculture products to more than 140 countries. All in all, agriculture contributes nearly 105 billion to our states economy. But at the end of the day, these numbers tell a story of the folks whose sweat, work, and pride have been the pillar of our state for generations. Americas dairy land is more than bushels and bails and weights. Its people. Wisconsin was raised on the land of the native americans who came before us and built on the backs of the farmers who came after them and survives by the hans of the kids and grand kids who are the keepers of this legacy. Yet despite our history, this tradition has been challenged. Between 2011 and 2018, wisconsin lost about 1 3 of our dairy farms. We lead the nation in farm bankruptcies. Weve endured the consequences of unnecessary and unproductive tariffs and trade wars. And weve heard people who have said theres no place for small farms anymore. They ought to go big or bust. Well, they are wrong. They dont know wisconsin. [ applause ] and in this state, no one carries a burden alone. We have leaned on farmers and their families. We have depended on their dedication, and we relied on their resilience. We have not forgotten those who shared the harvest and bounty, feeding our families, communities, and our state and country for more than a century. And tonight we say that we are ready to be a partner in the promise of posterity. [ applause ] im announcing a three prong plan address this. First, to take up legislation to invest in farmers, Agriculture Industries, and our Rural Communities. [ applause ] the package of bills well announce tomorrow includes initiative for gary exports. We have to start maximizing efficiency in our small and middlesized farms and we need to build Wisconsin Dairy brand and International Markets and increase dairy imports and exports. So, were going to set a goal of increasing wisconsins dairy exports by 20 of the United States milk supply by the year 2024. Additionally were going to expand our farm center and increase staffing to ensure the farmers and Agriculture Industries have partners and support closer to home. [ applause ] at the same time were also going to work to work to get the food our farmers produced to the tables right here in wisconsin. So, were not only going to bolster our farm to school program, but were announcing our farm to fort program to help connect farms and the food their produce to universities, hospitals, and local businesses across the state. [ applause ] finally were going to create a new program that will focus on getting our farmers access to Mental Health services in wisconsin. [ applause ] our Farmer Centers do important work in this area, but we know folks are really struggling and they need access to those resources closer to home. Our Mental Health program will assist farmers in accessing Mental Health support. Theyll also coordinate local and regional peer support programming and provide confidential one on one counseling and assistance to our farmers. [ applause ] the second prong of our plan is ensuring that investing in farmers, agriculture, and Rural Communities is part of our broader Economic Development strategies. So, tonight, i am also announcing that ill be working with the wisconsin Economic Development corporation to establish the office of rural prosperity. [ applause ] the office will provide a one stop shop for Resources Available tailored to communities, businesses, and workers. The third prong of the plan is to develop longterm strategies on the issue, not based on what folks in madison think is best, but based on the feedback and input from folks all across the state. So, tomorrow ill make good on my Campaign Promise to create a Blue Ribbon Commission to help promote agriculture and rural economic prosperity. [ applause ] a Blue Ribbon Commission on prosperity will convene folks in Different Industries from across the state and Work Together to promote longterm strategy on how we can best support the needs of rural wisconsinites and Rural Communities. [ applause ] some of these proposals arent new. Many of them are a form of what i proposed in my budget that were unfortunately taken out. But heres the bottom line, folks. Were losing more than two dairy farms a day. And for each day we delay, the challenges will get harder and harder. So, i want to be clear. Im not under any misguided belief that what im proposing today is a silver bullet. In the coming months, its going to take more listening than talking to hear from our farmers and our Rural Communities about how we can continue to invest in agriculture and rural prosperity across our state. But we have to start someplace and well start tomorrow. [ applause ] finally, in addition to addressing these challenges, id like to talk about another issue folks in our state care about. In 2017, hans who is a dairy farmer introduced a resolution supporting nonpartisan redistricting, kicking off a trend across our state. Today 50 counties representing 78 of the people of wisconsin have passed similar resolutions. Hans is up there in the gallery with us tonight. Hans, thank you for your work on this very important issue. [ applause ] unfortunately, nonpartisan has been reintroduced for years, even received bipartisan support but never given a hearing. When more than 80 of the state support medical marijuana and 80 universal background checks and 70 support expanding medicaid and elected officials can ignore those numbers without consequence, folks, somethings wrong. [ applause ] people who work in this building, sit in these seats, and drive the policies in our state should not be able to ignore the people who sent us here. The will of the people is the law of the land, and by golly, people should not take no for an answer. [ applause ] so, tonight, as promised, i am bringing the fight for nonpartisan redistricting to the legislature. [ applause ] in the coming days, i will be signing an executive order to create a Nonpartisan Redistricting Commission who will draw the peoples maps. [ applause ] [ applause ] a Nonpartisan Redistricting Commission will consist of the people of our state, not the elected officials, not lobbyists, not highpaid consultants. The peoples map will visit every district, hear directly from folks across our state, and draw fair impartial maps for the legislature to take up next year. [ applause ] i believe and wisconsinites do too that people should get to choose their elected officials, not the other way around. [ applause ] so, on the peoples maps presented to the Legislature Next year, i hope they will receive unanimous bipartisan support. [ applause ] nonpartisan redistricting and investing in our Rural Communities to addressing youth vaping and capping the costs of insulin to choosing to closing the Dark Store Loophole and getting out of our water, weve got a lot of work to do. [ applause ] theres no rest for the elected, folks, and weve got a lot to do to get done before anyone takes a vacation. [ applause ] but as i stand here today and we turn to finish the horizon on the upcoming decade, ive never been more hopeful about wisconsin. Its up to us to decide what kind of state well be ten years from now. We can choose to relitigate past political tussles or we can choose to transcend animosity to rise and greet the problems before us. [ applause ] we can choose to resent the hand that helps another, or we can choose to celebrate our neighbors prosperity because therein lies our prosperity too. We can choose to say in this state you go it alone or you dont go at all, or we can say in wisconsin, when we move forward we all go together. [ applause ] you bet we will most certainly face challenges and, yes, we will face diversity. But let us choose to be defined not by our indifference but our decency, by the depth of our empathy and strength of selflessness. And let us plunge into the new decade chasing the charge of oour bearers that came before us. Lets move forward together. Its time to get to work, folks thank you, and on wisconsin [ applause ] [ cheers and applause ] monday, president s day, American History tv is live at 9 00 a. M. Eastern from mount vernon, the home, library, and museum of our first president , George Washington with historian and ceo of mount vernon. Also its the start of museum week highlighting washington, d. C. Museums with exhibits exploring the American History. Watch American History tv and be sure to watch American History tv on cspan3. Joan wagner is the Deputy Assistant official for field operations. He testified before the House Homeland Security committee on how to use facial recognition technology. The committee on homeland