He put his house on ashore foundation the rain and the winds came. The floodwaters rose. But the house did firm. I tipped my had to governor deal in those lawmakers that came before me. Those who poured the concrete and lead the footings. Hardworking georgians who left this place better than they found it. When youre ago, i urged those in this room, in this historic space, to join me in building a safer, stronger, and more prosperous state. A state where Small Businesses are empowered to grow, invest, and thrive. Were government is responsive, and effective. A state where health care is affordable, accessible, and where the rights of the unborn are protected. I asked lawmakers, both republicans and democrats, to join me in the fight for georges future. To crack down on gangs and sex trafficking. To invest in education and our educators. To stand up for our values in those we value. To put politics and partisanship behind us and unite for the greater good. Over the last 12 months, we have realized incredible success, and endured hardships. We have seen the fruits of our labor, and we have seen the power of gods providence. In 2019, we stood together on the construction site, building on ashore foundation. I am proud of what we accomplished. But there is still more work to be done. As youre governor, i have been honored to travel this great state and everywhere i go i start out by saying the same thing it is a great time to be a georgian wouldnt you agree . applause right now our Unemployment Rate is 3. 3 . That is the lowest in our states history. We have a Record Number of hardworking georgians in the workforce. Our state is the number one place for business, for the seventh year in a row. During the last 12 months since i addressed this joint session, we have added over 64,000 private sector jobs. Of the 371 Economic Development projects announced by the state and 2019, 79 of them were outside of atlanta. And communities like jerome, carters phil and commerce. Creating Economic Opportunity no matter what is your zip code. The state of the state is strong. Folks, we are just getting started. applause i was raised to work hard. I know that my mom who is in the audience today, remember is driving me around with a push more in the trunk of her red buick list saber. We nicknamed it the red dog. I had a bunch of a jobs growing up, but construction is the one that stuck theres something about the process that drew mean every step is important, every moment matters. I started with the pick up truck in a shovel. Digging ditches, pouring concrete, and hammering nails. Over the years, ive built homes, apartments, Light Commercial multi use. I volunteered on habitat houses, remodelled the red Crisis Center enough tons and even build my own home where we live today. But i will be honest, i am proudest of what we are building right now. Under this gold dome, we have framed the house with strong georgia grown lumber, cut in a local sawmill and brought to the job site. In year two, it is time to set our sights on the sheet rock, citing and the bricks. Each side of the structure will protect those inside by providing an environment right for learning, opportunity, and growth. Every window looks to the future. Adore that welcomes those in need, and those who want help. While republicans and democrats disagree often, we all know the value of a good education. We know the impact that a teacher can have on a student. We know that learning has the power to lift people out of poverty, and help many realize their full god given potential. As we move forward as a state, we must reaffirm our commitment to georgia schools. Trust parents to make decisions in the best interest of their children. Support our superintendents, teachers, councillors and specialists. As they work to educate and inspire the next generation. I want to applaud governor dill and first lady sandra dill who are in the gallery today, fully funding Quality Basic Education and for investing in Early Learning for georgia students. Thank you both. applause applause i also want to thank this legislature for working together to Champion Education during the 2019 session. Together, we fully funded q be easy for the second year in a row. We provided over 69 Million Dollars and School Security grants for all 2314 schools. We increased funding for Mental Health services in our high schools. We gave teachers a long overdue and historic perez. applause i am so proud of our teachers and school ears for what they are doing on their daily basis. While we spend a lot of time honoring athletes and elected officials, these are the Public Servants who really deserve the credit. Joining us in the gallery today are to herd working georges. They deserve all the accolades and applause that we can muster. Miss meant the fury of newton country georges superintendent of the year for 2020. applause we also have miss tracey penn lee of atlanta Public Schools who is or 2020 georgia teacher of the year. Let us thank her as well. applause to truly another service we have work to do in the days of the head. Public school of education for the third year in the row, accounting for growth and resources needed to properly educate. Let us dismantle the remnants of common core, reduce the number of tests, and give teachers the opportunity to do what they do best, teach. And finally lets give our educators another well deserved pay raise. applause in my budget have included a 2000 perez for all Public School educators. This raise will continue to enhance retention rates, boost recruitment numbers, and improve educational outcomes and school throughout georgia. By investing in education, we can build a strong house, a place where everyone learns and all georgians had the opportunity to try thrive. applause as a father of three, i know that a healthy home is a hell happy home. The same is true in our state. While we are the hub for job creation and business growth, we also live in a state where many hardworking georgians cant access Quality Health care. Premiums are too high, and many families have to compromise coverage because of the costs. And powered by the patients first act, we crafted a georgia Centric Health care solutions, to Lower Health Care costs, reduce insurance premiums, enhance access to topnotch care, and ultimately improve Health Outcomes for georgia families. For nine months, we developed two unique and Innovative Health care programs that meet the needs of hardworking georgians. Keep our budget balance, and reflect on our values and vision as a state. These proposals georgia access and georgia pathways shake up the status quo and put patients first ahead of the special interest. While these reforms will provide a new pathway for 408,000 georgians to access affordable care, lower insurance premiums for millions more, this is only the beginning. We have friends and neighbors who need our help. We must keep shop chopping. Right now there are countless families who have just received a surprise medical bill in the mail. A specialist who is out of network, a procedure that was not approved or covered, nights in the hospital that did not meet the requirements. We have hot were hardworking georgians who by no fault of their own, are on the brink of bankruptcy because there is no transparency in health care building. Families are living on a prayer, because the system is rigged against them. This year, we will implement long overdue reforms that put our Families First. Working with patients, providers, in the private sector, we will craft legislative remedies to reduce surprised medical building. We will demand applause we will demand transparency, embrace empathy and insist on fairness. We will take care of each other and sickness and in health. Now, i know that reform, especially in health care is dawning. While the road ahead is long, there are plenty of men and women who have gone before us. Bold leaders and Public Servants who blaze a trail and set a standard for countless georges to follow. One of these people is senator johnny isaacson. applause applause a pioneer of the Georgia Republican party, shiny isakson is a man of character and incredible determination. He served under this gold dorm and the Georgia Assembly the state board of education and went on to represent georgia six Congressional District in the u. S. Capital for 15 years Johnny Isakson was our u. S. Senator he is a gentlemen a statesman and a true patriot applause . Like you i was an incredibly sad when johnny announced he had parkinsons disease. When he called to announce his retirement from the u. S. Senate. While i am confident that kiley leveling will do an incredible job and representing our best interest we are truly losing a gem in washington. Words matter but actions mean more. That is why today, i want to take another step in honoring Johnny Isaksons service. Right now, over 20,000 georges are living with parkinsons disease, with new patients diagnosed every single day. While it is treatable, parkinsons disease has no cure. I dont know about you all, but i want to change that. Thank you to the leadership of the president jury more head. We are creating and Johnny Isaksons professor ship for parkinsons resource at the university of georgia. Nor applause once recruited this ph. D. Researcher will develop better treatments for patients like. Johnny better medication and a better quality of life. Through this partnership, we will use technology and innovation to break new ground. With the grid and the resolve of shiny isakson, we will move one step closer to a cure. Our house here in georgia will be a healthy one. With a big frame photo of johnny right there on the wall. Our children and our grandchildren will pass and ask about this that picture. His story is georges story. His legacy will live on for generations to come. Ladies and gentlemen please help me again to welcome and thank this great man for his Great Service to our state, senator Johnny Isakson. applause applause while georgia is experiencing historic growth, we have a statewide threat that undermines our safety and our future. Criminal street gangs continue to grow and size and scope. Impacting every county and every part of our state. These organized crime units are flooding our streets with weapons, violence and fear. They are ripping apart the fabric of our communities. They are eroding the foundations of our families. This year, with your help we launched the Anti Gang Task force at the Georgia Bureau investigation under the bold leadership under the under the director vic reynolds we are collaborating with Law Enforcements and prosecutors to stop gang members throughout georgia. We are providing resources and training needed to put these dane dangerous criminals behind bars. We are working around the clock to keep our neighborhood safe. While georgia already has stuff gang statutes on the books, there is more that we can do to stop violence from taking over our state. There is more that we can do to prevent another innocent person from being shot, another Law Enforcement officer being killed, and while some in the media refused to acknowledge the gang crisis, i do not have to convince debra reiter. A decade ago deborahs son nicholas was sleeping in his room, when you gunshots rang out and ripped through the walls. A drive by shooting organized by local gangs left nicholas dead at the age of ten. Debra, we are sorry for your loss, and why we cannot bring nicholas back, we Will Champion tough anti gang legislation in his honor. Thank you for being with us. applause this session, we will empower Law Enforcement and prosecutors, so these people will get the justice that they deserve. We will work around the clock to prevent this tragedy from happening to another family, another nicholas in our state. We will do our part to make this right. Ladies and gentlemen, please help me thank debra again for her service and her relentless commitment to honoring her sons life. Thank you for being with us today. applause gangs and drug cartels are fueling another Public Safety crisis. Every day, hundreds of people are bought and sold for sex in our state. Traffickers use atlanta as a hub, treating human life like it is a commodity. Shortly after taking office, we created the Grace Commission to help poor aid efforts to help and modern day slavery in our state. Under leadership under our first lady marty kemp, they raise awareness and partnered with elective officials in Law Enforcement, nonprofit organizations, and those that have been in the trenches for here years fighting human trafficking. They had traveled the state to sound the alarm and urge action. During this time, marty has met some incredibly inspirational georgians who devoted their lives to help another. Today in the gallery, we are honored to have katie, show me got, and nikki. Sadly, these women have something in common. They were trafficked as kids, robbed of their innocence and childhood. Forced to see and experience things that we cannot imagine. But these women are survivors. They are fighters and they are powerful advocates more willing to turn georgia into a safe haven for those who have no voice. Who exist in the shadows, and who need an ally to shine a light into the darkness. Members of the house and senate, we are asking once again for your help to win this fight against human trafficking. We must advance legislation this session that closes loopholes that leave children vulnerable to exploitation. We must help victims tell their stories and this courtroom without the fear of retaliation. We must support survivors who want to enter the workforce, but still bear the scars of the past. The house we are building will be safe and secure, and we will not stop working until it is. I hope you will join me and in applauding the bravery of those that are with us in the gallery today. applause i also hope you will join me in thanking our first lady marty kemp, our daughters jarrett lucy amy porter, as well as the members of the Grace Commission if you could all stand, thank you so much for raising awareness, the state and the country are taking notice. applause we are blessed. Americans who proudly live in our nations greatest state. But what makes us great is not just what we produce on the farm or in the factory. We are great because of who we respect and what we value. During the debate on the heartbeat bill, i would always start by saying a simple statement. Georgia is a state that values life honestly it is hard to disagree with that. We live in a place where every person matters young or old rich or poor, any race, from any place. As a pro life governor, i believe we need to protect the unborn and the boring. applause we have to defend those in the womb, and champion those when they leave the delivery room. It is incredibly sad how many children are abandoned in our hospitals. Hundreds every year. Living, breathing babies. Discarded, and forgotten. Innocent and full of potential, now wards of the state. Over the years the General Assembly and governor still have made incredible progress in updating our adoption laws and georgia. It is now time to build on those efforts. First, we will triple the adoption tax credit from 2000 dollars to 6000 dollars to help offset the incredible call for adoption. applause we will lower the adoption aides from 25 to 21, so more qualified georges can adopt, and more children can be placed. applause finally we will launch the Families First commissions so we can begin to change the way our States Foster care system operates and serves the most vulnerable among us. Our goal is simple. Keep our kids safe to encourage adoption and ensure that every young georgian, no matter where they live, have the opportunity to live in a safe living home. applause . In closing i want to tell you another bible story about a builder. A man from the Old Testament who took on a massive construction project. You see nina maya learned that his hometown was ruined. The city gate was destroyed, and the people were in turmoil. With a blessing from the king, he traveled back and started building. He shook up the status quo he brought hope to a hopeless place there were distractions along the way, those who wanted to slow his progress, some who wanted near maya and his building project to fail. But he had a calling. A clear desire, a goal to build, restore and revive. When opposition came calling, he always delivered the same message. There was pressure, but now maya responded, i am doing a great work and cannot come down. He refused to leave the job site until the project was done. He refused to let division divide his attention from the task at hand. Like me how maya we are doing a great work right here in georgia. We have a construction project that demands our attention, we have a people that are counting on us to get the job done. Lets put the politics aside and build a state where we invest in education. Let us build a state where we Lower Health Care costs and improve access for patients. Lets shake up the status quo and build a state that is safe, wear gangs and sex traffickers want to leave, and families want to stay. applause applause lets about our values, and build a state that gives all george and the opportunity to live, grow, and prosper. A house or all are free to realize their full god given potential. Its 2020, folks. This is a year for building, pick up a hammer, and keep working until the project is complete, because remember we are doing a great work and we cant stop chopping. Thank you, may god bless you and god bless this great state that we are honored to live in. Thank you very much. applause inaudible great job. applause defend secretary mark esper and joint chief of staff mark milley are here to detest the president s budget requests for the pentagon. They were also asked about military matters asian efforts and defense funds being diverted for border wall construction