Trump to serve as u. S. Ambassador to china. Asis expected to step down governor, once the u. N. Takes up his nomination. Is around 30 minutes. [applause] gov. Branstad madam Lieutenant Governor, mr. Speaker, madam speaker let me start over again here. Matter Lieutenant Governor, mr. President , madam speaker, legislative leaders and legislators, justices and judges, elected officials and distinguished guests, family, friends, and fellow iowans, i am humbled to once again addressed the joint session of the General Assembly delivering the commission of the state for the final time as your governor. Addressedrs, i have this body as governor. Today, i wanted to especially welcome the 22 new legislators that are with us from both sides of the aisle that were elected in november. Your constituents sent you to work hard, for them, and to help make iowa a better place. I hope you are filled with the same sense of excitement and eagerness i had when i first served in the legislator in 1973 legislature in 1973. We look forward to working with each of you and listening to your ideas on how to make our state and even better place for families to live, work, and grow. In that spirit, i am extending today in invitation to each legislator to meet with me personally during the session. With shareder again sadness returning to do our work without our friend from davenport. Joe was a devout catholic and a true statesman. We enjoyed his contagious and positive personality. [applause] gov. Branstad as i look back on my years of public service, i am thankful to those iowans who stepped forward to serving their fellow citizens. In particular, please applied me in joining those i went to help make our state and nation safer by serving in the military, law enforcement, and first responders. [applause] gov. Branstad since taking office in 2011, we have made the necessary changes to strengthen our economy and improve the quality of life across our state. We made tough decisions to give iowans a smaller and smarter government. We stayed the course with an unwavering commitment to create jobs, increased family income, reduce the size of government, and give iowa students a globally competitive education. We provided to get a good tax relief to iowans these past five years especially marshall taxpaying commercial taxpaying. Last month, the department of transportation unveiled i was most iowas most comprehensive energy plan. It was a collaboration between the private and public sector, educators, nonprofits, and utilities. I what is already a leader in renewable energy. The comprehensive new plant will help us build on our past energy successes, and it reaffirms our commitment to maintaining iowas Energy Leadership for the future. [applause] gov. Branstad i am proud we have made government smaller and smarter. Unemployment in the state has dropped to 3. 8 . The state itself has tracked 13. 5 million in investment that translates across iowa. More iowans have been employed these past few years than any other period in our states history. Weve also made sure that our government lives within its families mustan do. We have demanded budget predictability and fully restored our iowa reserve accounts and reduced the States States debt liability. Together, we have restored our goals to making eye with the best in the nation with innovative policies. To improve our education standing, we needed to make sure that more is done to help our hardworking teachers make sure they have the tools necessary to succeed giving given Higher Expectations for all students. We created a new, teacher leadership system that better utilizes the expertise of top educators to improve education and foster collaboration. I am proud to say that every school in iowa today is participating in the teacher leadership system. To make sure that our children are prepared for the 21st century, we advanced the nationally recognized Stem Initiative that gives them the confidence and skills for rewarding careers. It has seen outstanding growth and success. Sustaining these measures over time is critical to get the right result for our students and state. The ability for iowans to gives mechallenges confidence for our states future. Some of the challenges we have overcome, like the farm crisis of the 1980s, tort at the very fabric tore at the very fabric of our communities. One town struggled like many other communities across the state. A bank in bloomfield closed in 1983, and it caused great loss for area families and businesses. Farmers were straddled with debt given limited Market Opportunities for their crops. Economic diversification and it onto the dual spirit entrepreneurial spirit gave new life to the community. The town now has new life with innovative startups. To continue on the cutting edge, Community Leaders are instituting effective strategies selfreliante most energy community. I was repressed impress with their i was impressed with their remodeling of main street and their use of existing architecture. Another town took its future into its own hands. It focuses on Historical Preservation and community sustainability, and redefined a struggling, small, rural banknity who also had a 1980s. Lieutenant Governor Reynolds and i visited this town, and we were onressed with their success the main street program. In waterloo, iowa, after experiencing economic challenges over the previous three decades, embraced their Industrial Heritage to succeed in modern times. Made valley tech work has waterloo a nationally recognized leader for manufacturing innovation. Be adeere continues to leading manufacturer in waterloo. Our leaders from lynnfield loom field bloomfield, elsewhere, please join me in applauding and welcoming their future success. [applause] gov. Branstad iowas industries are increasingly hightech including advanced manufacturing. In total, iowa has over 600,000 manufacturers that contribute over 31 billion to iowas economy and employ over 200,000 iowans. Over the next few years, the Economic Authority will work with manufacturers to advance a year of manufacturing to help grow this important part of iowas economy. We should also be proud that i what remains and agricultural powerhouse that fuels the world. Next to the hard work and innovation of iowas farmers and agricultural producers, we just set an alltime record for ethanol reduction. We set a new record for biodiesel production. We lead the nation with percentage of university oferated by wind electricity generated i wind. By wind. [applause] gov. Branstad we love wind. [laughter] over the past 30 years, we have added to our agriculture commodities should we have ever commodities. We have diversified iowas economy with biofuels, wind energy, fertilizer plant, advanced manufacturing, insurance and financial services. These Newer Industries employed hundreds of thousands of iowans in rewarding careers. While i am pleased with his progress and optimistic about our future, i believe there is more work to be done. We must seize the opportunity before us. This new General Assembly brings new dynamics, expectations, and abilities to deliver positive results for iowans. [applause] gov. Branstad our state is in an admiral admirable position. Many state are crushed with debt and have a bleak economic outlook, but i what is a shining example of what hard work and smart, tough choices can do for growing business and nurturing families. Ali december revenue while the december revenue estimate revenue numbers was low estimates, we still have positive revenue growth. We must proceed with caution and not repeat the mistakes of the past. With prudence in mind, i propose my adjustment to the current fiscal year budget to you today. These adjustments are required by law. My proposal does not include across the board cut. It does not reduce funding for education, for property tax credit, and it does not include state employees. The budget proposals i am recommending this fiscal year are difficult. Funding forn our mutual priorities. I am committed to working with legislative leaders and all of you to implement these adjustments. Complete, tong a your budget that is balanced balancedbudget that is each year for a sustainable future. It is based on the principles set out by the iowa taxpayer association. It Prioritizes Health care, economic development, and Public Safety. It redirects familyplanning money to organizations that focus on providing health care to women and eliminates tax organizationsto that support abortions. [applause] gov. Branstad on my first trip to china in 1984, i learned that the chinese word for danger and opportunity is one in the same. Today, america and i what exists in a challenging world. We must seize the opportunity to make it a better place. In 2010, the Lieutenant Governor and i promise to reduce the size and scope of government. I am proud to announce that we do have a smaller, smarter government. A renewed focus on supporting our citizens in a timely and efficient manner. While the government is smaller, the benefits for employees at the state and local level has increased. Unfortunately, the cost of these and if it has grown benefits has grown dramatically. Many of our Health Care Plans are way too inefficient and costly for republican employees and taxpayers. Just a few Adverse Health problems can destroy the budget of a city, county, or school district. By replacing this system with one, comprehensive statewide contract, we can spread the risk and dramatically reduce the costs. , we canbenefit system provide Quality Health care at a significantly lower cost. We can give local governments more flexibility to provide better wages and meet better needs. The contract also needs to reward employees who take ownership of their own health by conducting at Risk Assessment and taking actions to improve their own health. We have made a commitment to examine each and every dollar of revenue and expenditure. In order to maximize efficiency hardworkingur taxpayers, we are committed to a smaller and Smaller Government that seeks innovative ways to provide services. I am asking this General Assembly to take a comprehensive staten all of iowas board and commissions to address unnecessary barriers that prevent competition and raise costs. I encourage you to ask the tough questions that challenge the status quo. [applause] gov. Branstad in iowa, 90 of our General Fund Budget is spent on three items k12 education, medicare that medical care, ands and medical care. Education and job training are the foundation for our future economic growth. Pipeline hastate to be a top priority even with modest revenue growth. My recommendations include in million four educationion for k12 through fiscal year 2018 and 2019. It equates to roughly 2 growth each year. This year, let us show that we can make these decisions early and meet the legal requirements of setting supplemental state 2018 andiscal year 2019 in the first 38 days. [applause] gov. Branstad the second big driver in the state budget is health and Human Service spending. We have transformed our mental hand Mental Health system to a communitybased model. We have reduced the model we have remodeled the system and our medicaid program. We have created a new system where more iowans have access to Mental Health services closer to home than ever before. More iowans have Health Insurance than ever before, and more than 80 new, Value Added Services are being added to our modernized medicaid program. Oldave replaced the medicaid system with a coordinated team of Health Care Professionals who make sure that patients see the right provider at the right time. As a result of this innovation, we have improved the focus on Health Outcomes and we have saved taxpayers 110 million. The increase in Education Funding last year was made possible because of our modernized medicaid efforts. Without these vital reforms, the budget choices before us today would be twice as hard. In order to grow iowa, we must also look at policies and reforms that will continue to grow family incomes. One way to do that is to close the skills gap which in many ways is the biggest challenge raising us in the next decade. That is why lieutenant Governor Reynolds and i set the future ready i would call that 70 of goal thatrce iowa 70 of the workforce will have the training the training they need. Ollege in this role accomplishing this goal will toe us the skills we need ensure employment. They will be making recommendations by october 31, 2017 to ensure that more iowans have the careers they deserve, and employers can have the Skilled Workforce they need to grow and innovate. Even with a tight budget, we should continue to prioritize initiatives that will grow iowas talent pipeline. That includes Work Based Learning and apprenticeships for iowa students. Welcomingn me in. Tudents that are here today [applause] gov. Branstad the students in the gallery represent children across iowa who are counting on all of us to modernize schools of the 21st century. That is why lieutenant Governor Reynolds and i launched the comprehensive Computer Science initiative. We are encouraging every high school to offer at least one, highquality Computer Science course. Every middle school to provide exploratory Computer Science, and every Elementary School to provide an introduction to Computer Science. All students need to learn how computers operate, because it is fundamental to their life and work. Computer science will provide students with a chance to join one of the fastestgrowing and best paying fields. No student should miss out on this opportunity because of where they live. This is a better step another step to better align education and training with workforce needs. We all care deeply about the safety of our families, our friends, and our neighbors. Has begun torend emerge that threatens iowas safety on our roads. Traffic deaths were 315 in 2015. That is unacceptable. Year i called on the department of Public Safety and the Traffic Safety bureau to lead a working group to study this disturbing trend. Support of key stakeholders, including law enforcement, made recommendations that are worth your consideration. Take a hardyou to look at these recommendations and even evaluate which can be put into law to make our roads safer. Unfortunately, too many innocent bicyclists, motorcyclists, pedestrians and passengers have lost their lives on our roads. Last year i received a handwritten note. Wrote, our daughters life was so sadly ended on july 29, 2015 by someone who was driving and texting. Lawfullyithfully and when a driver who was texting struck and killed her. They went on to write, grace would have forgiven the driver and move forward. s life was tragically ended. Modern technology should come with new responsibilities. I ask all iowans to join the first responder, league of cities, major cell phone carriers, and the medical community in demanding real change in laws for the struck the drivers. For distracted drivers. [applause] last year with the passage of house file 2141. Was approved by agriculture, ways and means and appropriation communities appropriation committees. This provided longterm dedicated revenue to help implement projects to improve. Abitat and Water Quality the bill provided funding for conservation practices and improvements for wastewater entering can water facilities. We have the opportunity to iowas agricultural infrastructure, create jobs in rural iowa, and promote collaboration between urban and rural communities. I believe our discussion should begin with a bill from last session. I hope we can Work Together to thatve the legislation will provide dedicated revenue for quality improvements. [applause] i have been so blessed to serve as your governor, serving for 22 years. Continues tot iowa move forward because they care deeply about the neighbors and communities and creating an even better future. Im extremely thankful for perhaps the most patient person in the state, my wife. Visitors frome around the world. And she volunteered many ways, fromding reading Elementary School. Thank you for your sacrifice through public service. [applause] crystal me she felt badly about missing out on the reading from jacksonville firstgraders, but i appreciate you being here. I also thank you for the friendships we have made an all 99 counties, friendships we will always cherish. I am grateful for the prayers that have encouraged me along the way. Job in the better world than being governor of the state you love. Are called to serve in ways we have never imagined. Approach the Senate Confirmation process, my priority continues to be serving il with the same energy and passion that we brought to this office each and every day. God bless you and all the people of iowa. Another state of the state address, this one from idaho. The three term governor spoke about invest ins and education. On issues like environmental regulation and conservation. This is about an hour. Our guests, friends, and family