Mr. President , mr. Speaker, mr. Majority leader, distinguished justices of the court, honored officials members of the Washington State legislature, tribal leaders, local government officials members of the conflict core, and my fellow washingtonians good afternoon. I want to begin today by thanking also chaplain joy johnson for a wonderful fourpart harmony with the members of the school choir. My family members, especially trudy. The newest third team members of the legislature who have stepped up to the plate to serve our state. And the people and the communities of washington that over the past 125 years have given us the great state that we do celebrate today. I also want to mention a member of our legislative family, the late representative roger freeman. Roger was proud to represent his community. The most of all, he was a proud father to his two children and a devoted husband to his wife sonja. I know all of our thoughts are with them today. The new representatives from the 30th the district is Carol Gregory and i extend a warm welcome to her and thank her for taking on this task. Thank you, carol, for stepping up to the plate. [applause] in our countrys northwest corner, facing both the Pacific Ocean and the future, is the most innovative, most resourceful, most dynamic state in our nation. We are known as the evergreen state, not only because of our prodigious forests but also because of our ever present entrepreneurial zeal, our social robbers, and our technological genius. Washington state has remained evergreen throughout its first 125 years because, in every moment of crisis, in every year of challenge, in every decade of change, washingtonians have chosen the path that takes us forward. We invest in ourselves. We invest in a legacy worthy of our children and our grandchildren. We have done this time and time again with the Firm Conviction that our people, our communities, and our economy will grow and prosper if we summon the confidence to make these investments. Today, our state stands at another crossroads. One path leads to an economy that works for all washingtonians, supports thriving communities, and preserves a healthy environment. The other path leads to a slow erosion of our shared prosperity , a widening gap of income inequality, and a deterioration of our clean air and water. The choice is ours. If we rise to this challenge as we have always done, we will choose the best after washington. As you know, from day one, i have focused as governor on job creation in our state. And the issues we will talk about today, education transportation, clean energy, all Work Together to build an economy that works for everyone. It should please us all to know that our economy continues to rebound. Our state has added 150,000 jobs over the past two years. But that growth has not been shared equally. Either geographically or a cross the economic spectrum. The right path for washington is an economy that provides opportunities for all. [laughter] [applause] we know that expanding educational opportunities, launching transportation construction program, and fighting Carbon Pollution will put us on the right course. Our most fundamental commitment needs to be to the very youngest washingtonians. We know the greatest untapped asset in the state is the potential of a three or fouryearold. The latest Neuroscience Research at the university of washington shows that, at this age childrens minds have a tremendous capacity for learning. Early learning is the best investment we can make in our future in the state of washington. [applause] so thats where we start. But our success will require a continuum of education, from early knowing Early Learning all the way through Higher Education. Thats why my proposal makes a 2. 3 billion investment in our childrens future, including the largest ever state investment in Early Learning. This means 6000 more low income children could attend highquality preschools. Our proposal fully funds reductions in kindergarten through third gate third grade. Our proposal offers allday kindergarten across the state. It gives the teachers their first costofliving allowance since 2008. It helps families struggling with the cost of Higher Education by freezing tuition and boosting Financial Aid so that 17,000 more students can get scholarships. These investments are not based on wishful thinking. They are based on rocksolid foundations of groove and strategies, established reforms, and demonstrable student performance and. We know what works. We know what it takes. I visited a lot of classrooms in the past two years and i have been continually impressed by the great teaching and innovative learning that i have. And now these opportunities must be available for all to our children all our children in all our schools. We have with smart kids and they are ready for takeoff. [applause] but the future demands a higher level of achievement. Investing in stem and workforce training pays off in the most Innovative Companies on the planet. Today, we can really celebrate elon musk, his announcement that they plan to open a spacex Engineering Center in washington with the potential to hire hundreds of people. We know that a child [applause] we know that a child spends an average of six hours a day in a school building