Folks, we live in the best place in the world. And i know youve heard me say that a lot. And ill continue to say it. But because it continues to be true. And the reason we live in the best place in the world is because of our people. Nebraskans give to their communities. We share a common set of principles. We treat each other with dignity and respect. And we care about each other. Im proud of the fact that nebraska is one of the top states in the nation for volunteerism. The kids of cub scout pack 190 picked up trash on highway 7 last year. When floods slammed into dewitt, i saw firsthand the community pull together, neighbors helping neighbors. I met volunteers like john law from omaha helping clean houses whose basements filled to the ceiling with mud and water. I want to thank john. John is here today. For joining us and setting such a great example for volunteer work. John, can we recognize him . [ applause ] and of course, there is no better example of service than the heroes of our Nebraska National guard. They helped their neighbors here at home and defend our freedoms overseas. Last year, i met lieutenant eric ott and the members of the 192nd law and order detachment as they were being deployed. They were among the 150 Nebraska National guard soldiers who were deployed last year. And im pleased to say that lieutenant ott and all of his soldiers returned home safely last month. [ applause ] we are so grateful for the nebraskans who put themselves in harms way to defend our freedoms. 61 nebraskans have been killed in action since 2003, 12 from the national guard. We also lost a nebraska hero in the act of performing a humanitarian mission. On may 12th of last year, marine Corps Helicopter pilot and car gi native justin lukasevic was on a mission in nepal and rescued three people after an earthquake hit. He was flying back to save more when his helicopter crashed into a mountain. He left behind a wife, a native and a son on the way. And we salute his service. [ applause ] and even when one of our best and brightest leaves nebraska, their nebraska spirit continues to define them. Joe limb played High School Football in beamer. After graduation he joined the air force. After the service, he became a new york city cop. When terrorists knocked down the twin towers, limb worked for weeks, even off duty, with his fellow officers, digging through the rubble looking for survivors. And being one of new yorks finest was not enough service for joe. He joined the air national guard. Last month, on his third combat deployment, this time in afghanistan, he was killed near Bagram Air Force base by a suicide bomber. Joes mom shirley is here with us today. Joe and she shared with me a letter from one of his friends. Joe knew why he was there in afghanistan. It was to help little afghan girls to be able to get an education, little girls like his daughter so that they could change the outcomes of their lives. 9n shirley, we offer our condolences and salute joes work and your sacrifice. Where do we get such people . Thank god for dusty and joe and our Nebraska National guard and for all of our men and women who serve this country at home and abroad. We lost another hero this spring in omaha. Police officer rusco shot and killed while trying to apprehend a violent fugitive. She left behind a husband, a new baby and two children. Law enforcement officers have been getting a lot of broad brush criticism lately and its just not right. They put on their blues every day to protect us. Carrie rusco spent her time serving families of omaha as a volunteer coach and a mentor in addition to being a police officer. The community that she patrolled was an extension of her family and she paid the ultimate sacrifice to protect them. The Coaching Program that she was involved with has actually doubled the number of coaches since she left because of her example. Here in the heartland we appreciate the officers and all of our Heroic Police officers who protect us. [ applause ] officer ruscos husband hector and her mom ellen are here with us today and we recognize you for the sacrifices you have made. Please stand up. On a lighter note, did you all see the video of Deputy Sergeant todd vulk of the Madison County Sheriffs Office . He sped past an out of control truck, leapt out of his vehicle, jumped on to a moving semiand safely brought it to a stop. Now, for most of us, that looked like a scene out of an action movie. But that was real life todd vulk. And have no fear. Sergeant vulk is here. Hes joined us today up in the gallery. Can we please recognize him for his service . Whether its cleaning up our highways, patrolling our streets or serving overseas, our people are every day heroes. And thats why this is the best place in the world to be. Nebraska is what america is supposed to be. [ applause ] and when it comes to public service, being a state senator is also a high and noble calling. Im grateful for the sacrifices you and your families make to be able to serve our fellow nebraskans. As i began my second term as governor and my second state of the state address, it feels like a Family Reunion an im not kidding. As many of you know, i come from a big family. And as kids, i fought with my brothers and sister. And even as adults, we continue to disagree on important topics but i love them. And i love working with them. And i love the work that we do here in our capitol and i love working with all of you. Sure, weve had our moments. But we have accomplished great things together. In the last session, we cut the growth of government nearly in half. From 6. 5 in the last budget to 3. 5 in this current budget. I want to [ applause ] i want to thank chairman miller and all of the members of the Appropriations Committee for their hard work to make that possible. [ applause ] we also enacted a Nurse Practitioner bill to increase access to health care, particularly in our rural areas. Together, we addressed the cliff effect for child care with sarah tonya cooks bill and senator campbell and i reached an agreement to increase aid for dependent children in a responsible way. These are just [ applause ] these are just a few of the many bills on which we found common ground. Sometimes there was a natural tension. But its an honor to be a part of the work we do here in our State Capitol. [ applause ] thank you for your dedication and for the long hours you put in and the service you provide to the people of this state. Now thats the applause point. [ applause ] and because of our accomplishments together, and the strength and character of our people, i am proud to report today that the state of the state is strong. [ applause ] Forbes Magazine ranks nebraska the third most business friendly state. Health. Com ranks nebraska the top ten for top healthier states. Livability. Com says lincoln and omaha are among the most Livable Cities in america. Meanwhile, nebraskas government enjoys an aaa Credit Rating from s p. We are in a strong position. But we also have our challenges. But these challenges pose an opportunity for us to Work Together to respond and grow nebraska. Agriculture is our number one industry here in nebraska representing nearly 25 of our states economy. But our farm economy is facing challenges. Commodity prices have been flat or down. Corn is trading about 3. 50 a bushel. Significantly down from the 8 a bushel it was in 2012. Cattle prices are down over 17 from last year. And while farm incomes are subject to variations of fluctuations each year, property taxes go up and up. Last year, i told you about roger brand whos a farmer from wayne county. His. 3nk÷ assessments on three ps of land had increased from 36 to nearly 50 in just 1 year. We checked in again with roger about this years property taxes. And they went up again, nearly 2,700 and thats after the property tax credit we passed last year. While Commodity Prices have stayed flat or gone down, his property tax bill went up nearly 10 . Folks, these increases put tremendous pressure on our farmers and ranchers and in turn the largest part of our states economy. Now, last year we successfully worked together to provide 408 million in direct dollar for dollar Property Tax Relief through the to nebraskans through the property tax credit relief fund. This year, we must make structural changes to property taxes. Working with chairwoman Kate Sullivan and chairman mike lore and their committees, we drafted a proposal for Property Tax Relief. You will see in this bill we propose to tighten spending and levy limits. And that we limit statewide aggregate growth and agricultural property valuations to 3 . Senators, i look forward to working with you to bring about tax relief to our taxpayers. We must prioritize Property Tax Relief. It is my number one priority this session. [ applause ] now, weve talked about growing nebraska. And indeed, we grew our population faster than any of the surrounding states except for colorado. We added on 13,000 people. But our Economic Growth rate is sluggish. We are 28th in the nation in employment growth. And our rankings for gdp and personal Income Growth are also in the middle of the pack. And, folks, there is nothing competitive about being in the middle of the pack. We need to grow nebraskas economy. Create more and better paying jobs. Keep our kids and grand kids here. Attract people from around the country to come and make nebraska their home. Our three largest industries, our agriculture, manufacturing and tourism, and all depend on a strong transportation infrastructure to expand. We can spur our Economic Growth by ensuring we have 21st century roads and bridges to help grow our industries. Once again, working together, working with you to address this critical need. Chairman smith and director of roads kyle snewise have traveled this state working on ideas on how we can accelerate infrastructure investment. Last week, we announced a proposal for a Transportation Infrastructure Bank to speed up expressway construction, improve our county bridges and assist companies with economic development. Also included are tools to help increase our efficiency for our construction process. Folks, our businesses transport goods and services. Our farmers and ranchers feed our world on our roads and bridges. We get to work each day on our highways. We drive our children to School Across our county bridges. Lets help our local leaders keep and attract business. Lets pass the Transportation Infrastructure Bank. As ive said, s p gives us an aaa rating. And we are in a very Strong Financial position. However, we cannot rest on our laurels. The forecasting board has revised the forecast downward. We have to Work Together to manage taxpayer dollars wisely. The budget im proposing manages the shortfall by tightening our belts in state agencies, returning reappropriated funds to the states general fund and transferring money from the banking insurance cash funds into the general fund. As a result, no money will be taken from the cash reserve and none is needed to fund ongoing operations. We must also make government work for the people. We all know that in 2014 before i took office the omaha world herald broke a story about dozens of convicted criminals, many of them violent, who had been released from prison early because of errors in sentencing calculations at the department of corrections. I know that everybody in this chamber cares deeply about this topic. The legislature worked diligently when these issues came to light. I also appreciate how much you take seriously the safety of nebraskans. Over the last year, the three branches of government have worked together on issues such as lb 605 from the counsel of state governments, dealing with sentencing and corrections reform. Last year, we brought in director scott fricks to the department of corrections. Director is working to create a cultural reform to one of accountability and excellence. To address mistakes in inmate releases. Hes instituting a new Automated System to perform sentence calculations. We also know that further investment is needed. In november, director rolled out the first phase of a Strategic Plan including a 26 Million Investment in the Community Corrections center here in lincoln. This investment will allow us to expand the capacity we have for reentry programming. We will provide job training, work release and counseling. This will help our offenders avoid being repeat customers and ultimately reduce the recidivism rate. We must make this wise investment in our corrections system. Now, one of the Biggest Challenges we face longterm to the budget is medicaid expansion. This body has wisely rejected medicaid three times in three years because it was an unreasonable risk to nebraska taxpayers. The most recent rit ration of this expand would have cost nebraska taxpayers 158 million over 6 years. Medicaid is already grown from 2. 9 of our budget when it was started to where it is today, 19 and growing. This government entitlement crowds out investments in tax relief, roads and education. Things we need to grow our state. We also know that we cannot trust the federal government to keep its commitments when it comes to spending. A 90 federal match rate is not sustainable in the federal budget. When the federal budget gets tight or priorities in washington change, that commitment will disappear. History shows that the federal government can change the rules at any time. For example, the federal government promised to pay for the 40 of the cost of the expansion of special education in our schools. And now theyre down to paying less than 20 . From denying people a choice of their doctor to rising premiums and now this unrealistic promise of federal matching dollars, obamacare is an example of government that does not work. Government needs to work for the people. And serving in government is a noble calling, now, we have great people in state government. People who show up to work every day to help our fellow citizens. From the cabinet to our front line teams, we have been able to make Great Strides over the past year in making government work and helping with the business of life for our people. I want to highlight some of the great work of our people starting with the Nebraska Department of health and human services. Im proud of the progress that the team at hhs has made under the leadership of ceo courtney phillips. We are working to ensure a new level of accountability and transparency for taxpayers. Our people are dedicated to giving vulnerable citizens the best possible experience in receiving assistance and creating a more customer centric organization. One example is access nebraska that serves our fellow nebraskans who need our help, whether its nutrition to childcare to assistance with energy bills. As i travel the state, i used to hear a lot of complaints about access nebraska. The average call wait time in august of 2014 was nearly 24 minutes. Now because of process improvements, the average wait time for the last three months has averaged under five minutes. I want you to imagine being a lowincome person, a lowincome nebraskan who has paid a prepaid phone with 45 minutes on it and you call to access nebraska and now you have to spent half of those minutes waiting on hold just to get somebody to talk to you. How does that impact your quality of life . Not only have we reduced the call waiting time, but we have improved our accuracy rate as well. Nebraskas National Rank in processing snap applications was 48 out of 53 at the beginning of my term. Now we are ranked number 32. Now, dont get me wrong, nobody is proud of being in the middle of the pack. But it does show we are making improvements. We are now 21st in payment accuracy and 10th for denial accuracy. At the end of 2014, the average time it took to process applications was 40. 9 days. Now our average is 11. 5 days. Members of the access Nebraska Team are here with us today. Please help recognize them for all the efforts they have made to improve this important system. [ applause ] great job, team. And we have made other improvements in other areas as well. In 2015, for the First Time Ever in our Child Welfare system, we met all six of the federal government standards. Just three years ago, we only met two of the six standards. Other agencies have been innovating as well. To make government more customer focused. The department of labor launch aid first in tlaunched a first in the Nation Program to help job seekers connect more quickly with good paying jobs. Individuals receiving benefits now participate in that program, which includes sitting down with a job coach and creating a resume which is searchable by potential employers. This helps give our job seekers a leg up. Alan holman of lincoln was helped by our Reemployment Program to get a job with serious computer solutions. Alan and his wife and his boss with here with us today. Congratulations. Thank you, kevin, for giving them time off to be with us here today. Lets recognize them. Stand up. [ applause ] since i took office, our other state agencies have made priority to identify cost savings as well. Our chief Information Officer ed turner has saved taxpayers 5 million in cost savings by consolidating Software Licenses and county servers. We are also able to pass along an additional 3. 3 milli 3. 3 mil roads funding. In every agency of state government, we have worked to create a customer focused culture of accountability and excellence. We are embracing new ideas to make government work and to make the business of life happen for our citizens. In the session ahead, i very much look forward to working with each of you to take advantage of the opportunities we have to meet these challenges head on and grow nebraska. Lets Work Together to deliver Property Tax Relief, to grow nebraska with a Transportation Infrastructure Bank, to manage our budgets by controlling spending. And to continue the process of Prison Reform and investing in Community Corrections. This session is also important for another reason. 11 members will be closing this chapter of their public service. Speaker hadley is one of these. Mr. Speaker, i value your friendship and all the advice you have given not only with regard to the work of the legislature but also the invaluable advice you have given to the chicago cubs. Thank you very much for your service to our state. [ applause ] again, thank you for your leadership. And ten more of your colleagues are going to be leaving at the end of the year as well. Can you please stand so we can recognize you . Senator dave bloomfield. [ applause ] senator kathy campbell. [ applause ] senator colby coash. Senator tonya cook. Senator mike lore. Senator ken har. Senator heath miller. Senator bowe mccoy. Senator ken shills. Senator Kate Sullivan. [ applause ] thank you all very, very much for your service to our state. [ applause ] once again, our family here in the State Capitol will have its moments of the session, no doubt. But i know when the ice thaws, the snow melts, the sports fans, including speaker hadley return to baseball, we will have accomplished much in this session for the people we represent. The people of nebraska are good, hardworking and courageous people. They are the best of america. [ applause ] and in turn, we will give our best to them. God bless all of you. God bless america. And god bless the great state of nebraska. [ applause ] road to the white house began in iowa. The caucuses which date back to 1972 and then we move to New Hampshire that quintessential first in the nation primary which has a long and rich history. Now we really begin to test the candidates and their message. We move south to south carolina, the First Southern primary. Then to the Party Caucuses in nevada for the democrats and republicans. More than likely we will see a number of candidates probably drop out of the race. The field will then narrow. Then we move into early march, super tuesday, the start of winner take all primaries which means the delegate count is critical. As we watch that continue for the candidates, we will get a better sense of whose message is resonating and who is on the path to the nomination. Next, a Senate Hearing on u. S. Preparedness for biological threats. Then Gina Mccarthy talks about the clean water act and the clean power plan. After that, new mexico governor sus Susanna Martinez gives her state of the state address. Now a house hearing on the nations preparedness for biological threats. It comes following the release of recommendations from a special panel on biodefense. This is just over two hours. Good morning