[applause] >> sixty-five million years ago, what is now our home state had evolved into a large, subtropical delta where dinosaurs like triceratops and tyrannosaurs battled to the death amid a lush environment of woodlands, swamps and ponds. yet here we are, sixty-five million years later, as north dakotans, benefiting mightily from our incredible jackpot of geology that was set in motion all those eons ago. our spectacular geologic history led directly to the rich deposits that give us our abundant oil, gas and coal resources, as well as our newest billion-dollar jackpot, our vast, unrivaled, underground co2 storage capacity. and far, far more recently, ice age era glacial deposits in central and eastern north dakota created the nutrient-rich soils that support our enormous crop production and our vast pasturelands. in today's global uncertainty, our energy and food security make us the envy of many. today the state of our state is one of strength and infinite opportunity, blessed with our abundant natural resources, inherent freedoms and industrious, caring people. [applause] mr. speaker, lieutenant governor miller, distinguished members of the 68th legislative assembly, majority and minority leaders, chief justice jensen and justices of the supreme court, fellow elected leaders, tribal leaders, cabinet leaders, first lady kathryn, second gentleman craig, family and friends and all fellow citizens of north dakota, welcome, and thank you for joining us today, whether it's online, over the airwaves or in person. this morning we had an incredible opportunity to hear from chief justice jensen and chairman azure, we are grateful for your thoughtful words this morning in your respective and chairman, for your courageous leadership. [applause] as we enter our seventh year of our administration and our fourth regular legislative session, kathryn and i remain deeply humbled and honored to continue serving all the citizens of north dakota. and we are very excited to welcome the 39th lieutenant governor of the state of north dakota, tammy miller. welcome tammy. [applause] we're also deeply grateful for the six years of dedicated service by lt. governor brent sanford, whose positive impact on the lives of north dakotans will be felt for generations to come. please join me in thanking brent and sandi for their lifetime of service and wishing them all the best in the future. [applause] from the earliest indigenous inhabitants of these lands to the pioneers of modern agriculture, our success in north dakota has always come from the strength and resiliency of our people. we are only two weeks since the official first day of winter, yet some cities like bismarck already have received an entire season's worth of snowfall, over 51 inches, a record for the last three months of any year. this is on top of the april snow-and-ice storm that dropped 40 inches of snow during spring calving across north dakota and knocked out power to tens of thousands of residents, making it the fifth-most costly disaster on record and the largest since the 2011 flooding. the april storm, the veterans day storm, the mid-december blizzard, the whiteout conditions that stalled christmas travel plans, north dakotans have handled it all with grit and resiliency. at the state level, we've seen incredible, round the clock, life-protecting efforts from our department of transportation snowplow drivers, highway patrol troopers, state radio dispatchers and department of emergency services personnel. [applause] our dot had over 350 snowplow operators working across our expansive state to clear 8,500 road miles after april's storm event. in the harshest conditions, these operators may be found leading the way so rural volunteer ambulances and first responders can reach those in need of help. with us today representing these dedicated state team members, we have michelle fender-nagle, who serves as a snowplow operator in nddot's valley city east section. michelle, we are grateful for you, for your courage, your skill, and your determination through not just these recent storms, but for your 34 years of service keeping north dakotans safe and keeping our economy going. please join me in thanking michelle and all our state and local plow operators. michelle, please stand. [applause] i've had a chance to do a right along in the snowplow and i'm telling you the one drive on the roads today, the dashboard looks more like an aircraft that does the truck, so we were, thank you, michelle. you may also recall as our first powerful winter storm began on november 9. darkness fell, temperatures dropped, and a dangerous freezing rain coated i-94. north dakota highway patrol trooper alex breitbach was driving east that evening just past jamestown when he observed a semi-truck jack-knifed across the westbound lanes, nearly blocking the entire road. he turned around in the median and flipped on his emergency lights to warn other traffic. as he walked up to the semi to check on the driver, trooper breitbach could hear another truck coming behind him. he quickly jumped over the median cable barrier and watched as a semi smashed into his squad car. but it wasn't over. during the next several minutes, seven additional crashes involving 18 vehicles occurred at that location before additional first responders could arrive on scene. through it all, trooper breitbach went from vehicle to vehicle, putting himself in great danger as he checked on crash victims and directed them to safety. incredibly, no lives were lost, and no one was seriously hurt. this is just one example of the types of incidents that north dakota's finest, the north dakota highway patrol and other first responders experience every day, risking their lives to help and protect others. to trooper breitbach, who is here with us today, and all our first responders, we say thank you for your service and bravery. [applause] right over here. give us a wave, trooper. how about a bigger wave? there you go. [applause] the unprecedented start to the winter season has strained resources at every level of government. this historic weather calls for prompt action. with the sponsorship of senator terry wanzek and representative mike brandenburg, we can expedite $20 million in emergency snow removal grants to be awarded to state, local and tribal governments who have already exceeded their average snow removal budgets. as state leaders, we have an opportunity to act quickly to relieve pressures in communities across the state. let's make this one of the first bills to reach my desk. [applause] our citizens also endured a year of near-record inflation that put a strain on household budgets, with higher prices on everything from eggs and flour to gasoline and automobiles. we're grateful to this legislature for passing a historic bonding bill in 2021 that allowed us to avoid inflation and take advantage of lower interest rates and construction costs, thereby saving millions of taxpayer dollars on roads, bridges, water projects and other critical infrastructure. we've made great progress on dot's 10-year infrastructure plan, investing $318 million so far this biennium to rebuild aging roads and bridges and our executive budget proposes an unprecedented $2.4 billion to accelerate our work. we can also build on the work done on water infrastructure last session by investing over $600 million to advance flood protection and our regional and critical water supply infrastructure across the state. we continue to make strides toward our goal of becoming the first state in the nation to reach 100% access to fast, reliable broadband. of the funds allocated from the american rescue plan act for broadband grants, there are projects proposed to install 1,100 miles of fiber connecting 2,150 unserved and underserved addresses across the state. having smart, efficient infrastructure, healthy, vibrant communities and a stable tax and regulatory environment are key to attracting capital and talent to north dakota. and boy, have we been doing that. in less than two years, we've had over $1 billion of private sector investments in new soybean processing plants announced. remarkably, these three processing plants will have the capacity to process roughly 75 percent of our state's current annual soybean production, adding value to this key commodity and creating new and closer markets for our farmers. increased global demand for sustainable biofuels in agriculture, transportation and aviation represents a huge growth opportunity for north dakota and expanded opportunities for collaboration between our two largest industries, ag and energy. in case you were still shoveling out when the word came in, we received some good news just before christmas: our state's population hit an estimated all-time high of 779,261 residents as of july 1, 2022, rebounding from the slight population dip we saw in 2021. this slight bump from our 2020 census count can be attributed to a lot of little bumps, of the baby kind. north dakota had 2,800 more births than deaths in the 12 months ending june 30, and the number of births was up over the previous year. in fact, only utah had a higher rate of births per capita than north dakota. our record population speaks to the abundant opportunities and exceptional quality of life we enjoy in north dakota. the 106,000 residents we've added since 2010 is the equivalent of adding another grand forks and another minot. we know randy liked that. but for the rest of you if it's too difficult to imagine a whole nother my not or a whole nother grand forks, just think of it as adding another 328 arthurs. and we remain one of the nation's fastest-growing states, up 16% since 2010, faster than all but six other states. turning to the future, we are faced with unprecedented opportunities to improve the lives of north dakotans. this legislature has an historic opportunity to diversify our economy, invest in infrastructure, build healthy, vibrant communities, support research and innovation, transform education, improve government services, create tourism destinations, and address our workforce needs. together, we begin this journey from a position of strength. our combined reserves are the highest in state history. our general fund revenues are running 23%, or over $700 million ahead of forecast. our oil tax revenues are running 60%, or over $1.5 billion ahead of forecast. we have the nation's second-lowest unemployment rate at 2.3%. behind only utah. our three largest cities, bismarck, fargo and grand forks were among the top 5 metropolitan areas in the entire nation for having the lowest unemployment rates in october. now is the time for strategic investment in our state's future. [applause] north dakota continues to successfully engage on an all-of-the-above approach that harnesses oil, gas, coal, hydroelectric, renewable fuels, wind and solar. on a per-capita basis, only wyoming produces more energy than we do in north dakota. yet tapping our abundant resources, creating jobs, transforming our communities, our state and our nation only happens when risk-takers, entrepreneurs and innovators invest their capital and talent in our state. entrepreneurs like harold hamm, who grew up the 13th child of sharecroppers in rural oklahoma and founded continental resources in 1967 when he was just 21 years old. harold and continental helped lead the horizontal drilling revolution that began over 25 years ago, a game-changer that unlocked our vast state and tribal shale oil reserves and changed the course of our entire economy. harold is widely recognized as the person who led the charge to lift america's 40-year-old ban on exporting u.s. crude oil in 2015. getting this archaic federal ban lifted directly benefited every bakken producer and mineral owner, including the significant mineral acreage ownership held by state of north dakota trust lands for our schools and universities. the oil and gas industry employs thousands of north dakotans and has produced billions of dollars in tax revenue that supports the state, tribal nations, counties, cities, townships, school districts, hospitals, parks and airports through a variety of funds, is also funded 100% of our $8 $8 billion legacy fund and most of our $5.7 billion common schools trust fund, which would have provided $1.8 billion to k-12 public schools and the decade ending in 2025. selling more clean u.s. energy to our friends and allies, versus forcing them to buy dirty energy from our adversaries, is the single most powerful change the u.s. could make today to drive american strength up and enhance global stability. [applause] through their operations in north dakota since 2003, continental has invested billions of dollars of private capital towards u.s. energy independence and helped create what we, and the world, now know as the bakken. we are deeply grateful for the investments by harold and other industry leaders in north dakota who have underpinned our current prosperity and who also help ensure a secure energy future for our nation and our allies. we are deeply honored to have harold hamm here in person today, representing the incredible positive impact that he, continental resources, and the north dakota oil and gas industry have had on every single north dakotan. we thank you, harold, your family and your entire continental team. ladies and gentlemen, harold hamm. [applause] providing a viable path forward for coal has been a priority, and we were thrilled to provide assistance to the sale of coal creek station to rainbow energy center last year. it was a victory not only for the hundreds of workers at coal creek and falkirk mine and the region, but for every north dakotan who expects the lights to turn on when they flick the switch and the heat to come on when they turn up the thermostat. it was a victory for u.s. energy security, national security and grid reliability. and it wouldn't have happened without people like loren kopseng, stacy tschider, al christianson, brent sanford, the industrial commission and all the local, state and federal officials, including this legislature, all who fought tooth and nail to keep coal creek. the north dakota lignite coal industry provides affordable, reliable baseload electricity and keeps the lights and heat on during bitter cold like we've seen this season. so let's give all of them, and yourselves, a hand. way to go, legislature. way to go. [applause] our bedrock industry, agriculture, continues to lead the nation in several categories. we rank first in production of spring wheat, durum wheat, canola, flaxseed, all dry edible beans, pinto beans, dry edible peas and honey. we rank second in rye, sunflowers and lentils; third in sugar beets, oats and barley; and in the top dozen states for corn, soybeans, potatoes and chickpeas. our farmers and ranchers battle every day to provide food security for our state, country and world. they fight through challenging weather, through droughts and fires, blizzards and floods. they innovate and expand the use of technology to boost yields and are implementing resilient and regenerative farming and grazing practices. they work through burdensome red tape pushed down from the federal government. these farm and ranch families are the backbone of our rural state, and the work they do is feeding the growing world, and for that, we all should be grateful. let's give it up for all of our north dakota farmers and ranchers. [applause] but despite their unwavering dedication and leading in so many of these crops, including a growing abundance of feed for livestock from our many new value-added ag processing projects, we stack up way short when you compare our animal agriculture output to neighboring states. for example, we're 23rd in cattle and calves on feed; south dakota is 7th and minnesota is 8th. we're 35th in milk cows; minnesota is 7th. we're 24th in hogs and pigs; minnesota is 2nd and south dakota is 10th. consider this, north dakota's record year for cattle and calves was in 1975 with 2.6 million head, compared with less than 1.9 million head today. our record year for dairy cows was 1934, when we had 701,000 cows. now we have only 15,000. we are importing milk into north dakota. hogs peaked in 1943 at just over 1.1 million. now we have less than 150,000. we must ask ourselves, what do other states have that we don't? let's take a look at just right next door like south dakota, they have carve-outs in their family farming laws that smartly allow nonrelated parties to pool capital for animal agriculture operations like feeding livestock and poultry, operating a dairy and for pork production. here in america's heartland, we love our freedom. but when it comes to making business decisions, in north dakota, apparently that freedom applies to everyone, in every industry, except our farmers and ranchers. it's time to change that. we know our farmers and ranchers can compete with anyone, anywhere, anytime, if they're given a level playing field. right now the field is so uneven when it comes to capital access and capital formation. we can level it, and we can do it wisely and with smart environmental stewardship. plus, the economics of animal agriculture increase land values and are helping rural communities to grow and thrive. i urge this body to change the long downward trajectory of animal agriculture in north dakota and do away with this archaic law as it applies to ownership of animal agriculture operations, including poultry. let's take the handcuffs off our ranchers and livestock producers. let's allow animal agriculture to flourish in north dakota once again. we need farm freedom legislation, and we need it now. [applause] just as we are leaders in ag and energy, north dakota can lead the nation in carbon capture, utilization and storage and reshape energy policy for this country. today, we're on our way toward achieving carbon neutrality as a state by 2030, thanks to our extraordinary capacity to safely store over 252 billion tons of co2, or 50 years of the nation's co2 output. and in the process, we can help secure the future of our state's two largest industries, energy and agriculture. we were the first state to establish the legal and regulatory framework for carbon capture, utilization and storage, or ccus, in 2009. now we're in a spot to lead the nation in this emerging industry, because we can permit our own co2 storage wells at least five times faster than the epa. wyoming is the only other state with this authority. we also allow landowners to get paid for their underground pore space if a supermajority agrees to it. thanks to legislation passed by this legislature. finally, we have long-term liability protections for the companies, who have to pay into a fund that the state can use to monitor the wells long-term. so we have solved primacy, we have solved pooling and the liability protection. we are the only state to have done all three of those. because of this foundation, we are already the nation's ccus proving ground. in july, red trail energy, the ethanol plant near richardton, became the first working class 6 vico2 storage well in the nation, now safely capturing and storing over 500 metric tons of co2 per day. and several projects in the works will capture over 20 million tons by 2026. if you support our ag and ethanol industry, our oil and gas industry, our coal industry, you should absolutely support ccus. but don't take my word for it, take your own. we are only one of the states in and they shouldn't wear the logistics of britain but support into state law. chapter 38-22-1 reads, quote, it is in the public interest to promote the geologic storage of carbon dioxide. doing so will benefit the state and the global environment by reducing greenhouse gas emissions. doing so will help ensure the viability of the state's coal and power industries, to the economic benefit of north dakota and its citizens. further, geologic storage of carbon dioxide, a potentially valuable commodity, may allow for its ready availability if needed for commercial, industrial, or other uses, including enhanced recovery of oil, gas, and other minerals. that's right out of state law. and the infrastructure that is built for moving co2 can be utilized in the future for enhanced oil recovery, or eor, injecting carbon into rock and shale formations to draw more oil out. one north dakota company has led the way on eor for decades. since october 2000, dakota gasification company, a subsidiary of basin electric power cooperative, has been safely capturing and transporting co2, over 40 million tons of it, to weyburn, saskatchewan, for enhanced oil recovery in the canadian oil fields. let me repeat that: we've had a co2 pipeline, 205 miles long, operating safely in western north dakota for over 20 years. in enhanced oil recovery, by putting more co2 down the hole than is produced by the barrel of oil that comes up, you can create carbon-negative oil. that transformative for liquid fuels, transportation fuels, transformative for north dakota. this year, in north dakota, carbon-negative oil production has been achieved by denbury resources in bowman county, a trailblazer in enhanced oil recovery, using co2 piped in from wyoming. the eerc estimates north dakota could potentially produce between 5 billion and 7 billion barrels of carbon-negative oil by using co2 for enhanced oil recovery. new federal incentives for storing co2 or using it for enhanced oil recovery will drive billions of dollars toward the bottom lines of our ag, coal and oil and gas industries. this, combined with our vast storage capacity and our forward-looking policies, is why we have billions of dollars of projects knocking on our door in north dakota. our state has reinvested hundreds of millions of dollars of oil and gas tax revenue into the development of ccus technologies. and we continue to increase that investment through programs like our new clean sustainable energy authority smartly created by this assembly in the 2021 session. as north dakota and the energy industry are re-investing in innovation, the biden administration is trying its best to live up to the president's campaign guarantee that he will end fossil fuel from defying federal law by refusing to hold required oil and gas lease sales on federal lands to threatening oil and gas companies with new taxes on excess profits, which flies in the face of free market economics. destroying the rights of private land owners in north dakota. all of these things lined face of free market economics. our current federal energy policy is driving up inflation, empowering foreign dictators, literally enabling wars, weakening our economy, threatening the u.s. dollar as the world's reserve currency, and is bad for the environment. because no one produces energy cleaner and safer than we do here in the united states and in north dakota. [applause] in north dakota, we know better, and that's why we've proposed investing $500 million between this biennium and next to capitalize the clean sustainable energy loan fund. this infusion, along with $50 million for grants through the fund, will support clean energy projects such as carbon capture, which represents a path forward for baseload coal power through innovation over regulation. we saw it with the saving of coal creek station thanks to the future carbon capture component of that project, and we continue to strongly support what will be our largest demonstration of carbon capture at minnkota power cooperative's milton r. young station near center. continental resources also has committed $250 million to the summit carbon solutions pipeline, which will capture the co2 and enhance the economics of over 30 ethanol plants and their farmer customers across five states. today, we're pleased to have with us the visionary leaders of these businesses which are showing our nation the way with projects working today: red trail energy ceo gerald bachmeier, basin electric ceo and general manager todd telesz, and denbury ceo chris kendall. i also want to recognize minnkota president and ceo mac mclennan, who wasn't able to make it due to the weather. but let's have those four ceos please stand up. thank you for all your doing to invest in the future. [applause] i have talked about our two big economic sectors, acting energy, but now let's look at another one of our top industries and one that is critical to work for us and that's tourism and recreation. we need to expand our offerings and sharper focus on developing destinations, that unique attraction and amenities that really drive visitors and potential new residents and workers to her state. as announced last month, our budget includes more than $51 million to improve and expand our state parks and recreation sites, including a new campground at the pembina gorge, planning for upgrades at lake metigoshe and new cabins across our state parks. we're also proposing a $50 million destination development fund to be matched by private or non-state sources to build or expand unique attractions. we have asked ourselves for generations, how do we keep our young people here? well, part of the answer is creating vibrant communities, attractions and recreation. young people and families are looking for places to live based on the amenities in the communities and region. when we leverage public dollars to drive private investment, amazing things can happen. and they're happening right now with the theodore roosevelt presidential library. the history making catalytic $50 million endowment approved by the 2019 legislature, which is being held by the state land board, has already been leveraged to drive over $100 million in private investment. in 1883, theodore roosevelt first arrived in the badlands. 120 years later, starting in 2003, there was another individual who arrived in north dakota whose grit, resilience, hard work and determination has changed north dakota and our nation, and we have already recognized him today, mr. harold hamm. harold is in the arena for north dakota, our nation's energy independence and making america stronger on the world stage. and so, it is fitting, that with deepest gratitude, that here, today, in these chambers, where the tr library endowment was brought to life, we make the first public announcement that harold hamm has completed a gift of $50 million to the theodore roosevelt presidential library foundation. thank you, harold. [applause] will [applause] thank you, harold. this is a game changing gift which i know will inspire donors across our state and across our nation as he can do understand that this is not the building that is going to be a world-class state-of-the-art interactive facility, and the vision here's one to really build a lasting, built to last an institution that shares roosevelt principles on leadership, citizenship and conservation. .. most visited place you've probably been there. the pain canyon visitor center. you probably know it was built in the 1960s, and outdated cinderblock rest stop on national park service land, looks like my grade school in arthur. it does have a coyote skull and raccoon skin inside. it is open 6 months a year. that was not always the case. when the interstate first opened in 1972 it was open year round, there was a million visitors that stopped at the beautiful overlook. we had in our budget a vision for visitor center that will inspire visitors to learn more about why one of the 63 national parks is named after a person versus a place and trx vision for national parks was the benefit and enjoyment of the american people and as partners in this project with the national park service, the national park foundation, there will be an opportunity to tell the north dakota story to the millions of visitors stopping to enjoy one of the most spectacular views in america. when telling the north dakota story it cannot be done without highlighting the military members and that includes across our state and across our tribes including in the executive budget, a public-private military museum right here on the capitol grounds envisioned to be connected to the beautiful heritage center which this body has supported. the inspirational service and sacrifice of our military members is deserving of a peaceful setting where current future generations of north dakotans can reflect on the incredible legacy of those men and women in uniform, men like woody who is in the rough rider hall of fame downstairs who served in two wars and won a medal of honor. incredible story and also he is in the national hall of honor, tribal hall of honor at the heritage center. it is fitting the north dakota national guard, and the adjutant general is leading these efforts from the military museum. in 1998 just tween 9 years after north dakota became a state, 8 companies volunteered for duty in the spanish-american war and the philippine insurrection. among them, among them, 9, count them, 9 soldiers from the north dakota volunteers earned medals of honor for their actions at san miguel were 25 scouts crossed a burning bridge to route 600 insurgents entrenched on the opposite shore. north dakotans need to know these stories, in north dakota with immense pride, they adopted as a state flag the state flag, the image of the regimental flag carried by those first north dakota infantry in the philippines. north dakota citizens have served honorably in every conflict and every call for the nation asked for their help. including members of our tribal nations who served at a higher rate than any other group in the country. their actions, accomplishments, uniforms they wore, the equal and they operated, the planes they flew, ships they sailed, sacrificed life of limb in defense of the nation, these are all the threads of the fabric that made north dakota legendary. north dakota military museum would preserve the history and legacy of our legendary service men and women and deserves our support. with those who served or currently serving in the military, members of goldstar families, please stand to receive our gratitude for your service. [applause] >> in addition to tourism and other top industries we are working to diversify the economy and make it less resilient on commodity markets, status of a nation is proving for unmanned aircraft systems continues to grow. i'm excited to announce, this is a big deal, the federal aviation administration granted initial approval to allow one of our private sector partners to fly a drone beyond line of sight using a first of its kind air traffic control network, or us operators. this is a critical step that validates our state's investment in years of work to bring those aircraft to commercial sectors in a safe and economic way. [applause] >> there's a saying in technology, now we are going to see that. other states are reaching out to us as a leader in this technology, to build on this momentum, our budget proposals $30 million investment advances, 7 million for business and aviation park, let's keep that going and we will see real benefits for our state and nation. just as we compete with other states and business sectors like agate, energy and tourism, our communities with other cities across the country, the workforce. to make our communities more attractive we propose our energize community plan to help cities attract new residents and retain our youth and workforce. these include $40 million to support more affordable available housing and promote developments in bladed and rural areas. we know attracting workforce requires communities with assets that meet the needs and wants of future residents. the renaissance zone was created by this legislature over 23 years ago. it has been the most successful program in state history for reducing overall property taxes, how does it do that? incentivizes use of existing infrastructure and utilized by 63 communities, after 23 years of success it is time for us to refresh this program with renaissance zone legislation. on behalf of all the north dakota communities fighting for workforce and calling on this assembly to bring forward to reinvigorate the limits on zone program to allow additional flex ability and reentry into the program and reduce red tape, barriers to having projects approved. this matters because incentivizing the full utilization of existing infrastructure versus subsidizing brand-new, expensive, non-economic infrastructure with state dollars, utilizing existing infrastructure is the true path to reducing property taxes in municipal water burdens. keeping our communities safe should also be a priority and we know law enforcement agencies are working at every level to do that. we can show our support for them and north dakota unlike other states and other cities truly does back the blue by providing $5 million fund for matching grants, law enforcement agencies they can use to drive retention strategies to provide much-needed equipment for the officers who put themselves in harm's way to protect us all. when we ask law enforcement to put themselves in harm's way, we must always stand behind them. currently that's not always the case. current state law requires an officer serve in the state of north dakota for 5 years before they can be considered for workers compensation claim through wsi if a work injury is not proven. if not the presumption it was a preexisting condition that caused the injury. this needs to change and it needs to change today. especially when we have every law enforcement agency in our state with positions open trying to recruit people to come here from other states that are not supporting the blue. in north dakota we need every officer across the country needs to know if they come here and if you serve in north dakota whether it is 5 days, 5 months or 5 years we will stand behind you, your family, brothers and sisters in uniform. let's get it done. [applause] >> just saw highway patrol, supporting not just the blue. just as we support our men and women in blue and brown north dakota supports our educators whether in public schools, private schools or home school. men and women who dedicated themselves to educating our youth are heroes and they do this not for fame or glory, but to make a positive impact in the lives of our students. right now for anyone who has been a teacher or is a teacher, join me in thanking all our heroes across the state. [applause] >> these past 6 years these educators help north dakota make significant progress in education policy whether it is the innovation waiver that allows local school boards to redesign the school experience or to learn policy that allows students to earn credit outside school walls or north dakota being the only state in the nation with the learning continuing better known as graduation pathway available for all public schools. north dakota has created layers of flex ability that allow our public system to determine the most effective ways to support a student centered learning environment. now we need to figure out how to incentivize school districts to adopt what all of you have created. our students need every school district to take advantage of these transformative opportunities. the door on how each district and each school can innovate is wide open and 2 together, parents, teachers, superintendents, school board leaders are empowered to step up and make it happen. flex ability exists for approaching school differently, students and parents may not have the choices they want or need to make the best learning environment individual needs. we intend to partner with all interested legislators including representative michelle stringent to explore opportunities to expand parental choice options whether it is be through virtual school choice, public enrollment flexibilities or allowing students greater autonomy to engage in the center of education, parents and students need to be at the table for discussions on connecting the learner with the structural environment approach that best gives that person in that family, in addition to ensuring students have a solid foundation for life we must also address our workforce challenges and our institutions of higher education, key pieces of the puzzle. as our nation state enrollment trends for high red decrease but it is vital to provide institutions with the resources and flex ability to respond to workforce needs. we urge the legislature to advance the $10 million renovation workforce grant, provide the resources necessary for them to quickly respond to programs, to respond to private sector workforce needs. our research universities are teaming up with 11 universities in 5 states with regional technology and innovation alliance. the admin a station will work with this alliance and regional governors to ensure we succeed, in the pursuit of large federal grounds to advance the next generation of technology and reduce our nation's reliance on foreign adversary's for such critical technology as microchips. [applause] >> through the first lady's courageous leadership, openly sharing the story of her long battle with the disease of addiction and her 20 one years of recovery she has inspired thousands of others that are still trapped in the disease of addiction and she has inspired their loved ones that the dream and the hope of recovery exists for all. since 2017 with passion and dedication she is on a mission around ending the shame and stigma of this chronic brain disease. by limiting the shame and stigma we remove the social barriers that prevent people from reaching out for help and accessing vital treatment. with courage and passion she's leading a movement which is changing the narrative, changing the policies, changing the approaches of how health systems are dealing with the disease of addiction. of the health crisis of addiction is still gripping the nation, last year 107,000 people died of overdoses in our country but let's focus on someone who's making a difference. if you know anyone who has been affected by the disease of addiction in your neighborhood, your friends, your workplace please stand and join me in thanking our incredible first lady, catherine burgum. [applause] >> you may not know it was her most moment of the year, she hates when that happens. the attention but you are making a big difference, sometimes you have to get a little applause. critical to supporting individuals with this addiction, things that came out of the work of north dakota behavioral health team, recovery reinventing and faced with incredible shortage even 6 years ago of addiction centers in the state and we are one of the first states to come up with licensing. support specialists and these are individuals who use their lived experience, get training and qualify and certify and assist others on their journey to recovery and wellness. starting from 0 we have currently 819 trained peer support specialists across the state, one of them is with us today and has amicable story of how she was able to transfer her life and is helping others to do the same. not only is she a mother in long-term recovery but also overcome an uphill battle rebuilding her life after many years of substance abuse, interaction with a couple of justice system that led to felony records, fighting for legal right to parent their children again, she said to me, recovery means i can wake up and know i am surrounded by my children and myself, positivity with love, health, stability and i can support others in reaching recovery goals too. her incredible story of resilience is one of many, this individuals working as a pierce support administrator in the north dakota department of health and human services. let's celebrate her journey and the continued passion of all 918 pierce support specialists who are transforming and saving lives across north dakota. christie johnson, please stand with so we can recognize you and your important work. [applause] >> we continue to prioritize tribal engagement with the tribal nations with whom we share geography as one of our strategic initiatives. in june we signed an agreement between the north dakota highway patrol -- similar to the existing agreement that is in place, these agreements enhance emergency response by allowing the closest available peace officer to respond emergency call for service until agency with primary jurisdiction arrives and assumes the lead. when someone in distress calls 911 they should never have to worry what the response time for their emergency will be or will depend on whether they are tribal member or not. we are all citizens of north dakota, including every tribal member. in this state neighbors look out for each other. [applause] >> back to the last photo. spirit lake chairman, we need to clarify so we don't get confused. he is big doug and i am little doug. i had the honor this last year, won the state championship undefeated. to the governors residence to host them, the chairman's son was the mvp, great work. [applause] >> the fifth strengthening partnership to take place june 21st-20 second at the bismarck event center, you are all invited. collaboration with tribal neighbors never stronger, there is much work to be done. we have come to all of this work in a good way with an open heart and respect for the resiliency of tribal neighbors who often remain entangled in a broken federal system. as relates to healthcare and education. i want to congratulate tribal chairs and councilmembers who won their elections, mark fox, glad you are back. chairman jay garrett renville was elected, he couldn't be here today because he's being inaugurated right now. we want to recognize standing rock tribe chairwoman janet elkhigher who was not up for election this year and as i mentioned, spirit lake chairman big doug hampton who serves all constituents. the hardest job in north dakota is not school board or county commission or state legislator or governor, the hardest job is being a tribal chairman because you deal with state, local and feds every day. let's give it up for these tribal chairs and their leaders. [applause] >> across our nation businesses, governments, schools, churches, every single employer is struggling to retain workers not just here but across the country. our most recent report shows 60,000 available jobs in november. employers don't post all their job openings, it is super conservative, the estimate of the number of jobs is twice as many, 32,000 jobs in the state, the equivalent of two job openings for every man, woman and child in jamestown, these unfilled jobs remind our commitment to provide the appropriate $88 million of matching funds for private sector investment for designated career and technical centers across the state. they are held up by the treasury but construction can begin even if it means advancing funds for the bank of north dakota until federal funding is released. and get these centers built. and make that loan. we will get that. providing 20 million for competitive regional workforce impact. it means investing in childcare, making it easier for north dakota, especially young families, to participate in the workforce. investing in automation by expanding successful automation tax credits, in sending industries to adopt automation with matching grants and investing in workforce transition training to retrain and upscale citizens pursuing new opportunities. and we should double our investment in the native american scholarship program building on private-sector efforts, putting $14 million in tribal college and expand employment opportunities for tribal members across north dakota. in addition to investing in north dakotans will live here we need to step up efforts to recruit residents to the state because even if every high school student, college graduate from north dakota, everyone on unemployment, very few left on unemployment in north dakota, if everyone formally incarcerated coming out of the system, high school, college, unemployed, wouldn't be enough to fill the jobs we have in our state. we have to have net migration. as part of a comprehensive workforce initiative the department of congress refreshed and expanded the good life in north dakota. not just ads but connecting individuals needs with individual jobs, the campaign drives into a pipeline that suggests speakers with community champions, go check them out. to make it more affordable place to live give an advantage to where we can feed its workers we can and should adopt the lowest flat tax income in the nation. the income tax relief plan proposed earlier this fall included in the budget will eliminate the individual income tax for 3 of 5 taxpayers. remaining income tax payers will see lively reduced by one quarter to one half, allowing north dakotans to keep their money to offset expenses and invest in their families. i want to thank senator meyer, representative bosch, commissioner cautious for their partnership and leadership on this proposal which will put us on a path toward zeroing out our individual income tax and joining the 8 other states that have no individual income tax and have right now large recruiting advantages as we compete with the workforce. inflation rising interest rates eating away at family finances. consumer prices in november up 7% from a year ago. let's show working families in north dakota we understand their struggles by expediting the income tax relief and one of the first bills to be signed. [applause] we understand and share the concerns voiced about property taxes. in our office, happy to sit down with anyone to discuss ways to actually reduce property taxes. not talking about subsidizing property taxes with more state transfers of dollars like 17 bills and billions of dollars over the years but how do we actually understand and figure out how to reduce global property taxes. we don't want to encourage local spending and grow local government but we have an income tax proposal that is a real reduction in taxes because it reduces the amount of tax revenue the government collects. this will directly and immediately help us recruit and retain workers. we fully support proposal from senator meyer to exempt after duty -- active-duty military from individual income tax. villager members in domicile states where they don't pay state income tax including minnesota which affects our own north dakota national guard and border come the unities. minnesota has higher taxes. military members don't pay taxes in minnesota. we have people moving to east grand forks, joining the minnesota guard and 300 positions open north dakota so that is another one we should put through. we've worked hard to make more to kota -- north dakota monetary friendly and exempting military retirement pay from income tax, let's keep that going and do the same for our active-duty men and women in uniform. [applause] >> in may 1974, there was a shaggy haired kid, a senior in high school in north dakota, not unlike now he was writing graduation speech at the last minute. pulled up that speech last night and on that speech, much shorter than this one, you will be happy to hear, there was a list of the world's problems. included inflation since 1974, political scandal coming out of the nixon years, pollution, overpopulation. there was an energy crisis. wars happening around the world. guess what, seemingly endless shortages. in that speech i also talked about the world of space-age technology. we were coming off of 5 years after we put men on the moon. i talked about automation and i said all of the problems we were facing, they were all man-made and there could be solutions, humans could solve those problems. looking back now over all these years of the short little speech, incredible how those problems we are facing today but as i said then and still believe today, i prefer not to think of them as problems but challenges, humans created those problems in humans can solve them. in north dakota we are better positioned, really truly, than any other state, to tackle some of these persistent challenges. they are not new. they face our nation and the world, energy, food security, global stability, but we have an opportunity here, and we can grasp this moment and make a positive difference not just in the state but the nation. and how it gets done. we have an opportunity to fulfill a powerful purpose to empower people, improve lives and inspire success. in our state, every community, every citizen can reach their fullest potential. we are blessed and it is an unbelievable time to be a north dakota. we are so blessed with the abundance of natural resources, oil, gas, water, soil, but also have something we need to remember, to be constrained via supply-chain doesn't require billions of dollars to unlock, it is infinite and free. what i'm talking about is aspirational values to solve any problem to create greater understanding. with so many in the world feeling safe. by challenge to all of us is going forward, let us strive to employ the incredible tools, the curiosity to learn from those that are different from us, the curiosity to bridge those differences, the humility we need now more than ever, to know not only what we don't know but the humility to admit what we might have learned 5, 10, 20, 30 years ago is no longer true. we have to have the courage to think boldly, to care deeply, live passionately, and most importantly for north dakotans who look at ourselves and said everybody is better than us, just because it is warmer than something or whatever but we have to let go of all those self constraining ideas about our state and need to do as many of the people as i've introduced here today, the business leaders, snowplow drivers, highway patrolman, support specialists, they've done great things and we need to dare greatly. we are standing on the resources to dare more greatly than we ever have in our history. the last one of these four, we all know the familiar words of faith, hope, and love and the greatest of these is love, the amended resource of gratitude, we are here today because we love the state and as we love this state and loved it deeply and do the right thing for the state, let us remember the love -- to love one another as well. god bless you all, god bless the great st speech is half an hour.