Inside the state house right now among the mass. I understand it is jammed pretty good. What do you expect to hear from the governor . Well this is his first state of the commonwealth. First i want to start with who is here. We are inside the house chambers and this is both houses of the legislature. You have the Governor Cabinet secretary. You have members of congress, yes. We understand congressman neil and congresswoman Katherine Clark are among those here. We can tell you that the Senate President is now asking for the room to kind of come to order. We are expecting to hear a lot about the accomplishments when it comes to the mbta, for instance and some of the experiences he had last winter and some of the challenges he had last winter. He is going to talk about how he could create that and and get a grip on the finances. He will log some of the successes of last year, and this is also about some of the big initiatives he wants to push forward including Charter Schools. The Charter School initiative is a major effort. We want to take you for a look down through some of the house and senate member. They are getting ready for the governor to enter and to go ahead and you know this is a room filled with pomp and circumstance. He will make his way in and he will walk up and deliver his first state of the commonwealth. His family, his wife, first Lady Lauren Baker is here. His daughter is here. His sons are here ready to watch and take in what we can expect. An announcement on Vocational Training that is something they were highlighting. Some of the members of the legislature are holding up their phones. They are expecting him to walk down any moment now. Senator Elizabeth Warren is here. We noticed the umass chancellor is also here. We has just been introduced. Lets listen in. [applause]. One of his big priorities is going to be to sign an opioid bill. This is something he learned a little about on the campaign trail. It is something he has made a lot of effort toward trying to find a solution. He has spoken about that. Own opioid bill. The governor wants to sign a bill on this issue. He tells us it is better than what we have right now which is nothing when it comes to the opioid crisis. Some of the other issues he wants to address is job training. Also that Charter School bill. Thats something that could set up a little bit of a battle. Charlie baker has become the most popular governor in the country. And he says it is largely as a result he thinks that he is able to work with a mostly Democratic Legislature in the bipartisan manner without public in fighting. He hopes to continue that. We hear a lot about his bipartisan team. Reforming dcf is an issue we dcf is a high profile to center stage, and the governor was able to work with the regions largest union. And he was able to go ahead and broker an agreement with them. That was something he says was never done in the past in the previous administration. You mentioned the Charter Schools and the governor we know wants to lift the cap on Charter Schools. This is controversial. I guess she cant hear you at this moment as we look at governor charlie baker, of course, who after eight years as democrat was governor in massachusetts. Yes, i lost you there for a second. We will let vanessa there, governor baker getting up to the roster. A question quickly on Charter Schools. The cap on Charter Schools, but this is pretty controversial. It absolutely has been. The governor has long maintained he only wants to do this in low performing districts and he thinks that is going to be a compromise. That will be controversial with a democratically controlled legislature it is possible he may have more support in the house, but it will be a problem for him. Well have to see how it all plays out. The governor is set to release his budget next week. And so this will be a look, a glimpse at what we can expect where he wants to direct the funding and where he wants the Purse Strings to go. Governor baker and myself and all 200 members of the great and general court, we welcome you to this Historic Chamber and con congratulate first year as governor of this commonwealth. We have enjoyed working with you. We look forward to another productive year and we are very anxious to hear your thoughts and reflections on the state of our great commonwealth. It is my great privilege and high honor to introduce to you, ladies and gentlemen, here gathered and those watching at home on television, his excellence see, charles d baker, the governor of the commonwealth. [applause]. Thank you very much. Thank you. Thank you. Please. Please, you should sit. Thank you. Thank you. Mr. Speaker, mr. President , members of the house and senate, fellow constitutional officers, mr. Chief justice, members of the judiciary, members of the governors council, members of congress, senator warren, senator marquis, mayors, sheriffs, district attorneys, distinguished local officials, reverend clergy, distinguished guests, members of my administration and fellow citizens, i want to begin by expressing my gratitude to some special people for the support and encouragement they have extended to karen and me over the past year. To my cabinet and staff for their willingness to serve and their collaborative [applause]. For the thousands of front line employees and state and local government who make a real difference every day in the lives of our citizens here in massachusetts, thank you. [applause]. To the people i have met and maybe even taken a selfie with, thank you for sharing your stories, your dreams, your passion and your encouragement. Now tonight we are also joined by Corporal John dawson and sullivans parents. Last year both lost their sons in service to our country. Every man and woman who serves in combat is special. Their families serve right alongside them. Service, sacrifice and loss is really all about. [applause]. We are who we are as a commonwealth and a country because of families like yours. I know i speak for everyone here tonight and everyone across the commonwealth when i [applause]. To the spiker and Senate Members of this legislature i want to thank you for putting partisan ship aside and for engaging with us in good faith and good humor as we work to solve some challenging problems. And dad, you and mom and my brothers have made me who i am today. Thank you. [applause]. Tonight wife, lauren, and to our children, charlie, aj and caroline, thank you for the support and love because i certainly couldnt do this without you. I still believe that the and me over the top in 2014 were actually voting for lauren. [applause]. If i had to sum up the past year in just one phrase it would be the following. Dont be surprised when you get surprised. Stuff just happens. Some good, some bad. 12 days after we took office we determined there was a 765 million budget deficit to deal with, but thankfully it was 40 degreeses out and winter was almost over. Six des after that it started to snow and we had a tran sis system in serious trouble and a new term i had never heard before. Welcome to your new job, governor. Your time may or may not involve the things you thought you would be working on. With respect to the t, some say the word crisis is composed of two character. One representing danger and the other opportunity. The ts failure last winter became a crisis and i am proud to say that by working together we found and seized opportunity. [applause]. We passed meaningful reforms including the creation of a fiscal and management control board. And today for the First Time Ever we are having a transparent and realitybased discussion about how to improve the performance of the Vital Transportation system. Now turning around the system with the troubles and problems the t has wont be easier stepsal the way, but we are determined to do it. A Million People ride the system every day to get to work, school , the Grocery Store and back home. They need the t to work and they need it to work well. Thats why we are doubling our Capital Investment to the Core Infrastructure too a million dollars. Thats why 90 million was invested to allow the t to battle whatever curve balls are thrown by mother nature. And to the taxpayers who will never ride the t, but write a 1 billion check to the system every year, you deserve to know your support and delivering a reliable, affordable, transparent and efficient service. 2015 wasnt all surprises caused by mother nature. At this time last year our constituent Services Office week from people who couldnt get through the health connector. For more than two years getting and keeping Health Insurance was a disaster for hundreds of thousands of massachusetts citizens. Many ended up on mass health and the state had no ability to determine if they were actually jeopardized. Make no mistake. Fixing the connector was a top priority. Today open enrollment is mostly complete and more than a Million People will be determined for mass help and they will recognize their work and there are virtually no [applause]. We are all all aware of the systemic problems that put massachusetts at the bought to agencies. The problems were laid out in great detail in 2014. The reports author is now the commissioner and thanks to her leadership along with secretary Mary Lou Sutter we are making progress. We are developing intake and investigations and foster care and in service home reforms. Some of which never existed at all. I want to thank you for your leadership of this critical thank you. [applause]. This is all being done in partnership with the 509 leadership that represents dcf social workers. These workers often hadnt had the playbook or the support from the top to do their work and do it well. Tonight i want to thank peter mckin none and all of our workers for your hard work on our behalf and on behalf of the commonwealth [applause]. [applause]. The children served by dcf except they are the most vulnerable. They need the love and security that most other kid have because lets face it. When youre a kid there is nothing more important than that. Now over at the registry of Motor Vehicles segue long waits and long lines have been a costly and unacceptable experience for everyone. If you get paid by the hour it is lost time and lost wages. I never expected we fix this quickly because it didnt get this way overnight. Creating a more customer friendly registry is a big deal for us. While i will spare you all of the details it has helped the hidden way to get in the door and allowing threequarters of customers to get in and out in 30 minutes or less and we are [applause]. Working clab raw tiffly collaboratively and we tightened our belts and reduced spending taking what was an unsustainable path and setting a healthy, responsible course. Working together we have made investments in school aide and local aide. No longer will beacon hill balance their budget on the backs of the local community. We focus on transportation investing 300 million in funding and hundreds of privates in commonwealth. We invested 37 million in Climate Change and Energy Resiliency projects. We boosted support for mass Works Economic Development program by 10 million and launched a 3 Million Grant Program as part of the urban initiative. These projects breathe new life into downtown and setting communities up for success. We signed agreements with more than a hundred communities across the Commonwealth Building on successful reform. In cooperation with the Public Sector unions we reduced our head count by 2000 making State Government without [applause]. Together we are poised to make progress on a number of issues. The first is energy. Over the next few years the region stands to lose about 10,000 megawatts of power as older generation plants come off line. That represents enough energy to supply maine, vermont, rhode island and New Hampshire combined. Meeting our future energy needs requires cooperation with the other states because the Regions Energy infrastructure and supply is closely linked. Our administration has outlined Ambitious Goals to reduce carbon emissions. We have a plan through a diversified, sustainable and affordable approach. Meeting our energy need with Renewable Resources requires us to act now. Massachusetts lead the nation in energy efficiency, but that will never be enough. We have a growing Solar Industry which we should continue to support, but not more than every other option. Cost competitive wind options are vaiblg to us and if advances in wind shore technologies bring a competitive price, we should embrace them too. If we are serious about reducing our Carbon Footprint while maintaining Reliable Energy grid and improving our competitive position, then we must significantly increase the supply of clean and affordable hydro power. Governors across new england [applause]. Governors across new england have made it clear they are ready to go. They are waiting on us and any solution will take time to implement. I urge us all to act quickly to move on this critical legislation to the state and the regions future economically and [applause]. Next is the opioid abuse. The statistics are terrifying. Four people a day are dying in massachusetts. Prescribers in this state wrote more than four million opioid prescriptions and these numbers have been climbing for a decade. The rise in opioid addiction deaths has traveled hand in hand in the rise and growth of prescriptions. This is a real human tragedy. Moms, dads, brothers, sisters and friends all tell hauntingly similar stories. It starts small. Fill this prescription or try but once someone gets too close to the flame, everything changes. It becomes the only thing that matters. People under the spell of opioids and heroin will do anything to get their next hit. Families and friendships are torn apart. Trust vanishes. Patience is overwhelmed and tragedy is always inches away and more often than not it comes to stay because people die. You all know i am a health care guy. I will stand with my former colleagues when their clinical judgment is being improperly maligned. But not this time. Subscribers are far too casual about the addictive consequences of these medications. Parents, teachers and coaches dont know enough about opioids to protect their kids, in the dark when someone says try this. Were close on legislation to enhance our on going efforts and improve prevention and education. To build on our intervention work and to strengthen our treatment and recovery programs, breaking the back of this beast will take time, creativity and a willingness to be disruptive. Of course we must be thoughtful, but we need to be bold. Lets get this done and not rest until we do. I also urge you to be bold on k12 education. Now i know for some expanding the availability of public Charter Schools is controversial. But giving parents and under per fum under performing School Districts to choose a Better School is nothing less than we demand for our own children. More than 40,000 kids, most from communities of color are excelling in public Charter Schools. 37 more 37,000 more mostly the neighbors of those kids remain on a waiting list. Their parents struggle to understand why they dont deserve the same education their neighbors kids get. They cry when they talk to me about the hopes and dreams they have for their children pain. Parents want a better shot than the one they had. And they see it in front of them, but they cant make it happen. They cant afford to lose and they cant afford to send their kids to private schools. This is their chance and it is a good one. In massachusetts we are home to some of the highest performing schools in the country. Many of which are public Charter Schools serving low income families and communities of color. Students attending the Brooke AcademyCharter School in rosslyn dale and madipan and east boston had higher scores than students in carlisle, concord, whaland, westin and newton. In fact, they had higher scores than students from massachusetts. We are willing to discuss and we are willing to hear both sides, but a state that places such a high value on education should not place arbitrary limits on parents access to high quality schools. We should not sit idly by while parents feel the pain of kids. [applause]. I get that energy, opioid issues, but i believe we can successfully take them on. Over the past year we worked together to expand and increase the earned income tax credit for 400,000 low income families. [applause]. They will save 125 million every year. They solved two major budget deficits without raising taxes and fees and provided a 28 million down payment to enhance Treatment Services to beat down the opioid epidemic. Today with your help, we are promising state leaders. We will no longer send women who are involuntarily