[applause] good afternoon. Thank you adam jamal for your moving in vocation and your familys. We appreciate that. Thank you to the school choir for the lovely rendition. What beautiful voices. [ applause ] they were unable to perform, they came down to the capitol in december, but werent able to perform. So were so happy to to have them back here now to inspire us. I want to extend a warm welcome to former governor larry loch and thank him for his service at the federal level. Thank you. [ applause ] i would like to welcome swedens ambassador to the united states, who is visiting washington to promote Economic Development and trade. Were happy to see her here today, from a country that has reduced its Carbon Emissions by 27 , while increasing its gdp by 90 . Thank you for being here, madam ambassador. [ applause ] and i am certainly honored to be the First Washington governor to be able to say, madam speaker, lori jenkins. Congratulations. [ applause ] mr. President , madam chief justice, distinguished justices of the court, members of the legislature, tribal leaders, state and local government officials, members of the corp. , and most importantly my fellow washingtonians, i love shining light on how Great Washington is and i love this part of my job. Im inspired by so many washington stories. Im inspired by a High School Senior who is here today. She is the first female quarterback in our States History to throw a touchdown pass for a football team. Welcome to byynna nixon. Thank you for being here. [ applause ] im inspired by the development of Washington States newest apple, the cosmic crisp, which is on your desks. And several people from Washington State university are here, including the person who heads the apple breeding program, the ago school dean, andre wright. Congratulations to Washington State university for what theyve done. [ applause ] there are so many great things going on in our universities. Im inspired by the university of Washington Team who developed an app to monitor a persons breathing rate and detect an opioid overdose. Both the cougars and huskies show how broad the culture is in our state and its something to celebrate. In perhaps her second appearance, the first native american to join our state supreme court, thank you for [applause]p to the plate. [ now, washington has felt deep losses washington has felt great losses this past year. Courageous First Responders have lost their lives this year. We lost the district 3s assistant fire chief, the sheriffs deputy, ryan thompson. Justin derozier. Interim police chief, michael napp. Pierce county Deputy Cooper dyson. East olympia fire captain, john ostergard. A member of our military family. Kwans, i want to express our respect and condolences for these families. Last year we lost bill ruckleshouse, a true statesman who was an unmatched legacy. We ask jim risch we lost jim richards. We know jim and his life was dedicated to Public Service in helping others. Those who have put service above self should inspire us, including the new legislators in our ranks, senator ron mazal, representative duer, representative alex ramall and those that moved to the senate, congratulations, i welcome you for this great effort. I want to [applause] i want to thank them for stepping up to improve the lives of washingtonians because fundamentally, thats why we are all here. One of our deepest washington values is summoning the courage to explore and embrace big ideas, ideas that actually change our lives. The people who power our state successes have shared a common element, a stalwart and unbending commitment to be better, to get the job done, never resign to those timid souls who think that the status quo is good enough. Our embrace of new ideas speaks to who we are as a people. As we start a new decade, we can reflect on how we are breached that. We are willing to image where we could go if we accept the challenges that at first felt impossible. We can do this because we recognize we belong to one community. We forge profound forces for good. When we unite, not divide, around our best ideas. Last year, i stood here and challenged us to rise up and write one of the worthiest chapters of our time, one that future generations will thank us for. Im incredibly proud and grateful for your leadership. Your accomplishments speak to a remarkably productive and positive session before us this year. Look at what weve done. Together, we have created a washington where we can rely on paid family and medical leave so you can be there to care for a spouse during their weekly cancer treatments. This program [applause] this program started a couple weeks ago and already going very well. Thousands of people have already applied for help in their personal lives. We have created a washington where your 18yearold daughter can graduate from high school as a registered apprentice in aerospace with fulltime employment already lined up. We have created a washington, where we have passed the best 100 clean energy and Energy Efficiency measures in the united states. [applause] washington ours is a state where people can afford the Long Term Care they need as they age, a washington where more students qualify for free tuition than ever before because we passed the single best College Financial aid program in the nation. [applause] now, this is not just me talking. The world has noticed what we have done here, because of all the things we have done together as a people, u. S. News and world report recently named washington the best state in the country. And Washington State indeed embodies the best in america. We have been honored to be both the best place to do business and the best place to be an employee. That combination is a rare and powerful testament to our state. Now, we have the best overtime protections for our workers in this state in the united states. And im happy to say that. [applause] so, i think these things say a lot about how we face challenges in our state. Id like to tell you a story about how we all achieved one of our greatest successes and how that looks to chart a course as we look to tackle another big challenge. That Success Story is about washington leading innovative, lifechanging, career connect learning initiative. We have known for a long time we have High School Students who dont see themselves attending College Students. We have College Students who are not sure what their postdegree future looks like. Students whoseer future looks uncertain. Multiple pathslt to meaningful careers, from skilled jobs right out of high school, apprenticeships for traditional trade, two year certifications and retraining for midcareer workers and brand new programs for cutting edge jobs. We recognize every student for what they want to be in any workplace. This involves businesses, labor, community colleges, universities, k12 and philanthropy state workers. Our program is one of many programs that have attracted more diverse students through our career connect program. One of these students is robert arsy, who moved to washington to make a better life for himself and his fiance. He was homeless for a time. He never used a hammer. It with local 86, robert and has roots and tools set himself up for success. Meantxperience has everything for his family. Today, hes two years into a four years apprenticeship and looks forward to a Better Future for him and his family. Thank you, robert, for sharing that. [applause] ofther story comes out spokane. Olivia perkins joined the production and Manufacturing Academy to learn how to weld. She wanted to create and sell her own metal work. Greater Spokane Incorporated paired with the academy to make this career connected opportunity a reality. She took an hour and a half bus ride each way and then walked a mile and a half and because of that she received a full scholarship to Spokane Community college and will become a professional welder because of her academy experience. Congratulations, olivia, whos here today. We wish you the best. [ applause ] show less [applause] its really exciting because we are growing registered apprenticeships in entirely new sectors, too, like healthcare. Scie 1199 in partnership with Kaiser Permanente built a multiemployer, multiyear apprenticeship. Its innovation like this that paves the way for other sectors. Through career connect training thousands already being helped. It will be more affordable for students thanks to our expandable Washington College grant. Our goal is nothing short of meaningful Career Training for anyone who wants it. We want to be able to welcome all people to the prosperity of washington. You can see how important partnerships have been to this success. Thats what its going to take to meet our next big challenge, combating homelessness. We know that homelessness reaches all ages, all races, all backgrounds. We know there is no one cause. This doesnt impact just people experiencing Mental Health challenges or chemical dependency problems. Thousands of people know that washington is the best place to live and work in the country. So theyve come here. Thats a good thing. While we are pleased with our Economic Growth we have people who faced economic problems that put affording a place of their own out of reach, in part, because we have not built enough housing for the people coming to this state. Its not just People Living in tents or under freeways, in wet cardboard boxes. We have families living in cars, veterans who need help staying in their apartment. Single parents facing financial struggles. High School Students sleeping on other peoples couches, when they can find one. Too many people are one financial crisis away from being homeless. Each year, we know in the past decade, weve done more to address homelessness than housing affordability. We doubled our States Investment in homelessness response since the recession. I want to thank you for your leadership in that regard. We combat several causes of homelessness like opioid addiction and mental illnesses. We laid a strong foundation. But ive seen this growing crisis first hand. Ive seen it all over the state. Ive seen how it affects centralia, bellingham, spokane, tacoma, and burlington. Obligatione have an to fix this problem. We must not look the other way and the investment must match the scope of this crisis. Homelessness is a statewide problem and it demands a statewide response this year. [applause] responding to some responding to homelessness cant simply mean moving people down the road to the next city or next bridge, its about giving them the tools and resources they need to get back on their feet. It is about prevention. It is about rent assistance and housing for the most vulnerable individuals. Ive met so many people, once theyve been given the opportunities to improve their lives, have done it, established a whole new life. I think of jason chambers, who i met a few months ago, jason is a former resident of tacomas stability site, where one big tent shelters smaller individual tents in the dome district in tacoma. This temporary shelter approach served as a transitional step from experiencing homelessness to getting into a more permanent housing solution. Jason was one of the first folks when that facility opened. He told me something pretty profound. He simply said that that stability site saved his life, because the resources there helped him work through a chemical dependency problem, get an apartment. Hes using this success now to help others in the same situation. When i met him that day, he was checking on other residents at the site and using his experience to help others. I want to thank jason for his leadership and being here today. Jason, thanks a lot for being here today. Appreciate it. Good to see you. [applause] now i know our patience and , compassion for this topic can become strained but we cannot grow cynical or discouraged. The immediate need for many on the streets is for a safe place to lay their heads while they work to improve their lives. Our goal over the next two years is to find safe warm shelter for half the washingtonians now living under freeways and bridges, in sleeping bags and in cardboard boxes. This should not come at the expense of building more affordable housing. Some of you may have a different goal on this and some may want to fund it in a different way. I look forward to working with i i look forward to working with you on those ideas. But i cant imagine if there is anyone here today who does not believe we need to act and act now to help the most vulnerable in washington. [applause] and we should gauge our success not on where the money comes from but how many people we can move to safe housing. We know we can create navigation centers, temporary shelters and necessary support services to successfully move thousands of people out of dangerous unhealthy campsites. Youth tolp homeless fully embrace the Acorn CommunityInitiative Driven by homeless advocate, jim theophilus. I want to thank trudy for everything you do for the state of washington, trudy. Thank you very much. Appreciate that. [applause] while we implement this new sheltering plan we will insist on tracking progress with strong accountability and transparency measures to know we are actually delivering results. We will make sure this works. My plan will require financial participation from cities and counties but it gives them flexibility to create local solutions to boost their shelter capacity the way they plan it. I know this is a big challenge. We do not shy away from those. Let us bring washingtonians in from the cold this year. [applause] another big step, necessary step we can take this year, thats establishing a clean fuel standard for the state of washington. [applause] we know the science and our love for our state requires us to do more to fight Climate Change. We have done much. You can rightfully be proud for passing some of the best Clean Energy Laws in the united states. But for those who doubt that we need to do more, look at australia today. That is all our futures, not just australias. We want to thank the speakers brother for the work fighting fires in australia right now. [applause] a few days ago, i was reading the morning paper, and i was really struck by a photograph of a small boy who was receiving australias highest honor on behalf of his father who died battling those devastating fires. And just the look on that young boys face as he got that medal, it caught me right here. It was a picture from a long ways away but caught me. Spoke to the grandfather inmate about this boy who represents why we are here today. And sometimes, you find a moment that harkens back to what we need to do and that moment did it for me. The picture of that boy represents everything we are fighting for here. We dont want such a devastating personal loss to become more common as the ravages of Climate Change rise each year. Science shows we have to act more quickly and with greater commitment and that is why we need to fight for all of our childrens future. This will take many tools and hard efforts. Because unless we act, heres a truth i need to share with my fellow leaders in the state of washington. Even with the tremendous work we have done together we will still fall 30 short of our 2035 statutory requirement that we put into law if we dont continue our clean transportation efforts. Because while weve made progress, we still havent gotten nearly half of our emissions from the transportation sector. This is a huge hole in our mutual efforts. There is an extremely effective tool available for us to reduce transportation emissions. Thats the clean fuel standard. We need what the rest of the west coast has already built, a clean fuel standard that calls upon the oil and Gas Industries to give washington consumers cleaner fuels. Let me just say this. Washingtonians deserve cleaner fuels and i want to make sure that they get them. That standard, all up and down the west coast has been in place for years now. It has had little impact on fuel cost and Significant Impact for Carbon Emissions. There is good news here we already have a lot of the cleanest transportation fuels you can find and some of the cleanest electricity in the country including agricultural and energy and wind power and were creating clean biofuels. A a county implemented in advance one of the first nitrogen removals in the world. It allows them to scrub methane from the landfill on roosevelt that otherwise pollutes the planet, they put into a pipeline and ship it to california where it replaces dirty and dangerous diesel in tracks. This is an Eastern Washington enterprise that has created jobs in a small town, using the best of washingtons innovative thinking, that is from one small pud. Think what the impact could be across our entire state. But right now the clean fuel generated in roosevelt doesnt stay in washington. It goes to california instead of to our drivers because california has a clean fuel standard. We need to tackle this challenge with the same gusto and belief and inevitable success that has powered our previous triumphs. It can be done. Lets do right by those who have the honor to call themselves washingtonians in the coming decades, because we know this, Washington State is not a state of climate de