[background noises] Lieutenant Governor alder, lieutenants weiner, as majority leaders grind bergen greenwell. Members of the 219th legislature including that rocking escort group that came in with me, chief justice rovner, associate justices of the Supreme Court, judge grant, members of the cabinet, former governors florio different tesco and cody. Charlie and sam thanks for bringing the first lady. [cheering] the state leaders, veterans, members of organized labor, honored guests and my fellow new jerseyans. Five weeks ago today, our state was shattered by the gunfire of antisemitism and hate. In jersey city, the heralded police protected us. Joseph seals and three innocent people were murdered. And what we now know was an act of domestic terror, fueled by a vicious and unjustifiable hate. This was an active hate against the jewish community, and Law Enforcement, but it impacted everyone. Hundreds of schoolchildren and their educators were held in lockdown including in a Catholic School across the street. Worried parents feared the worst. Africanamerican residents hid in their homes. Without the tremendous response of everyone and Law Enforcement, i shudder to think how much worse that day could have been for jersey city and for our state. If ever there was a time for us to recognize the bravery and sacrifice of our men and women in uniform, it was that day. We have several honored guests with us today. And through them we have the opportunity to give our thanks to our entire Law Enforcement community for their heroism, selflessness, sacrifice, and service on one of our most trying days. I would like to ask laura seals, the widow of detective joe seals chief, deputy chief please stand. [applause] thank you, december 10 also highlighted how close knit are tremendous communities of faith are. All of us, regardless of where we worship or what dame we call our creator, were affected that day. One of my heroes senator Robert F Kennedy quoted the greek playwright escalates on the evening of the assassination of doctor Martin Luther king jr. In those words still give us comfort and i quote and even in our sleep, pain which cannot forget, falls drop by drop upon the heart. Until in her own despair, against our will, comes wisdom for the offer grace of god. Over the past weeks, we have been brought together as one new jersey family. First and shock it, than in mourning, and now and our commitment to stamping out antisemitism. I want to be clear, we are committed to ensuring that our communities of faith have the resources they need to be safe. I will probably sign legislation to provide additional security aid for our houses of worship, and to expand the definition of and penalties for domestic terrorism. [applause] i think both sides of the isle for the support in a particular i think gary scher for chipping this cause. Thank you gary. [applause] the scar of antisemitism on our state is still fresh. The grief of four families is still fresh. Let us commit to using this new year, to heal the rifts in our society. This is new jersey, when someone tries to pull a subpart they only ever succeed in bringing us closer together. [applause] and i know we will heal. We gathered today at the dawn of a new year, and a new decade. The days and months before us are filled with potential and bursting with opportunity. And yet even as the new year unfolds, our mission does not change. That together we must build an economy and a state that works for every new jersey family. Our values have not shifted, we are on the side of the middleclass and all of those working someday to get there. We have taken all the tough fights that matter. We are working to change the culture here in trenton, and we are putting the needs of our families ahead of the wellconnected and entrenched special interest. [applause] and our work will not slow down. So joining together, we must continue to make Smart Investments for our collective future. Restore fiscal responsibility, in change trentons culture. Looking out, this is a room that is packed with people who are proud to call themselves new jerseyans. We find commonality among so much, our history. Like the state of the first game of College Football was played. And to that end, i see one favorite son who has come back to intensify the jersey pride we feel along the banks. Lets welcome home of the Rutgers University scarlet knights, greg. [applause] and for the gentleman to his immediate right, i would also like to thank ruckers plate president bob his years of Outstanding Service during state Flagship Institution of Higher Education. Thank you bob. And i am watching closely as run hers undertakes its next great president because in so many respects, as rectors go, so goes new jersey. The dawn of a new decade is a time of optimism. But we also find it a time of growing anxiety. However, more than ever, we must stay true to our promises and hold firm to our commitments. That we have our already done so. Over the past year, by working together we have made new jersey a better more hopeful place to call home and we will continue to do so and because of this i am proud to report that the state of our state is stronger and fairer than ever before. [applause] now some might say to years into this journey we are halfway through, i am leaning toward saying we are a quarter of the way through. [cheering] but thats another speech, for another day. [cheering] [applause] but in just two years new jerseyans are seeing results, because we are doing what we were all sent here to do. We are investing in them. We every family worries how they will make ends meet our how they can cover an unexpected expense. That is why we are raising the minimum wage to 15 an hour. [applause] , its why we expanded tax breaks for working families, why where. [applause] why were attacking the sources of high property taxes and why we are providing more Property Tax Relief than ever before. Too many families wrestle with how they balance work and family. Particularly in the moment of need. So we expanded paid family leave and guaranteed the right to earn sick leave. [applause] some families are military families and are anxious about their futures and whether they may be soon deployed. We owe it to them and the veterans who preceded them to create a state where their place is secure and where they feel supported. [applause] all our families lives sleep over the cost of Health Insurance coverage. How to pay their medical expenses or about the financial turmoil of an unde unexpected accident or illness will occur. We are protecting the Affordable Care act which has protected millions of our residents. [cheering] i remain incredibly proud of the work we have done to protect the tenants of daca, and to establish the state based Health Exchange which will go online later this year. [applause] but the simple fact is that despite this progress, the cost of healthcare is still too high. Our residents are families, and our businesses all struggle with the high cost of coverage. The cost of medications, high deductibles, outofpocket expenses, and more. With implemented smart policies like the historic reforms speaker coughlin and senator joe vitale sponsored to protect consumers from surprise, outofnetwork bills. Amen. [applause] but we can do more. So i am establishing an office of Health Care Accountability and transparency in the Governors Office to work across state agencies and lead critical efforts to read dues Consumer Healthcare costs. Making insurance more affordable and improve improve price transparency. [applause] and to ensure the facts for the department of banking and insurance to work with this new office to track the actual cost residents pay for the Healthcare Services that they receive. And then armed with this data, we will make smart decisions to limit Cost Increases, set new standards for quality and transparency. We have some of the nations, frankly the worlds leading hospitals and healthcare facilities. We are home to groundbreaking research and treatments. We need to ensure that these are accessible to everyone. We will also seek to better integrate behavioral and physical healthcare. Especially. [applause] especially for our young people. It will allow us to better identify and treat court youth healthcare needs like anxiety, depression, and suicide. This will also be a powerful tool to further combat our Opioid Epidemic as well as the broader fights against addiction and Mental Health illnesses that when left untreated lead to tragedy. The preliminary numbers suggest new jersey saw a 3 decrease in the number of individuals lost to opioids last year, after three years of double digit increases. This is not a number to celebrate, 3021 lives lost is still 3021 precious lives to many. But it should give us a measure of confidence that our targeted evidencebased, and datadriven whole government approach is the right one. And we will continue the strong partnerships, the first lady has created across the state. Government officials and legislators, healthcare practitioners, faith leaders, and Community Activists to combat our black infant and maternal infant crisis. Amen. [applause] she will not stop, we will not stop until new jersey is a safest state in the entire nation to give birth. [applause] so, to be clear we cant do all of what i just set alone. We need are hospitals and providers, insurers and consumers to join us in these efforts. I am proud we are fighting the Trump Administration to block women from receiving Vital Information that is critical for them to make important decisions. [applause] together we can protect funding for planned parenthood in womens healthcare. [applause] we ended the Prior Administrations eight year long effort to start these critical facilities. But this must go beyond just providing funding to make up for the loss of title x money. Its about protecting a womans fundamental, and constitutional right to full reproductive freedom. [applause] lets commit to codifying womens full reproductive rights in state law. [applause] at a time when these rights are under attack nationwide, lets make it clear where new jersey stands. [applause] our families worry about their childrens futures and whether they can afford one. So together we have expanded prek and made a Stem Education more widely available. We have become the first states in the history of our nation to make Arts Education available to every single child and our Public Schools. [applause] and it gets better. Today, our Public Schools are ranked as the very best in the entire United States of america. [applause] [applause] [applause] flat us thank our Public School educators and educational support, professionals who do this outstanding work every single day. [cheering] [applause] but we are not done. In this 401st year since the first day africans arrived on the shores of this continence, we are committed to furthering the work of the commission and the n je j Stakeholder Group to ensure that the africanamerican story is made real. Not just for our students, but for our educators as well to the new amistad journey program. [applause] likewise, with the rise of antisemitism we renew our commitment to the mission of the new Jersey Commission on Holocaust Education as well. [applause] we are putting a College Education back within reach. We have open the doors to a tuition Free CommunityCollege Education to thousands of eligible students. [applause] and we have also put in place safeguards to combat college debt. And for those who want the opportunity, we have reinvested in Workforce Development and apprenticeships like never before. [applause] we are building a new jersey where everybody belongs and everyone matters. We are seeing the reinvigoration of our cities, from newark to kansas to trenton to patterson to elizabeth to Atlantic City. In fact, Atlantic City just saw its a prove this in many months. [applause] [inaudible] proof that our collaborative and cooperative approach to internal Atlantic City around is the right path to take. That we owe a tremendous gratitude to Lieutenant Governor and her team and the department of Community Affairs for this project. [applause] [applause] expecting chance of sheila, sheila. Our people once new jersey to stand at the forefront of the national fight for justice. So we will Work Together to allow the expungement of records whose residents have been held back because of past convictions. [cheering] we have given residents on parole or probation right to vote. [cheering] [applause] and, we are giving our proud immigrant community the ability to earn a drivers license. [applause] [cheering] we received the farreaching and transformative recommendations of the criminal sentencing and disposition led by former chief justice and former president of noble child chip. And i also want to thank senders cunningham and ms. Powell for serving on the commission. [applause] lets all of us, recommit to acting its recommendations which include the elimination of mandatory minimum sentences for nonviolent drug offenses. [applause] lets lead the way for creating safe communities, and neighborhoods through a criminal Justice System that lives up to that allimportant word, justice. And lets do this not just because its the right thing to do, which it is, but because our state will only be stronger and better when everyone is a full participant in our economy, our democracy, and our society. [applause] i have also spoken often about wealth disparity as a persistent issue that separates and segregates our communities. It harms predominately black and latino families and prevents our state from fulfilling its potential. These disparities have deep roots and complex causes. Overcoming them will require us to leave behind always of thinking so we can ensure, bless you, that no residents get left behind. We dont miss a thing up here. [laughter] so im not bases im creating a new task force, government officials academic officials, faith leaders, to address wealth prosperity from all angles and all causes. [applause] their work will better support our work enclosing these gaps and ensure that the communities have historically been left behind can help us lead. Our residents have felt marginalized and left out. We work to renew their faith that they have a place in our family. And specifically for our lg pt q plus community we want to make sure they never fear for who they love, how they identify, or who they are. [applause] amen. [applause] [applause] despite the n action in washington, new jersey is now leading the nation in sensible gun Safety Measures and our communities are stronger and the gun lobby is weaker. [applause] and we did that together. Likewise we know Climate Change is real, instead of denying reality we are acting on it. To win the next generation we are working to be the first state in america to incorporate Climate Change education across our k12 state education standards. [applause] and we are going to make the fight against Climate Change the cornerstone of an innovative technology. Two years ago we took office, new jerseys clean energy was stalled. Today we are on our way to an ambitious goal of 7500 megawatts of offshore wind energy by 2035. Now thats a big deal,. [applause] thats enough energy to meet half of nude jerseys entire retail needs. It would remove billions of tons of fossil fuel from our air and it will create tens of thousands of good paying union jobs. [applause] [cheering] and into weeks, i will unveil new jerseys new Energy Master plan, our comprehensive roadmap for arriving at our goal of a one 100 Clean Energy Economy by the year 2050. We are working to protect every school in new jersey from the dangers of lead. I amen. [applause] i applaud and many legislatures by the way for their partnership to fasttrack the elimination of lead Service Lines in the city of newark. But we all know this is a statewide problem. It extends far beyond just lead an old water lines as well. Lead paint is a much bigger problem amen. [applause] and its not just that challenge it is our suburban and Rural Communities as well. When i propose my plan for taking on her lead crisis and all the ways that it manifests itself, i did not shy from acknowledging that will require significant investment. This is an acknowledgment shared in this chamber as well. We will need funds to replace old lead lines and remediate paint in homes. We will need to mobilize uni