Transcripts For CSPAN3 Idaho State Of The State 20240713 : c

Transcripts For CSPAN3 Idaho State Of The State 20240713

Madam president , honored legislators, mr. Chief justice, members of the judiciary, my fellow constitutional members, family, friends, and my fellow idahoans. What a year. Life sure has changed for me. On some weekends i go home, go out to the ranch, visit my family and friends, one day i was in my normal emmitt uniform, levis, hat, getting fuel, guy at the fuel pump kind of glanced at me a couple times. As i was paying for my fuel, he saundered up and says, has anyone ever told you you look like brad little . You know, i proudly said, yes. Said, makes you mad, doesnt it . I could not accomplish as much as last year or most of my life without the support of my family. Especially my wife, your first lady, teresa. [ applause ] its rewarding for me to watch so many people learn about her. Teresa is selfless. She loves our family and state. Im proud f you, teresa. Im grateful to have you by my side. The celebration of an important milestone is upon us in 2020. The 100th anniversary of the womens voting rights. Weve come a long way. The faces in this chamber looked a lot different 100 years ago. Please join me in acknowledging all the wick eleomen elected, appointed, serving all across State Government for their contributions to idaho. [ applause ] maybe ought to just end here. After being in this position for a year, i can say with certainty theres a lot of passion in idaho for making our state the best it can be. We have much to be proud of and much to work toward. I have learned that progress requires pushing the boundaries of whats comfortable in government. It requires a strong desire to get things done. And ive learned we cannot do it alone. Im proud of my partnership with you, the Idaho Legislature, for your collaboration in working with me to do the peoples work. From the beginning, i stated that my goal is to make idaho the place where we all have the best possible opportunity to thrive and where our children and grandchildren choose to stay and for those that left to choose to return. [ applause ] in america we get to choose our faith, our jobs, and where we live. I would like to acknowledge the role of our veterans, military members, and their families, in making that a reality. This spring the Army National guard will mobilize more than 4,000 soldiers to germany in support of a largescale exercise to demonstrate u. S. Military readiness. The idaho air National Guard will deploy more than 400 airmen to several locations throughout southwest asia in support of combat operation. We wish them well and pray for their safety. [ applause ] as we enter this year, 2020, my priorities are sharp, clear, and in focus. My goal reflects the need for us to make idaho strong today and prepared for tomorrow. Im committed to working with you to invest in education, reduce regulatory burdens, increase all idahoans prosperity and quality of life. I want us to champion Affordable Health care, make idaho safer and promote healthy lands and waters. I want idahoans to be confident in their State Government. Just last month i was joined by many of you, my partners in the legislature, in announcing that idaho had just surpassed south dakota and we are now the least regulated state in the nation. [ applause ] thank you. Think about that. The least regulated all 50 states. Together, we cut and simplified 75 of all regulations in less than 1 year. How do we achieve the largest regulatory cuts in history . Through a combination. I issued two executive orders aimed at scaling back and streamlining idahos administrative code and the legislature made it possible for us to examine the entirety of our administrative code in one sweeping step. Now, to be honest, when the legislature chose not to authorize the administrative code, i didnt know quite what to expect. But working together we seized the opportunity before us and made history in the process. Our agencies held 150 Public Meetings throughout idaho to ensure transparency and public involvement in the evaluation of all proposed changes. I would like to recognize my budget chief, alex adams, and his team, along with many people in the state agencies who are a driving force behind our progress. Their intense focus helped get us here. Thank you for working so hard for the people of the state of idaho. [ applause ] so what does this mean to idahoans. It means Small Businesses can now easily understand the regulations theyre required to follow. Without having to call a state agency or help interpreting them or hiring a lawyer, no offense, it means devon, a Small Business owners in hmeridian was able to expand and open a telepharmacy in Garden Valley creating jobs and making health care more accessible in rural idaho. When we reduce regulatory friction, good jobs follow. Last month [ applause ] last month i was honored to visit with President Trump and Vice President pence in the white house. President trump has taken on meaningful Regulatory Reform and looking to the states for help in achieving it. Guess who President Trump held up as a shiny new example of how to get it done, idaho. [ applause ] folks, this is what idahoans expect. They expect the legislative branch and executive branchs to Work Together to make government work for them and were not done yet. My First Executive order this year will make it a routine practice for idaho State Government to undergo the kind of successful regulatory review we saw in 2019. Im calling it zero base regulation. Were determined to have the administrative code remain clear and user friendly. We must also knock down barriers to prosperity by continuing to advance the licensing freedom act. Last year we were successful in fast tracking licensing processes for veterans, members of the military, and their spouses. Making it easier for them to start work after being relocated here. Building on that success, i pledged to work with the legislature this session and broaden those processes so that individuals moving to idaho from another state can start work as quickly as possible. Idahos statutes could use a good scrub, too. This year my administration will bring forth 30 pieces of legislation that repeal outdated statutes. From a wagon road in neil, idaho, to laws governing trespassing hogs, its time to put obsolete sections of the idaho code like the nonexistent board of semitarians in the grave. [ applause ] incredible joke writers. Just as regulatory restraint encourages investment and reduces the cost of doing business, a lean and efficient budget does the same. My budget for fiscal year 20 and and 21 bolsters our rainy day fun, focusing on conservative growth and transparent budgeting. Sound budgeting starts with sound economic forecasts. Thats why we started a new practice. Were tapping the expertise of Business Leaders and economists in the private sector to help us achieve revenue forecasts that are as accurate as possible. Idaho has experienced tremendous growth in recent years. Nationally, internationally, the pace of Economic Growth is expected to slow. Last fall i asked all state entities that receive general funds to undergo a spending reset except for my highestpriority area, public education. The time to prepare for a potential downturn is now when times are good. The reset also focusing on closer examination spending. We cannot lose our focus on the taxpayer. A former cochair, my dad, stated the easiest thing to do is spend other peoples money. I understand its difficult for state agencies and our universities to tighten things up but it must be done habitually and willingly because its the right thing to do. My budget [ applause ] my budget leaves an appropriate cash balance, shores up our Rainy Day Funds which helped us weather economic storms that forced other states to raise taxes. Idahos rank in the top ten states nationally for the balance of our state budget reserves, but a credible stress test shows we have more work to do to prepare for a recession. Thats why im also calling for us to raise the cap on our main Rainy Day Fund so that we can better position our state for any economic condition. [ applause ] overall, my budget for fiscal year 21 limits true general Fund Spending growth to a conservative 3. 75 . From now on it will be easier for the public to discern true spending growth in the executive budget. I constructed my budget staff not to rely on onetime transfers or other budget gimmes. We are increasing transparency in state budgeting. [ applause ] one of the staples of conservative governing is to put money back into taxpayers pockets. Ive long supported tax relief for idahoans on the most basic of need. Groceries. My budget leverages 35 million from the dedicated Tax Relief Fund to provide idaho families with grocery tax relief without competing against our general fund priorities. [ applause ] i believe our people have greater opportunities to prosper when government limits regulatory hurdles, respects taxpayers by spending their money as efficiently as possible, and focuses as much on the needs of tomorrow as the needs of today. [ applause ] that conservative approach aligns perfectly with my numberone priority, education. State elected leaders, our constitutional obligation to k12, through 12 education, is clear. This is a little worn out. Article 9 section 1 states its our duty to, quote, establish and maintain a general uniform and system of public free common scho schools, but we also have a moral obligation to all our youngest citizens. I subscribe to the view that its better to prepare children today than to repair them later. [ applause ] i want to thank the legislature for joining me last year in passing significant investments in public education. We raised starting teacher pay. We increased Funds Available for opportunity scholarships. We doubled the funding for one of my highest priorities, literacy. Every district determined the best way to use the additional literacy dollars from hiring reading coaches, to conducting Summer Reading programs, and providing fullday kindergarten. Parts of the state are surging ahead in their progress on reading proficiency. At betty keefer elementary where 37 of students tole from lowincome houses, we saw incredible overall falltospring improvements. Reading proficiency among children rose an astounding 32 . More than 85 of third graders at betty keefeer elementary were reading proficiently by the end of the school year. This is also the first school i saw doing monthly so teachers can personalize reading instruction to each student. At chief joseph elmry in meridian where 40 of the students are low income and a high portion are learning english as a second language, fullday kindergarten became an option to help students get on track with reading. About half the schools incoming kindergartners couldnt read at grade level last fall. By spring, they saw a 30 improvement. When we commit to giving students the strong start, provide local School Districts with the flexibility to determine how best to achieve it, we see progress. [ applause ] still too many students across the state are falling behind. About 12,000 kindergartners are not on track to read when they show up on day one. My budget keeps our foot on the gas and makes our historic investment in literacy ongoing. The push for literacy was a recommendation that came out of my our kids idahos future task force. The task force was made up of teachers, schooled a m ee eed administrators, education stakeholders, Business Leaders and a Bipartisan Group of legislators from every corner of the state. I want to express my appreciation to every member of the task force for taking on this job, including the cochairs. Thank you very much. [ applause ] the task force also identified the need to continue investing in teachers. A childs progress in all subjects, especially reading, depends upon the intention and instruction of a good teacher. We cannot simply rely on the good hearts of teachers any longer to retain an effective teach ee ee eer teaching worn idaho. We must pay them competitively. [ applause ] your property taxes shoulder a growing share of teachers salaries and operating expenses in our School Districts. Its out of balance, and its not sustainable. [ applause ] i propose we put an additional 30 million in ongoing general fund as a down payment to continue increasing teacher pay over the next several years. Performance criteria will ensure accountability. These investments have been ongoing the past several years and i commend the legislature for stepping up to support our educators. Our efforts should elevate the profession and help us keep good teachers in idaho classrooms. [ applause ] we have a perfect example of an excellent teacher with us today. Shes a health and p. E. Teacher from Timberlake Junior High School in spirit lake who focuses on the whole child. She goes beyond teaching subject matter and helps her students learn the skills they need to be successful in life, not just school. Please help me congratulate our 2020 teacher of the year, stacey lawler. Stacey, stand up. [ applause ] stacey will use her role as teacher of the year to combat stigma around mental health. Teachers are on the front lines of all kinds of challenges. Im advancing another recommendation from my task force which should be good news to stacey and all who are concerned about safety and wellbeing of our children. My budget provides teachers additional training and resources so they can identify and better serve students facing trauma and mental illness, giving parents peace of mind when they send their children to school each day. [ applause ] as students get older, our focus on education shifts to college and career readiness. We have new president s at all our fouryear institutions. President scott green at the university of idaho. The president at boise state university. And president kevin satterley at idaho state university. As well as Cynthia Pemberton at lewis clark state college. Vy i have directed our universities, Community Colleges, and state board of education to adopt a fresh, bold, approach to meeting the needs of idaho students and businesses by breaking down silos and working together as a more interconnected Higher Education system. To that end, im recommending the development of cybersecurity programs that will be offered jointly by boise state university, idaho state, and the university of idaho. This increased level of collaboration across idahos Higher Education institutions will offer idahoans a path to earn a degree in a highdemand profession by partnering with idaho employers including the Idaho National laboratory. We are identifying what employers need in their workfor workforce, and we are responding. High schools across the state are offering more and more career Technical Education programs hand in hand with local businesses. This is especially important for businesses in rural idaho that are more susceptible to a talent shortage. Im recommending 6 million in the Capital Budget for new cte facilities at the college of Eastern Idaho, lewis clark state college, the department of juvenile corrections, to strengthen our commitment to cte in idaho. [ applause ] our Community Colleges are a growing resource for traditional and nontraditional students alike. In fact, im recommending ongoing funds for idaho job corps, a threeyear project to connect 16yearold to 24yearolds to indemand jobs. In its first year the program will serve up to 150 students through the college of western idaho with resources expanding to other Community Colleges in subsequent years. In addition, the Workforce Development council, Idaho Department of labor, are facilitating and promoting more and more internships and apprenticeships, because after all, the best way to learn is by doing. Its also imperative that we make College Accessible to more idahoans. I commend our University President state board of education for freezing tuition for resident undergrad students in 2020. Combined with our increased opportunities through the advanced Opportunities Program which enables students to earn College Credit while in high school, the opportunity scholarship is becoming more college is becoming more and more affordable and attainable for an entire generation of idahoans. [ applause ] last month, the country took a critical step toward helping us secure future jobs and Economic Prosperity in idaho. Congress finally ratified President Trumps trade agreement with two of idahos biggest export markets, canada and mexico. I strongly supported the deal because it preserves and enhances critical gains made by previous trade agreements for idaho products. Our farmers and agriculture industry have good reason to rejoice for this important agreement, ma making it across finish line. Over the past year i visited with a lot of businesses across the state. A few stood out to me because they embody my goal to make idaho a place where children and grandchildren choose to stay. In the dit a homegrown business selling products worldwide,

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