We have much to discuss tonight, but before i begin, please join me in welcoming back the third first gentleman of the state of kansas, my husband dr. Ted dotty. [ applause ] i think last year i introduced him as the long suffering ted dotty, and that continues until today. You know, ted still misses his garden we had at the other house, and his darkroom, but he is adjusting to our new home by adding some personal touches. He has taken an interest in putting the cedar back into cedar crest with the planting of new trees. He also started a vegetable garden. And he even has his own compost pile. And dont any of you go there. [ laughter ] in addition to all of that, he continues to Practice Medicine fulltime, so ted and i have settled into life at the governors residence. In fact, it was the backdrop for our familys biggest news of 2019. It was a joy to watch our daughter kathleen wed our new soninlaw mathias at cedar crest earlier this year, with our younger daughter molly standing by her sisters side. [ applause ] speaking of siblings, my sister kay and my brother paul are also here tonight from colorado. [ applause ] and because its 2020, listening online from richmond virginia, is my brother, father fred. [ applause ] as everyone here knows, it is not easy to be related to someone who serves in public office. I am grateful to my family for the support they have provided for me, from the very first day of this journey. Since were talking about family members, though, i dare not exclude the fourlegged variety. Francis, the first cat of kansas, sends her regards. [ laughter ] you know, if there was one thing i didnt expect this past year, it was the widespread interest in my cat. Shes made lots of new friends on social media. And she gets more News Coverage than i do. Francis asked me to relay a special message to Lieutenant Governor lynn rogers, whos here with us, along with his wife chris. Lynn, francis said to tell you she is very close to exceeding your following on twitter. And that you need to step up your game. As everyone here has no doubt come to know, lynn rogers is an exceptional Lieutenant Governor. In case you couldnt tell, he is also unfailingly goodnatured. Lynn hit the road almost as soon as we took our oaths of office last year, logging more than 17,000 miles on a statewide listening tour. Engaging kansans in our efforts to establish the office of rural prosperity. Housing shortage, affordable child care, revitalizing main street corridors, protecting rural hospitals, expanding rural broadband. These are all concerns that weigh heavily on the minds of kansans. With the right mix of state support, and local ingenuity, im confident that the office of rural prosperity will serve as an invaluable partner for kansas communities to sustain and enhance our states rural heritage. [ applause ] i want to thank you, lynn, for all of the hard work youve done on this incredibly important issue. In fact, id also like to give a shoutout and thanks to my entire cabinet, seated in the west gallery, just behind me. No governor can succeed without a strong and supportive team, and i could not have asked for a more qualified group of leaders to help rebuild our state. [ applause ] you know, i realize for those who have been around the kansas capital a session or two, these annual messages might sometimes seem a bit routine, but tonight carries a very special distinction. For the first time in kansas history, women sit at the helm of all three branches of kansas government. [ applause ] it is my privilege to serve as our states third female governor. Alongside the First Female Senate president , susan weigle and the second chief justice of the supreme court. Kansas reached this milestone at a fitting moment. As 2020 also marks the 100th anniversary of the passage of the 19th amendment. Which granted women the right to vote. [ applause ] anniversaries and new years are always important opportunities to reflect on time gone by and our progress made. We have another opportunity this evening, as we usher in not just new legislative session, but a new decade. So let us go back for a moment and remember where weve been. Almost ten years ago, to the day, we gathered in this chamber for the 2010 state of the state address. Kansas found itself in the throes of the worst economic downturn in 80 years. The Great Recession had necessitated one billion, million in budget cuts, another 400 million budget gap stood before us. It was brutal. It is probably best that we did not realize in that moment that that would be the brightest fiscal outlook kansas would have for another seven years. Of course, you know what happened next, a new administration was in place, one year later, and the saga of the failed tax experiment began soon thereafter. Instead of recovering from the Great Recession along with every other state in the nation, kansas settled in for six more years of financial chaos. And this time, it was selfinflicted. By the time i stood before you as governor in 2019, kansas was on life support. The state had racked up record amounts of debt, schools had been cut to the bone, taxes on groceries had increased until they were the highest in the nation. Agencies had been decimated. And kansas had generally become a National Model for what not to do. After devastating cuts and relentless crises, a Bipartisan Coalition of lawmakers demonstrated courage and conviction when they joined forces in the face of adversity to stop the bleeding in 2017. That bipartisan effort, one that so many of you helped bring to fruition, changed everything. So although it was a decade, in which much went wrong, we rebounded in a way that only kansas can. Over the last 12 months, kansas has added 12,400 private sector jobs. The state not only reached a new employment record, our Unemployment Rate fell to its lowest point in 40 years. Since i became governor, we fulfilled our promise to properly fund kansas schools. We reinvested in public safety, and worked tirelessly to stabilize our foster care system. We increased pay, and lowered Health Insurance premiums for thousands of public employees, and their families. Were paying off debt, so that we can eventually establish a state rainy day fund, and better prepare for future financial emergencies. In u. S. News and World Reports best states ranking, kansas jumped seven spots in 2019. We now rank 15th highest in education, we scored seventh best in infrastructure. In fact, im proud to report that we improved in almost every category including the economy, and fiscal stability. Im also proud to report that in cnbcs annual top states for business, kansas was declared the comeback state of 2019. [ applause ] above all, above all, i am proud to report that kansas has ended a turbulent decade on a high note. As we look to the future, the state of our state grows stronger every day. We have so many reasons to be hopeful tonight. But make no mistake. One year of progress cannot erase a decade of damage. Two of the most important sectors of the kansas economy remain incredibly fragile. As a major boeing supplying spirit aero systems was hit hard by the recent suspension of the 737 max production. Even as we speak, thousands of wichita families are suddenly fearful that soon they may be unable to provide for their families. Ive been in constant communication with local, state, and federal officials, since temporary layoffs were announced late last week. Ive instructed my labor secretary, delia garcia, to take an all hands on deck approach to helping workers, spirit, and other kansas businesses, that will be negatively impacted. Unfortunately, kansas agriculture also finds itself at a precarious moment. Between historic flooding last spring, and escalating trade tensions, over the last two years, net farm incomes have dropped 50 from their peak in 2013. Congress could certainly help, and they could start by ratifying the pending usmca trade agreement. [ applause ] i have been a vocal proponent of the usmca agreement from the beginning. I commend the u. S. House of representatives for passing this agreement, and i urge the u. S. Senate to do the same soon. Its critical for kansas. We are indeed an export state. And on that note, with us tonight is our second largest customer from canada, id like you to welcome consul general stephan lasar. [ applause ] thank you for being here. When it comes to the livelihood of kansas families and businesses, we wont wait on washington, and the usmca agreement, however. We must take matters into our own hands. The International Trade division at the department of commerce was dismantled in recent years. Ive instructed my commerce secretary david tollen to focus on rebuilding this division. As i said before, kansas is an export state. And we cannot compete in a Global Economy without Strong International trading partners. We must breathe new life into our efforts to increase exports, and compel International Companies to choose kansas. [ applause ] im not just focused on convincing companies to choose kansas. Im also focused on the people who have chosen kansas. The effort to reconnect people with their State Government and to rebuild public trust starts at the top. From day one, i wanted kansans to hear from me about what were doing and why were doing it. Kansas deserved to engage directly with their governor. Thats why i have hosted kansan to kansan town Hall Meetings regularly since i took office. This fall when i built the state budget, i went on a listening tour to hear directly from the people about their priorities. Ive talked extensively and candidly with kansans about what weve accomplished and where wed like to go in the year ahead. In turn, theyve spoken candidly with me about their concerns and how State Government can better serve them. Id like to share their thoughts and concerns with you, and what i think we can do about them together in 2020. I promised kansans that i would be the education governor. I consider the progress weve made on Public Education to be our most important accomplishment to date, but we have more to do. Last year, i stood here and asked you to put aside partisanship and work with me to finally provide schools with the resources they need to be successful. You did it. And i applaud you. I was proud to see applaud yourselves. [ applause ] i was proud to stand with many of you, that saturday morning, last april, as hundreds of public schoolteachers packed into the ceremonial office to witness the signing of legislation that would end a decades long legal battle over school finance. It was truly a remarkable moment. Not just because of what we accomplished, but how we accomplished it. None of the teachers who attended this bill signing cared if it was a democrat plan or a republican plan, they cared only that their schools would be funded, that it might help improve kansas teachers salaries which rank 41st in the nation. They cared that it would ensure educators have what they need to serve kansas children well. Lets keep that in mind as we forge ahead. Restoring School Funding was a critical first step, but now, i challenge us all to engage in a bigger and boulder conversation about whats next. Soon after taking office, i established the council on education. I asked the council to reevaluate every corner of our educational ecosystem. Early childhood, k12, higher education, and work force development. And to bring those players to the same table. I also engaged business and industry, labor, and other stakeholders so we may cultivate the work force that kansas will need to compete in the years ahead. It is time to align all of these moving parts so that we can put kansas on the forefront of growth and innovation. I want to recognize tonight the cochairs of this council. Dr. Cindy lane, the former ckck former School Superintendent and dr. Dirksen president of dodge city public schools. They are here in the gallery. Thank you for all of your hard work. And the hard work yet to come. [ applause ] our progress on education is a valuable reminder to all of us that kansans do not keep partisan score, even when clever sports analogies are employed. Kansans care about results, thats what we get when we work together. Now, we can deliver bipartisan results again in 2020. And we can start with one of the most urgent issues we face. This must be the year that kansas becomes the 37th state to expand medicaid. [ applause ] apparently, apparently youve heard that kansas made a little bit of news on this front last week. After weeks of tough negotiation, and lots of give and take, we developed a proposal that will not only expand health care to 150,000 kansans but also has the potential to lower Health Insurance premiums in the marketplace. It was an honor to stand with so many of you, republicans and democrats, representatives and senators, who have been committing, committed to getting this done for kansas. We have so many reasons to bring this across the finish line. In july, a study of mortality rates in nonexpansion states estimated that 288 kansans have died prematurely from 2014 to 2017, specifically due to our failure to adopt expansion. Another Study Released in november showed that expansion improves infant and maternal health. Yet, another found the rate of rural hospital closure, increases significantly, in not expansion states, like kansas. Just last week, a study was released that linked Medicaid Expansion to a decline in opioid abuse. There is a stack of rigorous nonpartisan evidence to illustrate how critical the expansion is to the health and welfare of our state, and it grows by the day. So does public support. The number of expansion states continues to increase. No state has reversed its decision to expand. And voters across the ideological spectrum continue to reaffirm their support for expansion in election after election. Im talking about, in states like kentucky, and louisiana, in virginia, states where access to Affordable Health care drove people to the polls. Im talking about nebraska, where 54 of voters approved Medicaid Expansion by Ballot Initiative in 2018. Im talking about oklahoma, where in october, a Record Number of petitions were submitted to put Medicaid Expansion on their ballot in 2020. And yes, im even talking about missouri, where expansion is well on its way to a statewide vote, with momentum growing by the day. So if nothing else, surely maintaining kansass 159year tradition of beating missouri, is something we can all get behind. [ applause ] in all seriousness, as i said last week, compromise is hard. It is messy. It is slow. But it is so worth it. Now, its up to all of you to finish the task. When we add this to our list of bipartisan accomplishments, we will not only safe, save lives, it will close the book on a long senseless expensive political fight, making room to improve access to health care, and grow the kansas economy. We are so close. Lets get this done. As we continue our work to rebuild kansas, there is one area where we mean it literally. Its time for us to develop a new comprehensive transportation plan, so that we can rebuild roads and bridges across our state. My secretary of transportation, julie lorenz and her team has spent months hosting Community Meetings to ensure that all kansan communities large and small have the opportunity to help shape the future of infrastructure in a way that meets local needs. Infrastructure is about far more than just roads and bridges. It is the means by which our school buses safely transport our most precious cargo. Its how we ensure kansans daily commutes are faster and safer, so they can spend more time with their families. It means jobs. Thousands of jobs. And, as an export state, it is how we get kansas goods to market and keep our economy humming. This will be the fourth time kansas has pursued such an endeavor. Each plan has improved upon the plan before, adapting to exchanging needs, adapting to changing needs, throughout the state, and building on lessons learned. Each plan has propelled kansas to the future, making our Transportation System one of the very best in the nation. Theres one lesson from the past in particular i hope you will keep in mind as we begin this new process. Even the bestlaid infrastructure plan will crumble if we do not maintain the resources we need as a state to see it through. As promised, last year, i officially began closing down the bank of kdot. Im fully committed to continuing that phaseout throughout my first term, so that we can fulfill the promise of the previous transportation plan, and invest in the future. But i [ applause ] but ive always been clear that this pledge comes with one critical caveat. Stable state revenues. Rebuilding fiscal stability in kansas State Government has been one of my Top Priorities as governor. Last january, i presented a balanced budget to the legislature, without raising taxes. A budget that paid down debt, reinvested in core services, like education and health care, all while leaving the largest ending balance in more than a decade. The budget didnt quite return to me with all of those features intact. The budget that came back to my desk in may, included 182 million more in spending than i had recommended. It did not maintain the statutorily required ending balance we need to cushion state investments in case of an emergency. It also spent more than we were taking in. The good news is that kansass Economic Outlook has stabilized. And it has even improved a bit. While the risk of a recession will always remain a possibility, the foreseeable future does not appear as ominous as it did last january. That is why tomorrow, for the seconds year in a row, i will submit to you a balanced budget budget that continues our