And active and retired members of our armed forces, cabinet members, Senate President roth, majority leader fitzgerald, minority leader shilling, speaker voss, and minority leader hence, legislators, distinguished guests, and most importantly the people of wisconsin, welcome, and thank you for being here tonight. [ applause ] my partner many mischief kathy is up in the gallery tonight along with our daughter katie, our soninlaw collin, their daughter hannah, our sonic, and our daughterinlaw landa. Where are you folks . I cant see you. [ applause ] thank you so much for your love and support. Im with you, and i wont embarrass you tonight. Im tony evers and im incredibly proud to be here as the 46th governor of the state of wisconsin to deliver my second state of the state address. [ applause ] as i reflect on my first year in office, although there were setbacks and occasional political posturing, what i call huffing and puffing, we always had a lot of success, and im proud of everything we accomplished in just a years time. One of the best parts of doing my job is getting out of the capital and visiting with people all across the state, and holy mackerel, thats what i did. Lieutenant governor barnes and i visited all 72 wisconsin counties this past year. [ applause ] actually, the bad news is that Lieutenant Governor barnes and i raced to see who could be the first to visit those 72 counties, and he beat me by about five days, but the good news is were just a few weeks into 2020, and ive already got a head start on you this year. [ laughter ] [ applause ] this past year, we also brought science back to the state of wisconsin. [ applause ] and we acknowledge that Climate Change exists, and its a threat we need to start taking seriously. [ applause ] Lieutenant Governor barnes is the chair of the Climate ChangeTask Force Working with local governments, governments industry and Business Leaders and people from across the state on environments, stewardship, and sustainability. Thanks Lieutenant Governor barnes for your good work on this. Im also proud that i was able to sign executive orders affirming, equity, inclusion, respect, and dignity for the state workers in this great state. [ applause ] last year i visited every single one of our agencies to thank our employees and to hear about the good work theyre doing in our state. We should be proud of the folks who serve wisconsinites every day and i look forward to continuing to listen and elevating their voices and their work. [ applause ] i also promise that criminal Justice Reform would be a central part of my administration, although we have a lot of work to do on this issue, we made some important progress this year. For the first time in eight years, a governor stepped a foot inside of one of our correctional institutions and actually it wasnt just one. I visited six. [ applause ] and the Wisconsin Parole Commission is working to make sure we get our parole system back on track. Our Parole Commission chair is here with us in the gallery tonight, and he has been doing a great job. Thanks for all your work on this issue, john. [ applause ] part of reforming our criminal Justice System is believing in forgiveness and the power of redemption. Things that i think speak to the character of our state. This past year i also made good on a Campaign Promise to reinstate the pardon review board. We granted the first pardons in our state in nine years offering forgiveness and a Second Chance to those folks who made amends in their own lives and their communitiesme communities. Congratulations to katie and annette who are two of the folks weve pardoned since taking office, and theyre also up there in the gallery. And thank you for being here. My last state of the state address i asked the legislature to set politics aside so we could Work Together on the issues facing our state. I said i expected bills to be passed with broad support and in the spirit of bipartisanship. Thats one of the things im most proud of is that more than 95 of the bills i signed my first year in office had bipartisan support, major accomplishment. [ applause ] Work Together on some really important issues, representative loudounback, senator koyanga and senator bu lee came together to work on expanding access to health care in rural areas by making sure that medicaid covers Telehealth Services in wisconsin. Thanks to senator grenier, representative zimmermann, voters will not be denied their right to vote because they have a disability. [ applause ] and because of representative fiesfelt, representative bowen, senator johnsons good work we signed a bill to train commercial drivers on recognizing and preventing Human Trafficking in wisconsin. [ applause ] these bills exemplify what we can accomplish when were focused on what unites us rather than what divides us, so i want to thank all of you for this good work. [ applause ] so i believe as ive often said theres more to an economy than just counting job creation, asking job creators across our state, and theyll tell you that investing in a foundation of good quality of life and a diverse workplace is critical to a growing economy. We have to connect the dots and focus on the fundamentals of Economic Development. Its Pretty Simple stuff, folks. Good roads, good schools, and good health care. [ applause ] this year we got back to the basics and made a down payment on these important priorities. Economic Development Starts with education. You know whats best for our kids is whats best for our state. Although the budget although the budget i signed did not include my proposed 1. 4 million for our kids, we still provided the largest increase in general aid to schools in more than a decade. [ applause ] working together, we were able to invest more than 500 million in k through 12 education including the first increase in special education in ten years. Thank you. [ applause ] i also used my Veto Authority to add nearly 100 million more per pupil aid than the budget passed by the legislature. [ applause ] but when we talk about education, we cant ignore the elephant in the room of student debt, so tonight im excited to announce that i will be signing an executive order creating a task force on student debt in wisconsin. [ applause ] we have to work on making Higher Education available to more folks in our state. We have to understand how education related debt affects not just our students but their families, too. And we have to address the fact that student debt is preventing folks from buying cars, starting a business, saving for retirement, and starting for a family. So thank you to our department of Financial Institutions secretary, Kathy Blumenfeld whos going to be leading this effort. Im excited for the task force to get to work. [ applause ] in addition to investing in our kids this year, we got back to the basics of Economic Development by investing in our transportation system. The budget i proposed provided a sustainable longterm solution to our transportation funding crisis, and by the way, it didnt include raising the gas tax by a dollar. [ applause ] that said, the budget i did sign, however, provided more than 465 million in new funding for our highways, roads and transit aids, 320 million of which is going to fix our highways across the state. And we did that all while keeping bonding at the lowest level in 20 years. Thank you all for that. [ applause ] we were also able to do some important work in making health care more affordable and accessib accessible. We werent able to expand medicaid which would have allowed us to bring in 1. 6 billion into new federal investment into our health care system, but the peoples budget still made some important investments that lead testing and abatement, stabilizing the individual Health Care Market and lowering Health Insurance premiums and expanding access to rural health care. [ applause ] finally, i delivered on my Campaign Promise for a 10 tax cut for wisconsins families. The peoples budget together with Assembly Bill 251 provided 500 million in tax relief for working, middle class families. Thats money back in your pockets, folks. [ applause ] and i know the budget i signed didnt include everything that everybody wanted. I know it didnt include everything i wanted, but because of the budget we proposed we were able to move the needle on critically important issues, some for the first time in a generation. Now, as 2019 came to a close, we also began a new decade. And while theres time to contemplate ten years worth of successes and failures, we must fight the temptation to cling to the nostalgia of yesterday. Theres too much work to find comfort and complacency. We must set out in a new decade with a renewed set of purpose. We must be resolved to confront the challenges we face today, and we must be eager to embrace what may come together. The struggles we face will test both the depth of our empathy and the strength of our selflessness, but wisconsinites, i know we are up to this task, but it is the depth of our empathy and the strength of our selflessness that has defined who we are as a people for generations. People like julie and john who after losing a Family Member to suicide last year decided to use the corn maze they host at their farm to raise awareness for suicide prevention. Julie and john are here tonight with us. Thank you so much, folks. Please stand. [ applause ] people like reverend mauers who after the only homeless shelter in his area close add few years ago worked with the department of safety and professional services to expedite the new sheller t shelter and get it open so his neighbors would have a place to stay. Reverend mauer is up in the gallery tonight and well deserved thanks. Thank you very much. [ applause ] and people like dua who when a gunshot rang out in the halls of her high school ran to the nearby mosque where her father works and took more than 100 students with her to provide them shelter and cover. Thank you, dua, for your courage and your bravery. [ cheers and applause ] its because of people like dua and dave, julie and john, and people just like them all across wisconsin that i have never been more hopeful about the future were going to create. When we get to choose how we define the next decade and folks are going to do that tonight, were starting tonight. In wisconsin, were known as americas dairy land. [ applause ] its on our license plates, and for good reason. In 2018, we produced more cheese than any other state producing more than 26 of the nations cheese, and we account for more than 14 of the nations milk production, all that dairy production and processing boast 43. 4 billion in Economic Activity and supports almost 79,000 jobs. Its not yeah, how about that . [ applause ] its a milk in there. And its not just cheese and dairy, folks. Our agriculture dwiversity is oe of the strengths of our state. Were one of the leading growers and processers of vegetables from potatoes to grebeans and s peas and carrots. We produce 62 of the nations cranberry crop. In 2018, we exported 3 billion in agriculture products to more than 140 countries. All in all, agriculture contributes nearly 105 billion to our states economy. [ applause ] but at the end of the day, these numbers tell a story of the folks whose sweat, work, and pride have been the pillar of our state for generations. Americas dairy land is more than bushels and bales and weights. Its about people. Wisconsin was raised on the land of native americans who came before us and built on the backs of those farmers who came after them and survives by the hands of the kids and grandkids who are the keepers of this legacy. Yet, despite our history, this tradition has been challenged. Between 2011 and 2018, wisconsin lost about a third of our dairy farms. We lead the nation in farm bankruptcies. Weve endured the consequences of unnecessary and unproductive tariffs and trade wars. And weve heard people who have said theres no place for small farms anymore, they ought to go big or bust. They are wrong. They dont know wisconsin. [ cheers and applause ] in to one carries the burden alone. We have leaned on farmers and their families, we have depended on their dedication and relied on their resilience. We have not forgotten those that have shared the harvest and bounties feeding our families and state and our country more than a century. Tonight, we say we are ready to be a partner in the promise of posterity. [applause] im announcing a threeprong plan to start addressing these challenges. First tonight, im calling a special session of the Legislature Next week to take up legislation, invest in our farmers, Agriculture Industries and our Rural Communities. [applause] the package will announce tomorrow includes a bill creating a Wisconsin Initiative for dairy exports. [applause] you have to start maximizing the efficiency in our small middlesized farms, and we need to build wisconsins dairy brands and International Markets and in crease dairy exports. Kazoontite, too. We are going to set a goal of exporting wisconsins dairy by 20 and milk supply by the year 2024. [applause] additionally we will expand the farm center and staffing at the extension to insure farmers and industry have partners of support closer to home. At the same time, were also going to work to get the food our farmers produce at the tables right here in wisconsin. Were not only going to bolster our farm to School Program but we are also announcing our farm to pork program for our universities, technical colleges and hospitals and local businesses across the state. Finally, were going to create a new program that will focus on getting our farmers access to Mental Health services in wisconsin. The farm center is doing important work in this area. We know folks are really struggling and need access to resources closer to home. Our Mental Health program will help farmers in accessing Mental Health support and help coordinate local and regional peer support programming and provided confidential oneonone counseling and assistance to our farmers. [applause] the second prong of our plan is insuring farmers and agriculture and Rural Communities is part of our broader Economic Development strategies. Tonight, i am also announcing that i will be working with the wisconsin Economic Development corporation to establish the office of rural prosperity. [applause] the office will provide a one stop shop for folks to navigate state programs and resources that are available that are tailored to Rural Communities, businesses and workers. Finally, the third prong of our plan is to develop long term strategies on this issue, not based on what the folks in madison think is best but based on the feedback and input from folks all across the state. Tomorrow, i will make good on my Campaign Promise to create a Blue Ribbon Commission to help promote agriculture and rural economic prosperity. A Blue Ribbon Commission on rural prosperity will convene folks in Different Industries from across the state, to Work Together to develop a Long Term Strategy on how we can best support the needs of rural wisconsinites and Rural Communities. [applause] some of these proposals arent new. Many of them are a form of what i propose in my budget that were unfortunately taken out. Heres the bottom line, folks. Were losing more than two dairy farms a day. For each day we delay, the challenges will get harder and harder. I want to be clear. Im not under any misguided belief what im proposing today is a silver bullet. In the coming months it is going to take more listening and talking and hearing from our farmers and Rural Communities how we can continue to invest in agriculture and rural prosperity across our state. We have to start some place and we will start tomorrow. [applause] finally in addition to addressing these challenges, id like to talk about another issue folks in our state care about. In 2017, hans, a dairy farmer and lincoln board supervisor introduced a resolution supporting nonpartisan redistricting, kicking off a trend across our state. Today, 50 counties representing 78 of the people in wisconsin have passed resolutions. Hans, thank you for your work on this very important issue. [applause] unfortunately, nonpartisan redistricting legislation has been introduced for years, even received bipartisan support. This bill has never been given a public hearing. Well, when more than 80 of our state supports medical marijuana and 80 support universal background checks and extreme Risk Protection orders, 70 support expanding medicaid, and elected officials can i