Anything. Comcast supports cspan as a Public Service along with these Television Providers giving you a front row seat to democracy. Delaware democratic governor john carney spoke about education, infrastructure, and gun violence during his annual state of the state address at the Capitol Building in dover here Governor Carney urged lawmakers to pass spending legislation. This is 40 minutes. [ applause ] minutes. [applause] [cheers and applause] [applause] welcome, governor carny. If everyone, please be seated. Welcome, Governor Carney. Everyone, please be seated. Madam speaker, im not sure if that is because they are glad to see me go and good riddance or because they of the service we had together. Mr. President pro tem, Senate Majority leader, members of the 152nd General Assembly, other elected officials who are here, members of my cabinet, distinguished members of the judiciary, invited guests, and my fellow fellow aryans, thank you for inviting me today for my state of the state address. Sorry it is a little bit late. Let me start by recognizing the historic nature of todays event. For the first time ever, a female speaker of the house is presiding over the state of the state address here today. [ applause ] speaker longhurst and her majority team, majority whip Carrie Evelyn are h speaker longhurst and her leadership team, melissa miner brown, majority whip harris, new jf the chair williams. Please stand and be recognized. I look forward to working with all of you for the rest of this session. I also want to take a moment to recognize two new justices on the delaware supreme court. Please stand so we can recognize both of you. [ applause ] we have a worldclass judiciary in delaware. The justices bring a new leadership to the court. Thank you for your commitment to Public Service. In a moment of personal privilege, if i may, i would like to recognize my wife sitting up in front for all of the hard work she has done on behalf of delaware children in the past seven years. Tracey has [ applause ] first lady. We like to call her the first spouse and made sure every re tracey has transformed th role of first lady. We like to call her the first spouse. And major every delaware child has a chance to succeed. She has also stood by me throughout my 30 plus years in service and let me tell you, it has not always been easy. Thank you, tracey, for your support. [ applause ] before i go any further, i would also like to recognize the army of international guard. General barry is unable to be with us today, but he is represented by james benson. Please stand up for all of the Army National guard. [ applause ] mand staff and r guardsmen and women until if bat colony as well. Its been in the balcony as well. Its been a busy time for the guard, and i think we have utcommand staff and other guardsmen and women in the balcony as well. It has been a busy time for the guard and i think about their service and sacrifice a lot. Over the past years, more than 1300 guardsmen and women have been deployed to more than 50 locations around the world. Last year we held a deployment ceremony for more than 150 National Guardsmen and women from the 160th engineering company. They recently returned from the military operation. Again, members of the unit deployed or with us today, please join me again in recognizing our citizen soldiers. They are the very best and they are up again in the balcony. [ applause ] its really hard to believe this, but this is my last state of the state address as your governor, and i suspect, as i said earlier, that there are mixed feelings about and its really hard to believe this, but this is my last state of the state address as your governor and i suspect, as i said earlier, there are mixed feelings about the applause i received as i was coming in. Seriously though, i think it is worth a little reflection, if i may, on what we have accomplished working together and on our Unfinished Business. First and foremost, we have helped create more order. Order. They have made it clear that they will not be complacent in genocide. You cannot bbm oh. Point of order, madam speaker. Please. Please. You cannot be complacent in genocide. That is what i came for. Senator, speak up. Proceed, governor. Thank you, madam speaker. First and foremost, we have helped create 30,000 new jobs since 2017. That is a big deal. For the first time in delaware history, we have provided funding dedicated to low income students and English Learners in our public schools. We have given our teachers a big pay raise. For three years running, we have implemented the largest infrastructure plan in state history. That means good jobs, safer roads and bridges, and connecting delaware to the internet up and down the state. We have kept our fiscal house in order. We have turned the 400 million deficit in 2017 into a 400 million in additional reserves today and that means a lot. [ applause ] the minimum wage to 15 an hour, and the labor market we are supporting an economic resurgence in downtown wilmington. We have provided paid leave for delaware families and have raised the minimum wage to 15 an hour. The labor market has blown right through that already. [ applause ] we are building more Affordable Housing units for delaware families have a safe place to call home. We have reduced crime and our prison population is down nearly 24 . We have passed sweeping Climate Change legislation committed to net zero emissions by 2050. And we are keeping our communities safe by banning assault weapons and targeting gains of the measures. These are issues that matter to delaware families. [ inaudible ] you are out of order york please. Please. The governor is giving the state of the state for yall have been complicit free the hostages governor, please proceed. Thank you, madam speaker. These are issues that matter to delaware families in each of your districts and matter to future generations. Good jobs, quality schools, safe and affordable communities, a cleaner environment, and a responsible management of taxpayer dollars. In this last year, i am focusing on leaving the state in a better place than i found it. We should make sure the next governor is in the best possible position to succeed and we should balance the budget and make sure our investments are sustainable in the long run. I want to thank everyone in this room for your partnership on this. We do not always agree for sure, but working together is what we do best in delaware. Because of our hard Work Together, i can confidently say today that the state of our state is strong and getting stronger every day. [ applause ] as many of you know, i spent a loot of a lot of time on the football field. In fact, one of my high school as many of amyou know, i spe a lot of time on the football field. In fact, one of my High School Teammates is here in the chamber today. I spent time as a player and as a coach. I know it was a long time ago, but one thing that i learned is that the best teams leave it all on the field. And it is in that spirit i want to talk about some of our Unfinished Business and the work i believe we can still accomplish together this last year. We have made big strides on Financial Management and i want to recognize the senators for their good work last year, as well as our bond chair, ross and heffernan. But despite our efforts, we did not pass legislation to permanently control operating spending at sustainable levels. My proposed constitutional amendment would have done just that. It is really pretty simple. Delaware cant compete in the future if we dont have our budget in order. Right now the future General Assembly or governor could lead us down a path of uncontrolled spending. We have not done that. That would lead to higher taxes and painful cuts, so lets not go backwards. Instead, lets build on the progress we have made working together. This year i am asking you to send me a deflation that would make this permanent. I wont be here next year and i know some of you are happy about that, but most of you will. Dont set yourself up for failure. I hope we can find Common Ground for every delaware taxpayer. We have a serious issue with healthcare cost inflation. This year between medicaid and our Insurance Plan for state employees and retirees, we are spending nearly 2 billion on healthcare alone. Let me say that again. 2 billion. That is billion with a b and that is roughly 200 million more than our costs last year. The states share medicaid alone costs 1 million. Those are jawdropping numbers. That is almost a third of our budget and its only going up and taxpayers are footing the bill. If we dont get serious, healthcare spending will crowd out all of the other investments , investments we all support. Funding for our public schools, for Affordable Housing and child care, raises for state employees and retirees. Right now retirees get their pay increases in the funding needed to cover their healthcare. This is literally an issue we cannot afford to ignore. We should Work Together to strengthen our healthcare benchmark and address healthcare cost inflation. Speaker longhurst, i know you and many others in this room agree and i look forward to working together on those issues. [ applause ] ourse, no issuee important to our states future than the quality of delawares public schools. Ive a spent a lot of time the last enof course, no issue is mor important to our states future than the quality of delawares public schools. Ive spent a lot of time the last seven years focused on strengthening our schools, especially for children who need our help the most. I know many others have been leaders on this issue for a lot of years. Together we have created opportunity funding, a program that provides additional funding for low income students and English Learners in our state. Our budget this year increases funding for this program to 63 million. I can assure you that it is making a difference. Last fall, i visited an Elementary School and spoke with a young student struggling to read. Funded through opportunity funding, she was improving by leaps and bounds. That reading coaches here with us somewhere today. There she is. Hi there. Please stand up. [ applause ] spent 1. 5 biln School Construction alone. Let me tell you something that you already know, a school is much more than books brick withs and over the past seven years, we have built new schools across the state. We have spent 1. 5 billion on School Construction alone. Let me tell you something you already know. A school is something more than bricks and mortar. It is the pillar of a community and nowhere is that more true than the east side of wilmington where we are building the first new school in the city and over half a century. [ applause ] named the maurice pritchard sr. Academy after the schools [applause] you support that. The old Bancroft School will be renamed after the schools [ applause ] you support that. After the long term principle who i had the privilege to have as a basketball coach. I am looking forward to the School Opening later this year. Students and neighbors on the east side will have a stateof theart building they can take pride in. Join me in recognizing members of the family who are with us today in the balcony, i believe. [ applause ] ning collaborativeo provide hyperfocus on schools in our largest city. For the first time, thank you for being with us. Is we also launched the wilmington learning collaborative to provide a hyperfocus on schools in the largest city. For the first time districts serving the city are working together to address the needs of wilmington children. I want to recognize senator lachman for her work in this area and the committee she chairs and all of the people involved in that. , madam speakn [ applause ] covid19 pandemic. And finally, we have significantly expanded Mental Health services in our schools. The need became even more pronounced during the covid19 pandemic and i want to thank you , madam speaker, for your leadership on this effort. Working together i will look forward to expanding these services into the high schools this year. [ applause ] these are initiatives we all can be proud of, but it simply isnt enough. Here is an uncomfortable truth. Statewide, less than 40 of children are reading proficiently in third grade. Let me say that again. Less than 40 of children are reading proficiently in third grade. Many schools fall short of that average. Imagine if your child went to a school with that kind of result. None of us would tolerate that but too many children across our state are faced with this reality and we need to fix it. That is why my budget [ applause ] that is why my budget includes funding for a new team of literacy coaches. They will work with educators and district leaders to focus on the science of reading, an effective approach to teaching children to read. It is one of the most important things we can do and i hope you will support me in this high priority. My budget includes a continued focus on Early Childhood education. I know this is a priority for many of you in this chamber today. Our priority is simple, create more for the children and family who need it the most. Research is clear. Children who have access to quality childhood education have higher Graduation Rates and more Financial Stability into adulthood. Just 15 years ago, the state was investing next to nothing and childcare. My budget includes 135 million for child care. That is a big deal and these are critical investments that will benefit our children as they grow up. [ applause ] before i leave the topic of education, i want to thank secretary for all of his hard work. Mark, please stand. [ applause ] mark was a teacher, a principal, and a superintendent before he took the job as cabinet secretary and as his leadership has been tremendous. Steady and strong. Over the last 19 months, he has chaired the education compensation committee. They studied educator pay. I am determined to win the competition with the states around us. We want the best educators working right here in the first state. That is why my budget fully funds the first year of those recommendations for educators, building on the raise that you passed and i signed into law last year. If we stick to the plan, we will raise teachers starting salaries to over 60,000 over the next four years. Lets get started together. [ applause ] nize our lieutet governor long has been a real partner over these past seven years. Shes a nurse, i would like to take a moment now to recognize our Lieutenant Governor. Lieutenant governor has been a real partner over the last several years. She is a real nurse, as you know. Her efforts on the ground during covid19 were just tremendous. She just knows how to roll up her sleeves and get things done. The Lieutenant Governor has been a champion of science and technology in advancing careers for young people in our state, particularly girls. Last summer, i signed senate bill 55, the rare advocate disease advisory council. This council will bring together the best and brightest for those living with rare diseases. It was led by halllong and please join me in recognizing the Lieutenant Governor and these leaders in this effort. [ applause ] all her good work as first spouse. [laughter] i would like to take another moment to recognize my wife, tracey, for all of her work as first spouse. [ laughter ] [ applause ] that is so typical of her to cut it loose and say lets move on to something else. But truthfully, since 2017, tracey has been focused on giving our children a chance to succeed. She has helped expand Dolly PartonsImagination Library statewide in the middle of a pandemic. That is saying something. [ applause ] now more than half of the eligible children are signed up for free books every month. Again, there is nothing more important than helping our church will children learn how to read. This free program will help us achieve that goal. In addition, last year tracey led a discussion on our trauma informed progress and hosted our first youth Mental Health summit. It takes all of us working together to make sure delaware children have a first chance to succeed from birth to adulthood. Please join me no, we have recognized her too many times. [ laughter ] [ applause ] oh, go ahead. [ applause ] ay. [laughter] of course, one of the best ways and let me tell you, i deserve or i need all of that goodwill you are getting from me tonight. Of course, one of the best ways to expand opportunity is to keep our economy strong and growing. As the saying goes, a good job solves a lot of problems. [ crowd chanting ] [inaudible] thank you, madam speaker. As the saying goes, a good job solves a lot of problems. Good jobs Governor Carney, please continue. Thank you, madam speaker. As the saying goes, a good job solves a lot of problems. Good job help families pay the bills, buy a home, save for college and retirement, and sock away monies money for vacations. It helps fund our priorities. My first day in office, i signed an executive order to rethink our approach to Economic Development and together we created the Delaware Prosperity Partnership and we have leaders of that effort with us today. By every measure, it has been a success. Just in the last two years, we