And more including comcast. Do you think this is just a Community Center . Its more. Comcast is partnering with one thousand Community Centers to create wifi left so students fromow income families get the tools that they needed to be ready for anything. Comcast supports cspan as a Public Service along with these other Television Providers giving you a front r seat to democracy. Maryland democratic governor wes moore highlighted state accomplishments and his annual state of the state address. From the Capitol Building in annapolis, this is about 45 minutes. Madame speaker, mr. President , madame Lieutenant Governor, members of the general assembly, members of our congressional delegation, kari lakes in state and local government colleagues in state and local government and my fair low fellow marylanders. One year ago we began our Work Together. And we knew that while we had boundless opportunities in this state and blinding potential in this state, we also knew we were leaving too much potential on the table. One year later, we still have work to do. We learned a lot of lessons. Some hard lessons. [laughter] but solving big problems does not happen overnight. Lets be clear. A change is happening. Today, the state of our state is strong. [applause] we have announced the creation of nearly 40,000 new jobs. Many in communities that have been historically left behind. [applause] we have the lowest Unemployment Rate in the country for the fifth month in a row. [applause] crime is down across the state and homicides in Baltimore City are the lowest they have been in nine years. [applause] and, communities, communities. That have been underestimated and undervalued, now have an important seat at the table in the halls of power. [applause] so, i am proud. I am proud of what we are doing. Most important, i am proud of how we are doing it. The executives and the legislature are working together again. [applause] and it feels good. [laughter] we choose to sweat the details of governing. Knowing that our constituents deserve nothing less. By moving in partnership, we have helped make life easier for the people we are here to serve. We have launched a full frontal assault on Child Poverty that will lift a combined 160,000 children up the wrong of of the economic ladder. We returned stolen snap benefits to thousands of miller marylanders living paychecktopaycheck. We have protected 5000 maryland children that were at risk of having their medicaid coverage taken away. [applause] we have worked with farmers and watermen to get healthy meals to food deserts. We have positioned maryland to meet our climate goals and it lead in the cleanup of the chesapeake bay. [applause] importantly, we got together and got big stuff done. The truth is, these are not just our wins, these are marylands wins. I know i help a lot about partnership. I know that if the state received a nickel for every time i said the word partnership we would have all of our budget issues solved. [laughter] right, senator . But lets be clear. Partnership is not the goal. Fulfilling the promise of maryland is the goal. Partnership is how we will get there. For too long we have watched how the executives would pick fights with the legislature in the media instead of showing real leadership and engagement in the state house. Here, here. [applause] gov. Moore so we decided we would move differently and our state will be better because of it. The challenges will be shared. The setbacks will be shared. But the victories . They will be shared too. We cannot agree on everything, and we will not. The truth is, it would be weird if we did. [laughter] but, we can and we will Work Together to achieve common goals. I want to talk about some of those shared goals today. Tomorrow, our administration will unveil our plan to guide our Work Together. Tomorrow, we will unveil our state plan. It is the first stage plan that the state has had in nearly a decade. It does not just set the agenda for the next three months. It will chart the course we take the next three years. [applause] and our estate plan is about much more than just aspirational targets. The plan we will lay out will layout specific, actionable, realistic, and measurable goals. We built these priorities by listening to the people. They sent us here in the first place. Our constituents. Last year we went to your districts with you and toured an electric vehicle planned in hagerstown. We sat down with students in glen bernie to talk about gun violence. We drove tractors with farmers on the eastern shore. By the way, some of those structures are pretty bad. [laughter] and we grieved together in Washington County after the tragic and unconscionable killing of judge andrew wilkinson. In our first year we traveled with all you to all 24 jurisdictions in maryland and listened to the people together. Our estate plan is not a reflection of my aspirations for our aspirations. It is a reflection of theirs. Today, i want to talk a little bit about what we heard. First, we heard the people of our state want to make maryland safer. Public safety remains this administrations top priority and it will not change. [applause] we will protect marylanders where they live, where they work, where they worshiped, and where they go to school. Hate has no home in the state of maryland. [applause] but, if you talk to beebe in our neighborhoods, they will tell you this is not a discussion that could happen in absolutes. That we need to move beyond the simplicity of how pundits talk about Public Safety and move towards the complexity of how people experience Public Safety. The truth is, the sound of a police siren does have a different pitch depending on the neighborhood you grow up in. I have felt handcuffs on my wrist when i was 11 years old because our community was over policed, and we knew that. However we still wanted to feel protected from Violent Crime and people that would harm our communities. People should not have to choose between feeling safe in their skin and feeling safe in their communities. [applause] yet, these are the kinds of false choices that dominate the Public Safety debate. Do you support Law Enforcement or do you want to build stronger neighborhoods . Do you want to hold criminals accountable or focus on the habilitation . We are told to pick a side. Often times by people who frankly do not have an interest in solving the problem. [applause] so, to break these false choices, we need everybody at the table. Our administration will continue and all of the above approach to Public Safety. We will listen to Law Enforcement and will listen to the communities they protect. We will listen to the states attorneys and the public defenders. We will listen to elected leaders and we will listen to local advocates. We are up against a new challenge and we need to come up with new solutions. Our state is facing a record of high vacancies in Public Safety jobs. We need to address them. We will. With legislation that we have introduced. Marylanders are seeking justice for victims of crime. More accountability for people that break the law and better rehabilitation for our children. We must answer them. And we will. By working in partnership with general assembly. Neighborhoods are calling for us to get these illegal guns off our streets and out of our neighborhoods. [applause] and, for bringing consequences to those that do not hear us loud enough. [applause] we must hear them. And we have. And i am proud that maryland will be the first state to answer the call by President Biden to launch a statewide center for firearm violence prevention and intervention and we will deal with this issue. [applause] for the people that have said to us that we need to make maryland safer, i say this to you. We have heard you. And we are moving. Second, we have heard that people want us to make maryland or affordable. In 2022 maryland was ranked the seventh most expensive state to live in. We are not proud of that. But i tell you what, that also tells a story. It is a story of the entrepreneur. In cumberland, with a bold idea to create a new business, but, that does not have the money to make rent this month, let alone start a company. It is the story of the mama in leonard town who works multiple jobs just to put it on the table. This year, we will address two big items, not just in the budget of every family in the state, but on the mind of every family in the state. Housing and childcare. [applause] most marylanders in rental properties put one third of their monthly paycheck towards rent. Many can no longer afford to live in the home in the same neighborhood they grew up in. Our state faces a problem of supply and demand. Prices go up because we do not have enough homes. Building more homes will help wring prices down. I have introduced three housing bills to address it that in this session. We will create new financial tools to drive development and redevelopment in communities that need it the most. [applause] we will build new pathways to homeownership and wealth creation. [applause] we will stand up for renters and confront the harsh truth that maryland has the highest eviction filing rate in america. [applause] we will cut government red tape that makes it harder to build quality housing. [applause] we must and we will protect our farmland and our wild habitats. [applause] and, we need to make sure we are also incentivizing housing in places where we should build. [applause] guys, this is about lives and livelihoods. We need to make it easier for people to live here, to stay here, and to retire here. To that end, we have assembled the most comprehensive housing package that any Maryland Administration has introduced in years. [applause] and we will Work Together to get it done. But making life easier for working families does not end with housing. Last month, the comptroller released a report outlining the affordability problems in our stated that families face every day. The report highlighted that as the cost of childcare increases, overall female employment decreases by 5 . That is why our proposed budget includes the single largest investment for funding of childcare in marilyns history. [applause] marylands history. [applause] that investment will support 45,000 maryland children this year. We can make these investments in childcare rent housing without raising taxes on marylanders. [applause] there are leaders in this chamber who have always fought for Kitchen Table issues. I know because i get to partner with someone who has used her life work for two and a half decades to make this real, speaker adrian jones. [applause] because of speaker jones, maryland leads the nation in making prescription drugs more affordable. [applause] because of speaker jones, Reproductive Health care is not just a ride for maryland women and families, Reproductive Health care is more affordable too. [applause] my friends, thank you for your leadership. Let the people that said we need to make maryland more affordable , all the people who came up to us on the road and said we need our state to be more affordable, i want them to hear me clear too. We have heard you. We are moving. Third, we heard that people want us to make maryland more competitive. Last year, we got marilyns economy moving marylands economy moving securing federal investment in the furtive douglas the Frederick Douglass tunnel project. We ensured the new fbi headquarters will be located in prince georges county. [applause] we have kept the orioles in baltimore for decades to come. [applause] we delivered over 1. 4 billion to small and minority owned businesses through the board of public works. [applause] we provided more than 130,000 last laptops to underserved households to narrow the digital divide. [applause] and we worked to accelerate the Clean Energy Transition in every part of our state, not just some. [applause] now, i am grateful to President Biden, our federal delegation, and all the state and local and municipal leaders that have been fighting for these projects since day one. [applause] but, together, what we showed is, maryland can win this moment. Together, going forward, we will continue to build on our progress. We will invest in industries of the future with funding for Life Sciences and biotech and data centers and cyber. [applause] we will cut red tape so maryland is the friendliest state in the nation to start and build a business. [applause] we will make reforms to the procurement process, so the state of maryland can be a true partner to entrepreneurs. We will engage in a robust debate of help maryland funds transportation projects across the state. [applause] we have to make it easier for people to travel from where they live to where opportunities lie. But, the state of maryland has funded transportation the same way for a decade area that has got to check for a decade. That has got to change. To win the next decade we have to make maryland the best state in the country for our kids and understand who it is we are supposed to be fighting for while we are here. [applause] when our young people get the tools they need to strengthen their minds and strengthen their hearts, they grow up to dream, and to lead. That is why we must build stronger pathways to success for our young people, no matter what road they choose. [applause] we need to work with our friends in labor and our friends in the Business Community to grow apprenticeships and job training programs. [applause] and, we need to keep investing in Substance Use services, mental health, and making sure we are taking care of our children and their families. And we need to honor our pledge to make maryland schools the best in the entire country. [applause] its time. Its time to support our students. It is time to support her educators. It is time to support our public schools. The time is now. Thats why for the second year, our Administration Proposed record funding for k12 schools and fully funded the blueprint for marylands future. [applause] the blueprint is a once in a generation opportunity. We can seize that opportunity. But only if we do it in partnership. We must bring together local electorates, school districts, legislators, and yes, the Governors Office too. We will get this right. We have to. But, we have to be tier i come clear eyed, honest, committed, and united in order to make this real. [applause] the money is important. But, strategy, accountability, and partnership are imperative to get this done right. [applause] we have to spend smarter across all our state programs. In a way that respects the taxpayer. In a way that actually follows data. In a way that responds to the needs of our community. Last month, we unveiled landmark legislation that has is guided by that exact approach. It is called the enough act. We will use it to continue our assault on Child Poverty, especially concentrated and generational Child Poverty. [applause] engaging neighborhoods, organizations, unions, governments, and households. That is what enough stands for. It is more than an acronym. Its a governing philosophy. We believe people that are closest to the challenge are the ones closest to the solution. They are just hardly ever at the table. If they are the vision, we can offer the support, not the other way around. [applause] the enough act is about moving in partnership to create safe, thriving communities. It is about involving our communities and moving in partnership to support healthy, economically secure families. Its about moving in partnership to ensure access to highquality education and health care for our children that need and deserve it the most. [applause] i am proud to stand with leaders who have championed this kind of work for years, and who have reached out to communities who have been left behind. I am talking about people like chairwoman vanessa editor. [applause] i am talking about people like president pro tem malcolm augustine. I am talking about folks like the members of the legislative lack caucus black caucus and their fearless leader chair janelle wilkins. P. Now, it is time to make work, wages, and wealth a reality for every maryland her. [applause] every marylander. [applause] now is the time to drive Economic Growth in all our communities into doing our communities of color. Now is at the time to a lemonade the racial wealth gap eliminate the racial wealth gap and we will be unapologetic about that. [applause] lets be clear. The racial wealth gap is not hurting a group. The racial wealth gap is hurting all of us. Because if we can narrow that gap we can see how it will increase the gdp of an entire state. Dont take my word for it. Take data. We can and will get this done. To the people who have said to me that we need to make maryland more competitive, i say this to you. I hear you. We have heard you. And we are moving. Fourth, and finally, we have heard that people want to continue to make maryland the state that serves. [applause] that means supporting those who, every single day, run towards danger instead of running away from it. [applause] that means standing with our state workers that often times go unsung and unheard. [applause] [laughter] that means uplifting the families of those that put everything on the line for us. To help keep us safe. We will address each of these goals with policy and partnership. This year, we have introduced legislation to ensure our firefighters receive the medical benefits they deserve. [applause] we have worked with unions to deliver a race to state employees for the second year in a row. [applause] and, we are working together to ensure