>> he talked about the legal marijuana and recreational use and jobs, education and health care. [ applause ] >> thank you and good morning. it is great to be back in the people's state capital. to the four members walking in, i offer you my sympathy. just kidding. luckily for you and all of us who will have the leadership of morgan carol and house speaker and senate minority leader and house minority leader. another veteran hand -- [ applause ] >> another veteran hand is our great lieutenant governor joe garcia. thanks to joe and his wife claire for sharing so much of his time. we are honored to have the vice president of the southern indian tribe. [ applause ] >> and the vice chairman of the mountain youth trial. welcome to you both. i want to thank you awesome cabinet and senior staff who are with us and along with all of the state employees who have worked so hard. especially this year. thanks to everyone who has been dedicated to the flood efforts, the florida national guard, department of transportation and public safety, and our chief recover officer jerry stead. i want to recognize his team from ihs as well. we are indebted to all of you. and thank tooz the attorney general, and the treasurer and to our secretary of state, the honey badger, jeff. [ applause ] thank you to the members of the supreme court and to the colorado state board of education. denver mayor michael hancock is here. thank you for your partnership with the state. and i want to express gratitude to helen thorpe for being there today and every day for our son teddy. [ applause ] on behalf of all colorado people i want to thank the broncos for giving us something to cheer about this season. and how could we not congratulate the colorado state rams. after that forth quarter win over washington state scoring 18 points in the last three minutes coming from behind was nothing short of amazing. [ applause ] >> that victory was a reminder that when we are fixed with challenge situations we pull together and get it done like always. colorado has always been a good place to find what you are of. earning your keep, making your own way, looking out for your neighbor, that comes with the territory. and colorado we know that there is going to be times when we will be tested. times when we will take action that shows who we are. during the spring, our executive director was gunned down. when we gathered for our last state of the state address, in the wake of the waldo canyon fire and the aurora massacre, many of us thought we would never again experience a year like 2012. that was not the case. every season of 2013 presented another unthinkable test. during the spring, our executive director of the department of corrections, tom clements, was gunned down in his home. throughout the summer, wildfires burned: the black forest, royal gorge, west fork, and red canyon. in the fall, we got the flood-against the backdrop of the politicians in d.c. who couldn't get along well enough to keep the federal government's doors open. in the winter, came the reports of a shooter in arapahoe high school and the heart-wrenching reality that 17-year-old claire davis had been fatally shot. this past year, colorado has been scorched. colorado has been flooded. colorado-once again-endured senseless, inexplicable violence. yet, despite all of it, we did not let that define us. that is not our story. our story-and what we showed the world is: colorado does not shutdown. colorado does not quit. colorado does not break. we know there are folks out there still grieving, still recovering. [ applause ] >> we know there are folks out there still grieving, still recovering. we know there are people out there feeling the impact of the national economy's downturns. and we are doing everything within our power to change that. but make no mistake-the state of colorado has not only endured, it also has thrived. my fellow coloradans, despite every unforeseen test, despite everything that was thrown at us the state of our state is strong. [ applause ] >> and according to just about every forecast, trend and study, the state of the state of colorado is only growing stronger. while the national economy around us remains sluggish colorado's unemployment rate has not gone up. it has gone down. to the lowest levels since 2008. this is our fourth consecutive year of economic growth. according to a study from the university of colorado's leeds school of business, we can expect robust job growth in virtually every sector of the economy this year. [ applause ] >> colorado is ranked among the top five states in the entire country for business, careers and job growth. four of the top ten-and five of the top 20 communities in the country for startups-are here in colorado: boulder, fort collins, denver, colorado springs, and grand junction. we are also one of the very best environments in the country for small business. according to the kauffman foundation, when it comes to creating a small-business climate, this year colorado earned a grade of "a." that's up from a "b+" in 2012. and people like what's happening here. colorado hosted a record number of tourists this year. we gratefully welcomed even more hunters than last year. [ applause ] >> agriculture-employing 173,000 people-keeps our economy strong, last year contributing $41 billion to the state economy. between 2009 and 2013, colorado agricultural exports increased by almost 80 percent. [ applause ] the fact that the state is strong and growing stronger is no accident. in colorado, we work for our luck. shortly after we took office three years ago we launched a strategy to be a thoughtful and supportive partner with the business community. we reached out and built relationships with people in 14 regions from around the state, and based on what we heard, we designed a colorado blueprint that focused on six core objectives: build a business friendly environment / increase access to capital / educate and train the workforce of tomorrow / retain, grow, recruit companies / cultivate innovation & technology / create a stronger colorado brand. because we know the economic hard times have been especially hard in some rural communities, this past year we launched the rural economic development grant program, and are in the process of awarding $3 million to our rural communities. one of the recipients is here with us today. keith (ber-dorf) buhrdorf. with $350,000 in grants awarded to tk mining in delta county, keith's company will be able to add 5 to 10 employees, which is almost doubling the workforce of tk mining's delta office. [ applause ] >> together, we launched the advanced industries accelerator program making seed capital available to start-up companies in aerospace, engineering, advance manufacturing, biosciences, electronics, energy and tech. we created a unified brand logo, which is almost universally loved. two hundred companies have requested to use the brand. 117 of colorado's companies are already using it. we launched coin-the colorado innovation network-which brings together innovative thinkers and entrepreneurs from around the state. we expanded the biennial of the americas, which is rapidly growing into something like a colorado's world's fair. we created the pedal the plains tour to promote all of the beauty and opportunity of some of colorado's most gorgeous rural communities. with labor and business working together, we passed legislation that made the state contracting process more transparent, while also making it easier for colorado firms and colorado workers to secure state contracts. when there's work to be done in colorado, for colorado, we should look to skilled coloradans first. [ applause ] >> my friends, in 2010, when it came to job growth, this state was ranked 40th in the nation. now-three years later, in that same ranking, colorado is the 4th fastest job growth state in the country. [ applause ] >> 40th to 4th. since january 2010, we have added 170,000 jobs. in 2010, companies were leaving colorado. today, they are moving here. while we are disappointed whenever a company leaves this state, colorado is gaining employers and jobs. three fortune 500 companies have decided to call colorado home along with 26 additional companies. your budget decisions played a significant role in this success. one of the most recent companies to establish headquarters in colorado is ardent mills. while we were pedaling the plains we got to talking with our friend, darrell hanavan, of the wheat growers. darrell told us that two of the nation's leading flour milling companies-conagra mills and horizon milling-were forming a joint venture, ardent mills. they were six months into a search for a new headquarters and colorado hadn't made the final cut. undeterred, darrell requested that i call the executives of this new company. in roughly a month, darrell and his team helped us persuade ardent mills to locate their company here in colorado. we pointed out that colorado is a place defined more by its future than its past. which was clearly the case with ardent mills. landing ardent mills is a little like winning the super bowl-or at least the flour bowl-especially for rural communities. it all began with the colorado blueprint relationships we forged across the state. we have bill stoufer, who will be the chief operating officer of ardent mills, is here with us, along with brad berentson, who will be the chief financial officer. thank you. [ applause ] >> bill and brad, you have the support of everyone in this room to help make ardent mills the most innovative and successful milling operation on earth. the economic infusion and energy of colorado's new companies, along with the hard work of colorado's entire business community, has gone a long way to take colorado past pre-recession job numbers. the unemployment rate in colorado has dropped from 9 percent in 2010 to 6.5 percent, outpacing the national rate. unemployment in both grand junction and greeley has dropped by even more, by more than 30 percent. but let's be clear, the unemployment rate is not low enough, and all of us share a commitment to keep a statewide focus on this issue. more jobs all over colorado is our highest priority. [ applause ] >> as some of you know, i took what you might call an unconventional path into running for office. i started out here in colorado as a geologist. during a downturn, everyone in our company got laid off. next thing i knew i was making beer and starting a brewpub business. it turned out pretty well. but as every small business person knows, it's not easy out there, especially when bureaucracy gets in the way. i didn't run for public office until i was 50. before that, i'd never run for anything. not even in high school. i ran for public office as a small businessman. i thought government needed to operate with more common sense and less nonsense. so while we have been doing all we can to make it as easy as possible for business to succeed in colorado we also have been streamlining the state government, making it more efficient. three years ago, we started with a budget that was facing staggering shortfalls. balancing the books is not the sexy stuff, but if the budget is wrong, nothing else can be right. just ask congress. when it comes to this nitty-gritty of governing, you could say we have borrowed the motto: "be prepared." we have funded core priorities while preparing for future needs-and unforeseen events. because, together, we have made hard choices, been disciplined, not spent more than we have-we've put ourselves in the position to save more money for rainy days. and as we've seen, when we get rain, it can be "biblical" and all at once. the single most critical factor in colorado being able to stay open for business throughout hellfires and high waters has been reserves. three years ago, colorado was setting aside only about 2 percent of its general fund money for reserves. that 2 percent gave the state only a seven-day cushion. last year, we more than doubled that rate, to 5 percent our budget request is to grow the fund this year to 6.5 percent. at the same time we have also shored up our tabor reserves to $48 million and are requesting that they be increased to $78 million. this money in reserve is what has enabled us to respond quickly to the disasters and get assistance to local partners. it's what enabled us to get roads rebuilt and open-ahead of schedule. if you were to have asked anyone in jamestown, estes park or milliken, if they thought we had a snowball's chance of getting those roads open by dec. 1, they would have laughed out loud - some did laugh out loud. it is because of the cooperation of the bipartisan joint budget committee, that we have been able to build this budgetary bedrock. d.c. should be looking at our j.b.c. to see how collaboration gets done. [ applause ] >> to ensure that we are maximizing state resources and providing as responsive customer service as possible, we have gotten lean. lean, as many of you know, is a type of business audit that scours operations looking for ways to make processes run more efficiently. we have re-evaluated how every state agency does business. and we have initiated more than 100 new lean processes, more than any state in america. colorado's department of transportation recently reported a 19 percent decrease in combined with other improvements their efforts are saving more than $2 million. in 2008, only 33 percent of property assessment appeals were resolved within one year. now, 79 percent are. the division of real estate reduced the average time it takes to complete an investigation of a mortgage loan by 44 percent. these are only a few examples of our leaner customer service, where we are doing what we can and should be doing: responding quickly and effectively when needed, and then getting out of the way. we're lean, but we're only getting started. one of the places where just about all coloradans frequently become aggravated is the department of motor vehicles. our dmv has made great strides. but they have done so with a computer system that is nearly three decades old. while many of us play around on our iphones while waiting in line at the dmv, the employees are struggling to update the files in ms-dos. our budget aims to change that. this will reduce the average wait time in dmv offices throughout the state from 60 minutes to 15. prauz [ applause ] [ applause[a] >> through a statewide effort called pits and peeves, we have also reviewed, modified or repealed nearly 11,000 state rules -- many of which were redundant and flat-out dumb. and we launched the responsible acceleration of maintenance and partnerships program-ramp-a more nimble cdot operation that is on its way to freeing up $300 million annually for five years for accelerated construction. this smarter way of doing business is what enabled us to deliver on our promise to complete the eastbound twin tunnels project, the first capacity increase on this stretch of i-70 since it was built in 1961. just about everyone of us has sat in a car on the way to or from the mountains, frustrated, or even worse, stuck in traffic with a kid needing a restroom. this project will reduce travel times significantly during peak sunday hours, and decrease the number of crashes in the area by more than a third. the second twin tunnel project-the westbound lanes-will be completed by the end of this year. and then there's kathy nesbitt. two years ago, a full third of state workers were approaching retirement, and the state's hiring system was 92 years old and loaded with countless hurdles to hiring the best people. kathy is the executive director of the department of personnel and administration. she and her team successfully created a talent agenda and worked to pass a bipartisan bill to reform the personnel system. supervisors can now focus on finding the best talent. merit-pay is now based not only on an employee's seniority, but also on performance. hiring times, which previously had taken three months, already have been cut in half. just weeks ago kathy was recognized as one of only nine recipients of governing magazine's public officials of the year award, which is something akin to an oscar for best starring role in cutting red tape. thank you, kathy. [ applause ] >> moving forward, our priorities are clear: we are going to remain focused on jobs, education; and ensuring that we have a state that is as healthy as it is fiscally sound. we are going to continue to improve colorado's customer service and efficiency; and support our military families. fourteen years into the 21st century is well past time to reform our telecommunications laws. this session, we ask you to pass legislation that will accomplish this, but at the same time rural and other unserved parts of our state should have the same broadband internet access as urban areas. [ applause ] >> with your help, this year, we will extend the job-creation tax credit from five years to seven, enabling more businesses to maintain employees and hire new ones. economic development demands infrastructure. we will propose the formation of a non-profit enterprise dedicated to fostering public-private partnerships to fund infrastructure projects such as transportation and water. this will not only bolster economic development, it also will lighten the burden on taxpayers, and harness minds and resources outside of government to address unmet needs and keep colorado competitive. such partnerships offer a path toward financing solutions to existing challenges, such as traffic congestion, in places like fort collins and colorado springs. in the wake of the floods, we proved our ability and commitment to rebuild bridges and roads. we've seen what can happen when we lose that infrastructure. but the single most important investment we can make in infrastructure is in our bridges to tomorrow-our children. we must support effective teachers, students and parents. we must find a way to address key reforms that have made colorado a national model. colorado voters made clear they will not make new investments in education until they are convinced that current resources are being prudently managed. we are going to request that the general assembly fund a plan to make the budget of every public school transparent. let's put the numbers on the internet and make the web a window. [ applause ] >> under the current statewide public education funding system, a school's funding is based on an enrollment which is counted on a single day, early in the school year. we are going ask the general assembly to pass legislation that will ensure a more accurate assessment, by counting average-daily-membership in our schools. it is nonsense not to have a powerful economic incentive for student retention. while we are choosing to adhere to the prudent budgetary strategy that has been the cornerstone of our policy, this year we are seeking an increase in per-pupil funding of $223, for a total of $400 per pupil in the last two years. we are also requesting a significant investment in higher education. in recent years, college tuition has been steadily increasing by a rate of double-digits. please join me in supporting our request for an additional $100 million for higher education, which would cap tuition increases at 6 percent and put college within the reach of more families. blauz [ applause[ applause ] >> another priority for colorado families and for us, is supporting the energy industry while protecting the environment. the viability of the sage grouse has bedeviled western states for a decade. as chair of the western governors' association, i believe we can protect the sage grouse while at the same time allowing ranches, farms and other economic activity to flourish. at our invitation, secretary of the interior sally jewell has agreed to visit colorado and observe mitigation efforts firsthand. colorado's oil and gas industry contributes $29 billion to our economy. critical to the success of the oil and gas industry is that operators recognize their moral and legal obligation to protect our air and water. fortunately, we have been able to bring many in the industry together with the environmental community to work toward solutions. as a result, colorado is now a national leader in developing a strong regulatory environment. we brokered the nation's strongest frack fluid disclosure rule in 2011. we are proposing the nation's first-ever methane capture rule, making colorado the leader in the nation for controlling emissions. we've said before that we're committed to holding the oil companies to the highest standards to protect coloradans and our air and water. to that end, we are working with legislators, industry and the conservation community to ensure we pass a bill this year that will strengthen penalties for violations of permits and rules. if words were water the state would never run dry. our budget is requesting a second year of funding to help create cleaner water for colorado. this year we will complete the colorado water plan, which will emphasize conservation, address incremental storage, and address drought mitigation. we must create alternative choices to buy-and-dry. no matter where we live, we cannot afford to let our farm and ranch land dry up. [ applause ] >> part of what has gotten overlooked in the debate about guns is our work on mental health. when you look at the massacres at columbine high school and the aurora movie theater; and the tragedies of platte canyon high school, and most recently at arapahoe high school, guns are only a piece of the puzzle. another clear piece is mental health: trying to identify and assist those who are feeling isolated, bullied, the mentally ill; and trite as this may sound, those who are feeling abandoned and unloved. we allocated more than $34 million to create and bolster programs such as school-based mental health services, behavioral health community centers, and to train and staff round-the-clock mental health crisis centers. right now there are some 80 people with addictions who are getting clean, learning a skill, and turning their life around. people who otherwise would have been on the street. just as we must implement the voters' wishes on marijuana, we are obligated to make sure that children and parents understand brain development and the risks of underage use. we are committed to a securing a safe, regulated and responsible environment. this will be one of the great social experiments of this century, and while not all of us chose it, being first means we all share a responsibility to do it properly. [ applause ] part of being the healthiest state, means we continue to prioritize services for the most vulnerable. we ask for your support for coloradans with developmental disabilities and their caregivers, including addressing the current wait list, family support services, and transitional services. in that vein, the general assembly, with bipartisan support, created connect for health colorado. while other states have struggled with enrollment and implementation, colorado has outperformed the national exchange and most states. more than 139,000 residents now have health insurance who didn't have it before. [ applause ] >> in addition to being the healthiest state, we have consistently worked to be the most military friendly state. we must continue to honor military veterans. not so long ago i received a letter from silvia [bonna-con-tee] buoniconti. it was about her son, frank. frank was a chief warrant officer 3rd class united states army. a helicopter pilot. among the many honors frank received was the distinguished flying cross-one of the highest awards an aviator can receive for heroism in combat. frank saved the lives of two special operations teams. he died in a helicopter crash in 2011, while training in washington state. but because he did not die while in a combat zone-according to current state law, silvia and her husband, frank, are not eligible to receive a colorado fallen service member license plate. silvia is not the only gold star mother waiting for this recognition. for families of veterans like frank, this law must change. silvia is here with her husband, frank, we are deeply grateful for your son's service, and commend you for your commitment to having it recognized. [ applause ] as i wrap up here and we begin this session, i have one more ask of you-of us, really. you don't need a poll to know that regardless of political leanings-the typical american, the average coloradan-doesn't think much of politics or politicians. and who can blame them? shutdowns. debt ceiling duels. parties locked down, unwilling to compromise. so much negativity. the public sees politicians as operators who put their own self-interest or their party's agenda above the people; and who are obsessed with petty pursuits and ignore the public service part of being a public servant. the widely held perception today is that politicians divide and selfishly scheme in the moment, whereas public servants unite and plan for the greater good. over the course of the last year, everyone in this room has been tested. time and again, you chose to put your communities and your fellow coloradans first. you chose to be public servants, before politicians. we must continue to rebuild better than we were before. but our work is about much more than recovery. whether we live in a mountain community or in a city; whether we are surrounded by cows or concrete, we all want the same things: the chance to earn a good wage, give our children a decent education; clean air and clean water. vigorous debate is our ally. partisanship is not. skepticism is productive. corrosive cynicism is not. so, as we begin this session, my ask is we ignore the divisive politics. [ applause ] no one needs to remind us we're going into a political season. and i realize that if such a goal for a session ever seemed ambitious, it's a time like this. but that's precisely why we should set such a goal. tom clements was someone who set such ambitious goals. it's been not quite a year since tom's death. a few months ago, i spoke at a convention of the international association of corrections that was held in colorado springs. i described that when tom was murdered he was in the midst of major overhauls to the department of corrections. he was reforming administrative segregation, which most of us recognize as solitary confinement, and he was about to re-engineer the parole system. tom saw the entrenched problems. but he never gave up. he saw what could and what should be. his philosophies and strategies were never about locking people up, but rather, everything tom did-really his whole life-was about striving to unlock humanity. it is a tragic, awful irony that an inmate put on parole directly from administrative segregation showed up at his door and killed him. but that is not what defines tom. part of tom's legacy is everything that was discussed at that convention. these were directors of correctional facilities, people who worked in worlds of barbed wire filled with violent criminals. yet the topics of discussion were things like "alternatives for mentally disordered offenders," "giving up crime," and "faith based programming." in other words, it was about unlocking humanity. and it wasn't a coincidence. the theme of the convention was inspired by tom and was very much in his honor. the other part of tom's legacy is his family, his wife, lisa, and daughters, sarah and rachel, who are with us today. tom's story and life is not defined by what happened to him but by the immense good he achieved and his legacy of love and compassion and reform. his legacy of public service. tom was a public servant. he walked the walk of public service every day. inexplicable, senseless violence. fires. floods. no, that is not our story. our story is about how we came together and have been getting it done. our story is that we have learned that we are at our best, that colorado is at her best, when we are connected to one another, working together. our story is us. that is what it means to be a coloradan. that is what we have and will continue to show the world. i'm all in. to keep colorado strong and to keep colorado united, all of us in here, and all of our fellow coloradans out there-every one of us needs to be all in, together. thank you, and god bless colorado. >> the governor's address drew mixed reactions with words like less partisan and phenomenal being described for the speech. the governor only briefly touched on gun laws which was a major issue during the last year's election. >> and now the iowa's state of the state address. this state of the state is courtesy of iowa public television. [ applause ] >> thank you very much. madam lieutenant governor, madam president, mr. speaker, leaders, justices, judges, legislators, elected officials, distinguished guests, family, friends and fellow iowans, good morning. i offer a special welcome this morning to new representatives brian meyer and stan gustafson and new senator julian garrett. i look forward to working with you and all members of the general assembly. i stand here today honored to be serving as your governor, humbled by the opportunity and eager to meet the challenges we face. i am pleased to report on the condition of our state. over the past year, we have come together as families, as communities, as iowans, putting our differences aside to move iowa forward. because of our hard work last legislative session, iowa's economy, educational system and health are moving forward. iowans have proved time and time again, when working with one another rather than against one another, we can overcome any challenge. for example, the international olympic committee last year took action to eliminate wrestling from the olympics. more than 25,000 people joined us through an online petition to keep olympic wrestling, the entire iowa congressional delegation joined us and more than 30 other governors came together joining me in a letter to the ioc to keep wrestling. and together, we kept wrestling in the olympics and the olympic dreams of iowa wrestlers alive. [ applause ] my friends, iowa faces another challenge where we can come together again and rally around what is best for our state. the epa has proposed reducing the level of biofuels outlined in the renewable fuels standard (rfs). if this rule is adopted, it would be a devastating setback to the agriculture sector of the iowa economy. the proposed rule comes at a time when our state continues to implement new pioneering policies encouraging growth and innovation in the renewable energy sector. in a partnership with iowa state university, we launched the "fueling our future" program last october, which will bring iowa to the forefront in the use of e30 fuel. this new program is a reflection of the importance of further advancing the renewable fuels industry, and how the rfs is helping to create important iowa jobs. the rfs has led to a cleaner environment, opened the markets for iowa corn and soybeans and reduced our nation's dependence on foreign oil. thousands of americans are coming together to support the rfs. we will be holding a public hearing later this month to give iowans the opportunity to voice their concerns with the epa's proposal. lt. governor reynolds and i are pleased the entire iowa congressional delegation and secretary of agriculture bill northey have agreed to co-host this important forum. today, i call on the general assembly, as its first order of business, in bipartisan fashion, to pass a resolution in support of maintaining a robust renewable fuels standard. [ applause ] >> whether it is our sense of community that saved wrestling or collaboration in support of agriculture and renewable fuel, iowans come together. it is this sense of community and collaboration that defines us as iowans. and it should again shape our approach to governing this year. as we've demonstrated before, we should again attack our problems with the same common sense and seriousness as iowans across our state: working hard working together, and working to make things better than we found them. to me, this is the iowa dream. that dream of opportunity and prosperity which can become a reality for every iowan willing to work for it. the seeds of that dream have been planted with our work over the past three years. but now we must cultivate that dream of opportunity - of a great job and a great place to raise a family - so that it can grow and flourish. the simple truth is we iowans are a people of faith, of tenacity who each year plant the seeds of our livelihood with the devout belief that with hard work and the grace of god we will reap a bountiful harvest. today it is my duty and honor to report to you on the condition of our state. and i am here to tell you, with great pride: the state of iowa is working. [ applause ] with more iowans going to work each and every day, the current unemployment rate stands at 4.4 percent: iowa is working and our citizens are working toward their iowa dream. with personal incomes growing: iowa is working. with schools and students improving their performance and their standing compared to other states around the nation: iowa is working. the federal government has been paralyzed by partisanship leading to cliffs, ceilings, sequesters and shutdown, iowa leaders have done the opposite; we have come together to work on behalf of iowans. we put aside our political differences, to achieve common sense compromise in cutting taxes, improving education and modernizing health care in our state: all evidence that iowa is working. three years ago, like many other states, iowa faced serious budget challenges. the path to prosperity was grim. yet the charge to us was clear: restore predictability and stability to the state to get our fiscal house in order. [ applause ] we have passed two biennial budgets that restore predictability to the state budget. these are budgets that hard-working iowa taxpayers can depend on, budgets that work for iowans by prioritizing education, economic development and job training. today, iowa's rainy day and economic emergency funds are full and we are fortunate to have a healthy budget surplus. iowa is working. we have taken a similar common sense approach to health care in our state by working to improve the health of iowans, bringing more doctors to iowa and providing better care for low-income iowans. since announcing the healthiest state initiative, iowa has improved from 19th to 9th in well-being. during this address last year, students from des moines university (dmu) joined us in seeking increased support for a public-private partnership that would encourage more doctors to move to rural iowa. today, the private sector, rural communities and the state are coming together to ensure more doctors will be coming to underserved communities. these students will benefit from this partnership and our state will benefit from their commitment. as doctors they will work to improve the health of our citizens and as valuable members of rural iowa their work will help bring jobs to our communities. thank you, dmu students, for joining us again this year. the iowa health and wellness plan is now in place. thousands of iowans are now receiving more than just access, they are getting health care designed to get them healthier. the iowa health and wellness plan is using health risk assessments and physicals to empower iowans to take ownership of their own health. on top of that, more iowans are receiving private insurance than ever before. iowans living longer, healthier lives will improve the health of our state, our economy and our families. we may not have always agreed on the path to these policies, but we can all resoundingly agree on this: our plan was designed by iowans, not out of touch bureaucrats in washington, dc., and it is going to make iowans healthier. iowa is working. >> three years ago, more than 100,000 iowans were out of work. jobs were hard to come by and investment in our state was inadequate. we refocused our economic development efforts by changing our approach. together, we created the iowa partnership for economic progress. this public-private partnership is reaping dividends for our economy with more investments and more jobs for iowans. in the last three years, iowa has seen 7.5 billion dollars in new capital investment, and i am pleased to report that since taking office, over 130,000 new jobs have been created in this state. [ applause ] blood pressure & -- -- >> perhaps the best example of our state's turnaround and of our policies working for middle-class families is seen in lee county, which had the highest unemployment rate in the state when i took office in 2011. iowans in lee county are getting back to work, thanks in part to the largest on-shore purchase of wind turbines in history and a multi-billion dollar, world-class fertilizer plant bringing much needed jobs and investment to the area. thanks to these projects, unemployment in lee county has dropped by 40 percent, and many southeast iowans are back to work! [ applause ] to help iowans keep more of their hard-earned money, and to help employers invest and grow in iowa, you passed and i signed into law the largest property tax cut in iowa history! [ applause ] this historic measure will provide more than 4.4 billion dollars in tax relief, slashing taxes for middle class families and encouraging businesses to grow. middle class families are working hard every day to achieve their version of the iowa dream and providing this much needed tax relief will help them achieve it. improving education in our state is imperative to improving our jobs outlook, our economic outlook and the outlook for the iowa dream itself. together, we have taken steps to help keep our best teachers in classrooms, increase school choice and better equip our students for college and the workforce. we have begun to reform iowa's education system, and we can expect iowa schools to pull away from the middle of the pack and reclaim preeminence in student achievement as measured against the rest of the united states. the demands of both college and the workforce have changed. in the 21st century, the skills needed to succeed and compete globally include science, technology, engineering and math. through the stem advisory council led by lt. governor kim reynolds and vermeer ceo, mary andringa, about 60,000 additional students are expected to have access to innovative stem-focused opportunities this school year. today, students across iowa are learning to build robots and solve complex math problems, preparing them for the jobs of tomorrow. in the gallery are students from des moines east high school and greenwood elementary school. please join me in welcoming them to their capitol. [ applause ] >> we have worked together and invested in students, teachers and schools. we have worked together and invested in the health and well-being of our state. we have worked together and invested in middle-class families, main street businesses and our communities. i am proud of what we have been able to accomplish working together. the results of our work will have a positive impact in the lives of many iowans. however, there is still much more work to be done. together, let's make this another successful and productive session. and providing rural health care. and last year the budget that you passed and i signed provided the universities with the necessary resources to freeze tuition for the first time in 30 years. [applause] [applause] this year my budget proposes another investment in keep tuition assistance program so that we can continue the fight against escalating student debt. this year i am submitting a budget to once again freeze tuition for iowa students at the region's institutions. [applause] [applause] [applause] we need to reinforce with our students that if they borrow, they need to borrow only enough to pay the bills. the university of northern iowa is requiring all students receiving loans to participate in financial literacy programs, and it is working. last year's student debt at the university of northern iowa decreased by 8%. today i am calling on members of the iowa legislature to join me in working to reduce the cost to make college more affordable and reduce the amount of debt incurred by iowa students and their families. what if more students could earn while they learn? a -- apprenticeships snell allowed just that opportunity by providing focused and streamline training. one of the positive outgrowth of our historic capitol investments made throughout the state is an increased demand for jobs. apprenticeship programs allow us to quickly and effectively train workers to meet this demand. the budget i proposed to you today triples support for apprenticeships programs. these programs to aid in our middle-class, businesses, and the economy. today we can further build the pipeline of skilled workers. together we can ensure our workers have the skills they need to fill the jobs of the what. [applause] [applause] [applause] but we must do more if i was going to remain in national and global competitor. that means we need to be connected. interacting differently with businesses, with their government command with each other. to it -- through technology we can connect our dreams to reality. technology will approve educational instruction and make your resources available for students. can connect businesses and new customers and markets. can connect you with the job of your dreams. technology connects the entrepreneur without a dime to the billion dollar idea in her dreams. we have had great success in the tech sector. now home to data centers with household names like cool, microsoft, and facebook, driving tech startups communities in the cedar rapids i was city and elsewhere all with entrepreneurs looking to create the next interest our web filings. cedar falls is become the gigabytes city, and three other iowa communities have distinguished themselves as connected communities. yet we can do better. in in september i announced our initiative to connect every i went with the goal of making i was the most connected state in the midwest. i charged the stem advisory councils broadband committee with developing recommendations for our consideration. today at proposed to connect every island with incentives to discourage excess, adoption, and use a broadband technology by business and individuals. my plan includes programs that will train workers for 21st century career is in information and communications technology. my plan also calls for moving the icn two. zero repurchasing the iowa communications network so that it can partner with the private sector to provide connectivity in underserved areas of our state. together we can use broadband technology to grow the i would dream throughout our state, especially in rural areas. as our connection speeds increase, so does the pace of economic progress, so does the ability to grow jobs, and so does the ability to turn the island dream into a reality. [applause] [applause] to keep the iowa drama live we must keep iowa and especially rural ilo vibrant and working. as i visits communities of throughout our stay during my annual 99 counted toward this vibrancy is seen, felt, and heard. from the in german experienced at watermelon day in stanhope, the bell tower festival in jefferson, and the swamp fox festival in marion to early-morning farmers' markets and their rhetoric clubs at noon , day-to-day life reflects our shared i/o of values. yet to some of the schools and public buildings which used to be a source of pride are now empty shells dotting the landscapes of our communities. once filled with the hustle and bustle of schoolchildren and their teachers, these are more than just abandoned buildings. there are part of our childhood. they are part of us. instead of letting these treasures stand there empty, let's turn them into economic centers of our communities and once again make them part of our daily lives. we will submit legislation to provide tax incentives to repurchase abandon schools and public buildings. let's turn what used to be our centers of education in the centers of commerce. let's three purpose of the crumbling structures with renewed investment and reinforce the foundation with new jobs. [applause] [applause] as we read purpose our schools of yesterday it is also a refocus on our students of today sadly, for some children in iowa , the bully they face every day makes every day feel more like a nightmare. they consider whether they can continue to take the abuse from the bully. they don't know where to turn. even if they turn to school officials, our laws have tied there hands. imagine being that child. imagine being unable to escape as the bully relentlessly pursues them on line in a form accessible 24 / seven. imagine how bleak it must be. imagine how lonely it must feel. we can let our children know that there not alone. i call on both houses and both parties to support the bully- free iowa act of 2014. we can take action to empower our students and their parents. we can untie the hands of schools to allow them to better address cyber bullying. as we take action to protect our children from police, let us also commit to honoring and better serving the men and women that protect our liberties and our rights every day. the centerpiece of my agenda is home-based iowa. it is a bipartisan jobs plan focusing on recruiting service members to iowa and matching them with goods, high-paying careers. here today in the gallery we are joined by members of the iowa national guard and veterans' organizations. please join me in thanking them for their service. [applause] [applause] [applause] >> good note to shed his blood for this country is good enough to be given a square deal afterwards. november i announced the always tie away initiative to record veterans to iowa because i believe iowa can offer our nation's veterans something greater than a square deal. we can offer them a better opportunity to live the i would dream. we can give them the best life america has offered. joining me in this endeavor are two men who have served their country, two men who share my uncompromising passion for honoring veterans. please join me in recognizing cochairs of home-based iowa thank you both for your continued service. [applause] [applause] we want our veterans to know that in iowa if you dream you can achieve it. in iowa, you can find a home that you can afford. and i know you can find a good paying job. and i you can send your kids to a good school, and they can play in a safe neighborhood, and an i/o we honor our veterans, not only with words in ceremony, but with action. today i call on the legislature to pass the home base i'll act. join me in telling veterans that we will no longer tax their military pensions. [applause] [applause] let's increase support for the military homeowner's assistance program that provides up $5,000 in downpayment or closing costs assistance. let's give veterans credit for their military training and experience as they pursue occupational licensure in our state, and let's make a viola the destination for veterans to continue their education. already the university lia's been named the six best university for veterans by u.s. news and world report, the we can do better. i will be asking the state board of education to join the region's institutions by passing rules giving veterans, their spouses, and dependents automatic in-state tuition at our community colleges -- at our colleges. will also be convening stakeholders -- [applause] [applause] i will also begin meeting stakeholders from their regions community colleges and private colleges to develop consistent policies to provide veterans academic credit for their military training and experience . our veterans have risked their lives defending our freedom, to show our gratitude let's make iowa the leader in respect, support, and up virginity for veterans. up back-to-back. [applause] [applause] ladies and gentlemen, i what is working. our state is open for new ideas, open for honest dialogue, and open for more business. i'll is working. our efforts are making a difference in the lives of everyday families as they pursue there eye with dreams. our schools are getting better communities are coming together, and government is working. but that success tells me that we have an even greater opportunity, and of the city to build upon our state and our people so that we are competitive now and in the future. with those significant accomplishments past, the opportunity to do even more is at hand. iowa is working. the i would dream is here to be realized, but i believe we can and must dream even bigger. as we look to the future, our path is not dictated. we have opportunities not seen in other states and other parts of the world. we need to breed true to our constituents in their cells, and we must dream big. we must dream of denial that is competitive with any other place in the world, and i will wear it is easier to build a business, to build your ideas, to support a family. we must dream of an i/o world-class education is not a dream but a reality. the simple rule that every child should be ready to compete in the 21st century marketplace. we must dream of denial of the continually as the question how can government to better serve people. and i weather uses technology for greater transparency and accountability for taxpayers. now is the time -- now is not the time to shy away from challenges and opportunities. now's the time to embrace them, to be bold, it's a move by 04 word and to increase competitiveness of our state and its people today and for the years to come. there is more work to be done to realize the i would dream. thus show everyone that we are up to the challenge. thank you. god bless you. and god bless the people of file. [applause] [applause] >> that the morning register has the headline highlighter governor's speech on tuesday. the article goes on to say that immediate reaction to the plan from terry branstad was generally positive come however democrats as the government to quickly address state spending for local schools and to do more to help military veterans facing mental health problems. >> and to vermont where governor peter shumlin told lawmakers last week in his "state of the state" address that there was a harrowing crisis and detail the effects of drug abuse in the criminal-justice system treatment centers in the greater community. breaking tradition governor peter shumlin spent his entire 35 minutes discussing the issue. [applause] [applause] [applause] [applause] [applause] >> is my distinct honor to present to you the governor of the state of vermont the hon. peter shumlin. [applause] >> thank you. thank you. thank you so much. thank you so much. >> mr. speaker, mr. president, mr. chief justice, members of the general assembly, members of the national guard to love fellow vermonters, thank you so much for the privilege of serving as your governor of the week. we're lucky to live in the best in the union where people work hard, trust and take care of each other and strive to keep vermont a place for our children and grandchildren will grow and thrive. the state of our state is strong and growing stronger. vermonters are working, companies are expanding, home values are rising, opportunities for good jobs are growing. we enjoy the fifth lowest unemployment rate in america. we have added over 11,000 jobs since i first spoke to you just three years ago, and as i crisscross vermont, most people i meet are hopeful and optimistic about the direction that our economy is headed. there remains more work to do. our challenges not only to create good jobs, but we share an obligation to deliver a better quality of life for everyone. all vermonters deserve to live in a state where we know that our schools are among the best in the country and our families are safe in their homes. where we have a clean environment with the bright, renewable energy future. where we have good jobs that pay fair wages, where we all have affordable, high-quality health care. you will hear from me on many of these topics next week when i present my budget, but today i want to focus exclusively on a matter of great concern to our state's future. during the tenure of every governor there are numerous crises. some are created by natural disasters, when we all need to pull together to provide immediate relief from the pain in the hard break. vermonters' needed to feel relief quickly in order to know that a return to -- from disaster to normal life was, in fact, possible. hope is born in such efforts. there are other crises that can contest that are actually much tougher, much tougher because they're more complicated, controversial, and difficult to talk about. vermont is confronting one of these right now. the crisis that on talking about is the rising tide of drug addiction and drug-related crimes that are spreading across vermont. in every corner of our state heroin and opiate drug addiction threatens us. threatens our safety. it threatens the safety. it is a crisis bubbling just beneath the surface that may be invisible to many, but it is already highly visible to law enforcement, medical personnel, social services, addiction treatment providers, and far too many vermont families. it requires all of us to take action before the quality of life that we cherish so much is compromised. the facts speak for themselves. in vermont since 2000 we have seen more than a 770% increase in treatment for opiates. that started as oxycontin and prescription drug addiction problem in vermont and has now grown into a full-blown heroin crisis. we have seen in over 250% increase in people receiving heroin treatment here in vermont since 2000 with the greatest percentage increase nearly 40% in just the past year. in 2013 there were twice as many federal indictments against heroin dealers than in the prior two years, and over five times as many as we had obtained in 2010. last year we had nearly double the number of deaths in vermont from heroin overdoses of the the prior year. some of you may have seen the film made by f. o'brien and the hungry heart which focuses on one vermont communities struggle to save its children from this growing epidemic. bess is here with us today. if you could just try so that we can thank you for your rework. [applause] tells the story through dr. fred holmes, a physician who spent 43 years taking care of young vermonters in st. albans, some of whom became addicts. when she first investigated opiate addiction in an effort to help, he learned just how devastating it can be and how little most of us understand. dr. holmes said, these kids don't walk different, taught different. it is just the nature of their disease that is different. he said, i was louis. i figure that it was something i ought to be able to do something about, just like diabetes or epilepsy or as more and your infection, but he quickly learned about addiction, recognizing that his patience, as he put it, had a relentless relapsing ellis that is potentially fatal. you realize that his obligation was to help them treat that on this. when he retired last summer he was treated more than 80 kids for opiate addiction in his small practice. dr. holmes is here today. thank you for your service to vermont. please rise so that we can thank you. [applause] [applause] >> the stories of these young vermonters breaks your heart. one of dr. holmes patients was raised by a hard-working, supportive family on a dairy farm. started using drugs and tenth grade during a 15 minute break between school exams when a bunch of his friends offered him oxycontin. he became an addict hard and fast. his addition quickly went from $100 a week to $30,500 a week, that's $500 a day. he found, like most of the attics, that drugs transformed the way -- it transformed his way of life and altered his moral compass. he needed drugs to survive, and he stole to pay for his addiction. even still more than $20,000 worth of farm tools and equipment from his own parents. dustin said, be careful because your addiction is waiting out in the driveway. just getting stronger, just waiting for you to slip up and take your life. his family knows too well the crushing hurt and harm that comes from opium addiction, even as they have stuck with him throughout his disease. as his mom said, my sun is an addict, and i love them with all my heart pit. dustin has now been clean for more than five years. he and his mom are here with us. please stand so that we can thank you for your courage. [applause] [applause] >> addiction comes to people insidiously, sometimes through a dealer looking to get someone -- looking to get someone up to, to make more money. it starts as a way to feel good, a rush that may seem harmless of first says you are often doing it with your friends. it quickly devolves into an uncontrollable, unrelenting addiction, and those who become addicted are sentenced to a lifetime battle. as one person now and recovery said, the first thing you think about is not feeding your kids, it's tell my god twitter.com/booktv. heroin is a drug that does not only grippe those who are born into poverty, consider the life of will gates who went to use p.m. but died of a heroin overdose of 40 graduate. he was a narrow behavioral science major and a ski major test eraser. he was born to opportunity. his ashes were spread out his favorite ski trail. his father speaks for all grieving families when he says, i never knew anything in human experience could be this hard. i never knew any human being could feel this much pain. it has redefined the rest of my life. skip felt powerless to stop the overwhelming impact of drugs on his son. says wells' death skip has worked with our u.s. attorney chris coffin dedicating his life to warning others of the circumstances that stoll will. skip is here. skip. we are sorry for your pain, but we are so thankful for everything that's your doing for vermont. if you could stand it would like to recognize. [applause] [applause] >> we often hear in the news about the criminal side prediction, about the robberies of the boss in our communities, our police, prosecutors, defense attorneys, judges do an extraordinary job under tough circumstances, but as chief justice shriver and so many others you are in the thick of the struggle of concluded, we must bolster our current approach to addiction with more common sense. we must address it as a public health care crisis providing treatment and support rather than simply going -- going out punishment, claiming victory, and moving on to the next conviction. no, i am not naive, and i know you aren't either. terrible crimes, murders, armed robbery, sex trafficking and others are committed by those in the drug trade and by those who are supporting their drug habits . these crimes have victims and devastating consequences. budget dr. holmes got it right when he noted that addiction is at its core a chronic disease. we must do for this disease will we do for cancer, diabetes, and other chronic illnesses. first name for prevention and then eradicate any disease that develops with aggressive treatments. getting this right is not just a matter of compassion. it's also the right thing to do for our pocketbooks. let's put aside our hearts for a moment and with our heads look at the man. every week, every week our drug task force estimates more than $2 million of heroin and other opiates are being trafficked into vermont. 2 million per week. due to our proximity to boston, new york, philadelphia, and other cities where heroin is she , dealers can make a lot of money from attics in vermont. a $6 a bag of heroin in new york city can go to up to 30 -- go for up to $30 year. so think about that for a second. a $6 purchase can sell for five times that much just a few hours up the interstate. loom that means a heroin habit and vermont to cost as a thousand dollars per year paw, and that's before they put a roof over their heads, food and the table, or sneakers and the kids. nearly 80%, 80 percent of our incarcerated population are either addicted or in prison because of their addiction. listen to this. $1,120 by $1,203 will buy a week of treatment for heroin addicts at a state-funded center. [applause] today our state government spends more than we do to support our colleges and universities. in their prison spending has doubled, doubled in the last nine years. so in a vote -- you don't have to be a math major realize we cannot afford our current path. we have to figure out how to spend taxpayer money more wisely while we treat the disease more effectively. no, we have made some headway. the unopened treatment centers in nearly every region of our state, considered to be national models. thanks to your good work last year we have expanded our efforts to combat oxycontin and prescription drug abuse and to offer safe harbor to those reporting overdoses. we have lessened the bounties for small amounts of marijuana, acknowledging that we can better use of limited resources. through a partnership between the vermont state police, our state drug task force, our state's attorneys, local police, federal government, and our attorney general, we are getting tougher in using turbines to disrupt dealer networks that kill our neighbors and kids. this important work must continue, yet despite all these efforts, we are losing too many vermonters to drug addiction and the crimes that come with the. today i propose for areas, for areas to help us gain ground in this battle. first lets start treating drug addiction as the immediate health care crisis that it is, by dramatically -- [applause] [applause] by dramatically increasing treatment across vermont. right now we have hundreds of vermonters who are addicted and ready to accept health who are condemned to waiting because we don't have the capacity to treat the demand. does the truth. our largest waiting list of over 500 addicts in central vermont, the northeast kingdom, and sidney county. to-teacher approved to help slash those with less. the money will touch receptors to immediately step and bring up additional resources to begin eliminating the existing backlog while preparing to serve growing numbers of patients going forward. , also proposing increased resources for our state why recovery centers, funding for service abuse and mental health centers. in total this funding will represent more than a million dollars of additional support for treatment and recovery, and this is on top of the $8 billion on going funded in my budget. st. john's bury in newport has just opened. these expanded services will help the kingdom needs increased demand. i know that we have more work to do to provide the right treatment and support to those who are addicted, not just using maintenance drugs as a band-aid for this complicated disease. i also know that treatment facilities have not always been embraced by our local communities, but the time is come for us to stop quietly averting our eyes from the growing heroin addiction in our front yards while we fear and fight treatment facilities in our backyards. [applause] [applause] now, this is tough stuff. it is to arrest of aum. but this is about getting help to those who are desperately sick, and giving hope to those who wish to get better. help and hope is what we vermonters to bus. second, let's do a better job, better job of convincing drug users who wind up in our criminal-justice system that can help is a better path benediction. this too will not be easy work. dramatics are the best deniers and the best liar's the you will ever need. some will do just about anything, anything to continue using. but all the research tells us that the moment an addict is most accepting treatment is right after the bust. it is when the blue lights flashing and the cold reality sets in that we have done. here's the problem. our current judicial system is not well-equipped to seize that moment. it can take weeks or months to wind your way through our court system from arrest and conviction leaving the added time to settle back in sold habits. so i want to give our prosecutors and judges the resources needed to strike immediately. my 2015 budget will include additional $760,000 to provide objective evidence-based assessments to help our state's attorneys and our core -- courts determine new may qualify for immediate treatment and services and then hire the necessary personnel to monitor their recovery. in this new system of third-party chosen in conjunction with local prosecutors, defense counsel, and court personnel but contractor the state would probably, after arrest conducted evidence based risks and need assessment for prosecutors, defense counsel, and the judges are state's attorney will be unable to establish a rapid intervention program paid for by the state were those at this accused of crimes caused by their addiction could agree to seek immediate treatment for their disease and avoid criminal prosecution if they successfully a year to the strict requirements imposed. for any individual not suitable for early intervention, our judges can choose to use these same assessments to set conditions of release and monitoring before trial that included immediate treatment and other services. one success of failure is in recovery is considered during sentencing. i we can do this. they have been implementing prosecutor-led intervention pros with good results. some of our courts have been using grants and pilot experiments with ways to better address addiction in our criminal-justice system. senators years, ash, florey, fox, and snowy has sponsored bipartisan legislation, 295 which seeks to build upon some of these efforts. my proposals expand on this good work taking is farther and faster to bring evidence based assessment and intervention programs to a wide i ask for your support. [applause] [applause] [applause] >> thank you. >> thank you. third, we have to a couple enhanced treatment in intervention with even stronger, more coordinated law enforcement that is why we have just launched a new portal led by the department of public safety to sheer and analyze data between state -- data statewide to determine where are hot spots are and where resources can most effectively go in stopping the flow of drugs. to further aid and are coordinated efforts i am also reorganizing the governor's criminal-justice kevin to include substance abuse prevention so that better reflects this broader challenge. i also ask you to make it to statutory changes that will help insure that high-volume deals will bring drugs into our state to prey upon vermonters in pursuit of profits will suffer the consequences and that those who break into our homes with weapons in hand to rob us, to feed their habits will face enhanced criminal penalties. [applause] >> creating tougher sentences when anyone transports illegal drugs into vermont will help send a clear message to drug dealers that our state will not tolerate their trade. [applause] enhancing penalties for people who carry weapons into our homes to feed their habits by violating our security and stealing a property is good vermont common sense. [applause] finally and perhaps most importantly, we know that the best way to fix this problem is to prevent addiction in the first place. this is the toughest challenge that we face, one without a clear, national model for consensus on what works best. we need vermont ingenuity, all of us thinking big together. later this year will be facilitating a statewide community forum right here the state house tell us share creative ideas about how we can do better on the prevention front. those whose stories are featured in the hungry heart will visit every single high-school in vermont to talk to our kids directly about their difficult journeys. [applause] it's critical that we continue to engage era of care providers in this challenge. in august from a received a $10 million program over five years to to help medical providers intervene earlier with patients who are beginning to see the consequences of substance abuse. just like we taught people to heed the warnings of heart disease and diabetes, we need medical community to educate their patience on how to better avoid addiction. we also need more providers like dr. hall's who are trained to offer emotional and other support to of those who become addictive but just to love me this drugs for the first time requires coverage for substance abuse disorders and treatment and federal support to pay for it a schools also agree role played. risky behavior develops early in life and too often accompanies family difficulties and dysfunction. when parents struggle, children suffer and we'll pay the price for years and years to come. this is why we must continue our focus on the earliest years. our recent successes securing the $37 million early child education race to the top gramm will be a huge help in making vermont a leader in these efforts. [applause] [applause] and if you will send me the bill that passed the house last spring, we can make sure that all vermont children have access to quality universal prekindergarten to help set them on that right path. [applause] [applause] >> i was in the senate for a long time. they can sometimes be slowing their fee, but they got it. that, if you listen -- if you listen to the voices of addiction you will hear the underlying cause of this disease for jiminy back, a lack of hope, a lack of opportunity. so while we should celebrate that our unemployment rate is low and our economic outlook is bright, none of us should be can send until all vermonters, including those who are born into poverty have the same opportunities to succeed in flourish as the most fortune. [applause] of our best prevention against drug addiction is to create jobs and opportunities for all vermonters. by dividing the best -- providing the best early childhood education in america by continuing their good work on early college, dual enrollment of -- continued job growth like leading a sensible, of laurel, publicly financed universal health care system for all vermonters. [applause] by ensuring that every vermonter , regardless of income, has that chance of success living, working, and raising their family break here in vermont. all the proposals i just discussed today are designed to retrain the way that we solve drug addiction and drug crime in vermont, attacking it first as the health care crisis that is while simultaneously retooling our criminal justice system and strengthening law enforcement. this will not happen overnight. but these actions represent basic good government responses to an emergency. just as you expected us to work across agencies and across state and local governments to help us all recover from a devastation of the troubles start, so too should you expect this to approach this crisis of drug addiction with coordination and effective action this is about all of us together, i strive toward the goal of recovery by working with one another creatively, relentlessly, and without division. we can do this. i know we can. i have tremendous help for vermont and for our efforts to overcome this challenge and keep for months the vermont that we cherish for generations to come. thank you so much. [applause] according to an article published after the speech before state lawmakers for mob law enforcement community had been warning of the dangers of drug addiction. there been a series of high-profile drug suites in communities facing drug problems and prosecutors and police said they can solve the problem by themselves. the article points out that heroin addiction was up 250% and that the number of people who died of heroin overdoses nearly doubled since last year. >> now to indiana for the state of the state address from governor mike pence. talked about early pre skynyrd education, the expansion of medicaid and in the state response to the recent record cold temperatures. the republican, previously served in the house representatives from 2001 to 2013. [applause] [applause] [applause] v mean in new. >> speaker khnum, president pro tem, the senate governor from, senator, representative and the nine distinguished members of the general assembly, members of the judiciary, our guests, thank you for that warm welcome. after last week hidden warm is my favorite word her. all kidding aside him, one to think it all you in december to you and your family's hidden for the sacrifices you make. [applause] ..