Transcripts For CSPAN3 Idaho State Of The State Address 20180210

The joint session will be in order and gentlemen from 13. Thank you, mr. Speaker, the Committee Appointed to the state of idaho has reported and will report. Please step forward and make your report. Mr. Speaker, my honor and privilege to introduce the governor of the great state of idaho. The honorable c. L. Butch otter. Thank you. Thank you. Good luck. [ applause ] jerry, how are you . Go get em, man. Good luck to you. Bobby. [ applause ] thank you. Hi, david. Richard. How are you getting along . Are they still putting up with you . How are you doing . Great to see you. Thank you. [ applause ] mr. Speaker. Tim . Secretary, i always used to say i dont anymore. Governor, on behalf of the joint session we welcome you to the house chambers and we look forward to your remarks. Sir, the time and the floor is yours. Please tack yoke your seats. Thank you. Mr. Speaker, mr. President , honorable legislators, my fellow constitutional officers and distinguished jurors, friends, my family and our first lady and my fellow idahoans. It is my high honor and distinct privilege to stand before you today to deliver my 12th and my final state of the state budget address. It is my Great Fortune to be able to report to you that the state of idaho is prosperous, positive and poised for even better times ahead. Our growing population is growing fast. Our citizens are striving for a future with more opportunities and even brighter prospects and our State Government is leaner, more fiscally responsible, more transparent, more responsive and better prepared than ever to help idahoans achieve their own best potential. Our books are balanced. Our fiscal obligations are being met. Our credit is strong. We are planning wisely, working collaboratively and investing sustainably. Our National Politics often is dysfunctional, but in idaho, our government processes are sound. Our policies and our priorities reflect the will of the people that we serve. Of course, theres always room for improvement. As with all things human, there are short comings and frailties in our government that could benefit from thoughtful change, just as certainly any change could be difficult or painful to achieve in a state as prudently conservative as idaho especially when it comes to the question of governments proper role in our lives. Yet it is my firm belief that over the last 11 years of overcoming natural disasters, stubborn political divisions, man made challenges, and devastating economic recession. Together, we have constructed a stronger, more Durable Foundation on which we and the people of idaho can build. [ applause ] and build we will and grow and keep changing for the better not because of any particular ideology or due to our wellintelephononed leadership, but because of the creative genius, the entrepreneurial spirit and the selfreliance of our citizens, they are the source of idahos greatness. As State Government we benefit enormously from tapping into that deep well of sage advice and counsel. I hear it at the coffee shop in star and Walking Around downtown boise or anywhere, i hear it each month at nearly 100 capitals for a day that weve held at every corner of the state since i became governor. More formally there are 8,000 idaho citizens, volunteers who are serving at any given time at our state oversight and Advisory Boards and commissions. From accountancy and aging to Water Resources and workforce. They are and will remain an indispensable ingredient of our success, working quietly and tirelessly to ensure that all voices are heard in the counsels of government. They deserve our support and our thanks. I want to express our gratitude to state employees whose hard work and dedication helped us all succeed. So let me begin by saying that my executive budget for fiscal 2019 includes a 3 pay increase for the men and women who make our State Government one of the best run in america. Allow me [ applause ] i wasnt about to give up that 3 . I have a leaky eye and my wife says i am so conservative i only cry out of my right eye. But anyway, allow me also to express my thanks to Major General gary sailor. Health and welfare director dick armstrong, commerce director, megan gronk. Idaho state Police Colonel ralph powell, court of appeals judge, judge malancy, warren jones and many others who left state service in the past year. Now please join me in welcoming new and newly elevated members of the official state idaho family. General Michael Garshack and health and welfare director russ baron. Commerce director bobby joe newman and idaho state police, colonel ted wells, state director of labor melinda smizer. Tax commissioner, janet trujillo, drug policy administrator Nicole Fitzgerald and the court of appeals judge, Jessica Lorello and Supreme Court justice, richard bivens. [ applause ] thank you. I knew you would greet them with all of the warmth and congeniality of comrades in arms because they are our partners in this government. We also are blessed to have back among us gavin. Gavin suffered a terrible accident last winter and a difficult recovery to resume his responsibilities at the division of finance. Thanks for joining us again, gavin. Keep fighting the good fight. I know you will. [ applause ] now despite the talent and the experience contained in this august joint session. I am sure many of you share my feelings about starting a legislative session without the able assistance of former Senate Majority leader art davis. Our new u. S. Attorney for the district of idaho served for 19 years embodying great legal scholarship, incredible legislative talent and unfailing statesmanship. Barts absence from these proceedings will be apparent, but we can all be grateful for his long service and his consistent civic virtue. Some of you join me and thousands of others last august in saying farewell to the late governor cecil andres who gave even more state of the state speeches than me. The outpouring of fond remembrances for ses was a welcome throwback to an unpolitical time. In pack, one of the great qualities i most admired about the governor was a message they internalized when i was serving in the United States congress. Simply saying no is not enough. When the people of idaho give us authority to act on their behalf, we must govern. Republican and democrat majority and minority, executive and legislature together. To do less or to dither rather than to decide is to shirk our duty and to betray the public trust. With the aging of our population, health care has led idahos employment growth since i took office in 2007. Its added 26,300 Jobs Accounting for 46 of the overall growth and 13 of the total employment in idaho. That illustrates two important questions that will be at the forefront of public approximately see debates for the next few decades. How do we make healthcare more accessible and affordable and how do we ensure that employers have an educated, trained and skilled workers to meet the needs of idahos growing economy. Whether its in health care or s. T. E. M. Fields. Lets start with education. Most Idaho Children who were in the first grade when i became governor are now starting their last session of their senior year in high school. Every program, initiative and investment that i mentioned here today is focused on providing those young men and women, and career opportunities. To ensure that we have effective teachers leading that effort in every idaho classroom, my executive budget calls for providing nearly 42 million in fiscal year 2019 for the fourth year of implementing our career ladder system for education. Shifting how we Fund Teachers salaries from years in service and Education Credits to student outcomes, represents a significant ongoing investment in human capital, supporting Teachers Professional Development while establishing longterm blueprint for teacher recruitment and retention. For all of us, literacy is essential to develop the skills needed to advance successfully through life. Thousands of Idaho Children start that educational children already reading below grade level. That leaves many of them struggling through their school years and beyond while requiring educators to employ more costly programs. Your help we implemented an Early Intervention Program Three years ago. From kindergarten through third grades who face severe reading challenges. That program addressed only those at the lowest level of reading skills. There are thousands more who are not yet proficient. So i am asking today for 6. 5 million in fiscal year 2019 to expand our literacy intervention efforts. We must provide for the children before they move from the fundamental skill of reading to the applied skill of reading to learn. [ applause ] am also seeking an additional 5 million a year for college and career advising. That is intended to ensure that all districts can implement effective programs for helping students plan for life after high school. Whether for college or technical training, improving students or parents access to information about careers in postsecondary opportunities is an essential step in providing for idahos future and our workforce needs. So as responsibly putting modern learning tools in every idaho classroom. My budget recommendation calls for investing an additional 10 million in School Technology starting next year, bringing our total annual investment in technology for students and teachers to 36 million. That will require the districts and Charter Schools have welldeveloped plans for sustainably integrating technology into their curricula. An even more fundamental change in the classroom is idahos ongoing shift to masterybased education. The effort benefited from an initial investment in 19 incubator schools. Those schools have worked during the past two years to establish a network of support and best practices and to identify barriers to implementation. By investing another 1. 4 million per year we can continue developing and implementing the statewide plan by expanding the number of schools participating in masterybased education network. Ladies and gentlemen, our fiveyear plan for improving schools is a watershed investment for idaho and its a creative achievement. With stake holder involvement and with buyins from patrons and policymakers and with your continued leadership and support, idaho will keep building a worldclass education system. That includes such local efforts as bonnville county voters, turning Eastern Idaho Technical College into the college of Eastern Idaho with your help of 5 million in startup money and i appreciate it. You did a great job. [ applause ] so my congratulations to the people of Eastern Idaho for creating this great new opportunity. For more of the citizens to affordably take the Education Beyond High School much closer to home. As you know, theres a robust debate in bonnville county and beyond about the costs and the benefits associated with creating the college of Eastern Idaho, and thats a good thing. Thats as it should be. An open process and meaningful, Public Engagement are necessary for crafting sound, Public Policy and thats especially true on issues as complex and controversial as allocating limited resources and priorities. The success of the k12 task force for improving education, i believe, bears that out. So id like to thank the 36 members of my Higher Education task force who worked during the past year to assess how we can achieve that moon shot goal of ensuring that 60 of the young adults have a postsecondary Academic Degree or professional, technical credential. Their assessment is sobering and their solution is bold. But i believe implementing it is necessary not only for our student, but for idahos economy. The task force concluded that we will never achieve the 60 goal the way Higher Education in idaho is structured today. So its 12 recommendations focus on dramatically changing the way that our system works to make it more integrated, consolidated and student centric. Therefore, my budget request includes funding for state board of education to hire an executive officer to coordinate the work of all Higher Education institutions. The executive officer will also manage the system wide consolidation of Higher Education and support operations and the back room operations and the boards continuing policy functions. Theres no doubt that these changes will up end the status quo. They will mean less working from isolated silos and more rowing in the same direction. And they will result [ applause ] and they will result in tens of millions of dollars in e fesh enzis, savings that now can be used for scholarships and new initiatives, lowering the price of education. That includes in creating a statewide digital campus to better keep pace with continuing change with what we need our Higher Education system to deliver. I want to emphasize that were not talking about a chancellor system here. With schools becoming campuses of a single university. I agree with the task force finding that such a change would be overly disruptive, but theres no doubt about the advantages and the necessity of adopting an executive officer model if we are serious about making and keeping idaho economically competitive. Heres a staggering metric. The Task Force Found that state income Tax Collections in idaho would increase by 500 million a year with no change in population when the state reaches its 60 achievement goal compared with todays 42 . This is not a reflection of our state board of education members or the leadership of our institutions. The system itself is slow to adapt, too good at perpetuating the status quo, and it simply is not equipped or empowered to make the big Management Changes needed to achieve our 60 goal. Without these changes, we very likely will make no more progress toward that goal in the next ten years than we have in the past seven. We still must better define the scope of work required to achieve the consolidation that we need. As a first step, i am seeking your support for the Task Force Recommendation that we implement a statewide degree oddity and data analytic system. That will enable all our secondary institutions to identify students early on who need Additional Support or guidance and then track their progress toward degree completion anywhere in our system. To address access and affordability the tack force recommended and i am requesting an additional 5 million for the Opportunity Scholarship Program which is helping students like boises holland godby. It enabled her to go to college full time and work parttime without going deep into student loan debt. Holland, thanks for being with us today. Holland, would you please stand . [ applause ] holland is using her scholarship to attend Boise State University in hopes of everyoning the highdemand field of physical therapy. Holland was one of more than 1500 idaho students who received an opportunity scholarship for their first year of college. But that was less than half of the more than 3,300 who were eligible, but got no assistance. We can and should do more, and by the way, as a proud father, i would tell you that hollands instructor at boise state is my daughter kimberly. [ applause ] my executive budget calls for dedicating a portion of the 5 million to providing adult completion scholarships. Thats not a program for subsidizing dropouts. Its about creating the workforce that idaho employers need. Its about closing our skills gap by bringing students with some College Credits back to our Certificate Associates and Bachelor Degree Programs to finish what they started, and its about also about preserving the value of investment already made in partially completed studies. Folks, the adult completion Scholarship Program is like finding money. So lets get it found. Creating a homegrown pipeline of educated, trained workers is also the mission of the industrydriven Workforce Development task force. My budget reflects the Task Force Recommendations that we invest in expanding the capacity at our postsecondary Technical Schools and providing additional incentive funding for high school, career technical programs and expanding the cte offerings to the seventh and eighth grade. I am also calling for the development of more online, kr te classes and increased support for the workforce training centers. In the meantime, i have implemented the Task Force Recommendations aimed at ensuring employers have a more meaningful role in making the statewide workforce training efforts more responsive and adaptive to the increasing technical needs. I will introduce legislation this session codifying the changes to the structure and authority of the Workforce Development council and how it invests in the idaho os contind economic growth. I look forward to the collaboration paying dividends for years to come. In the same vein, we have a responsibility to act quickly during the legislative session to ensure that idaho employers dont pay for last years failure to enact unemployment tax relief. I once again am proposing a bill to roll back a rate increase that took effect on january 1, as a result of our inaction in 2017. It will cost the department of labor roughly 75,000 to process the legally required tax notices once the change is made. However, thats a relatively small price compared with the 115 million in higher than necessary taxes that idaho businesses will pay over the next three years if we dont make the simple, but necessary change. As i said in the end of the 2017 session unemployment tax relief should be job one for 2018. I hope you agree. [ applause ] a 2017 tax debate also led to the idaho Supreme Court ruling last summer that we must change the way we do the peoples business to ensure public trance spar transparency and protect the political process. Konts raer to traditional practices, all legislation must now be pressented to the governor before the legislature adjourns. I welcome this new requirement and look forward to working more productively with you on our shared priorities. Those priorities include adding to the more than 1. 2 billion in tax relief that we have provided the citizens over the past decade, but that must be accompanied and accomplished while meeting our constitutional and statutory obligations, sustainably advancing our education and other policy priorities and ensuring that our state tax laws remain fair, stable and competitive. Its true that our tax burden in idaho is relatively light compared with other states, but our income levels also remain comparatively low and beneath our own expectations. In terms of growth its important to note that personal income in idaho has grown up 40 since 2008 while general fund revenue has increased less than 25 . So despite some selective arguments to the contrary, our economy clearly is growing faster than our State Government. However [ applause ] . However, we must never forget that its the peoples money. So i will gladly john you in reducing individual and Corporate Income tax rates with an eye toward stimulating more economic growth, but that must be accomplished while keeping our fiscal house in order and our investments for the future on track. To make that possible, i will be proposing a plan to enable idahos substantial conformance with the new federal tax code without putting state revenues or the idaho taxpayers at risk. Of course, its well known that predictability is important for sound tax approximately see. When it comes to healthcare, the federal government is seems to be going the extra mile to ensure that idaho and other states have no certainty at all about what the future holds. At the same time, i have come to you repeatedly with proposals for making health care in idaho more accessible and coverage more affordable with or without having a federal plan in place. So in my last legislative session as your governor i am making one final attempt. No longer should this body use my agreement not to act alone on obamacare issues as a way to stop progress that will benefit idahos citizens. We can no longer wait for congress. This issue is too pressing and its in our hands. [ applause ] this session i will be advancing for your consideration the Idaho Health Care plan. A proposal for which many of you have been hearing for months now. Simply put, it would stiblize idahos Health Care Insurance market and give more working idaho families the ability to purchase affordable coverage. The Idaho Health Care plan gives us the opportunity to be both conservative and compassionate. It will enable those with the most costly medical, complex conditions to move their coverage to medicaid during the course of their illness. That will enable Insurance Companies to reduce the premium rates for the majority of people who remain in the individual marketplace. This is not expanding medicaid. This is providing idaho working family who have modest incomes an affordable way to get the coverage they need and its a matter of fairness for idaho citizens who get less help with coverage under the socalled Affordable Care act than noncitizens legally residing here. The idaho plan will require 17. 4 million from the general fund and another 11. 4 million rom the millennium fund. Idaho families, leaving them rates for many more working better able to pay for other of lifes essential needs. As i said before, Health Care Affordability and accessibility are among central Public Policy challenges of our time. In idaho, those challenges involve a chronic shortage of positions and other Health Care Professionals, particularly in the more rural parts of our state, and thats why i am so excited about the Idaho College of osteopathic medicine, idahos first medical school. Classes will begin in august of this year on the meridian campus which is working with idaho State University and other stakeholders to address our last in the nation ranking for the number of primary care positions. It is also committed to helping bring more residency opportunities to idaho for positions in training. In addition, my budget recommends funding for 11 new residencies at the Eastern Idaho Regional Medical center in idaho falls and Bingham Memorial Hospital in black foot. That will compliment our own efforts since 2013 to fund more medical school seats for the idaho students. We now have 40 seats dedicated to idaho medical students through the regional whammy consortium, price as many as when i assumed this office. [ applause ] having Health Care Professional nearby is one of the factors that determine a communitys success in developing its local economy by attracting and growing businesses that provide good paying jobs. The services that are that the communities need increasingly include Cost Effective ways of coping with acute Substance Abuse and Mental Health issues and thats why i say thank you. Thank you for supporting the creation of Behavioral Health Crisis Centers through Community Partnerships in coeur d alene, idaho falls, twin falls and most recently boise. My executive budget this year requests calls for continuing to build on that successful effort, to cut back on the more costly use of Emergency Rooms and jail cells when our people face those lifeshattering challenges. Im asking for 2. 6 million in fiscal 2019, to stand up three more Crisis Centers in louis, napa coalwell and pocatelea areas. This is an example of idahoans taking care of their own and not waiting for washington d. C. To prescribe or mandate a solution to our challenges. Thats a strategy born of necessity and hard experience, but in 2017 we saw a renaissance of responsiveness and regulatory relief from our National Government. It has been especially refreshing to see the trump administrations willingness to seek our input to really listen and embrace the value on state perspectives on issues that affect us more directly. As we all know, the whole concept of federalism spent years on the shelf, but now, what we in idaho say and how we collaborate and develop our own solutions matters again. Maybe more than ever. Its a new day on issues from protecting to citing major electrical transmission lines and enjoying the traditional use of our public lands. Of course, there are still challenges, obstructionists in congress and undue influence of a carryover prescribed in some of the federal agencies are still slowing progress, but we have fewer mother may i moments with our federal partners and one of the results is better and more active management of our resources and communities that are becoming better protected by catastrophic wildfires. Two programs in particular stand out. First, let me update you on the range land Fire Protection associations. Over the past few years the bureau of Land Management and u. S. Fish and Wild Life Service have worked with our state department of lands to train and equip 330 Southern Idaho farmers, ranchers and their employees as members of nine rfpas. They now are providing initial attack capability and expert local protection on more than 9 million acres of idaho range land, protection from wildfires that threaten sage habitat and the forests that our ranching and Farming Families need to stay in business. Another example of our improving relationship with the feds is the degree to which federal Good Neighbor authority has taken root in our Timber Industry ask timber communities. Its an innovative way to more quickly implement on the ground land and watershed improve ams on four service acreage. Investments from the forest industry, you and the feds so far have resulted in ten Good Neighbor authority projects in idaho. In the next few years, about another 10,000 acres will be treated to improve Forest Health by carefully harvesting 65 million board feet of timber, providing 13 million in program income. The department of lands has sold and overseen the harvest of 6 million board feet of timber from fire salvage and four projects in the past year alone, generating more than 1. 8 million in revenue. The efficiency and the effectiveness of this work is so apparent that the federal agencies are eager to line up more good help for the projections by the state. [ applause ] and thats the main reason that im going to be asking for Spending Authority for eight new positions at the department of lands as we expand this program thats working for idaho. Perhaps the most memorable part of last year was one that most of us would just as soon forget. You can call it snowpocalypse or just a great water year depending on where youre from or how you look at it. Either way, the winter of 2017 was one for the record books and thank god thats where it is now. It disrupted lives and endangered travelers and did millions of dollars in damage to property and infrastructure throughout idaho. Thank you for providing the 52 million in Emergency Assistance to help our communities address the most serious and immediate problems. We had some snags. With the disaster teams that were being called away for the worst Hurricane Season on record, but we are getting relief out as quickly as possible and were working with cities, counties and highway districts to minimize the impact of delay in disaster funding. As i said, it was a big year for water so whether it was falling from the sky and being recharged into idahos largest underground reservoir, runoff from last years snow pack on top of saturated soils required careful, coordinated management of demeanors and reservoirs. The efforts successfully reduced flooding and ensured the structures were secure. Meanwhile, it provided a full allocation of water in the boise river and the snake river reservoirs and plenty of carryover for use in 2018. Just as importantly, for the first time, just as importantly for the First Time Since 1950, we put more water back into the eastern snake plane ak kquifer n we pumped out in 2017. [ applause ] water levels in the lake erie size ak we per had been dropping for nearly 60 years, but last year the water Resource Board worked with private Canal Companies to recharge 317,000 acre feet of water, a landmark Settlement Agreement between surface water users and groundwater users resulted in a net gain of another 200,000 acre feet. Along with the wet weather, the result was 660,000 acre feet of water, storage in that ak in knowledge managing and protecting our most precious and fragile of natural resources. About the only thing that we value more than water in idaho are our families and our privacy. Everything were doing in workforce training and health and Public Safety is about strengthening and protectioning idaho families and children. Lets talk about securing our personal data. From a technology standpoint the world has been remade several times since i became governor. We have learned through hard experience that information is a vulnerable asset. And we are far better prepared now to ensure responsible management, control and protection of private information. Former air force Cyber Security expert is now onboard as idaho owe first director of information security. Under his leadership, state agencies have adopted rigorous National Cybersecurity standards, critical Internet Security controls have been put in place and a comprehensive Cybersecurity Training Program is now mandatory for every state employee. In short, we are doing all that we can within our existing Management Structure to defend our state resources and more importantly to keep our citizens personal Information Safe from hackers, criminals or worse. The next step is improving the structure of that oversight. I am recommending a thorough assessment of scattered and disjointed information resources in the coming months. The goal is to standardizing and optimizing Cyber Capabilities through our State Government. The proposed changes are advancing our ability to connect citizens through social media and other tools. Idaho is well situated to be a Global Leader in this field. Just consider our investment and partnership in the Idaho National laboratories cyber core Integration Center or the inls cybersecurity training outreach in idaho businesses. Consider the thriving cybersecurity degree programs at our universities and the Idaho National guard Cyber Operation squadron. So we are reaching a Critical Mass of infrastructure all thats need side our continued commitment for idaho to remain on the vanguard of this evolving discipline. On a related note. No report on our progress over the past decade would be complete without highlighting the growing partnership between the state of idaho and the national lab. Folks, we are light years beyond the legal and political disputes that dogged our relationship for many years. Today the inl is much more than a remote, Nuclear Engineering outpost on the Eastern Idaho desert. Our connections now include my leadership in Nuclear Energy or line commission, our Strategic Energy alliance and the center for advanced Energy Studies with its cuttingedge smartgrid research. And lets not forget inls growing collaboration with our universities as well as the department of energy s. T. E. M. Education efforts at idaho schools and there are more great things to come from inl and the patel energy alliance, which by the way, just won a new fiveyear Management Contract that welcomes stability and lab operations. Coming soon is the next stage in developing small, modular Reactor Technology that could be the future of Nuclear Energy in the world. Now from thinking globally to acting locally. Allow me to update you on the success of a program, and the goal of helping idaho develops such youth and develops such skills as critical thinking, team work and accountability. The challenge academy so far has provided structure and a Second Chance for 648 graduates from 41 counties. Many of those cadets were struggling in school before they got to pierce idaho. A number were having trouble at home or with the law. Through last year, those citizens in training had over 9,000 high school credits and more than 130 of them earned their ged or High School Diploma. Whats more, Youth Challenge cadets [ applause ] whats more, Youth Challenge cadets have contributed more than 34,000 Community Service hours. They have improved horse trails and visited seniors at the local assisted Living Center and volunteered at the state Veterans Home in louiston. I can tell you the feeling of energy and renewed hope and Endless Possibilities that you get just being around those cadets is refreshing and invigorating and its contagious. This program isnt the biggest around and it doesnt have all of the bells and whistles. Its purposely located away from many of the distractions of modern life, but let me give you two quick examples of the results that Youth Challenge academy is producing. Dylan hoops of louiston was in trouble in school and at home. He even had some brushes with the law. His mother angela put it this way, he had a 1. 6 gpa and a chip on his shoulder. All that changed at the academy. Dylan embraced the training, buckled down, adopted a goaloriented attitude and pursued leadership opportunities and learned his High School Diploma with a 3. 7 gpa. [ applause ] his mother summed it up this way. Quote, i am confident that because of his experience at the idaho Youth Challenge academy, he has found the confidence he needed to overcome lifes obstacles and obtains the blessings that good citizenship has to offer, end quote. Now dylan is 20 and a fulltime student at State College and he is working parttime and will receive his Associates Degree in automotive mechanics this spring. Dylan, congratulations and welcome. [ applause ] daniel smith of napa summed up his situation before entering the program this way, quote, i was overweight, underconfident and wasnt doing well in school either, end quote. The good news was that he recognized his need to start making better life choices. And the idaho Youth Challenge academy was there to help. Friends who had been through the academy and told daniel about the positive changes it had brought in their lives and changes emphasizing respect, excellence, persistence, integrity and leadership. Now daniel joins them in considering it one of the best decisions hes ever made. He got his High School Diploma, joined the military and was selected for the elite United States air force honor guard. Daniel was part of the inauguration ceremonies for president trump, and most recently was in macys thanksgiving day parade in new york city. He credits the Youth Challenge program and the mentorship he provided it provided for him to get where he is today which i am pleased to tell you, hes with us. [ applause ] dylan and daniel are just two examples of how the Youth Challenge academy is improving lives, restoring families and creating the chance for Real Progress for the next generation of productive, contributing citizens. Some of you have visited pierce to see the program for yourselves. I encourage anyone who has questions who questions its value to spend some time with these young people. I am confident that youll be as impressed as i was. My friend, i say again, idaho is stronger and more economically diverse than ever. Our Unemployment Rate is near a record low. Wages are on the rise. Whole Industry Sectors emerging and growing and stretching our taxpayer resources to keep up with workforce demands, that we are sustainably and responsibly investing k through 12 Career Education and training without raising taxes. We will never mortgage our future at throwing money at business attractions like other states, but with your support we now have targeted, performancebased incentives that work. They add to the Economic Development portfolio that includes inexpensive Renewable Power and a great work ethic and amongst the most stable and business friendly tax and regulatory climates in the country. I call that Real Progress and may it long esto perpetua. Its really too bad that the word progress has been so thoroughly hijacked in todays political lexicon. The republicanled Progressive Movement of the early 20th century called for a more populist but Still Limited relationship between government and business. But since the great depression, progress has become synonymous with bigger and more intrusive government. The nanny state. Its true that despite our best efforts and firmest resolve, governments get bigger, thats a function of growing population and rising public expectations. More complex and social realities and a changing dynamic between our public and private sectors. But we all know that making government bigger often makes fulfilling its most necessary and proper functions less focused and less effective. More importantly, making government bigger without also making it better can be a barrier to Real Progress for our citizens. For the individual idahoan. Now we all know that progress isnt linear. It doesnt go from point a to point b. It zigzags and swerves and dips and curves, and at times in human history, it trails off altogether. But progress always comes back. It shakes off ignorance and political extremes. It overcomes natural calamities and human failings to return time and time again throughout the ages. Progress makes a comeback when people start believe again, believing in their own abilities, believing in themselves, believing that they can make a difference and believing that government alone is not, never has been and never will be the answer. Progress makes a comeback when people start taking personal responsibility for moving it forward as best as they can. Thats where we are in idaho. Preparing our State Government and everyone and everything it touches for the future. Once again, during this legislative session we will make choices that will echo down through the generations and play a role in shaping the destinies of our families and our descendants. Because of the work that we have done over more than a decade, we have never been readier for the challenges and the opportunities ahead. The common sense conservative policies advanced by these bodies and by us together have been essential to idahos progress towards better enabling our citizens to become the architects of their own destiny, rather than surrounding to the siren song of entitlement. Yet just as progress isnt linear, it also isnt singular. Eventually there will be another recession, or worse, disasters will beset us. At some point, we may once again struggle to keep our heads above water. Thats why to be truthfully meaningful and impactful, progress cant be a onetime thing, it must overcome setbacks and resistance. It must be more than good intentions with a highprofile start, followed by inattention and eventually abandonment. There has to be a baton to pass. There must be a fire to stoke. There has to be a clear understanding that what we do here today will help our children and their children keep advancing the frontiers of freedom slowly but surely. Because that enlightened freedom is where progress will be found for the people who rely on us to act in their best interests without upending their lives. Ladies and gentlemen, progress takes commitment. It takes political and sometimes personal courage. It requires us to see the big picture and take the long view in crafting Public Policy. And we have only ourselves to blame when we reap the whirlwind of apathy or inattention. Responsible leadership, let alone citizenship, requires us to regularly refresh the tree of liberty with the values of vigilance, prudence and common sense. You see, wellinformed conscientious reluctance to change is not the truest enemy of progress. The truest enemy of progress is misguided reflexive opposition to change. Our founders knew that more than 200 years ago. In 1816, Thomas Jefferson was 40 years beyond his days as a young revolutionary, authorizing the declaration of independence. With his years as president behind him, jefferson was asked how best to adapt our fledging National Government to rapid social and economic changes. And he wrote, and i quote, i am certainly not an advocate for frequent and untried changes in laws and constitutions. But i know also that laws and institutions must go hand in hand with the progress of the human mind. As that becomes more developed, more enlightened, as new discoveries are made and new truths disclosed, and manners and opinions change with the change of circumstances, institutions must advance also and keep pace with the times. End quote. Now, that is not to dismiss or defame the timeless virtues that should populate our character or the underlying truths that must light our path forward. Rather, i believe its to remind us that our responsibility not only to those who voted for us, not only to our constituents, but also to keep pace with the times and the path of human progress. We have constitutional and legal social responsibilities to the people of idaho. Those include preparing them for productive citizenship with accessible education opportunities, safe communities and equal protection to the law. I believe the plan of action recommended in my executive budget and in the policies that we will be presenting to you this session move us closer to truly fulfilling that responsibility. We must not waste the opportunity that relative prosperity now affords us to invest in the future. We must strive to be the kind of leaders who go beyond the rhetoric, because sustaining what we have set in motion will require much more than lip service. As Teddy Roosevelt said in urging action over ideology in public life, quote, our words must be judged by our deeds and in striving for a lofty ideal, we must use practical methods, and if we cannot attain it all in one leap, we must advance toward it step by step, reasonably content so long as we do actually make some progress in the right direction. My friends, we have made progress in the right direction over the last 11 years. Whether we continue on that course depends on our commitment to investing in an even Better Future for the people that we serve. It depends upon the values that we place on joining with individuals, communities and our corporate citizens in overcoming highbound opposition to a legitimate role for State Government and pursue our common interests. Ive come a long way from the brash young revolutionary who served in this body. And ran for governor with big ideals but precious little perspective. With the benefit of experience earned through the patience and the confidence of the idaho voters, today i have a more nuanced view of the proper role of government. I believe ive always understood its limitations and its flaws, but now i also know its possibilities. When responsibly led for helping citizens realize their full potential. None of us can afford to miss the latter because we are hamstrung by the former. Most of you know that Thomas Jefferson and Ronald Reagan are my political heros and models. They were not roped or tied by ideology. When pragmatism was the best path to progress, they led, and we must do the same. In conclusion [ applause ] was it that long . In conclusion no, really go ahead and take your time. Still have 11 months, three weeks, three days and about nine hours. [ laughter ] but then who is counting . [ applause ] let me say for myself and ms. Lori that in the years that ive had the opportunity to be your governor, they have provided the most precious and rewarding experiences in my life. Working with and for each of you, my fellow citizens, has been the honor of a lifetime and the best job that i ever had. I appreciate more than i can express the chance to share this stage, this arena with all of you. And to join you in making significant and lasting progress for every member of the idaho family. So thank you. God bless your work here. May god continue to bless the great state of idaho and the United States of america. Thank you. [ applause ] next on cspan3, a roundtable discussion on how Homeland Security officials are tackling threats to the u. S. Thats followed by a hearing examining the congressional budget office. And later, representatives from various businesses talk about ways theyre combatting human trafficking. Saturday, American History tv on cspan3 is live beginning at 9 00 a. M. Eastern with allday coverage from the new museum of the bible in washington, d. C. , with a symposium of historian exploring the bible and the founding of america. Speakers include Baylor University history professor thomas kidd author of Benjamin Franklin the religious life of a founding father. Professor daniel author of reading the bible with the founding fathers. And divinity professor author of sacred scripture, sacred war the bible and the American Revolution watch live starting 9 00 a. M. Saturday morning on American History tv on cspan3. Sunday on cspans q a, New York Times Staff Photographer doug mills talks about the for thes he took while covering president. Obviously he enjoys having us around. I really believe despite his constant, you know, comments about fake news and the immediately and so forth, i really i really feel he enjoys having us around because it helps describe his message,