Thank you mr. Speaker. Placed step forward committee, and make your report. It is my honor and privilege to introduce the governor of idaho. Thank you, and good luck. [applause] mr. Speaker, mr. President , on behalf of the joint session we welcome you, and we look forward to your remarks. The floor is yours. Thank you. Mr. Speaker, mr. President , honorable legislators, distinguished jurists, friends, my family, our first lady, my fellow idahoans. It is my high honor and distinct privilege to stand before you today to deliver my 12th and final state of the state and budget address. It is my great good fortune to report to you that the state of idaho is prosperous, positive, and poised for even better times ahead. Our 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 and our policies and priorities reflect the will of the people we serve. Of course there is room for improvement. As with all things human, there are shortcomings and frailties in our government that could benefit from thoughtful change. Just as certainly, any change can be difficult or even painful to achieve in a state as prudently conservative as idaho, especially when it comes to questions of governments proper role in our lives. Yet it is my firm belief that over the past 11 years of overcoming natural disasters and manmade challenges, stubborn litical divisions 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 we will build, and grow, and keep changing for the better, not because of any particular ideology or due to our own wellintentioned leadership, but because of the creative genius, the entrepreneurial spirit, and the native independence and selfreliance of our citizens. They are the source of idahos greatness. As a 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. I hear it each month at the nearly 100 capital for a day events weve held in every corner of our state. More formally, there are some 4,800 idaho citizen volunteers serving at any given time on 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 all voices are heard in the councils of government. They deserve our support and our thanks. I also want to express my gratitude to our extraordinary state employees whose hard work and dedication help us all succeed. So let me begin by saying that my executive budget for fiscal 2019 includes a 3percent pay increase for the men and women who make our State Government one of the best run in america. [applause] i live says i am so conservative, i only cried out of my right eye. [laughter] allow me to also express my thanks to Major General gary sayler, health and welfare director dick armstrong, commerce director megan ronk, Idaho State Police colonel ralph powell, court of appeals judge john melanson, Supreme Court justices jim jones, Daniel Eismann and warren jones, and many others who left state service in the past year. Now please join me in welcoming new and newly elevated members to our official state of idaho family adjutant general michael garshak, health and welfare director russ barron, commerce director bobbijo meuleman, Idaho State Police colonel ked wills, labor director melinda smyser, tax commissioner janet trujillo, drug policy administrator nicole fitzgerald, court of appeals judge jessica lorello, and Supreme CourtJustice Richard bevan. [applause] i knew you will greet them with all the warmth and congeniality of comrades in arms. We also are blessed to have back among us director gavin gee, who survived a terrible accident last winter and a difficult recovery to resume his responsibilities at the division of finance. Thanks for joining us today gavin, keep fighting the good fight. [applause] now, despite the talent and experience contained in this august joint session, im sure many of you share my feelings about starting a legislative session without the able assistance of former Senate Majority leader bart davis. Our new u. S. Attorney for the district of idaho served here for 19 years, embodying great legal scholarship, incredible legislative talent and unfailing statesmanship. Barts absence from these proceedings will be apparent, and we can all be grateful for his long service and consistent civic virtue. Some of you joined me and thousands of others in saying farewell to the late governor cecil andrus, who gave even more state of the state speeches than me. The outpouring of fond remembrance and wellearned respect for cece was a welcome throwback to another political time. In fact, one of the qualities i admired most about governor andrus was a lesson i internalized during my years in congress simply saying no is not enough. When the people of ido 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 decide is to shirk our duty and betray the publics trust. With the aging of our population, healthcare has led idahos employment growth since i took office in 2007. Its added more than 26,300 jobs, accounting for 46 percent of our overall job growth and 13 percent of total employment in idaho. That illustrates two important questions that will be at the forefront of Public Policy debates for the next few decades. How do we make healthcare more accessible and affordable, and how do we ensure employers have enough educated, trained and skilled workers to meet the needs of idahos growing economy, especially in healthcare and other stem fields . Lets start with education. Most Idaho Children who were in the first grade when i became governor are now starting their last semester of high school. Every program, initiative and investment i mention here today is focused on providing those young men and women with a leg up on Postsecondary Education and career opportunities. To ensure we have effective teachers leading that effort in every idaho classroom, my exece buetalls for oviding nearly 42 mlion in fiscal 2019 for the fourth year of implementing our careerladder system for education. Shifting how we fund teacher salaries from years of service and Education Credits to Student Outcomes represents a significant ongoing investment in Human Capital supporting Teachers Professional Development while establishing a longterm blueprint for teacher recruitment and retention. For all of us, literacy is essential to developing the other skills needed to advance successfully through life. Thousands of Idaho Children start their educational journey already reading below grade level. That leaves many of them struggling throughout their school years and beyond while requiring educators to employ more costly remedial reading programs. With your help we implemented an Early Intervention program two years ago for kindergarten through thirdgrade students who face severe reading challenges. But that program addressed only those at the very lowest level of reading skill. There are thousands more who are not yet proficient. So im asking today for 6. 5 million in fiscal 2019 to expand our literacy intervention efforts. We must provide a timely boost for these children before the focus of their education moves from the fundamental skill of reading to the applied skill of reading to learn. [applause] i also am seeking an additional 5 million a year for college and career advising. That money 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 student and parent access to information about careers and postsecondary opportunities is an essential step in providing for idahos future workforce needs. So is 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 also require that districts and Charter Schools have welldeveloped plans for sustainably integrating technology into their curricula. An even more fundamental change in our classrooms is idahos ongoing shift to masterybased education. The effort benefitted 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 our statewide plan by expanding the number of schools participating in the mastery education network. Ladies and gentlemen, our fiveyear plan for improving Public Schools is a watershed investment for idaho, and it is a tremendous achievement. With strong and diverse stakeholder involvement, with buyin from educators, patrons and policy makers and with yourontinuing leadershnd support ida will keep building a worldclass education system. That includes such local efforts as Bonneville County voters turning Eastern IdahoTechnical College into the college of Eastern Idaho, with the help of 5 million in startup money , and i appreciate it. [applause] congratulations to the people of congratulations to the people of Eastern Idaho for creating this great new opportunity for more of our citizens to affordably take their Education Beyond High School close to home. As you know, there was a robust debate in Bonneville County and beyond about the costs and benefits associated with creating the college of Eastern Idaho. And thats a good thing. That as it should be. An open process and meaningful Public Engagement are necessary to crafting sound Public Policy. Thats especially true on issues as complex and controversial as allocating limited resources to our education priorities. The success of our k12 task force for improving education 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 the moonshot goal of ensuring that 60 of our young adults have a postsecondary Academic Degree or professionaltechnical credential. Their assessment is sobering and their solution is bold. But i believe implementing it is necessary, not only for our students 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 our system works to make it more integrated, consolidated and studentcentric. Therefore, my budget request includes funding for the state board of education to hire an executive officer to coordinate the work of all our Higher Education institutions. The executive officer also will manage a systemwide consolidation of Higher Education support operations and the boards continuing policy functions. Theres no doubt these changes will upend the status quo. They will mean less working from isolated silos and more rowing in the same direction. [applause] and they will result in tens of millions of dollars in efficiencies, savings that can be used for scholarships and new initiatives. Lowe pring tce of education. That includes creating a statewide digital campus to better keep pace with continuing change in what we need our Higher Education system to deliver. I want to emphasize that what were talking about here is not a chancellor system with schools becoming campuses of a single university. I agree with the task force finding that such a change would be overly disruptive. But there is 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 will increase by 500 million a year with no change in population when the state reaches its 60 60 achieve a goal, compared with todays 42 . This is not a reflection on our state board of education members or the leadership of our institutions. The system itself is slow to adapt and too good at perpetuating the status quo. 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 we need. As a first step, im seeking your support for the Task Force Recommendation that we implement a statewide degree audit and Data Analytics system. That will enable all our postsecondary 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 task force recommended and i am requesting an additional 5 million for the opportunity scholarship program, which is helping students like boises holland godby. Its enabled her to go to college fulltime 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 entering the highdemand field of physical therapy. She was one of more than 1,500 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 idaho students who applied and 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 her instructor at boise state is my daughter, kimberly. [applause] my executive budget also calls for dedicating a portion of that 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 one of our certificate, associates or bachelors degree programs to finish what they started. And its about preserving the value of investments already made in partially completed studies. Folks, the adult Completion Scholarship Program is like finding money, so lets get it done. Creating a homegrown pipeline of educated, trained workers also was the mission of my industrydriven Workforce Development task force. My budget reflects the Task Force Recommendations that we invest in expanding capacityt our postcondary techca schools, in providing additional incentive nding r high school careertechnical programs, and in expanding cte offerings to the seventh and eighth grades. Im also calling for development of more online cte classes, and increased support for our six regional workforce training centers. In the meantime, i have implemented Task Force Recommendations aimed at ensuring employers have a more meaningful role in making our statewide workforce training efforts more responsive and adaptive to industrys increasingly technical needs. I will introduce legislation this session codifying changes to the structure and authority of the Workforce Development council and how it invests in one of the most crucial elements of idahos continuing economic growth. I appreciate the enhanced level of Publicprivate Partnership that this process has brought about, and i look forward to that collaboration paying dividends for years to come. In the same vein, we have a responsibility to act quickly during this legislative session to ensure that idaho employers dont pay for last years failure to enact unemployment tax r