Speaker vos, speaker pro dem, majority leader fitzgerald, minority leader schilling, minority leader hence, Supreme Court justices, constitutional officers, tribal leaders, members of the cabinet, members of the legislature, distinguished guests and most importantly, fellow citizens of wisconsin, it is an honor to come before you this afternoon to report on the state of our great state. Before we start, i want to recognize my wife and our two sons matt and alex. Last year as you might remember, my wife joined me at this podium to talk about her Ground Breaking work called fostering futures. She and her team continue their efforts with tribal counsels, county governments, nonprofits, colleges and universities and employers from across wisconsin. Our state agencies have been trained and how to incorporate trauma and form care into the daily routines. She brought together group of first spouses and staff to wisconsin to talk about this important work and she went to washington to get the federal government more involved in this area. I want to thank you for your leadership, leadership that will change the lives of children, adults, and families all officer wisconsin. [applause] next to my wife is Major GeneralDonald Dunbar who is the general of the 10,000 strong men and women of the Wisconsin National guard. Thank you for your service, general dunbar. [applause] and next to him this is a great treat this year, next to him is Major General mark anderson. It was my privilege to administer the oath earlier this month to our second two star general. What an honor for wisconsin. Congratulations, general anderson. Under september general dunbar, thomas safer and i had the opportunity to visit members of the 115th fighter wing from right here in madison. While they were deployed in an air base in south korea. Commanding officer bart ru is with us who i actually had the chance to fly in with an f16 years ago, he and 255 airmen were deployed to one of the most intense spots in the world. South korea. Now while we were there, i met the commander of the seventh air force, lieutenant journal thomas bergson. Hes a 1981 graduate of Wisconsin Rapids high school. He told me of the incredible skill of our airmen and women and as if that wasnt enough, the commander of the 115th colonel Eric Peterson and many of the remarkable men and women of the Wisconsin National guard join me last month as we announced that wisconsin had been selected the host the brand new f35a lightning two fighter jets right here at truex field. Out of all the states in america, we had the number one location. Im looking forward to hearing the f35s say off. You know what . Thats the sound of freedom. Congratulations to these outstanding men and women, many of whom are with us here today. [applause] today im proud to declare that the state of our state well, its historically strong. In wisconsin, employment is at historic highs and unemployment is at historic lows. We invested more actual dollars into schools than ever before in our history. The state property tax is gone. Wisconsin received a bond rating upgrade from three National Agencies. Our Health Care Systems are ranked number one in the nation for quality. And we announced the Largest Economic Development in state history. It has been an amazing year, a historic year. [applause] [applause] we are getting positive things done for the people of wisconsin. As mentioned, more people are employed in wisconsin than ever before in the history of our state. And just last week, the department of Workforce Development announced that the Unemployment Rate had dropped to 3 . The only other time it was that low was in may, june, july of 1999 whether Tommy Thompson was our governor. Things were pretty good back then. Theyre pretty good now. And theyre only going to get better. [applause] were getting positive things done for the people of wisconsin. Students in our schools have some of the highest act scores and some of the best Graduation Rates in the country. And we just invested more actual dollars in k12 education than ever before. An extra 200 for every student in every school in every part of our state this year and another 204 increase for every student on top of that next year. Our children deserve a great education that prepares them for college, careers, and real life. Were getting positive things done for the people of wisconsin. To make college affordable, we flows university of wisconsin tuition for all undergraduates from our state for six years in a row. [applause] were partnering with Financial Institutions to help graduates refinance Student Loans and Financial Assistance for students in need. Thats at an all time high making Higher Education possible for thousands of students at colleges and universities across the state. We are getting positive things done for the people of wisconsin. We were able to make record investments in education and reducing the burden on taxpayers. The nonpartisan legislative bureau, property and income taxes will be lower in 2018 than they were in 2010. And welt eliminated, thaerltts right, we eliminated the state property tax. 100 of the taxpayers in our state saw 100 percent reduction in the state property tax bills. Were getting positive things done for the people of wisconsin. Health care systems in our state ranked number one in the nation for quality. According to the agency for Health Care Research and quality. Plus [applause] plus, everyone living in poverty is now covered under badger care for the first time in the history of the state. And according to the u. S. Census bureau, the percentage of people with access to Health Coverage in wisconsin is now one of the best in the nation. We are getting positive things done for the people of wisconsin. Were one of the top states for milk, corn, soy beans, beef, apples, cherries, vegetables. Im just getting hungry thinking about that. Agriculture is a big part of our economy and for our farm families. Its more than that. Its a way of life. Were getting positive things done for the people of wisconsin. We offer benefits for our veterans and the next state offers 21. Our veterans can attend College Tuition free and we expanded eligibility so more of our veterans spouses and families can too. And u. S. News and World Reports our veterans homes are among the best in the country. Were getting positive things done for the people of wisconsin. More people working than ever before. Unemployment at historic lows. More help for our colleges and universities. Lower taxes, Quality Health care, growing agriculture in industry, taking care of our veterans. Yeah. Were getting things done. Were getting positive things done for the people of wisconsin. As you might recall, that wasnt always the case. Eight years ago, things were much different. The state was headed in the wrong direction. Instead of going forward, state was going backwards. Eight years ago in january of 2010, the Unemployment Rate was 9. 2 . Today the Unemployment Rate is down to 3 . That is well below the National Rate of 4. 1 and as i mentioned before, it is tied for the lowest Unemployment Rate in the history of wisconsin. In fact, more people are working in wisconsin than ever before. People like brooke and cliff and sarah from ibutton Link Technology in white water. Brooke, cliff, and sarah became employed through our wisconsin fast forward working Training Program during the past year. Eight years ago the State Government created a 3. 6 billion budget deficit. The previous governor and legislature raided the patient compensation funneled. They even missed a payment for resiprocity. Today the state ended the last fiscal year with a more than half a billion dollar surplus and the nonpartisan legislative bureau just predicted that we will end the current budget with an even larger surplus than first projected. Our pension is fully funneleded. Wisconsins long term outstanding debt is one of the lowest. One of the best in the nation. Were paying off our obligations faster than we take on debt. And three National Agencies upgraded our bond rating this past year. For moodies that, is the First Time Since 1973. For fitch crawl, its the first time ever. Thats historic. This is yet more proof that our Financial Management is working. [applause] we invested more than 6 billion into the Transportation System in our recent state budget which brings our total investment to 24 billion over eight years. Thats 3 billion more than what former governor jim doyle spent on transportation over the same period of time. You heard that right. We invested 3 billion more in transportation than jim doyle did during the same amount of time. In our budget, the increase wez gave to local governments fixed roads, repair bridges and fill potholes. And the largest in 20 years. We also put large amounts in the state highway rehab and thanks to the diligent work of secretary dave ross and his team who found savings, were able to move up projects like interstate 3990 and wisconsin 441 while still keeping Major Projects on ver own yo road on time. Projects like highway 18, highway 45, highway 16, and highway 172 in brown county. Eight years ago according to the nonpartisan fiscal bureau, the previous governor actually cut, thats right, cut funding for schools and local governments. I remember it well. I was a county official at the time. And the state did not give us the tools to deal with the reduction in state aid. Many local leaders either had to lay off workers or cut services. Today we made the largest investment of actual dollars into k12 education in history. And increase of 200 for every student in every school in every part of the state this year and another 204 increase on top of that next year. Plus, we gave schools extra resources to cover transportation costs, to add Mental Health services and to put new technology in the classroom. And the reforms we passed years ago have saved School Districts local and State Governments more than 5 billion and counting according to an independent review. Most importantly, they allow School Leaders to staff based on merit and pay based on pe performance. That means they can put the best and brightest in the classroom and pay them to be there. Putting more money into schools is g but making sure it goes into improving the quality of education for students and classrooms, well, thats priceless. Im proud to say that that is what were doing right here in wisconsin. Eight years ago there were only 1,611 youth apprenticeship students in wisconsin. Today the number of youth apprenticeship students doubled as has Financial Support from the state. State funding for High Technology workshops called fab labs doubled in the past budget. We are giving our students a head start on outstanding careers. Eight years ago tuition went up for College Students in the university of wisconsin system. In fact, during the decade before our freeze, uw tuition went up a whopping 118 . Today, today we froze tuition for all undergraduates from wisconsin for six years in a row. We did that to make college for affordable for students and working families. Now the Nonpartisan Legislative Fiscal Bureau estimates the average student saved more than 6,300 over four years thanks to the freeze. That is real money. Eight years ago there were actually People Living in poverty who are on a waiting list for access to Health Coverage under badger care. Today for the first time in the history of the state, everyone living in poverty is covered under badger care. Because of our unique wisconsin based solution, we had, according to the Kaiser Family foundation, no gap in coverage. We rank as one of the top states in the nation for access to Health Care Coverage according to the u. S. Census bureau. Hard to believe, there were 4,000 people with disabilities including both children and adults who were on walting lists for Long Term Care services. Plus many counties were not included in the Long Term Care programs. This year we are expanding family care and iras to every part of the state to provide Long Term Care options for Senior Citizens and people with disabilities to allow them to live as independently as possible. Today im happy to report to you that by the end of this year we will eliminate wait lists for children who need Long Term Care services in every county in the state. Was lists means children like 14yearold malik finally gets the support that they need. Malik lives with Cerebral Palsy and has limb itted mobility. After two years on the list, today he gets in home therapy. He has a mod ified bathroom that gives him more independence and his family gets much needed respite services. His mother says all this has been a game changer. Malik and his mother are here with us tonight. [applause] nick was able to return to his wife of 70 years thanks to the services and equipment he receives under family care. Helen says the woman that comes to the apartment to help with the daily task her visiting angel. Ending wait lists also helps people like melissa, melissa was born with a disorder that affected her development and she landed a dream job but she doesnt drive and transportation was an issue. Through her Long Term Care services in the iris program, melissa gets help with transportation and other home Care Services which is helped improve her life. Youre around here somewhere. [applause] people like malik, nick and melissa shouldnt have to put their lives on hold to get the help they need to be independent and live their best lives. These are Success Stories. Im glad these services will be available all over the state. Wisconsin has been recognized as a National Leader on helping people with disabilities enter the workforce. Today according to the annual disability statistics, we rank in the top 10 states for hiring people with disabilities. [applause] thats good news for people like partly cloudious. He was one of the first interns in plo jekt search in project search. He was hired full time by the hospital. Project search is a program that helps High School Age students with disabilities prepared to enter the workforce. I love going to their graduations. Its one of the most inspirational things you can do. The success rate for project search in wisconsin is 88 which makes it one of the best in the entire country. Whether School Starts in the fall, there will be 27 sites across the state of wisconsin. Eight years ago governor doyle closed all eight of the Visitor Centers around the state. Today weve seen a 35 increase in the Economic Impact of tourism. Our marketing focus not on a slogan but on the fun, thats right, the fun that people have in wisconsin. We partnered with local convention and viltors bureaus and chambers of commerce to open Visitor Centers all across the state. Check out travelwisconsin. Com for more details. Is that, good stephanie . She like it more if i repeated it. Travelwisconsin. Com. Eight years ago the State Government did not have any state funded Grant Programs for the expansion of broadband infrastructure. Today we do. And in this last budget, we invested 41. 5 million. Increase of over 35 million to connect communities across the state to high Speed Internet connections as well as give schools access to the latest technology and training. Our goal is to connect every part of the state of wisconsin over the next two years. [applause] in 2007, the Economic Impact of agriculture was estimated at 59. 2 billion by uw extension. Today, a report by that same uw extension estimates that agriculture has an 88 billion impact on the wisconsin economy. Yeah lower property and agoriculture taxes, limits on frivolous lawsuits and expanded export opportunities will help our family farmers continue to grow in 2018 and beyond. Eight years ago, taxes were going up. The decade before we took office, property taxes alone went up 27 . I remember it back then. People were telling me about how they felt, that they we