[applause] speaker, president , former governor, distinguished justices of the court, representatives of our delegation, members of ny state legislator. Elected official, military leaders, honored guest, family, and friends. Good morning and hello. As a new legislative session opens i want you to know im ready to work with you on the issues that affect us all. The state of our status strong. We are a resilient people. The future is bright. As i stand before you today, im struck by the beautiful and often challenging complexity that makes a live your home. We really are the most beautiful place on earth. We are of many cultures of faith. Intuitive together and greater harmony than any place in the world. People from all over the planet come here to enjoy our environment, our culture and their gift all of us, for gifts of tolerance and respect celebration of each other and our differences. We often need to be reminded what makes us so special. We are one of the healthiest states of the nation. People here live longer than anywhere else in the country. We have led the nation in Health Insurance for decades, the current chaos and in the current chaos, we stand for carrying towards each other. We have the lowest Unemployment Rate in the nation. We are strong financially, our bond rating is the highest it has ever been. In our history, making it possible for us to get the most bang for our buck, when we borrow money. This saves the state tens of millions of dollars. Allowing us to make critical investments in our schools, housing, and highways. And, we have made our voice clear, hawaii will not stand for the hateful and hurtful policies of the trump white house. [applause] we are doing more than any other state to stand up for what is right such as daca and the Paris Climate Accord and to stop what is wrong, such as a travel ban and stopping transgender members of the military for defending our flag and our freedom. [applause] and yet, so many of us are living paycheck to paycheck, relying heavily on our extended families to make ends meet. Owning a home is out of reach for many families with housing costs rising faster than wages. Too much of our time is spent in traffic affecting her family and quality of life. The growing gap between those doing well those were not should concern all of us. We depend too heavily on imported food and fuel. We must find a just place in our relationship with our own history and with the people of the first nation of hawaii. [applause] [applause] and, the challenges to our island environment such as Global Climate change stairs in the face every single day. I honor my predecessors, former governors, and i have builds on what they have done. In doing so, i have for three truths about hawaii and the way we govern. First, i see hawaii is a place for the people that cherish our children, celebrate our diversity and want to better for the next generation. Second, i see hawaii is a place some people where we believe in ohana. We respect and understand that our ocean are critical to our quality of life. And finally, i see hawaii has a place in the people where we still believe in the promise of a way the prospects of limitless opportunity. This is the legacy of our culture, the cultures of our immigrant family and all those who choose to call hawaii home. We have put these values and beliefs into action to chart the course to our collective future. It is one thing to say our children matter, it is quite another thing to do something about it. We have invested more widely in classrooms than in previous years. We promise to call 1004 i saw this classrooms were soaring temperatures have hindered learning for years. Im proud to report or the legislator support, that we exceeded our original goal and are 1200 classrooms and counting. [applause] i also promised to empower our school so they can focus on 21st century skills and critical learning. In meetings around the state, Community Members, teachers, staff, and principles expressed frustration about the topdown mandate and onesizefitsall approach to schools. And so, with more than 3000 parents, teachers, Community Members from around the state, we created a new blueprint for education. This blueprint for change is now in the hands of new doe leadership. I also recognize that it is not enough to say to her teachers, we respect how hard she worked. Thats why we have given our educators the pay raise they have long deserved. [applause] now, lets talk about housing. When we say ohana, which really mean, nobody gets left behind. For those who want to live in hawaii, probably no issues more challenging than finding a decent, affordable place to live. Probably no issue challenges us as a society more than the daily site of those now living on our streets and in our parks. We have dedicated more money to Mental Health treatment and Services Including to our homeless population. We have initiated the largest annual increase in production of Affordable Housing with thousands of new units coming to market. We are on track to meet our goal of 10000 new Housing Units by 2020 with at least 40 affordable. This session im requesting 100 million to maintain the momentum and produce more Affordable Homes across the state. [applause] it has been my firm belief that the state must remain committed to developing and delivering hawaiian homo hints to beneficiaries. In 2016, we provided 24 million in funding to the department of hawaiian homeland. This was the highest level of funding and the 95 year history more than double what had been set aside previously. For its part, hawaiian homelands have been ramping up development of vacant and turnkey lots. More than 220 lots were awarded in 2617. That number will more than double in 2018. [applause] we have also worked hard with the department to spend on federal funds and identify alternative sources of revenue that can be used to sustain the agency over time. Our Housing First policy focuses on transitional housing as a way to get people into permanent housing. The new Family Assessment Center loose family off the street and into permanent housing in less than 90 days. [applause] a special team of Public Housing reduce the vacant turnaround time 267 days to just seven days. [applause] and our landlord summit increase the number of landlords willing to rent to families transitioning out of homelessness, even in the tragedy that is homelessness there are significant signs that these policies are starting to make a difference. Homelessness is down 9 statewide. The first decline in the ears. [applause] there is more to be done for sure. We continue our effort to offer services to those who have so far refused to leave the streets to move into a better life. You set aside money in this years budget to support more progress on the homelessness front. The budget request also includes 15 million in additional funding for Housing First initiatives, reach services, and maintaining safety in our public places. [applause] we also know how Important Community partners have been tackling this challenge. Take the village, permanent Housing Project for homeless families watched by local businessman and flame winthrop is. The way twain brought together the city, state, and nonprofits and businesses to make the village a reality in record time. The first 30 families moved in recently. To wayne, please stand to be recognized ohana also means that you should be able to put food on the table in the home with your family to eat it. That means jobs that pay well and commutes that work. Even though tourism up and unemployment is slow, many of our residents are living paycheck to paycheck. One Health Emergency or car repair away from crisis. Some people may have two or three jobs to make ends meet. The challenge is not just about creating jobs, its about creating quality jobs in the training that go with them. I understand the frustration of many. That is why am working to transform our economy to give residents a diversity of Employment Opportunity that pay higher wages only to a better quality of life for all. [applause] we are tackling another qualityoflife issue, that is his traffic congestion. I have three goals, get projects done quickly, give them done inexpensively, and get them done with minimum impact on the environment. We are making progress. From the zipper and to safety around her Public Schools and track only routes, we are going to where the problems are. Were reducing backup some bottlenecks in weston winward a lot who, and other places, all across the state. We like commute times to be shorter. [applause] we must create a better life for the next generation. It is what we all want. We all dream of our children succeeding here in hawaii, with my three children on the mainland, i know firsthand how hard it is to have them an ocean away. My personal goal, the goats which i have dedicated my Services Governor is creating a hawaii that gives all of our children the choice to live and call hawaii home. [applause] my grandparents came to hawaii in search of opportunity. It is not acceptable to me that many of our kids are becoming immigrants and other places because they dont have the opportunity here in hawaii. While there is more to do, i am proud of what we have accomplished together. We have more Early College programs so High School StudentsEnter College credit, saving families money and making it easier to graduate with degrees. We expanded campuses and offered more campuses. The creation of a wise promise scholarship helps to pay for the cost of attending uh Community Colleges. Bring startups together in one shared space and helps with loans and grants. We also founded the annual competition which enlists hundreds of professional and amateur code writers to develop solutions for the states biggest Information Technology challenges. We must prepare young people for jobs in the sector. That means supporting stem education, focusing on science, technology, engineering, and math. The good news is that it is expanding at all levels. The university of hawaii is one of the leaders in this work. With the campus increasing the stem graduates by more than one third in recent years in the Community Colleges leading the way, tripling their numbers. [applause] also helping to train students in our schools are partners a Computer Programming academy founded by two local software engineers. They are working with the doe and private foundations, together they are teaching High School Students advance coding and Cyber Security skills. Back to recognize the founder, jason and russell. [applause] to be sure that workers in hawaiis existing industries are not left behind, we have made available a wide variety of Vocational Training opportunities through the department of labor and industrial relations. These programs match training with current job openings in fields ranging from Computer Science and shipyard welding to banking and food safety. Within State Government as we ride the wave of modernization, we remain fully committed to retraining every worker to use the new Computer System and technology tools, Technology Helps us be more responsive to serve the public. We have always been a state that cares about the elderly. We are making good on that. I am proud that together we are able to pass legislation that provides assistance for fulltime family caregivers who also have fulltime jobs. This is a win for hawaiis families. [applause] we also work to make sure those who served our state get to retire with the dignity they were promised and deserve. With the legislative support, we took aggressive steps that will save us 1. 6 billion over the next 20 years. [applause] as we have been taught paying our bills, honoring our obligations, saving for the future is how we build a brighter future. We have done that. One value that has guided this administration is to simply not pass on our dead to our kids and our grandkids. Together, we have made strides in this task. Rebuilding our Rainy Day Fund to 310 million, we have gone after tax cheats and collected millions from those who are not paying their fair share. [applause] we are working to modernize our tax collection system. To make it easier and fairer for the people of hawaii. We needed changes to improve the system so we can collect the tax revenues we rely on to deliver state services. I believe were on the right track to accomplish this major task. [applause] we are also making Great Strides in protecting our i9 and ocean resources. Today we have protected over 40000 acres of watershed forest on a law who, in several other islands. [applause] help preserve turtle bay land for further development, a joint agreement with the u. S. Navy is helping us reach our Renewable Energy goals. Together we have established governments to use recycled water on food crops. Working with all of you in the legislature we are able to provide tax credits for organic farmers which means a healthier people and healthier lands. [applause] and, you past, and i signed a law to abide by the Paris Climate Accord. The first state in the nation to do so. [applause] we understand deeply and fully what the future requires of us. I also fought to give native hawaiians a seat at the table when it comes to management of the National Marine monument. The office of Hawaiian Affairs is now cotrustee of the monument. [applause] our goal of increasing local Food Production is another golden opportunity for hawaii. We are blessed with four growing seasons and delaying Great University with the college of tropical agriculture that has a long history of cuttingedge work. With all of these factors, hawaii canada must become the premier center for new agricultural technologies. We already have a Tech Startups going strong in holy. One company that comes to mind is smart yield, they help small and medium farmers to increase their production with Data Analytics and other technology tools. The Company ReceivedInternational Attention when it was chosen to be part of the vaticans very first pic accelerator, focused on global Food Production. At this time like typically smart, vincent, and his mentor, Hawaii Island farmer, richard [applause] but we need now is the driver to make local Food Production possible. There is no better way than through our schools. I applied the new leadership in the doe farm to school program. The leadership provided by the tenant governor. [applause] the Great Corporation of the department of agriculture and the state procurement office. Please stand to be recognized. [applause] clean energy is not only critical to air and water quality, it is important to our economy and our wallets as we work to reduce our reliance on imported fossil fuels. Working with the legislature i was the first governor to sign into law a bill requiring 100 of wise electricity to come from renewable sources by 2045. This demonstrates what we can accomplish when we work together. We want hydropower, airconditioning, solar and energy, biomass and the fullest possible use of our waste streams. We celebrate the power plant on the big island as well as the new solar farms on other islands. This week, will join energy energy, Hawaiian Electric and schools and celebrating through utility scale Solar Projects here in wahoo. As a next step, we will go a Carbon Market here in hawaii. This way, carbon polluters from around the world can invest in restoring hawaiis treason force to offset their Carbon Emissions wherever that is. [applause] we want to bring power in the imagination of the world to continue to come here. They can help us find our way to 100 Renewable Energy sources for electricity. In doing so, help the world finds its way to 100 . Let us take the billions we export for fossil fuels offended here. Then export the Energy Systems we develop. [applause] we are dreaming big creating the promise of limitless opportunities. Anything less is where letting down the next generation. Hawaii has so much potential in this new globally connected world. We are already viewed as the ideal research basin testing ground for innovative, globally Significant Technology such as telemedicine, sparsity, and autonomous, driverless vehicles. Why is a leader in solving issues of our time. Much of what we do here in hawaii is groundbreaking. Hawaii is home to many talented individuals breaking new ground every single day. Hawaii is full of stories, Business Innovators blazing the tra