[cheering] [applause] [applause] now, something we have all been waiting for. It is my great b honor to introduce her excellency governor of the commonwealth to deliver the state of the commonwealth address. [applause] [applause] good evening massachusetts. [cheering] good evening massachusetts. President , speaker, leader tara, leader jones, members of the senate and the house, secretary galvin, attorney general campbell, treasurer goldberg, chief justice and members of the judiciary and the governors counsel. Governor dukakis, governor swift. [applause] [applause] [applause] good to see you here. It is also good to see governor swift. [cheering] [applause] [applause] mayor and local officials,. [laughter] [cheering] it is a rowdy bunch. Leaders from business and labor, clergy and guests, thank you for being herenk tonight. Thank you as well to myy partner in the commonwealths first, first partner. [applause]pp thank you. Thank you for all of your love and support. And thank you to my family for all that you have given to me. [applause] lieutenant governor,. [cheering] [cheering] we have had we have had a great year. It has been so special to work with you. Your knowledge of local issues is unmatched. Your care and compassion for our residents is unbounded. Plus youve got a pretty good selfie game. [laughter] to the cabinet and executive staff, we should take a selfie for this one. We do things a little differently. Know the gang, the gang. Get ready. [cheering] forgive us we are rickys face to the cabinet staff you are the best we could ever ever have, thank you. You state employees in this chamber and out there tonight, i want you to know that i know that nothing gets done, nothing that we talk about tonight gets done without all of you and i thank you. [applause] to our Service Members and gold star families, know that your sacrifice is never forgotten. [applause] at this moment. [applause] and at this moment, it has been a year. It has been a year of a lot of loss and heart ache for massachusetts military families. I just want to invite all military veterans who are with us tonight to stand. [applause] we thank you. [applause] [applause] the people who sits. Celebrate Windsor Group losses. To share your struggles and your hopes. Throughout it all what i have seen more deeply than ever before. More deeply than i understood as a true strength of the state is our people. So i would seduce a few of them tonight. We have with us jay and lisa savage. Jay and lisa. [applause] j as a fourth generation potato farmer from deerfield. [applause] but i want to tell you something. Back in july on a hot and humid day we waited together through mud covering fields, the water was kneedeep. We then went on to see hundreds of acres. They were destroyed byy floodin. The reality of Climate Change today. I said with famine cite the fame savages were staring down the total and complete loss of their crops just before the harvest. But they kept working hard as they always do in our state rallied around them. We asked the legislature for help and you delivered. You set up a fund with united way with donors large and small contributed what they could. And today every single one of those farm and farmers are still on their feet. Jay and lisa, thank you for all you do. And thank you for all the folks who have worked so hard to put food on our table. [applause] also witnessed tonight is denita mensa. Denita is a mom from roxbury. She was without a degree and she found herself hitting career ceilings. She enrolled in the certificatet program. She wanted to pursue her passion for interior design. But as a working mom she was struggling to buy groceries, to pay bills, to pay tuition. She was going to drop out. Wee know there are thousands of people in our state like that eta. Thats why this year we work closely with the legislature created a mass reconnected. Rec. [applause] it is a program that offers Free Community college to anyone 25 years or older. For denita it came just in time. With the barrier of cost never moved she is not going for her degree at mass abate community college. [cheering] [applause] denita calls it lifechanging and you know what she says . She cannot talk to her little guy her little son otis about the importance of education because she is living it. Thats a generational impact. Your future is great said. And out as you may not understand it today, but you will. Andda youll be so proud of your mom. Do you know what is also great about that program that we did together . How about enrollment in Higher Education us up 10 years in the. Thats really good thing for our students, from employers who will benefit from a more Skilled Workforce and for our economy, so i thank you. I year ago you put your trust in us and we have worked hard every day to try to live up to that responsibility. All of the way we have been guided by the simple truth that behind every decision we make this a student, a family, a business owner, a senior, that is who we work for. Yes, our economy is strong. Massachusetts has more jobs than ever before and unemployment is at an alltime low. But we also know that prices are high and too many families are having a hard time making ends meet. Many of us understand what that is like. I think of my own mom raising five of us kids alone. One at nights i remember years ago we were sitting on the Kitchen Table and i could see she was hiding tears. She picked up her head and softly asked my little brother that she could use his savings or yard work and babysitting to pay taxes. He was 11. You do what you have to do. People do what they have to do, i understand that. And as i see it, government should be there to make a life easier not harder. [applause] [applause] so, you know this. You know this and i want the people at home to know this. That is why we were determined to relive or deliver it relief from high cost the legislature shared that goal. We worked together we kept at it we passed 7 billion tax cut this year that will save money for everyone in this state. [applause] that is right. We cut taxes for the first time in 20 years in massachusetts. You will see this savings when you file your returns in april. We now have the most child independent tax credit of any state in the country. We also got rid vague to child cap for someone like my mom the extra 2200 would have meant something. For every family with a child or an adult with disabilities you are going to get dollars back to help you pay for groceries, utilities, gas, and housing. Renters and commuters were also get more money back as well folks dealing with paint and septicck systems. Families will be able to pass on more of their hard earned money because we also cut estate tax businesses will save money when they start here, grow here and our seniors will benefit as well. With us tonight is elaine, and elaine is 87 years old god bless you a retired nurse still in her community. Let me tell you about elaine. [applause] let me tell you about elaine. Elaine has lived in her home in new bedford for 61 years. She calls it a blessing every day. She also has nine grandkids and she told me they dont all agree on politics. But her home is the neutral home where they all live together. She loves their visits. And at the same time it is not easy for elaine to buy groceries or pay the heating bill. Elaine, it is stories like yours that inspire us to double the Senior Housing credit to 2400 because no one should have to d worry if they can afford to stay in the house that they love. [applause] [applause] i went to thank the legislature for your partnership in making massachusetts more affordable. Tax cuts were just the start. We also made school meals, both a breakfast and lunch treat for all students. Okay that is saving parents and money in feeding more kids. I am grateful to the speaker for his leadership and has a passion on this issue. [cheering] let me tell youon something. He loves the attention. You know, before he was speaker he had another gig. He was a teacher we went back to Snug Harbor Elementary School in quincy where he taught us. Mr. Mariano as a state kids still call him free meals at me so much to kids and families out there all across the state. A better focus on learning and a burden lifted from families. Thank you for getting that done. We did not stop there. We have provided record support for schools by fully funding student opportunity act. Going to bere expanded access to affordable healthcare. We paid off Student Loans for thousands of frontline healthcareho workers. We increased Financial Aid for smart hardworking massachusetts students. This is what our work is supposed to be about. For those that we serve. I still think of the grieving families we lost loved ones to covet in the coolest way possible. So after one of the worst chapters in our States History we were determined to do it rigt by our heroes. That legislature provided a plan and funding. The congressional delegation delivered and we appointed our first ever veteran services, u. S. Army reserves major John Santiago to get the job done. [applause] in august we broke ground on a new stateoftheart facility that will provide us care, our veterans deserve. And in december we opened an equally beautiful home in chelsea. We started a new chapter and we will never let our veterans down again. So now lets pass the hero act and make sure all of our veterans get all of the respected. All of the services they have earned. [applause] we have also faced unexpected challenges. Not proud of the way men massachusetts stepped up with compassion andp solutions for te influx of migrants that trusting states all around this country. This is a hard issue and one without easy issues. It is also not something we created. But i want to be clear, while massachusetts did not create this problem we are going to continue to demand congress w te action to fix the border to get our funding we are also not waiting. Are showing a way forward. In november we put on a Work Authorization clinic and now, thanks to that 3000 of our new arrivals have work permits. Every day, every day we are connecting them with the businesses that need work. Like salem hospital that recently hired migrants and now for the first time in years it is fully staffed and their housekeeping custodial departments. We are going to do that all around the state connected new arrivals with employers we continue to advocate for massachusetts. Massachusetts met the moment for so many ways this past year. We started for standing up for reproductive rights stockpiling and protecting patients and providers in the space from national tax. [applause] we work every day to be a state where everyone can be safe and thrive. That means standing up for vulnerable communities with ale new hate crime unit in the state police. Celebrating the first ever youth and family pride event right here at the statehouse. Hetaking action. Taking action to close Maternal Health disparities with a first in the nation initiative. Delivering Estate Services in more languages and with a better Digital Access for people with disabilities. Successfully implementing work and family mobility acts of all residents regardless of immigration status can drive safely and legally to school or to work. Turning Climate Change into opportunity with the appointment of the countrys first cabinet level climate chief the First Green Bank and dedicated to building healthy affordable housing. [applause] and because it just just cant wait we parted in 13 people and our first year end office the First Administration to do so in more than 40on years. [applause] we set high goals for a first for first yearin office. I stood here a year ago and made a bunch of promises to you and the massachusetts public. And because we came together and we acted with urgency we delivered results. We met every single one of those goals. Today, massachusetts is more affordable, more competitive, more equitable than it was the year before and the state of the commonwealth like the spirit of our people is stronger than ever. [applause] that is what we are going to build on. That is the strength we are going to build on this year. It is proof that we can do hard things nothing is impossible if we Work Together. I truly believe massachusetts is the best place in the world to live, to work, to go to school, to raise a family. I also do not estimate the challenges that we face. Costs are too high for housing and transportation our schools are the best but not for every student. Congested roads and slow trains steal our time and our joy it is frustrating. While many of our industries lead theea world, the competitin is only getting tougher. It is also true that as a state we have several flush years with a lot of pandemic level funding from the federal government that now goes away. So we need to be smart with how we spend our money, your money. That is what we are going to do. The good news is the economy in the Fiscal Health are strong. Our bond rating is excellence and we have a record amounts in the raising a fund. The budget we filed next week i promise will be a balance, responsible, and forwardlooking. It will build on our progress and we will take new steps to lower the cost of housing and childcare to strengthen our schools and support all of our youngth people in reaching their potential. Help workers thrive across the state this is the work ahead of us and there is no time to waste. It starts with housing. The biggest challenge we face it. You know the numbers, rents and prices are high. And here is what it looks like at a Kitchen Table a young couple going on a real estate app typing into his pillow their price range for a home seeing all of the homes disappear. And Nothing Available that they can afford. The recent graduates having dinner talking about other states where their paychecks might go further. It is s our seniors unable to think about downsizing because theres nothing to afford or other seniors staring at disbelief at a letter from a landlord who is going to raise the rent. Now, this isnt just a few unlucky people. It is j the heart of our workforce. It is the soul of our community. It is the future of our states. So we have to act and we have to act now to make it easier for everybody to afford a place to live in massachusetts. [applause] thats rates. That is why a last year we appointed our states first secretary of housing and livable communities. We tripled tax credits for new housing we find in a thousand new rental vouchers and identified surplus public land these steps will make a difference. But we are dealing with a housing shortage that is decades in the making. To get costs down we have to go big and we have to go big now. That means passing a 4 billiondollar Affordable Homes act which is the most ambitious housing plan in massachusetts history. Because if you were born here or you come to school here, i want you to be able to stay here. I want you to be able to grow a business, grow a family, and for businesses only to go to stay here, expandu here and i want yu to be able to hire employees who can afford to live here. So lets Work Together but lets get going lets pass this bill because whene we do that we will create middleclass housing and make homeownership a reality for families who have been priced out for far too long. We will build Affordable Homes at every income level and repair our long neglected public housing. People with disabilities we will support good construction careers with strong labor standards. [applause] heres what it will look like. We know what we have to do we have to do it. They are here with her two beautiful children and she is an early educator. They want to buy their first home there. Star look at other part of the country with state programs that help. And now they are homeowners. [applause] we know what we needno to do. The Affordable Homes act will create thousands of opportunities just like layers. Would inject hundreds of millions of dollars into building programs and firsttime homebuyer programs where they need it. Well bring down housing costs for everyone. I will be testifying tomorrow before the joint committee on the Affordable Homes act because passing it is our top priority. So lets Work Together and get it done. Because the truth is this, 351 cities and towns no town no city can go it alone when it comes to housing. We have to Work Together. That is also why we are committed to helping towns meets the communitys law. Because for massachusetts to succeed in every community and must embrace the opportunity that new housing affords. It is for the next generation to invest in their hometown it is for seniors to age in place. And unleash peoples full potential housing is the biggest line for any families budget unless of course you have kids and childcare. Costs have been too high for too long while providers and care workers have been barely hanging on. That pushes women out of the workforce, it holds our economy back. We have to lower Childcare Costs. [applause] i know, we do. Otis is clapping. We do. Last year we delivered nearly half a billion dollars in money to stabilize the sector. That was good, it made it easier for families to get financial help. This years budget will keep that funding in place. But we need to go further. We were at the y we met dedicated early educators and some very cute kids, did we not . They were having fun and learning important skills in the prepate classroom. It is an opportunity we want for every child. So heres what we need to do. Its our gateway to prek plan to save families and money and transform Early Education in our state. First, we will help direct thousands of families by expanding eligibility for state financial assistance. This program Childcare Costs are captain based on what you can afford. Next, we will set a new goal for Early Educ