[ applause ] thank you. Mr. President , madam speaker, mr. Chief justice, members of the General Assembly, honored guests, today i welcome the opening of the legislative session with the same optimism i had as a freshman senator of Washington County nearly two decades ago. I come before you to report on the state of the state, to reflect on the work weve done and to share a vision and priorities for our future. As elected officials, its our duty to distinguish what must be done from what we might like to do, and to Work Together, pulling in the same direction to make a difference for those we serve. We meet at a time in our history when too many elected officials on both sides are choosing confrontation and partisan politics over collaboration. [ voices speaking ]. We call on everyone to help. For the people. Young people for the Climate Crisis destroying the economy they will be escorted out by Capitol Police and security. Listen to the people everyone must tell the truth the climate is an emergency. Based in real science these are the protesters from extinction. We must have a Justice System on climate leadership. For the most vul nearbible people. Listen to the people. There are climate refugees in vermont right now [inaudible]. Whats left of vermonts dairy industry. We demand an answer and theyre demanding hannaford sign a dignity pledge, climb refugees right now demanding about vermonts dairy industry. [ voices ]. We have a right to a future. Our childrens children. Listen to the people we demand a People Assembly to overachieve the changes to achieve a just transition. Through the because we are unable because we are unable to trust the government to do so. Listen to the people [inaudible]. Justice climate justice. Listen to the people we agricultural. [inaudible]. In our community inaudible for those who live here. Listen to the people listeners, i dont know much you can hear about what these protesters are saying. Many of them are wearing red, flying the Extinction Rebellion flag. That is being taken away by members of the staff of sergeant at arms. Clearly there has been a message these protesters should be allowed to continue what theyre saying. We will have more coverage of this for those that cant cover what theyre saying. I dont want people to think they wont be getting a sense what these protesters are saying. Governor scott is listening to them. I think Capitol Police made an interesting decision to let this play out rather than go in and physically remain these people from the building. The question is how long will they remain tolerant of this protest before they move in and do something. Interesting to hear this protest and see and listening. Lets listen in a little bit more. Okay. Thank you very much. We appreciate that. We just did. Thank you very much. We demand a transition. Now, its time for you to listen to us. Of the more vulnerable people. We got it. [ speaking ]. All right. Have we had enough . Okay. At this point [ applause ] were going to move forward. If you would like to listen to us, listen to my speech, youre welcome to stay. [ speaking ]. If you dont want to listen to what i have to say, you can be removed. [ speaking ]. Got it. [ speaking ]. Okay. I think weve had enough. The chamber will please come to order. Would our guests in the balcony and gallery please listen to this final offer. We have to proceed with the governors speech. You have given your message and the governor has been grateful as has everybody here, to listen. If necessary i will declare a recess and ask the sergeantatarms and our Police Forces to remove you. [ speaking ]. The General Assembly will now be in recess until the fall of the gavel. I would ask the sergeantatarms and the sergeantatarms support to please remove these individuals from the chamber in order to hear the governors remarks. Thank you. The chamber will please come to order. The chamber will please come to order. We will resume. Governor scott. [ applause ] thank you. Thank you very much. Thank you for your patience. Ill try not to repeat anything you might have just heard. We needed a time in our nations history when too many elected officials on both sides are choosing confrontation and partisan politics over collaboration and progressive. Polarization, the us versus them is our nations greatest threat. Its weakening our country and the very foundation on which it was built. Thats why in state houses and town halls across america its up to us to show that people from different backgrounds with different points of view, as we just saw, can unite around a core common humanity. Its up to us to prove that listening and learning from each other is far more constructive. [ applause ] its up to us to seek consensus where it can be found and compromise where it cannot. We all know there will be times when we have to agree to disagree. Thats okay. But when it happens, lets assume the best of each other and turn our energy to the areas where a path forward remains. This, my fellow vermonters, is how we rise above the partisanship, how we reject polarization, how we work towards something bigger than ourselves, and how we, all of us in this room, can best lead our nation forward. [ applause ] i have enormous faith in our ability to achieve meaningful results. My administration is ready to work with each of you in order to do so. Unfortunately, time is not on our side. While good things are happening and progress is diagnose made, too many of our counties, communities and families remain at a critical crossroad. The fact is where we are as a state and where we go from here is in the hands of every vermonter. Its in the weathered hands of the dairy farmer and construction worker and the reassuring hands of the First Responder and emergency room nurse. Its in the determined hands of our entrepreneurs and the persistent hands of our teachers, coaches and mentors. Its in the compassionate hand of family and friends and helping hands of our neighbors. The state of the state, our values and identity, are guided by, but never been defined by what happens in this building. Its the people of vermont doing all they can to lift each other up, who will shape our future. They define who we are and all we can be. World class innovators like dr. Marjorie meyer, at uvm medical center, who is a leader in the treatment of women with opioid dependents during pregnancy. Entrepreneurs like kyle clark, whose company, beta technologies, is building electric aircraft, which will the lead a significant reduction in Global Carbon emissions. Or the volunteer firefighters in ludlow, who spent their thanksgiving day cooking for mother and her three children, whose stove caught fire that morning. Gloria powers from glover, who provided a home for nearly 400 foster children over 25 years. At age 72, is still giving back, volunteering at the local senior certainty. A Young Jeffrey sears who wanted to do something nice for the kids at school this Holiday Season and raised over 1,000 to buy his classmates lunch. Then cecilia hauunt from fair haven, nearly 40 years, donated much of her time to everything, from blood drives to food banks to town communities, she made such an impact her community reached out to let me know how much she means to them. By the way, when my staff called her to invite her here, she wouldnt accept credit for 40 years. She said, its only been 36. [ laughter ] friends, cecilia and dr. Meyer, gloria and justin and members of the Ludlow Fire Department and beta technologies are here with us today. Please stand and be recognized. [ applause ] these people and thousands more, those we hear about and those we dont, remind us that we are all part of something bigger, and its in our pursuit of purpose and in service to others that we find the best of ourselves, our communities and state and our nation. So, even as we face major challenges, these show in the hands of our people, doing all they can everyday, the state of the state is strong. [ applause ] inside this building, our job as Public Servants is to do all we can to ease their burdens and build on their strengths into clear priorities and bigger results. Heres my concern. Today in vermont, there are about 55,000 fewer people under the age of 45 and 44,000 more over the age of 65 than there were in the year 2000. For years, we had more deaths than births. We have seen more people move out of vermont than in. The impact is not the same in every community. We have to acknowledge the real and growing economic disparity from region to region. Think about this. Of the five towns that have seen the most growth in recent years, four of them are in one county. In the past 12 years, only three counties have added workers. The other 11 have lost a total of about 18,000. 18,000. Thats more than the population of nearly every town or city in vermont. Of the 180 legislators in this room, 106 of you come from counties that have lost workers. Thats not the only area we see disparity. From county to county, theres a huge gap between home values, Household Income, average wage and so much more. Because of this, across the state, were feeling the negative impacts in everything, from our homes, schools an colleges, to our hospitals and nursing homes. If we dont break the cycle, our institutions, including state and local government, wont be able to afford what they currently do or what they would like to do in the future, because costs will continue to rise much faster than our tax base can sustain. My friends, this is what a demographic crisis looks like in too many places, in the lives of too many vermonters, i see an feel the emotional and financial toll of policies built for a few areas in the state that can afford them when the rest of the state cannot. Businesses, families, entire communities doing their absolute best to maintain budgets and meet their needs with fewer options, fewer people and higher costs than they had last year, and the year before that, and the year before that. Sustainable Economic Growth has become too hard and too rare in too many areas. Its hurting people. Its regressive. Its creating regional and equity. Its by far the biggest and most immediate challenge to our state and the ability of government to help shape the future. We must act now to give the people of newport and st. Johnsburg, hatford and springfield and randolph and every other Economic Center and towns around them, the tools they need to survive and grow and shrive with selfdetermination and dignity they each deserve. [ applause ] if were willing to focus about doing the work and caring more about the details than we do the talking points, if we can build consensus and trust and avoid National Political agendas deliberately designed to divide us, if we focus on the fundamentals, a better more modern government, a stronger fiscal foundation, and position truly equitable, then our businesses and economy will grow. Putting more kids in our schools and broadening our tax base and making our economy more resilient than ever before, thats why i had an open mind when a senator and the Senate EconomicDevelopment Committee had an idea thats paid off. They said Remote Workers can work from anywhere. Lets give them an incentive to work and live here in vermont. Since then, weve received worldwide attention. More than 7 million in free advertising, thousands of inquiries, and relocated 371 people to more than 68 communities across 13 counties. Now, we received our share of criticism as well, folks who said, you know, ive been living here and dealing with high costs my entire life. Wheres my check . I get it. Theyre absolutely right. We urgently need to make vermont more affordable for everyone across the state. But this Pride Program does help them because bringing more people here reduces the tax burden on the rest of us. Here are the facts. For a one Time Investment of 500,000, based on vermonts average Household Income of about 75,000, we project a return on this investment of over 1 million of tax revenue each year. And this is a conservative projection because it doesnt account for the higher than average income of these new vermonters, and the added benefits that comes along with people buying goods and services from local businesses. We know this isnt the only answer but this program is a small step towards growing our way out of the demographic crisis facing our state and the affordability crisis facing our families. This isnt all were doing. At the same time, were strengthening training, internship and apprenticeship programs for vermonters. We established a first in the nation approach to make it easier for veterans to transition to civilian careers. Were helping those in recovery and other barriers to employment find and keep good jobs. This year, in partnership with secretary condos, lets further reduce hurdles and costs to licensed professionals so we can bring more of them into the workforce. And my budget will include additional investments in training with emphasis on the trades and more incentives on young adults and working age families to stay or move here. [ applause ] its also important for all of us to remember, over the last three years we have taken steps to help vermonters keep more of what they earn. This includes removing tax on Social Security for lowincome vermonters and lower income tax rates across the board. Significantly reducing the land gains tax, bringing the estate tax more in line with our neighbors and more. But this is not enough. Overall tax and fee burden is still growing far too fast, especially property taxes. You can expect additional tax relief in my budget because ultimately, we need to help people in all parts of the state move up the economic ladder. The best way to do this is to level the economic Playing Field and make vermont more affordable for all families in every business. Weve also expanded our view of education, because building the best Education System in the nation is one of the greatest Economic Development tools we could ask for. Rather than just thinking car, through 12, we broaden our focus from cradle to career. Together, weve increased state funding for childcare by about 10 million and invested 5 million more in higher ed. Weve added nearly 1. 5 million for career and trade training. Here, too, we must move more quickly. The disparity from school to school and district to district is a growing problem. Its unfair to taxpayers and fundamentally unfair to our kids for their Educational Opportunities to be determined by where they live. We need to be honest. Costs are rising, yet opportunities for too many kids are declining in too many parts of our state. And student performance in areas like reading and math. Reversing this trend has been behind each of my educational proposals. This year, my budget will once again increase investment in the cradle to career continuum. We will also support the work of the agency of education to improve performance. If youre ready, im still willing to have a discussion on how to direct more of our current spending to our kids instead of letting it be consumed by the growing inefficientsy of an outdated system. In addition, i propose to you today we begin creating an universal after School Network that insures every child has access to enrichment opportunities outside of current classroom time and to align the students day with the length of the work day. A few thoughts on this. First, its based on talkful model from iceland, focused on preventing drug use as well as improving economic and social outcomes. The evidence is clear. Kids who participate in after School Activities and programs do better in school and in life than kids who dont. Second, a universal Program Expands choices for every kid. It doesnt limit then. It could be voluntary. Those who currently go home to their families or participate in drama, music, sports, debate, or older kids who choose to work could all continue to do so. Third, it supports working parents by reducing the logistical and financial burden of after school care. Finally, were not recreating the wheel but we are creating more equity. Many schools already have after School Options through organizations like the ymca and others. But its far from universal. There are a lot of details to consider on an issue like this. I fully recognize as we put the many challenges of act 46 behind us, one size will not fit all. Thats why ive asked Education Committee chairs representative webb, senator booth, to give this idea some genuine consideration. Its my hope we can deliver this, the plan, by the end of the year, that puts us on a path of universal after School Programs without raising property tax rates. [ applause ] we also have a continued need for more housing working vermonters can afford. In 2017, you joined me in passing a 37 million housing bond, which is leveraging another 170 million in other funding, make it the single largest investment in Work Force Housing this state has ever seen. Since then, nearly 400 homes have been completed. Nearly another 175 are being built and about 200 will be under way soon. With almost 800 units, we far exceeded our expectations. Its already generated 158 million in Construction Activity with more to come. Its not just the housing bond. Alongside additional initiatives, more than 2,000 residential Building Permits were registered in 2018, the most in over a decade. Because of the economic imbalance from region to region, i still hear about the difficulty of f