Legislation pass spending legislation. This is 40 minutes. [applause] [cheers and applause] [applause] welcome, governor carny. If everyone, please be seated. Madam speaker, im not sure whether thats because theyre glad to see me go and good rid dance or theyre happy for the riddance or theyre happy for the service weve had together. Lieutenant governor, madam speaker, mr. President pro tem, Senate Majority leader, members of the 15 2nd General Assembly, other elected officials who are here, members of my cabinet, distinguished members of the judiciary, invited guests and my fellow delawareans, thank you for inviting me to the chamber for my state of the state address. Sorry its a little bit late. Let me start by recognizing the historic nature of todays event. For the if first time ever, a female speaker of the house is presiding over the state of the tate address here today state of the state address here today. [cheers and applause] speaker longhurst and her majority team, majority whip Carrie Evelyn are harris and new jfc chair kim williams, kim is where . Kim, stand up and be recognized. [applause] i look forward to working with all of you for the rest of this session. I also a want to take a moment to recognize two new justices on the delaware supreme court, justice abby la grow and justic [inaudible] please stand so we can recognize both of you. [applause] we have a world class judiciary in delaware, and the justices bring a new generation of leadership to our court. Thank you for your commitment to public service. And a moment of personal privilege, if i may, id like to recognize my wife tracy sitting up here in front for all the hard work shes done on behalf of delaware children over the past seven years. [cheers and applause] tracy has [applause] tracy has transformed the role of first lady. We like to call her the first spouse and made sure every delaware child has a first chance to succeed. Shes also stood by me throughout my 30 plus years in public service, and let me tell ya its not always been easy. Thank you, tracy, for your support. Prison [applause] before i go any further, id also like to recognize the army and Air National Guard. Colonel mike berry is unable to be with us today, but hes represented by Brigadier General james benson. Please stand up for all your army and Air National Guard [applause] we have command staff and other guardsmen and women until if bat colony as well. Its been in the balcony as well. Its been a busy time for the guard, and i think about their service and sacrifice a lot. Over the past years, more than 1300 guardsmen and women have been deployed to more than 50 locations around the world. Last year we held a deployment if ceremony for more than 150 National Guardsmen and women from the 160th engineering company. They recently returned from the military operation in [inaudible] again, members of that unit who were deployed are with us today. Please join me again in recognizing our citizensoldiers. Theyre the very best, and theyre up, again, in the balcony. [applause] its really hard to believe this, but this is my last state of the state address as your governor, and i suspect, as i said earlier, that there are mixed feelings about the applause tata i was receiving [laughter] as i, as i came in. Seriously though, i think its worth a little reflection, if i may, on what weve accomplished working together and on our Unfinished Business. First and foremost, weve helped create [inaudible] order. Point of order. [inaudible] fight and defend our nation in congress [inaudible] genocide is. You cant [inaudible] point of order, madam speaker. [inaudible] we send you are our children away, it should be an [inaudible] not to participate in genocide. Thats all i stand for. Senators, spook if up ing. [inaudible] farewell. Proceed, governor. Thank you, madam speaker. First and foremost, weve helped create more than 30,000 new jobs since 2017. Thats a big deal. For the first time in delaware history, weve provided funding dedicated for low income students and english learn arers in our Public Schools learners. Weve given our teachers a big pay raise. For three years running, weve implemented the largest infrastructure plan in state history. Finish that means good jobs building new schools, safer roads and bridges and connecting delawareans to the internet up and down the state. And weve kept our fiscal house in order. We turned a 400 million budget deficit into a in 2017, into a 400 million in additional reserves today, and that means a lot. [applause] were supporting an economic resurgence in downtown wilmington. Weve provided paid leave for delaware families and raised the minimum wage to 15 an hour, and the labor market has blown right through that already. [applause] were building more Affordable Housing units so delaware families have a safe place to call home. Weve reduced crime, and our prison population is down nearly 24 . Weve passed sweeping Climate Change legislation committing to net zero emissions by 2050, and were keeping our communities safe is by banning assault weapons and launching targeted gun safety measures. Or these are issues that a matter to delaware families [inaudible] youre out of odder, please. Over 29,000 palestinians [inaudible] [background sounds] please, please [inaudible] please, we have the governor whos to giving state of the state. [inaudible] governor, please proceed. Thank you, madam speaker. These are issues tata matter to delaware families in each of your districts and that matter to future generations; good jobs, quality schools, safe and affordable communities, a cleaner environment and responsible management of taxpayer dollars. And this last year im focusing op leaving the state in a better place than i found it. We should make sure the next governor is in the best possible position to succeed, and we should balance the budge and make sure our investments are sustainable in the long run. And i want to thank everyone in this room for your partnership on this. We dont always agree, for sure, but working9 together what with we do best in delaware. Because of our hard Work Together, i can confidently say today that the state of our state is strong and getting stronger every day. [applause] as many of you know, i spent a loot of a lot of time on the football field. In fact, one of my High School Teammates is here in the chamber today, dave. I spent a lot of time with him as a player and a coach, and i know it was a long time ago. But one thing i learned is that the best teams leave it all on the field. And its in that spirit that i want to talk about some of our Unfinished Business and the work i believe we can still accomplish together this last year. Weve made big strides on financial management, and i want to recognize senator padilla and representative carson for their good work last year as well as senator walsh and representativ [inaudible] but despite our efforts, we did not pass legislation to permanently control operating spending at sustainable levels. And an earlier General Assembly rejected by proposed constitutional amendment that would have done just that. Its really pretty simple. Delaware cant compete in the future if we dont have our budget in order. Right now our futuregen assembly or governor could lead us down a path of uncontrolled spending. We havent done that. That would lead to higher taxes and pain cuts. So lets not go backwards. Instead lets build on the progress weve made working together. This year im asking you to send me legislation that would make our spending benchmark permanent. I wont be here next year, i know some of you are happy about that, but most of you will. Dont set yourselves up for failure. I hope we can find Common Ground on this very important priority for every delaware taxpayer. We also have the serious issue with Health Care Cost inflation. If this year between medicaid can and our insurance man for state employees and retirees plan were spending nearly 2 billion on health care alone. Let me say that again, 2 billion. Thats billion with a b. And thats roughly 200 million more than our costs were last year. The state share of medicaid alone costs 1 billion. Those are jawdropping numbers. Its almost a third of our state budget, and its only going up. And taxpayers are footing the bill. If we dont get serious, Health Care Spending will crowd out all the other investments, investments that we all support; funding for our Public Schools, for Affordable Housing and childcare and raises for state employees and state retirees. Right now retires get their pay increases and the funding needed to cover their health care. This is literally an issue we cannot afford to ignore. We should all Work Together to strengthen our health care bench mark and address Health Care Cost inflation. Senator townsend and speaker longhurst, i know you and many others in this room agree, and i look forward to working together on those issues. [applause] of course, no issue is more important to our states future than the quality of delawares Public Schools. Ive a spent a lot of time the last seven years focused on strengthening our schools, especially for children who need our help the most. I know many of you have been leaders on this issue for a lot of years. Together, we created opportunity funding, a program that provides additional funding for low income students and English Learners in our state. Our budget this year increases funding for this program to 63 million. I can assure you that its make a difference. Last fall i visited East Millsboro elementary and and spoke with a young student who had been struggling to read, working with a reading special u. S. Funded through opportunity funding. She was improving by leaps and bounds. And that that reading coach is here somewhere with us today, there she is. Heather, please stand up so we can [applause] over the past seven years, weve also built new schools across the state. Weve spent 1. 5 billion on School Construction alone. Let me tell you something that you already know, a school is much more than books brick withs and mortar. Its the pillar of a community, and nowhere with is that more true than on the east side of wilmington where with were building the first new school in the city in over a half century. Ms. [applause] the school will be named the maurice pritchard sr. Academy after the schools [applause] you support that. [laughter] after the longterm principal and Community Icon who i had the privilege to know as a basketball coach, maurice pritchett. Im looking forward to the School Opening later this year. Students, teachers and neighbors on the east side will have a state of the art School Building they can take pride in. Join me in recognizing the pens of the Pritchett Family who are or the members of the Pritchett Family who are also with us today in the balcony, i believe. [applause] thank you for being with us. We also launched the wilmington learning collaborative to provide hyperfocus on schools in our largest city. For the first time, districts serving the city are working together to address the needs of wilmington children. I also want to recognize senator lockman for her work in this area and her committee that she chairs and all the people that are involved with that. [applause] [inaudible] as a well. And finally, we significantly expanded, madam speaker, Mental Health services in our schools. The need became even more pronounced during the covid19 pandemic. And i want to thank you, madam speaker, for your leadership on this earth. Effort. Working together, i look forward to expanding these services into the high schools this year. [applause] these are are initiatives that we all can be proud of, but it simply isnt enough. Heres an uncomfortable truth. Statewide less than 40 of children are are reading proficiently at third grade. Met me say that again. Let me say that again. Heads than 40 of children are reading proif efficiently in third grade. And many schools fall short of that average. Imagine if your child went to a school with that kind of result. None of us would tolerate that. But too many children across our state are faced with this reality, and we need to fix it. Thats why my budget [applause] thats why my budget includes funding for a new team of literacy coaches. They will work with educators and district leaders to focus on the science of reading, an effective approach to teaching children how to read. Its one of the most important things that we can do, and i hope youll join me in supporting this high priority. My budget also includes a continued focus on Early Childhood education. I know this is a priority for many of you in this chamber today. Our priority is simple, create more seats for the children and families who need them the most. The research is clear, it shows that children who have access to quality Early Childhood education have better outcomes. That includes higher Graduation Rates and more Financial Stability into adulthood. Just 15 years ago the state was investing next to nothing in childcare. My budget this year includes more than 135 million for childcare. Thats a big deal, and these are critical investments that will benefit our children as they grow up. [applause] before i leave the topic of educates, i want to thank secretary Mark Holliday for all his hard work. Mark, please stand. [applause] mark was a teacher, a principal and a superintendent before he took the job as cabinet secretary. And his leadership has been tremendous, study and strong. Over the past 19 months, secretary holliday chaired the Public Education compensation committee. The group studiedinger pay, and they presented a recommendation for paying our teachers what they deserve. Im determined to win the competition with the states around as. We want the best educators working right here in the first state. Thats why my budget fully funds the first year of those recommendations for educators, building on the raise that you passed and i signed into law last year. If we stick the to the plan, we will raise teachers starting salaries to 60,000 over the next four years. Lets get it done together. [applause] i would like to take a moment now to recognize our Lieutenant Governor long has been a real partner over these past seven years. Shes a nurse, as you all know [laughter] and her efforts on the ground during covid19 were just tremendous. She just knows how to roll upper her sleeves and get things done. So is, Lieutenant Governor the Lieutenant Governor has also been a champion of science and technology and advancing s. T. E. M. Careers for young people in our state, particularly young girls. Last summer i signed senate bill 55 creating delawares rare disease advisory council. This new council will bring together the best and brightest to help support those living with rare diseases. The effort was led by Lieutenant Governor long along with senator nicole and representative christa griffith9s. Please join me in recognizing the Lieutenant Governor and these leaders on this effort. [applause] id like to take another moment to recognize my wife tracy for all her good work as first spouse. [laughter] [applause] thats so typical of her to say, to cut it loose and say lets move on to something else. But truthfully, since 2017 trace a city has been focused on giving all delawares children a first chance to succeed. Working with the state librarian, shes helped expand Dolly PartonsImagination Library statewide in the middle of a pandemic. Thats saying something. [applause] now, more than half of the eligible children are signed up for free books every month. Again, theres nothing more important than helping our children lesh how to read, and hearn how to read, and this is an Important Program to do that. This free program will help us achieve that goal. In addition, last year tracy led a discussion on our traumainformed progress. And she hosted our first youth Mental Health summit that takes all of us working together to make sure that delaware children have a first chance to succeed from birth to adulthood. Please join me no, weve recognized her too many times. [cheers and applause] oh, or go ahead. [applause] let me tell you, i owe all i deserve i need all that goodwill that youre giving for me today. [laughter] of course, one of the best ways to expand opportunity is to keep our economy strong and growing. As the saying goes, a good job solves a lot of problems. [inaudible] [inaudible] thank you, madam speaker. As the saying goes, a good job solves a lot of problems. Good jobs help families pay the bills, buy home, save for college and retirement and sock away some money for vacation. Good jobs also increase our state s revenue and help us fund our priorities. On my first day in office, i signed an executive order to rethink our approach to economic development, and together we created the delaware prosperity partnership. And we have leaders of that the effort that are with us today. By every measure its been a success. Just in the last two years weve helped create more than 20,000 jobs. Thats a big deal for our state. And new budget continues our investment in job creation