Gov. Mckee thank you. Thank you. Thank you all. Thank you so much. Weve got a lot to share tonight, so lets get down to business. Mr. Speaker, mr. President , members of the legislature, congressman seth magaziner, thank you for being here. Our general officers, chief justice and members of the judiciary, municipal leaders, members of my cabinet, and my fellow Rhode Islanders who are watching at home, including my mom, willa and i want to thank everybody always asking how my mom is doing. Good evening. When i started thinking about this years state of the state address, i thought back to the first inaugural speech i made in march of 2021. Rhode island was in a time of significant change. We were faced with many challenges and what felt like endless unknowns. At that time, i asked my fellow Rhode Islanders to join me, to come together as one team and meet that moment head on. On that day, i shared something i used to tell the players i coached in basketball. The team i coached was called the rhode island shooting stars. They were a group of young men from all different walks of life, family situations, and backgrounds, and no one thought they could succeed. They were underestimated as a team and as individuals. But through hard work and dedication, they did compete, and they did succeed. Ill have more to share about their successes later in this address. But throughout the teams journey, i always reminded them, good teams are built when talented individuals do their best. But the best teams, the very best teams, are built when talented individuals use their skills to help others do their very best. When i became governor, i believed that rhode island could do better, be better than just a good team. I knew we could be one of the very best. Over the last three years, weve risen to that challenge. Weve shown that its our turn. That we can compete. That we will compete. And that if we work together, all we can do is succeed. Tonight, im here to cheer on our home team and share our game plan for Rhode Islands future. I have never been more confident that the state of our state is strong and getting stronger every single day because of the team thats doing the work in all 39 cities and towns. [applause] in the end, its about the work that we get done. And although i dont have as much time to be on the Basketball Court these days, im enjoying my new role as coach of Team Rhode Island. And why wouldnt i be . Together, as one team, weve made so much progress over the last few years. Here are some of the quick hits from our record a record that i shared with our speaker and Senate President and the members of the General Assembly. We reached the lowest Unemployment Rate in Rhode Islands history. [applause] 98 of our schools have improved attendance this year. 13,000 fewer students are chronically absent this year. [applause] we have a Record Number of jobs at quonset. Our states fiscal outlook was upgraded. Were ranked second best in the nation for Young Workers seeking a job. And were ranked in the top 10 best states for raising a family. [applause] theres more work ahead, but tonight is about the people who are doing the work to make all this progress happen. Last year, we set a challenge, for rhode island to reach massachusetts student achievement levels by 2030. Were doing this by improving three main areas ricas scores, student attendance, and fafsa completion. When we set that goal, i told a story about a painter who wanted to paint the perfect sunrise. Every day, the painter would get up, ready to start, then hed think, this sunrise is beautiful, but maybe tomorrow will be better. Long story short, he never got it done. Last year, i said, when it comes to improving Rhode Islands education system, we cant be like that painter. We cant wait. And the good news is, we havent. 38 out of 39 cities and towns have joined this effort that were calling learn365ri. [applause] its a commitment to prioritize learning in all our communities. A simple concept every home, every day, learning matters. Weve built a remarkable statewide team whos doing the work on education. And within our administration, we have experienced staff leading the way education commissioner angelica infantegreen, who was recently appointed by the Biden Administration to serve on their National Assessment governing board. Thank you, commissioner. [applause] postsecondary commissioner shannon gilkey, who has over 15 years of service in education, with 10 of those in higher ed. And he is reimagining our state schools, Rhode Island College, ccri and uri. Thank you, shannon. [applause] and jeremy chiappetta, our new Senior Advisor on education within my office who has firsthand experience as an educator, a principal, and a certified superintendent. There has never been somebody as qualified in education sitting in the Governors Office that i am aware of in the history of the state of rhode island. Thank you, jeremy. [applause] and they are not alone theyre not alone in this effort. Last year, under the leadership of bob walsh, a nonprofit called always learning rhode island was formed to support our learn365ri efforts. To provide guidance to the municipal leaders who have signed those contracts. To date, theyve raised over half a Million Dollars with the help of the local Business Community and civic leaders. Im proud that my wife, susan, a retired teacher, is joining the team as an honorary chair of that board. [applause] we know we know that students who attend school regularly perform, on average, about 20 points better on reading and math than those who are chronically absent thats why attendance matters. This school year, our work to dramatically improve attendance is already having a positive impact. I want to recognize alejandro, a second grader from Webster Elementary School in providence, who is here with us tonight. In kindergarten and first grade, he was chronically absent however, he turned things around and just received his first perfect attendance award. [applause] alejandro, keep up the great work [laughter] wonderful. And bella is here tonight. Shes a student at nowell academy. Because of circumstances beyond her control, last year, bella was chronically absent. However, she made the commitment to improve her attendance and this year shes on track and no longer chronically absent. Bella, rhode island is proud of you. Please stand up and let us recognize you as well. [applause] and that story keeps on going. With us tonight is alondra, a senior at Central Falls high school and a member of our chronic absenteeism working group. Shes dedicating her free time to help us create Attendance Solutions for students across our state. Thank you for stepping up in a big way, bella. Thank you so much. We appreciate your leadership. [applause] look, were serious about improving ricas scores and closing the gap between rhode island and massachusetts by 2030. Rhode island began to move the needle this year, and we want to ensure that progress continues. Thats why my budget will propose 15 million for math and english Language Arts coaching for students and professional development for teachers to help us meet the goal ahead of us. Lets get this done for our students. [applause] when it comes to education, we are moving ahead as one team, with strong education leaders in the General Assembly like representative joe mcnamara and where is joe . Joe is around here somewhere. And senators sandra cano and val lawson. That Team Includes our municipal leaders, our teachers, our superintendents, principals, and local aft and nea Union Leaders like frank flynn and mary barden, who are with us tonight. Thank you for being on Team Rhode Island. [applause] now, were asking all rhode island families, parents, grandparents, aunts, and uncles and guardians to join our team and get in the game. Because it matters that in every home, every day, learning matters. This is my third state of the state as governor, but my first as a grandfather. And while my granddaughter, mabel james, isnt quite old enough to be here tonight, just like general callahans new grandchild by the way, congratulations, general. [applause] and although mabel james is not here with us tonight, she reminds me of why im here she reminds me of why you are here. She reminds me of why everyone is listening why everyone listening in the state of rhode island is on board. Because we all want to build a rhode island thats better for our kids, for our grandkids, for the next generation, and the one after that. We want to ensure rhode island is the place they want to call home and a place they can afford to call home. In last years state of the state, we set a goal on education. This year, were going to set a goal to raise per capita income by a minimum of 20,000 by the year 2030. [applause] just think, how much housing insecurity and Food Insecurity we could address as a state, if we double down and work to raise per capita income across rhode island, helping every family. And just like we did with our education goal, within the next 100 days, we will roll out a game plan for raising incomes with the help of ernie almonte, the executive director of the league of cities and towns, and ed tibaldi, an economist and professor at bryant university. Later this week, ill be submitting my budget to the General Assembly. The budget will prioritize programs and initiatives that will help us raise the incomes of our fellow Rhode Islanders, while controlling recurring costs. We will continue the fiscal discipline we have shown over the past two years, using onetime funds for onetime investments and budgeting within our means so we wont be forced to revise our budget and make disruptive midyear cuts, as other states are. [applause] our budget will make key investments in education, Small Businesses, and Rhode IslandsHealth Care System without raising any broadbased taxes. [applause] i happen to think that is worth applause. The good news is, we dont have to start from scratch. Thanks to President Biden and our congressional delegation led by senator jack reed, rhode island has secured an historic amount of federal funds. Congressman magaziner, on behalf of rhode island, thank you to you and your colleagues for securing these funds. [applause] those dollars were earmarked by your leaderships. Thank you. Our team put these dollars to work to create an unprecedented pipeline of projects that will put people to work in goodpaying jobs and help raise incomes across our state, an impact that will be felt for decades to come. In addition to creating goodpaying jobs, we must ensure that rhode island is an affordable place to live. We must ensure that our young families can purchase their first homes and that our nurses, Public Safety workers, our laborers and teachers can live in the communities they work in. For far too long, rhode island has had one of the lowest Housing Production rates in the nation. Thats why our Administration Proposed and im grateful to the General Assembly for approving over a quarter billiondollar investment in housing in 2022. [applause] and an additional 71 million in housing in last years budget. In sum, since ive been governor, weve allocated nearly half a billion dollars to housing. And while building doesnt happen overnight, we continue to see signs of progress. Under the leadership of housing secretary stefan pryor, we already have over 1,600 homes in the pipeline, with more on the way. And thanks to our downpayment assistance program, were helping over 1,500 first time homebuyers, like the cruz family, who are with us tonight. [applause] juan and emelin and their two sons moved into their first home in west warwick last year using our down payment assistance program. I was there to welcome them. Their son actually gave me a little seashell. And we love that. Because it meant something to him that he was walking into his first home and he wanted to say thank you. He gave me a gift tonight. So thank you so much. I want to congratulate them on their new home and thank them for choosing rhode island. It is important that we recognize that homeownership is a key to creating generational wealth. In addition to new housing tools passed last year, the budget ill propose will call for a 100 million Housing Production bond on the ballot. This would be the largest Housing Production bond in our states history. And were going to ensure that, if approved by the voters, these dollars will create more inventory and help put young people on a path to homeownership in our state. More young people on a path to homeownership in our state. [applause] because we know that homeownership for everyone in this room is one of the top ways to build generational wealth. So lets get it done. We know that states across the country are dealing with issues in their Health Care Systems hospitals are facing Financial Difficulties and shortages of primary care doctors are creating challenges for patients. Under the leadership of health and Human Services secretary rick charest, our administration is dedicated to strengthening the states Health Care System. And rick is no stranger to this work. He is the former ceo of landmark medical center, where he led a significant turnaround, bringing the hospital out of receivership. And when i recruited him to State Government thanks, rick, for accepting, you are hanging around here somewhere thank you for accepting and taking my call. He immediately went to fix the longstanding challenges we inherited at Eleanor Slater hospital and made significant progress in improving Patient Safety and increasing staff morale. And thank of the General Assembly for appropriating dollars to go out and fixed at hospital. [applause] and fix that hospital. [applause] the budget i proposed last year that the General Assembly passed included new state directed payments to hospitals. These new payments, combined other changes, resulted in over 110 million in new medicaid funding to our states hospitals. The budget ill propose this year will once again include this crucial funding. Additionally, our budget will propose over 135 million in investments to increase Health Care Provider rates and support the Behavioral Health needs of Rhode Islanders. Some provider rates have not increased in over ten years. We know how important Early Intervention is for our children and families. This Crucial Program promotes the development of infants and toddlers who have a Developmental Disability or delay. In addition to the federal funding that we directed to Early Intervention providers to strengthen their workforce, the budget ill propose to the General Assembly will fully fund the Early Intervention rate increases recommended by the office of the Health Insurance commissioner and eohhs. [applause] finally, in collaboration with secretary charest, in the coming weeks, ill be signing an executive order focused on improving Rhode IslandsHealthcare Systems and planning work to ensure we have access to an efficient and effective Healthcare Delivery system aligned with our states needs. The working group created as part of this executive order will be comprised of members from my health cabinet, professionals, with broad input from a wide array of stakeholders who will be ready to do the work. Under the leadership of the department of Health Director dr. Bandy, were building a new state health lab. Which my partners up here a great deal to do with. This Publicprivate Partnership will also have muchneeded wet lab space which will be essential to growing Rhode IslandsLife Sciences industry. [applause] for over a decade, leaders have stepped up to the microphone and talked about how massachusetts is a leader in life science and that rhode island could be as well. Instead of dreaming of that possibility, thanks to the leadership of speaker shekarchi, were making it a reality. [applause] our administration worked with the speaker and the General Assembly to propose a new quasipublic agency dedicated to