television. [applause] [applause] >> thank you all very much. [applause] thank you very much. thank you. [applause] >> thank you all very much. thank you all. how how about dartmouth? if anybody can get it to snow, it would be them. and if any game is going to win the super bowl, it will be the new england patriots. [applause] >> so, mr. speaker, mr. senate president, members of the judiciary, honorable members of the executive council, house and senate, and my fellow citizens of new hampshire. first, let me take a moment to thank our great first lady, dr. susan lynch. [applause] >> for eight year susan has juggled our family andmer medical practice while serving organizations such as walk new hampshire, and the proudy, she been a strong advocate for children and families, so, susan, thank you. thank you for your love and support of your family and me, and for your commitment to our great state of new hampshire. thank you. >> i also want to recognize ray wieczorek, thank you for all your service to manchester. [applause] this fall, american combat troops left iraq after more than ten years. countless new hampshire citizens have served in the support of the wars in iraq and afghanistan, leaving their families behind as they risked their lives for all of us. in these past ten years, 58 knew. citizens made the ultimate sacrifice. one of my most humbling and moving dutities has been to represent the people of new hampshire to the families of the fallen, to offer the heartfelt thanks of a grateful state. i have had the tremendous honor of learning about the lives, joys, and the loves of the people behind the uniforms. meeting their parents, their wives, and their children, the people who in the words of abraham lincoln, have laid a sacrifice on the altar of freedom. please stand and join with me in a moment of silence for our fallen. >> thank you very much. i am proud to serve as commander in chief of the new hampshire national guard. whether they are responding here at home to a flood or ice storm, or going across the world to protect us from the threat of terrorism, guard members answer the call to serve. they and their families sacrifice so much for all of us, and they serve with dignity, with honor, and with courage. in september, colonel pete corey of littleton brought 700 members of the 197th fires brigade home safely from kuwait. i i'd ask colonel corey to stand so we can thank him and all the men and women of new hampshire who served our nation in the armed forces. [applause] >> we were led today in the pledge by david clark. a resident of the veterans home and a vietnam veteran. he is joined today by men and women from the veterans home who served our nation in world war ii, wore ya, and vietnam. is it easy to take for granted the freedoms we enjoy as americans, the freedoms we exercise every day in this building as we debate. we must never forget that the blood and sweat and tears of our veterans paid for every one of those. let us thank them and all our veterans for their service to our country, and for protecting our liberty. applause. [applause] it is my great honor to report to the people of new hampshire, for the fourth and final time, on the state of our great state. now, you know what i'm going to say next, i'm going to say it's because it's true. i believe that we live in the greatest state in the greatest country in the world. [applause] and you know, as governor, i think about that every single day. there is something so special about new hampshire. our extraordinary and caring people. our sense of community. our independent spirit and yankee frugality. the creativity and ingenuity of our people. our strong connection to the land. i have the opportunity to see all parts of new hampshire, businesses and nonprofits, schools and employment offices, veterans' homes and police stations. i meet people from every walk of life, from the fourth graders whose state house tours brighten my days, to the ceos considering moving their companies to our great state. and i can tell you that the state of new hampshire is strong, resilient, and caring. [applause] we gather today in the state house. a powerful symbol of our commitment to citizen involvement, democracy and transparency. its golden dome reaching toward the sky beckons us to aspire to great things, and a greater future for our state. in our best moments, this is a place where we can find common purpose in service to our fellow citizens. here we can make a difference for the people of new hampshire. but this building is only a small part of new hampshire. the heart and soul of new hampshire, the true strength of our state, lies outside these doors, with our people. we see it every day, as people from across new hampshire come together in common purpose, in ways large and small, to serve our state and to serve each other. take the number food bank. where thousands of volunteers work to make sure families don't go to bed hungry. under melanie gosselin's direction, the new hampshire food bank distributes seven million pounds of food every year. let's thank melanie, who is here today, and all of the food bank donors for their work. they show a the giving spirit of new hampshire. [applause] thank you, melanie. at londonderry high school, 232 people, mostly high school girls, in a selfless act of giving, lined up to off their hair in support of those living with cancer. students who organized the drive, along with their teachers, steve juster, are with us here today. let's thank them for their generosity. they showed the true heart of new hampshire. [applause] when tropical storm irene hit, it devastated a number of north country roads right before fall foliage season. early estimates were that it would be impossible to open some roads, including the kancamagus highway, until spring. that would have devastated our tourism business, but employees at the department of transportation, partnered with private contractors, to open the kanc in just 15 days. dennis ford and john paul-hill yard, two of the dot maintenance supervisors who led the efforts to re-open roads damaged by irene. let's thank them and their crews. they show the strength of new hampshire. [applause] >> the people of new hampshire work together every day to solve problems and to make our state a better place. in our work over the next year, let us take our inspiration from them. let us find, under this golden dome, that same sense of common purpose that unites our citizens. many new hampshire families have experienced hard times in the last several years. some have lost their jobs. some have lost their homes. many have seen their savings dissipate. even though our unemployment rate is one of the lowest in the nation, too many of our neighbors are still looking for work. we cannot rest until every person who wants a job can find a job here in new hampshire. [applause] our first priority remains putting people back to work. and we have a strategy here in new hampshire that has made us a national leader. we've invested in our students and our workers. we've ensured that state government is open and accessible to citizens and to business leaders. we've worked to protect our quality of life and environment. we've kept state taxes among the lowest in the nation. and we've traditionally recognized that state government has basic responsibilities it must meet and it must fund. if you look at any national statistic, you can see that our strategy is working. we have the fourth lowest unemployment rate in the nation. we are routinely ranked as the most liveable, healthiest, and safest state. we've been named the best state in the country to raise a child four years in a row. [applause] so as the husband of a physician, i urge us to don't the cardinal rule of medicine: first, do no harm. we can build on our success, but overall new hampshire has a strategy that is working. let's not mess it up. [applause] our greatest economic asset is our people. we have a responsibility to them, and to our state's economic future, to make sure that new hampshire's workers have the skills they need to compete for good jobs. my background is in manufacturing, and i understand the special value that comes from making things. manufacturing is still the heartbeat of new hampshire's economy. its value is firmly rooted in our history and in our ethic of hard work. from the manchester mills, today a center for high-tech inning newt, developing products that are changing the world. to gorham where the re-opened paper mill is once again producing high-quality paper goods. manufacturing is alive and growing in our great state of new hampshire. [applause] manufacturing creates good-paying jobs that help families live better lives. but manufacturing like every industry today, demand workers with new, more advanced skills. that is why we're investing in building the work force to meet the needs of today's manufacturing companies. albany international, a nearly billion dollar company, could have located anywhere in the world, but its leaders chose new hampshire. to ensure albany has the work force it needs, we're partnering with the company to create an advanced composites training program at the great bay community college. that is one of the reasons why albany is bringing hundreds of jobs to the city of rochester. as part of our efforts to get people book to work, we launched new hampshire working. this program has already helped avert the layoffs of more than 1200 workers. it has helped companies hire hundreds of people by allowing up to six weeks of on-the-job training for people collecting unemployment. and this fall, we launched its final component, which is helping unemployed workers assess and upgrade their job skills. other states are now looking to emulate new hampshire working, and we're going to keep building on this innovative effort to help our people get back to work. [applause] through our job-training program, we've partnered with companies like new hampshire ball bearing in petitionerbrow, and osram sill cran ya in hillsboro to make sure their workers are able to tackle today's job requirements. in all, we have trained close to 12,000 workers as about 200 jobs here in new hampshire. >> job trainening works for our businesses and works for our workers. if we invest in our people, we will keep those good jobs right here in new hampshire. [applause] building our future work force starts with making sure all of our children receive a good education, from kindergarten to high school graduation, and through college if that is the course they choose. we increased funding for public schools, investing in modernizing facilities at the time colleges and universities, and at long last, made kindergarten available to every student in every community in new hampshire. [applause] education opened up a whole new world of opportunity for me. i want every child in new hampshire to have that same chance, especially a high school graduation. that's why we ininvested -- we increased our compulsory attendance age from age 16 to 18. we've invested in alternative education programs. and as a result, we have cut our annual dropout rate in half. [applause] so at a time when high school dropout rates are of epidemic proportions in other states, which is what they are -- here in new hampshire, we have lowered our high school dropout rate to a remark remarkably low 1.16%. [applause] and we've made so much progress because teachers and schools from the "pass" program in manchester, to the bud karlson academy in rochester, have made eliminating high school dropouts their goal as well. they've brought commitment and creativity to the effort to help every child succeed. why we have one of the lowest dropout rates in the nation, there was a slight uptick this year. we should reexamine cuts -- recent cuts to the dropout prevention program that help teachers keep their students engaged in school. this is a fight our state can't cannot afford to lose. [applause] every new hampshire child should graduate from high school. to strengthen the opportunity for all of our students, we need, however, flexibility to direct more aid to the communities and to the the children with the greatest needs, and that's hard to do under the current supreme court rulings, which requires a state to spend the same base amount for every student and in every town. that is why i believe we need a constitutional amendment. [applause] now, i support a bipartisan amendment that would improve our ability to give every child the opportunity for a quality education. i remain committed to working with any legislator who shares the gel of an amendment that allows us to target state education aid and affirms the state's responsibility to our schools. and i will oppose any amendment that would allow the state to abandon its responsibility for educationing our children. [applause] [cheers and applause] our teachers are the heart and soul of our schools. i love teachers. they invest so much of themselves in helping young people learn. at windham high school, the passion and energy of this teacher is inspiering students to love science. please join me in welcoming beth any bernasconi, new hampshire's 2012 teacher of the year. [applause] teachers like bethany are what help make a school great. but no matter how great the teachers, it can be hard for children to learn in dilapidated buildings. over the past decade state funding for building aid has doubled. but there are still some districts that haven't been able to afford to fix even the basics at their schools. we need to put in place a reform building aid program. i support legislation that will establish a building aid budget, prioritize projects, and increase the match available to school districts with the greatest needs. every child in new hampshire should receive a quality education in a good school building. [applause] to compete in the future, new hampshire will need more workers with backgrounds in science and engineering, technology and math. that's why so many businesses have joined with programs like first robotics, to inspire students to pursue careers in these fields. many of those jobs will require higher education, which is why we must make it financially possible for more of our students to go on to college. the most recent budget reduced state funding to our public colleges and universities by half. this is exactly the type of shortsighted reduction that undermines our economic strategy and jeopardizes our vitality for years to come. [applause] that reduction hurt new hampshire students and families struggling to pay tuition. some students may not be able to afford college at all. and there may be fewer spaces for new hampshire students at our own colleges. these cuts also put businesses trying to grow in new hampshire. and send the wrong signal to the companies we are trying to attract. an educated work force is the core of our state's successful economic development strategy. for our economic future, we must make it a priority to restore funding for higher education. [applause] in addition to educating our future workforce, our public colleges are economic engines in other ways. two years ago we partnered with the university of new hampshire to create the green launching pad. the launching pad works directly with startup companies and entrepreneurs, connecting them with faculty and students to provide expert assistance, and with business mentors and angel investors. since its inception, the green launching pad has helped to launch 11 companies in new hampshire, and every one of these companies has created jobs. at enertrac in hudson, they developed remote monitoring technology for fuel tanks. this allows customers to become more efficient, reducing operating cost by as much as 40%. when they were chosen to participate in the green launching pad-the-company had just three employees, and just 200 monitors installed. now it has 25,000 monitors in player, 140,000 units on order, and the "help wanted "sign is out. [applause] i believe in balanced budgets. and i am proud of the work we have done to maintain a balanced budget in these very difficult times. as a result of our strong financial management, we end edifice school year 2011 with a surplus. [applause] as you look at the current fiscal year 2012, there are some promising signs. in addition to carrying forward a surplus, business taxes, which are the state's biggest revenue source, are running 6.4% ahead of last year. but there are challenges as well. starting with the $14 million deficit the legislature built into its budget for 2012. the 10-cent cut in the tobacco tax has basically wiped out much of the gains in business tax revenues. -- [applause] >> already, tobacco revenues are running $13 million below last year. as a result of a federal audit of the 2004 uncompensated care program for hospitals, the federal government will reduce its medicaid payments to new hampshire by $35 million over the next three years. through strong management and slowing caseload growth, the department of health some human services absorbed this year's federal reduction without additional program cuts. the current budget dramatically reduced uncompensated care payments to hospitals. as a result, hospitals have been challenging current and past medicaid enhancement tax payments. we have resolved the major issues with the federal government and we expect the hospitals to now meet their obligations. but the legislature must also consider how to repair this fractured relationship with our major health care providers. with the 2011 surplus, and assuming the hospitals pay the taxes day owe, we should be able to end fiscal year 2012 balanced. that's my goal because that's in the best long-term interest of new hampshire. [applause] i am proud that new hampshire has among the lowest state taxes per capita in the nation. and i have been and i remain committed to vetoing an income or sales tax. [applause] there are tax reductions that can spur job growth here in new hampshire. innovative companies create jobs and lay the foundation for a stronger future for our state. five years ago, we put in place a research and development tax credit to attract companies to create the products of the future here n right here in new hampshire. this year, i am proposing that we double the research and development tax credit. [applause] this is a tax credit that works to help create jobs. the same cannot be said of the cut in the tobacco tax. [applause] the cut in the tobacco tax was nonsensical. that money would have been better spent on our community college and university systems, for example. we should roll it back, and use the revenue to invest in our economic future in new hampshire. [applause] a good transportation network is the lifeblood of our economy. it is critical for transporting goods, for ensuring an enjoyable experience for our visitors, and for the quality of our citizens' lives. and we have made great progress in the past seven years. by 2013, traffic will be flowing on a wider and safer spaulding turnpike. opening up new economic development opportunities from rochester to portsmouth. the airport access road was completed ahead of schedule and under budget, bringing new opportunities to businesses in manchester. to reduce traffic for visitors and residents we have installed open road tolling and will complete open road tolling by mid-2013. [applause] everywhere i go, i hear about the difference that these transportation projects have made for our people and for our businesses. on all these projects, we came together, we made the difficult decisions on how to pay for them, and we made them happen. and that is what we need to do with the widening of interstate 39 from salem to manchester. [applause] >> interstate 93 was built in the early 60s. for 20,000 cars a day. now we can see as many as 100,000 cars in the salem area. with the available funding, the interstate 93 widening will sputter to a dead stop in wyndham. delaying this project hurts our citizens who must commute on that road every day. it hurts the businesses that depend on i-93 to transport goods. it hurts our tourism industry. and it undercuts the economic development of land that would be opened with a new exit 4a. right now, bids for road construction projects are coming in nearly 10% below estimates. the cost of capital its at an all-time low, and key permits will expire in 2020. smart financial sense says we should be pushing forward with this project now, while it is less expensive. last year i called on the legislature to come together to fund the expansion of i-93. not only did the legislature not act on i-93, it cut overall highway fund revenue by $90 million. words alone will not raise the $365 million needed to complete the project. i am willing to put reasonable options on the table. and i'm asking the legislature to do so as well. if we come together and show the necessary political will, we can complete the widening of inter93 through manchester in just four years. [applause] the people of new hampshire are waiting. we can and we should finish widenle interstate 93 by 2016. now, we hear from some a lot of antigovernment talk. but to me that doesn't make lot of sense because government, after all, is all of us. the people of new hampshire. and it exists to serve all of us. responding to fires. keeping our streets and our neighborhoods safe. caring for our sick and elderly. protecting our clean air and water. our focus shouldn't be on attacking government. it should be on improving government. making government better. [applause] that's why we are making it easier for businesses to navigate state government with a new online business one stop. this one stop will provide business owners with streamlined access to the steps they need to take to open or expand a business, including one licensing system for all our boards and commissions. this is just one of our many efforts to make government more transparent and to improve critical services. we've cut outdated programs, eliminated unnecessary offices. centralized purchasing. put more services, like driver's license renewals, online. reduced personnel. under chief justice, the courts are moving forward with restructuring and ecourt efforts, and we've put the state checkbook online so that taxpayers can see where their money is being spent. [applause] now we're working to consolidate our human resources across the state government. the department of health and human services is moving forward with implementing medicaid managed care. at the department of corrections we issued requests for proposals to examine new approaches running our correction system. state agencies are working hard to do more with significantly fewer people. we need to devote our employee resources to providing direct services to our citizens, rather than writing reports that no one reads. that's why i am proposing streamlining legislation to eliminate oar reduce the frequency of 100 time-consuming reports, reduce the paperwork it takes to buy small items, and combine the administrative functions of 34 boards and commissions into a new office of professional licensure. three these efforts have taken lat of work of employees across state government, starting with agency head. in tough times, they have worked with creativity to ensure that the state provides crucial services. our agency heads worked so well together, and they are absolutely dedicated to the people they serve. i'd like to ask them all to stand, so we can thank them. [applause] in... ... [applause] >> iowa respect the contributions of all of our workers and i will never take away their right to organize. [applause] too many families lost their homes because of deceptive marketing practices but we have turned the hands of the attorney general's into protecting the consumers almost alone in the nation because of the change in the law a decade ago. our attorney general asked the authority to prosecute unfair trade practices in industries like banking. the exit of counsel and i spent a lot of time looking at this issue in coming and we stand united in calling on the legislator to restore to the attorney general the power to protect consumers run by abusive mortgage practices. [applause] helping those hurt by the market crisis is in and purchased about economic recovery and we need to act now want as we look to continue to build our economy we need to consider the non-governmental cause that in that company's ability to grow and compete and on the top of that list is health care. the problem with health care in our country is not that we don't spend enough money. here is enough money in the system we just don't spend it efficiently. changing that is all of our responsibilities. consumers, providers and insurance companies. through the citizens of the initiative we've been working to spur change in our health care system. we've completed a promising home pilot regarding providers and small monthly fee is so they can spend their time managing and coordinating the care of their