Sense of security that most other kids have because lets face it. When youre a kid, thats really nothi the hidden wait to get in the door and allowing nearly three quarters of customers to get in and out in 30 minutes or less and we are just getting started. Now, working collaborateively with the legislature we have closed more than 1 million in budget deficits without raising fees or taxes. Instead we tightened our belts, got rhcreative and taking a pat and setting a healthy, responsible course. And working together, weve made investments in school aid and local aid. No longer will beacon hill balance its budget on the backs of local communities. Thats for the guys upstairs. We focused on transportation, investing 300 million in chapter 90 funding and hundreds of local and bridge projects across the commonwealth. We increased the investment made in Higher Education, we invested 37 million in Climate Change and Energy Resiliency projects. Boosted support of mass Works Economic Development program and a Grant Program part of the urban initiatives. These projects breathe nut life into downtowns, setting communities up for success and we have signed Community Compact agreements with more than 100 communities across the commonwealth, building on best practices and successful reforms. And in cooperation with Public Sector unions we reduced our own head count by more than 2,000. Making State Government more efficient without skipping a beat. And together, were poised to make progress on a number of additional issues. The first is energy. Over the next few years, the regent stands to lose about 10,000 mega watts of power as older generation plants come off line. That represents enough energy to supply maine, vermont, rhode island and New Hampshire combined. Meeting our future energy needs requires cooperation with the other New England States because the Regions Energy infrastructure and supply is closely linked. Our administration is outlined Ambitious Goals to reduce Carbon Emissions and we have a plan to meet those goals through a diversified, you stainable and affordable approach. Meeting the energy needs requires us to act now. Massachusetts leads the nation in energy efficiency. But that will never be enough. We have a growing Solar Industry which we should continue to support but not at prices two to three times more than every other option. Wind options are available to us and if advances in offshore Wind Technology bring a Competitive Price we should embrace them, too. But if were serious about reducing our carbon footprint, while maintaining a Reliable Energy grid and improving the competitive position, then we must significantly increase the supply of clean and affordable hydropower. Governors across new england governors across new england, democrats and republicans, have made clear to me that they are ready to go. What theyre waiting on is us. And any solution will take time to implement. I urge us all to act quickly to move on this critical legislation to this states and regions future economically and environmentally. Second issue is the epidemic of opioide and heroin abuse and all of us have talked about before. The statistics are terrifying. Four people a day are dying in massachusetts. Prescribers in this state wrote more than 4 million ownership yod prescriptions in 2014 and these numbers have been climbing for a decade. The rise in opioid and heroin addiction has risen with growth and prescriptions. This is a real human tragedy. Moms, dads, brothers, sisters and friends, all tell hauntingly similar stories. It starts small. Fill this prescription. Or try this pill. But once someone gets too close to the flame, everything changes. It becomes the only thing that matters. People under the spell ofecb . Opioids and heroin will do anything to get their next hit. Families and friendships are torn apart. Trust vanishes. Patience is overwhelmed. And tragedy is always inches away and more often than not it comes to stay because people die. Now, you all know im a health care guy. And ill stand with my former colleagues when their clinical judgment is being improperly maligned. But not this time. Prescribers in massachusetts and across this country are far too casual about the addictive consequences of these medications. Parents, teachers and coaches dont know enough about them to protect their kids. And kids are mostly completely in the dark when someone says, try this. Now, were close on legislation to enhance our ongoing efforts to improve prevention and education. To build on our intervention work and to strengthen our treatment and recovery programs. Breaking the back of this beast will take time, creativity and a willingness to be disruptive. Of course, we must be thoughtful but we must be bold. Lets get this done and lets not rest until we do thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. I also urge you to be bold on k12 education. Now, i know for some expanding the availability of the public Charter Schools is controversial but giving parents and Underperforming School districts more opportunity to choose a Different School is nothing less than we would all demand for our own children. More than 40,000 kids, most from communities of color, are excelling in public Charter Schools. 37,000 more mostly the neighbors of those kids remain on a waiting list. Their parents struggle to understand why they dont deserve the same education their neighbors kids get. They cry when they talk to me about the hopes and dreams they have for their children and as a parent i feel their pain. Parents want their kids to have a shot, a better shot than the one they had. And they see it right in front of them. But they cant make it happen. These are families that cant afford to move and they cant afford to send their kids to private schools. This is their chance and its a good one. In massachusetts, were home to some of the highest performing schools in the country. Many of which are Charter Schools. Students attending the Brook AcademyCharter Schools in rosalyn dale and east boston had higher scores on the english and math park exams than students in carlisle, belmont, sud bury, sharon, concord, way len, wes on the and newton. In fact, they had higher scores than students from every k8 school in massachusetts. Now, were willing to discuss and were willing to hear both sides. But a state that places such a high value on education should not place arbitrary limits on parents access to high quality schools. And we should not sit idly by while so many parents feel the pain of miss eed opportunity fo their kids. Thank you. Now, i get that energy, opioids and education by thursday please are challenging and complex issues. But i believe we can successfully take them on. Over the past year, we worked together to expand and increase the earned income tax credit for 400,000 lowincome families. Executed in Early Retirement Program to save 125 million every year and enacted dramatic reforms of the mbta solved two major budget deficits without raising taxes or fees and providing a down payment to enhance education prevention and Treatment Services to beat down our opioide epidemic. And today with your help, today with your help we are delivering on a promise thats alluded state leaders more than 30 years. We will no longer send women who are involuntarily committed because of a Substance Abuse disorder to framingham state prison. They will Access Medical care at state hospitals. Bravo. And later this month, well file a budget for fiscal 2017 and in keeping with previous efforts, it will increase local and education aid, continue our generous support for Public Transportation and offer a number of important reforms in the way we operate. It will add money to the Stabilization Fund and it wont raise taxes or fees. The people of this state live within their means and we should, too. Well also be filing legislation that makes a modest adjustment to the film tax credit. We respect the legislatures desire to retain the credit. Mr. Speaker, message delivered. But we believe it would be more Cost Effective to return to its original structure and believe the savings from this adjustment could be directed to creating more Affordable Housing and improved tax climate for massachusetts businesses that sell products and services in other states. Now, in addition, too many jobs, goodpaying jobs that people can build a life and a career going with are going unfilled. We all know that. Thats why the Economic Development bill will invest 75 million in our career and technical schools. Our proposal will make it possible for these schools to build more partnerships with local businesses and Higher Education institutions and most important of all serve more students. These schools are a pathway to a bright future, the skills they teach are widely in demand and many of them are already well plugged into the job creators in their communities. And an age when too many people are struggling to find work that pays well, these schools have so much to offer and we should help them make that happen. Now, as we end our first term, some have lamented how boring we are and i must admit that makes me smile. No fights. No yelling. No partisan scrums. I had a basketball coach in high school who was fond of saying dont confuse effort with results. Work hard but work smart. Too often in government we confuse how much money we spend on so much or how much we yell at each other about it with whether or not were achieving any positive results. The guy that became the receiver of the Lawrence School system four years ago isnt a big talker. Hes a doer. Jeff riley cut the Central Office budget by 30 and put the money he saved back into the classroom. Renegotiated collective bargains agreements to lengthen the school day and focus on student focus and brought charter and traditional schools together to focus on the kids. He didnt get more money. He just did the work. It is an amazing story that teachers, the kids and the entire community are writing in lawrence. And, jeff, i want to thank you you and your team for everything youre doing for the kids. The reality is that citizens care about what we say but what they really care about is what we do. And what they see in their own daily lives. If they have a good job, their schools work, their local community is safe and thriving and they can pay their bills, then they feel pretty good about where they are and where theyre going. The reverse is also true. If they cant find or keep a job or get to one, if their kids attend an Underperforming School, if they cant afford to pay their bills, if their streets arent safe and the downtown is a wasteland, then no amount of good intentions or were number one talk will mean anything to them. Thats the reason why this administration is so focused on the blocking and tackling of government. Its where we can have the most impact on peoples every day lives. Now, all of us here get the campaigns are competitions but governing is about the work. When karen and i talked about a bipartisan approach to governing, we meant it. And when we talked about rebuilding the relationship of State Government and cities and towns we meant it. When we talk about focusing on what works and what doesnt and doing more of the former and less of the latter, you know what . We mean that, too. Every day the people expect their State Government to work. They work hard. They have to sweat the details and they have to perform. So should we. Now, i have a plaque on my desk which contains the piece of scripture i brought to the Interfaith Service we held just before taking office. It says, do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conc t conceit. Rather in humility, value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of others. We live if a glorious place. Karen and i both say that all the time. And we marvel at the collective spirit, intelligence and drive of the people of this great state. They are the reason massachusetts is truly a leader in so many fields. Now, just last week, ge, one of the world east largest and most respected technology and advanced Manufacturing Companies decided to locate its headquarters here in boston, massachusetts. The competition was stiff and everybody wanted ge as part of their innovation economy but we feel successful for a couple of reasons. First, there wasnt an inch of daily between the republican governor and the democrat mayor and the folks at ge could see we were in this together. Second, and most importantly, they saw who the people of massachusetts are. What we do and how the ecosystem we have developed can propel ge into the future. Now, massachusetts didnt get here overnight. We got here over time. We looked at the big pictures and we crushed the details. For decades, the people of this state have set the bar high and followed through and because of all that, i can stand here tonight and say with certainty that the state of our commonwealth is strong. Thank you. Thank you. But we still have work to do and we always will. Azumi dad has sauls said, success is never final. But i believe we have the will to collaborate, the shared sense of purpose, the deep belief that we can and should always do better and the relentless spirit that says, we must. God bless the commonwealth of mass and god bless the United States of america. Thank you very much. Thank you. Thank you. American history tv on cspan3 features programs that tell the american story. And this weekend, we kick off a threeweek special series on the 1966 vietnam war hearings, 50 years later. Senate historian donald richie. Vietnam hearings were probably some of the most extraordinary hearings ever held by congress. They were hearings and investigation into a war that was still being fought. That the congress and the particularly the senate wanted the know why we were in vietnam. What the administrations policies were. And they wanted to hear from opponents of the war. They gave equal status to critics of the war as they did to supporters of the war. It was a real debate. This weekend, two witnesses who propose president johnsons vietnam policies. First, an abc news special report that includes the testimony of former ambassador to the soviet union george ken nan. And then retired general gavin and then questions of senators including the chairman. In korea, we had learned, air naval power alone could not win a war and Ground Forces cant win one, either. It was incredible to me that we had forgotten that bitter lessons so soon that we were on the verge of making that same tragic error. Well, general, as far as you know, are the conditions in indochina any different than they were at that time . Next weekend, hearing from special consultant to president johnson, general maxwell taylor. And on saturday, february 27th, secretary of state rusing gives his testimony defending johnsons vietnam policies. For the complete weekend schedule, go to cspan. Org