2018 Governor's State of the State speeches


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OnTheIssues.org excerpts:  (click on issues for details)

Abortion     Jeff Colyer: Kansas prohibited slavery and prohibited abortion together.     Dan Malloy: Free birth control coverage.     Henry McMaster: Stop providing state funds to abortion clinics.     Sam Brownback: I dream of cherishing life at every stage.

Budget & Economy     Rick Snyder: Government sets stage for business success.     Eric Holcomb: $250-million Next Level Indiana Trust Fund.

Civil Rights     John Carney: Increase diversity in state employment.     Ralph Northam: Look harder for diverse candidates for leadership roles.     Kay Ivey: Held first ever Governor's Disability Job Fair.

Corporations     John Bel Edwards: Provide regulatory relief for small business.     Chris Sununu: Lower business tax to accompany no income or sales tax.     Chris Sununu: 3-phase deregulation to help business.     John Hickenlooper: Fund $10M program to support rural business.     John Hickenlooper: 5-year initiative to support startup businesses.     Jim Justice: Just Cut Taxes And Win: start with business taxes.     Phil Bryant: Growing business is best jobs program.

Crime     John Kasich: Rehab, not prison, for low-level offenders.     Larry Hogan: Crack down on violent crime with truth-in-sentencing laws.     Jerry Brown: Instead of new laws, consider the overall system.     Henry McMaster: Jam cellphone signals inside state prisons.     Ralph Northam: Raise threshold for felony larceny; 2nd chance after mistake.     Susana Martinez: Increase penalties for many crimes.     Nathan Deal: Accountability courts fight recidivism.     Terry McAuliffe: Second chance for youthful offenders.     Chris Christie: Bail reform based on crime, not wealth.     Chris Christie: Expunge records for less serious crimes.     Jay Inslee: End the death penalty.     Kay Ivey: More prison staffing and more capital investments in prisons.

Drugs     Jeff Colyer: Scourge of opioid and meth epidemics affect everyone.     Henry McMaster: Opioids: awareness, information, treatment, & enforcement.     Charlie Baker: Reduce opioid prescribing and drive Fentanyl off our streets.     Gina Raimondo: Jobs and insurance, to combat addiction.     John Hickenlooper: National model for marijuana legalization.     Kim Reynolds: Reduce number of opioids prescribed & increase Rx monitoring.     Doug Ducey: Crack down on drunk/drugged drivers.

Education     Chris Sununu: Give parents choice instead of one-size-fits-all system.     Asa Hutchinson: Fund colleges based on productivity.     Jeff Colyer: My (Re) Employment Plan: KANSASWORKS technical education.     Jeff Colyer: Invest in early childhood education & invest in our future.     Jeff Colyer: Increased investments in K-12 Education.     Kate Brown: Future Ready Oregon: Prepare students for today's jobs.     Bill Haslam: Boost public education by $1.5B.     Henry McMaster: Invest in school choice & robust charter school program.     Scott Walker: Help college students refinance loans.     Doug Burgum: Local control of schools.     John Carney: Focus on improving troubled schools.     Gina Raimondo: More pre-K classrooms; free community college.     Gina Raimondo: Major investment to repair crumbling schools.     John Hickenlooper: Increase investment in education by additional $100M.     John Hickenlooper: Schools should focus on skills for future jobs.     Jim Justice: Support non-college career paths.     Ralph Northam: Borrower's Bill of Rights to manage student debt.     Terry McAuliffe: Borrower's Bill of Rights to manage student debt.     Jay Inslee: Four-year degree isn't the only path to success.     Kay Ivey: Strong Start, Strong Finish: from pre-K to workforce.     Kim Reynolds: School choice offers families option to teach their values.     Phil Bryant: Parents should have school choice.     Sam Brownback: Court-ordered education funding won't solve every problem.     Butch Otter: Focus on student outcomes.

Energy & Oil     Dan Malloy: Aggressively pursue clean energy.     Tom Wolf: Severance tax on natural gas is common sense.     Larry Hogan: Combat greenhouse gas emissions; grow green jobs.     Henry McMaster: Oppose offshore drilling & onshore infrastructure.     Doug Burgum: On energy, all of the above.     Bill Walker: Increased oil production key part of energy policy.     Gina Raimondo: Green energy means jobs.     Phil Murphy: Protect our precious Jersey Shore from offshore drilling.     Ralph Northam: Create clean energy jobs in rural communities.     Terry McAuliffe: Cap carbon emissions from Virginia's electric utilities.     John Hickenlooper: Close coal plants: cleaner air AND lower utility bills.     Jim Justice: Coal miners back work is good; let's have more.     Jay Inslee: Supports carbon tax.     Sam Brownback: I dream of Kansas exporting wind power across America.

Environment     Paul LePage: Land preservation reduces tax revenue.     Asa Hutchinson: Reduce burden of unreasonable regulations.     Jerry Brown: Deal with pollution at local level.     Henry McMaster: Oppose drilling and seismic testing along our coast.     Sam Brownback: I dream of a Kansas known as the Renewable State.     Andrew Cuomo: Pro-active policy to protect groundwater.

Families & Children     Jeff Colyer: Safe and professional workplace, free from sexual harassment.     Jeff Colyer: More child welfare staff; more family programs.     Bruce Rauner: Combat sexual harassment among government employees.     Phil Murphy: We all can contribute, including the differently abled.     Kim Reynolds: Sexual harassment has been a stain on our culture.

Free Trade     Jim Justice: Change the trade imbalance with China.     Peter Ricketts: Exports boost Nebraska economy.

Government Reform     Jeff Colyer: 4-point plan to increase state government transparency.     Larry Hogan: End partisan gerrymandering; make term limits.     Ralph Northam: End unnecessary restrictions: no-excuse absentee ballots.     Eric Greitens: Slash 33,000 regulations across the board.     Ralph Northam: Make absentee voting easier.     Terry McAuliffe: Make absentee voting easier.     Jay Inslee: Favors automatic voter registration.     Kay Ivey: Ban lobbyists from appointments by the executive branch.     Kim Reynolds: Protect the ballot box with new voter ID laws.

Gun Control     Mark Dayton: Commonsense criminal background checks to all gun purchases.     Chris Sununu: Protect schools with security infrastructure.     Dan Malloy: Close loopholes; ban bump stocks.     Dan Malloy: Allow early voting, explore vote by mail.     Ralph Northam: Start with universal background checks.     Ralph Northam: Supports universal background checks.     Terry McAuliffe: Supports universal background checks.     Jay Inslee: Pass common-sense gun laws.     Kay Ivey: Firearms industry jobs part of rich history of 2nd Amendment.

Health Care     Mark Dayton: MinnesotaCare Buy-In: affordable choices for consumers.     John Bel Edwards: Medicaid expansion addresses opioid crisis.     Chris Sununu: State must invest in mental healthcare system.     Paul LePage: Budgetary limits on Medicaid expansion.     Asa Hutchinson: Work requirement for Medicaid.     Dan Malloy: Healthcare a fundamental right.     Scott Walker: State control of health insurance program, not federal.     Charlie Baker: Health Connector: replace mess with hope.     John Hickenlooper: ObamaCare not perfect; it has helped but needs improvement.     Dennis Daugaard: Add work requirements to Medicaid.     Eric Holcomb: Must reduce infant mortality rate.     Kim Reynolds: Individualized, patient-centered managed care for Medicaid.     Kim Reynolds: Train all doctors to recognize mental health challenges.     Phil Bryant: Medicaid patients are responsible for bad choices.     Doug Ducey: KidsCare: Protect low-income kids' healthcare.

Homeland Security     Doug Burgum: Need strong deterrent against rogue nations.     Eric Greitens: Let military spouses work in Missouri.     Doug Ducey: Increase tax exemption for vets.

Immigration     Chris Sununu: Supports DREAMers; reform immigration laws.     Henry McMaster: Say "no" "sanctuary cities"; don't tolerate lawlessness.     Gina Raimondo: Opposes deporting DREAMers.     Jay Inslee: Scholarships for DREAMers.

Jobs     John Bel Edwards: Equal pay for women; enact minimum wage.     Jeff Colyer: Provide tools to fill 48,000 unfilled jobs in our state.     Henry McMaster: S.C.Workforce Partnership: shift from toolboxes to tablets.     Bill Walker: Address state economic recovery with jobs program.     Ralph Northam: Strengthen workforce development and expand apprenticeships.     Nathan Deal: Full funding for technical education for jobs.     Kim Reynolds: Decide workforce training at local level with job creators.     Phil Bryant: Mississippi Model: Cutting red tape increases jobs.

Principles & Values     John Kasich: Respect for secular humanists.     Phil Murphy: Reject Pres. Trump's dark belief of an America in decline.     Ralph Northam: Do good; be transparent; look for better ways.     Scott Walker: Pray for Kentucky, that we will be blessed.     Kay Ivey: Guide ship of state through storm of governor's resignation.     Kay Ivey: Listen, Learn, Help and Lead tour, to restore confidence.

Social Security     Charlie Baker: Make Massachusetts the most age-friendly state in the nation.     Gina Raimondo: Cut tax on Social Security payments.

Tax Reform     Mark Dayton: Raised taxes only on top 2%, not the other 98%.     Asa Hutchinson: Tax cuts attract keep veterans in state.     Asa Hutchinson: Tax cuts keep Arkansas competitive : cut from 6.9% to 6%.     Henry McMaster: Low taxes spur economic growth and prosperity.     Phil Murphy: Stronger & fairer funding instead of massive tax breaks.     Kim Reynolds: Update Iowa tax code to take advantage of federal tax cuts.     Rick Scott: Supermajority for any tax increase.     Phil Scott: Balanced budget without raising taxes.

Technology     Jeff Colyer: Help Wichita maintain its title of Air Capital of the World.     Tom Wolf: Infrastructure investment attracts business.     Jerry Brown: California Waterfix: Modernized state water system.     Charlie Baker: Hundreds of millions to fix decades of neglect on the MBTA.     Charlie Baker: High speed wifi in Western Massachusetts.     Karyn Polito: Build out high-speed internet via local partnerships.     Kim Reynolds: Expand broadband capabilities to every corner of rural Iowa.

Welfare & Poverty     Paul LePage: Expanding welfare entitlements is not compassionate.

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