Mike Huckabee in 2001 Governor's State of the State speeches


On Abortion: Supports woman’s right-to-know legislation

[We should] provide for every person who’s contemplating the termination of her child during pregnancy that she has information, knowing fully and completely the procedure that is taking place and what it will mean. Commonly called the woman’s right-to-know legislation, it really goes back to school, back to educating people.
Source: 2001 State of the State address to the Arkansas legislature Jan 9, 2001

On Abortion: Pro-life, but respects choice as mandated law

I’m pro life, but I know not everyone agrees with me on that particular topic, and I respect that. I’ll probably never change my conviction on that, and some of you won’t change yours. But in this day in which we talk about choice and the importance of it, surely we can agree that if under the Supreme Court choice is mandated, that choice should be as educated a choice as is humanly possible.
Source: 2001 State of the State address to the Arkansas legislature Jan 9, 2001

On Drugs: Treatment for drug use instead of incarceration

We’ll ask for drug courts to be expanded because it makes more sense to treat people with a drug problem rather than simply incarcerating them and putting them in a place where their problems are not dealt with. That’s one of our initiatives.
Source: 2001 State of the State address to the Arkansas legislature Jan 9, 2001

On Education: First priority: Raise teacher salaries

Our basic constitutional responsibility is to provide for free, equitable and adequate public education for students through the 12th grade. I would recommend that we set for ourselves the task of raising teacher salaries in this state by $3,000, recognizing that’s not enough and it’s not the finish line but it’s a good starting point. If we don’t raise those salaries at least by that kind of money, we are going to be further and further behind.
Source: 2001 State of the State address to the Arkansas legislature Jan 9, 2001

On Families & Children: Supports “covenant marriage”

We’ll propose initiatives in the area of divorce reform, hoping to see that people will have the option in this state of a covenant marriage where they can have more information. Back to school, if you will, making a deeper commitment. It will be their option. Shouldn’t we give people the option of making that marriage vow even stronger?
Source: 2001 State of the State address to the Arkansas legislature Jan 9, 2001

On Government Reform: Not more government, but more efficient government

I don’t think we need a lot more government. We need the government we have to work more efficiently. We need it to work in ways that help our citizens rather than helping us to just grow more government. And, if the economy is slowing, then that’s all the more reason not to launch forth with a whole lot of new government programs but rather to scale back everywhere we can except for determining those things which we cannot scale back and then carrying out our responsibilities.
Source: 2001 State of the State address to the Arkansas legislature Jan 9, 2001

On Health Care: ARKids First program: record decreases in uninsured

We led the nation in the percentage decrease of uninsured citizens, in large part because of the passage four years ago of the ARKids First program, which is one of the nation’s premier programs for health insurance. Many were thrilled when Columbia University released the report last year that showed Arkansas reduced child poverty more than any other state.
Source: 2001 State of the State address to the Arkansas legislature Jan 9, 2001

On Tax Reform: Remove the poorest taxpayers from the tax rolls

When we cut the tax burden for Arkansas families, we eliminated 40,000 families from the tax rolls. Not the richest but the poorest were eliminated from the tax rolls. By indexing for inflation and cutting out the marriage penalty, we gave Arkansans the best boost they have ever had.
Source: 2001 State of the State address to the Arkansas legislature Jan 9, 2001

On Technology: Arkansas becoming a leader in e-government

I got a phone call from former Gov. Pete Wilson of California. Pete Wilson is now in a global telecommunications and technology business. He said one of the things he does is evaluate states that are moving toward e-government. He said, “Mike, we have looked at all 50 states, and Arkansas is leading the nation in moving toward e-government. No state has quite moved forward as your state has in becoming a leader in bringing its state services on-line and using technology effectively for its taxpayers.”
Source: 2001 State of the State address to the Arkansas legislature Jan 9, 2001

The above quotations are from 2001 Governor's State of the State speeches.
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Page last updated: Mar 14, 2021