Kathleen Blanco in 2004 Governor's State of the State speeches

On Government Reform: More disclosure and more campaign rules

We will ask for legislation to require financial disclosure for all statewide elected officials and members of the Legislature so that the public can have greater confidence about our independence from special interests.

We will propose legislation requiring lobbyist disclosure for expenditures involving the governor, my staff and any member of the executive branch. This provision now applies to the Legislature.

Another bill is aimed at shedding more light on expenditures made by outside groups or individuals who attempt to influence our elections, by reporting spending within 48 hours, just as candidates must do.

The final ethics bill I will offer is aimed at stopping individuals from making secret contributions to candidates by giving money in someone else’s name.

On Health Care: First principles: provide for children & right to healthcare

These principles will guide my administration and they will characterize much of what we hope to accomplish in the coming years as we work together-you and I-- in a spirit of compromise and cooperation.
• Educating our children is the cornerstone of a civilized society. And so we will provide the best for our children - from early childhood through college.
• Every person has a right to affordable, good-quality health care. And so we’ll work to reinvent our health care system so that it serves everyone well.
• Our state’s bayous, rivers and streams, our woodlands and prairies, and our coastal wetlands, are national treasures. And so we will protect and preserve them.
• Every person who wants to work should be able to find a decent job.
• And so we will build a stronger economy that creates good-paying jobs, rewards initiative, and encourages entrepreneurship.