2012 Governor's State of the State speeches: on Government Reform


Nikki Haley: We capped lawsuit damages; next tort reform is loser-pays

Until 2011, South Carolina was the only state in the southeast that did not cap damages on lawsuits. Thanks to the people in this room, that is no longer the case. That was a huge first step. Remember that there is always more to be done on tort reform. Looking at the states we compete with--the Tennessees, the Alabamas, the Virginias--it would be na‹ve to think they will settle for playing second fiddle to South Carolina in the economic arms race. They will scrap for jobs every bit as hard as we will. And the greater the protection we give our people and businesses from frivolous lawsuits, the better positioned we will be to capitalize on other assets. The next step in tort reform is a loser-pays system, so that there is a real cost to suits that waste the time and money of our businesses and our courts, and that our companies understand that South Carolina won't stand for trial lawyers playing games with their bottom line.
Source: 2012 S.C. State of the State Address Jan 18, 2012

Susana Martinez: Lead by example: eliminate governor's chef & cut salaries

Public officials must never forget that we serve the public. Not the other way around. That's why, in a time of shared sacrifice, I felt it important to lead by example. We eliminated the chefs from the Governor's residence and cut salaries there by 55%.

And I kept my promise to get rid of the ultimate symbol of waste and excess. We sold the state's luxury jet.

We cut waste across state government. We cut cell phones. We got rid of non-essential state cars. In the Governor's office, we slashed our budget and reverted over half a million dollars back into the state's savings account. Cabinet secretary salaries were cut by 10% and we dramatically reduced the number of political appointees. And together--the Governor and the Legislature--we hammered out a budget compromise that reduced spending while protecting priorities and balanced the state budget.

Source: 2012 New Mexico State of the State Address Jan 17, 2012

Susana Martinez: Close revolving door: no lobbying for 2 years after office

Corruption tilts the playing field against honest people and shakes public confidence in their government. That's why I signed an executive order that prohibits state government from doing business with companies involved in corruption. It's why all of my appointees must disclose their financial interests online and it's why my appointees are barred from lobbying state government for 2 years after serving in my administration. Public service should be about serving the public--not setting up a future payday.

There are a few other common-sense measures we can enact to help restore public confidence. When a public official is convicted of corruption, they should be forced from office immediately--not 10 or 14 days later--but immediately. When a politician violates the public trust, they should lose their public pension and be barred from doing business with the state. And when the state goes after a public official for corruption, taxpayers should not have to pay to defend that person in court.

Source: 2012 New Mexico State of the State Address Jan 17, 2012

John Hickenlooper: Pits and Peeves: Replace red tape with LEAN government

A commitment to partnership and collaboration can overcome the dysfunction of partisan gridlock. We need to make government work better. Part of that means making government efficient, effective and of course elegant.

Last year we began a rigorous review of state rules and asked for examples of unnecessary regulation from Coloradans across the state. We are scrubbing every state agency to eliminate red tape. Our plan is outlined in the report we issued this week called "Pits and Peeves."

We understand that government is not a business. Still, we need to apply best practices from successful companies where they make sense. That is why we initiated the LEAN program in almost every state agency, where employee teams are now actively identifying waste and inefficiency to create savings.

Source: Colorado 2012 State of the State Address Jan 12, 2012

Andrew Cuomo: Public Integrity Reform Act: state ethics disclosures

We passed ethics reforms to restore trust in government. The Public Integrity Reform Act of 2011 contains some of the most comprehensive ethics improvements enacted in state government. Among other things, it requires state officials to disclose outside clients and customers, requires a detailed disclosure of officials' income and assets, creates a database of all individuals and firms that represent clients before state agencies, requires all lobbyists and clients of lobbyists to disclose all business relationships with public officials, and broadens the definition of lobbying. And it strips public officials convicted of a felony in relation to their office from receiving their taxpayer-funded pension.
Source: 2012 New York State of the State Address Jan 4, 2012

  • The above quotations are from 2012 Governor's State of the State speeches.
  • Click here for definitions & background information on Government Reform.
  • Click here for other issues (main summary page).
  • Click here for more quotes by John Hickenlooper on Government Reform.
  • Click here for more quotes by Mitch Daniels on Government Reform.
Candidates and political leaders on Government Reform:

Retired Senate as of Jan. 2015:
GA:Chambliss(R)
IA:Harkin(D)
MI:Levin(D)
MT:Baucus(D)
NE:Johanns(R)
OK:Coburn(R)
SD:Johnson(D)
WV:Rockefeller(D)

Resigned from 113th House:
AL-1:Jo Bonner(R)
FL-19:Trey Radel(R)
LA-5:Rod Alexander(R)
MA-5:Ed Markey(D)
MO-9:Jo Ann Emerson(R)
NC-12:Melvin Watt(D)
SC-1:Tim Scott(R) 		Retired House to run for Senate or Governor:
AR-4:Tom Cotton(R)
GA-1:Jack Kingston(R)
GA-10:Paul Broun(R)
GA-11:Phil Gingrey(R)
HI-1:Colleen Hanabusa(D)
IA-1:Bruce Braley(D)
LA-6:Bill Cassidy(R)
ME-2:Mike Michaud(D)
MI-14:Gary Peters(D)
MT-0:Steve Daines(R)
OK-5:James Lankford(R)
PA-13:Allyson Schwartz(D)
TX-36:Steve Stockman(R)
WV-2:Shelley Capito(R) 		Retired House as of Jan. 2015:
AL-6:Spencer Bachus(R)
AR-2:Tim Griffin(R)
CA-11:George Miller(D)
CA-25:Howard McKeon(R)
CA-33:Henry Waxman(D)
CA-45:John Campbell(R)
IA-3:Tom Latham(R)
MN-6:Michele Bachmann(R)
NC-6:Howard Coble(R)
NC-7:Mike McIntyre(D)
NJ-3:Jon Runyan(R)
NY-4:Carolyn McCarthy(D)
NY-21:Bill Owens(D)
PA-6:Jim Gerlach(R)
UT-4:Jim Matheson(D)
VA-8:Jim Moran(D)
VA-10:Frank Wolf(R)
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Page last updated: Aug 10, 2019