2013 Governor's State of the State speeches: on Budget & Economy

Maggie Hassan: Balanced budget with no income tax nor sales tax

But it is also a budget that recognizes that we cannot address all of our challenges all at once in these uncertain economic times. We must still make difficult choices to protect our priorities while living within our means.

In preparing this budget, we cut agency budget requests by more than $500 million, keeping general fund spending 7% below fiscal year 2008 for fiscal year 2014.

Earl Ray Tomblin: Deficit borrowing just kicks the can down the road

It all starts with our obligation to adopt a budget [which] is balanced, with no new taxes. This time last year, we predicted a deficit that totaled nearly $400 million. Staying true to the hallmark of our fiscal responsibility, my administration began the task of closing that shortfall. Unlike the federal government, we did not kick the can down the road by borrowing money or allowing deficits to mount. We told our agencies, almost a year ago, to do more with less. We challenged them to be smart, be efficient, and be prepared to cut their budgets. In tightening our belts, we realized that some of our programs and services should not face budget reductions.

Mark Dayton: Lift us out of miserable deficit-to-deficit cycle

Where do we want Minnesota to be in a year, or in a decade? We will not agree on every aspect. However, if we can discover our shared goals, perhaps we will find greater accord on how best to achieve them. We can also better assess whether the path we're now on will lead us to them.

Paul LePage: Make the tough decisions to let American Dream survive

Maine families are struggling. Maine families struggle to heat their homes, fill their cars with gasoline, put food on the table, and pay for health insurance.

Government has not strengthened Maine families with more income, opportunity, or reducing the cost of living. Instead government has taken more and more of our family's hard working income away to serve some people's political and/or financial self-interests. The path forward offers two choices. We continue to accept the status quo or we can make the tough decisions to create a better Maine for everyone. We can only do this if we work together. Every Mainer deserves the opportunity to pursue the American Dream.

Steve Bullock: Be responsible, because our children are watching

1. Be responsible with our budget, because I won't allow you to spend more than we take in or make cuts that undermine our long-term stability.
2. Join me in focusing on creating jobs, investing in education, and making government more effective; and
3. Lastly, act in a manner that we're not ashamed to have our children watching...because they are.

Bill Haslam: Balance budget without education cuts & tax decrease

Another important thing we did not do to balance the budget was to cut education funding. Not only did we not cut funding, we had the second largest increase in state K-12 expenditures of all 50 states in fiscal year 2012. I'm not sure that Tennessee has ever been able to say that before. The average increase was nearly 3 percent. Ours grew almost 12 percent in state education funding. Education is another example of how in Tennessee we're distinguishing ourselves as different from the rest of the country.

Brian Sandoval: We passed a balanced budget post-Great Recession

That evening, I asked the Nevada family to embrace a fundamental course correction--to leave behind the limits of the past and consider the case of our state's future anew. The challenges of the moment were too complex to resort to tired partisanship. Rather, they demanded that we resolve to work together to meet the challenges of the 21st century. And we rose to the occasion.

In the final days of the 76th Legislative Session, we were able to work together to craft a bipartisan compromise that led to a balanced budget & a transformed economic development effort.

Jay Inslee: New world economy is emerging from Great Recession

1. With our uniquely powerful fusion of values and talents, Washington state has the potential to lead the next wave of world-changing innovations.
2. The world will not wait for us. We face fierce and immediate global competition for the jobs of tomorrow.

John Hickenlooper: Rebuild reserve fund after Great Recession

Matt Mead: Reduce the budget & build up the rainy-day account

• Build savings
• Reduce the ongoing budget
• Cut the size of government
• Streamline state regulations
• Decide on the funding mechanism for our highways
• Change fiscal policies to build up the rainy-day account; and
• Provide funding for major items including wildfires, landfills, local government, the Gillette-Madison water project, UW School of Engineering and employee performance pay.

Dennis Daugaard: Good stewardship achieves a structurally balanced budget

Our current year's budget is running better than we projected, providing funds for one-time projects in FY13. As other states are looking where to cut, we can look where shall we spend these dollars. I believe that good stewardship would employ one-time funds to improve our structural soundness by eliminating a liability, building or improving an asset, or endowing a program for the future. Over the past two years, our state agencies have undertaken dozens of projects and initiatives to "reinforce the floor" of state government and to be good stewards of our tax dollars.

Butch Otter: State government should never grow as fast as our economy

Butch Otter: Great Recession shows need for building Rainy Day accounts