2013 Governor's State of the State speeches: on Government Reform

Maggie Hassan: Create commission on Government Innovation & Accountability

To encourage this process, I will soon be issuing an executive order to create a Commission on Government Innovation, Efficiency and Accountability. The commission will be charged with making recommendations to modernize state government for the 21st century, and it will include members from the business community and non-profit sector to determine how we can improve services by working together.

In addition, this budget creates the Office of Innovation and Efficiency at the Department of Administrative Services, which will lead the effort to implement commission recommendations and work with state agencies on developing transparent performance measurements.

Mark Dayton: Make even-years "The Unsession", to eliminate laws & rules

In my campaign, I proposed making an even-year legislative session "The Unsession." Except for responding to a fiscal or other emergency and passing a bonding bill, the session would be devoted to eliminating unnecessary or redundant laws, rules, and regulations; reducing the verbiage in those that remain; shortening the timelines for developing and implementing them; and undoing anything else, which makes government nearly impossible to understand, operate, or support.

I suggest making next year's legislative session the first "Unsession." After this session is concluded, I will ask my agency heads and legislative staff to begin making lists, and working with any legislators, other public officials, and citizens, who wish to spearhead these reforms.

Pat Quinn: Online voter registration and no party in primary voting

That's why Illinois should join 15 other states in making voter registration available online. We must move our election process into the 21st century. And while we're at it, let's pass a long overdue law to allow voters to participate in primary elections without having to publicly declare their party affiliation.

Pat Quinn: Enact power of petition to recall a corrupt governor

And we gave the people of Illinois the ability to use the power of petition to recall a corrupt governor. But we have more work to do.

In 1976, I led a petition drive to ban conflict of interest voting in the General Assembly. 635,158 voters signed this petition--the greatest number of signatures ever gathered on a single petition in Illinois history. Silence about conflict of interest voting wasn't our Illinois then, and it's not our Illinois now. We can do better.

Steve Beshear: Smart Government: sell surplus land, buildings and vehicles

1. Cuts. We reduced the state budget 13 times in five years, cutting spending by $1.6 billion and trimming the state workforce to its smallest size in nearly four decades. Some agencies have been slashed up to 38%.
2. We found more efficient ways to run daily operations. Through our multi-year Smart Government Initiative, we've realized both one-time windfalls and annual savings by selling surplus land, buildings and vehicles, consolidating offices, renegotiating contracts and bids, and changing how we buy goods and services.
3. And we made revolutionary changes to huge budget drains--closing a state prison as part of a wider Corrections reform, privatizing Medicaid and reining in benefits for public employees.

Tom Corbett: No bumper sticker reads: "Vote to keep Harrisburg the same"

Now is the time to be truly innovative. Now is the time to embrace new ideas. And now is the time to be bold. Pennsylvanians deserve this from us now. Every one of us has come here to make things better for all Pennsylvanians. Nobody in this room ran for office on a promise to keep Harrisburg the way it is. Nobody displayed a campaign bumper sticker that read: "Vote for me--I want to keep Harrisburg the same." No one ran on the promise to bind Harrisburg to the status quo. We all come from different backgrounds, various philosophies, but we share the common goal of a better Pennsylvania.

Our job isn't to explain why things can't be better. Our obligation is to make things better. We ran on the promise to change Harrisburg. Leave it to the historians to write our history. Our job is to make history--now.

Tom Corbett: Phase the commonwealth out of the liquor business

Selling liquor is not a core function of government. Education is. We need to put our liquor system into private hands.

Pennsylvanians have waited too long for the day they could buy beer or wine at the grocery store or choose from a greater variety of offerings at privately owned liquor stores. This is our opportunity and our children's.

Steve Bullock: Dark money makes our elections into auctions

We have seen the rise of so-called "dark money" groups that target candidates, yet refuse to tell the voting public who they really are and what they really represent. They hide behind made-up names and made-up newspapers. They operate out of PO Boxes or Washington, D.C., office buildings.

Help me reform our laws, so that any organization spending money during the course of an election reveals the amount it spends and the source of its money. Together, let's guarantee that our elections will never be auctions, controlled by anonymous bidders.

Bill Haslam: We reduced wait times for licenses from 38 minutes to 18

Jay Nixon: Re-institute strict campaign contribution limits

Each time a wealthy individual or business or special interest sends a check for $20,000 or $100,000 to a candidate, the public's trust erodes a little bit more. I've led the fight for campaign contribution limits for many years. As Attorney General, I stood before the U.S. Supreme Court and successfully argued in support of Missouri's contribution limits. And as Governor, I stood before you every year and made the case for them.

This year, if the Legislature does not send a campaign contribution limit bill to my desk, I will do everything in my power to get it on the ballot and make sure it passes. The people of Missouri have voiced their opinion on this matter already at the ballot box and their support for contribution limits was overwhelming.

Nathan Deal: Fulfill true purposes of government then get out of the way

So far, I believe we have done that well. We have made communities safer, improved educational opportunities, provided for infrastructure improvements, driven workforce development, generated a better business environment and created jobs.

Brian Sandoval: Restore merit pay for state employees

Jay Inslee: Lean management: bring disruptive change to Olympia

1. We will measure success by the results we produce, not the money we put in.
2. We will know our customers and what they value.
3. Every agency will adopt a unique process for continual improvement that engages our state employees.

Andrew Cuomo: Adopt NYC's public campaign finance system statewide

New York's public financing system need not be a burden on its taxpayers. The system should be funded, in whole or in substantial part, from sources beyond general revenues from taxpayers. Furthermore, under the State campaign finance program, candidates should be required to agree to participate in debates in order to receive public financing.

New York State's contribution limits for candidates must be lowered generally, with even lower limits for those candidates who receive the benefits of public matching financing. Large contributions to and transfers from political party committee accounts are currently unlimited and should be limited. The current annual limit on aggregate contributions from a contributor to a party or constituted committee should be reduced.

Andrew Cuomo: Create early voting system for one week, including weekend

New York should create an early voting system that is at least one week long, and includes the weekend before a scheduled Election Day. Longer periods of early voting have not shown to be correlated to greater voter turnout, and New York should strike a balance that optimizes convenience for voters without creating unnecessary administrative burdens.

Having satellite polling locations open on a weekend is essential for those individuals whose work and child care schedules do not accommodate taking time off to vote. Furthermore, people focus their attention on elections closer to Election Day, so having early voting available during a weekend near Election Day is critical to a successful system.

Matt Mead: 6% reduction for most agencies; 10% for Governor's Office

Regarding budget reductions, we know that some feel they are too deep. We also know that some in the Legislature feel they need to be deeper. For those who feel more cuts are needed, this session is the time to weigh in, not with conceptual ideas, but with specific cuts to specific agencies and programs. I have made my recommendations and I look forward to seeing your budget reductions.

Dennis Daugaard: Better Government Red Tape Review: eliminate 26,000 words

Let's talk about less regulation. Conversely, the proliferation of laws and regulations. State government agencies have a tendency toward more laws. But we must push back. That's why I'm proud that our Better Government Red Tape Review had another strong year, finding obsolete and unnecessary statutes and rules that can be eliminated. Last year, we eliminated 177 sections and over 26,000 words from the statutory code and the administrative rules. This year, we will propose eliminating 650 sections and more than 78,000 words.

Many executive orders are signed by governors without a sunset clause, and technically remain in force long after their purpose has been served. I will be rescinding over 100 executive orders, dating back as far as Gov. Archie Gubbrud, and we are going to examine other executive orders as well.