legislation -- pass spending legislation. this is 40 minutes. [applause] [cheers and applause] [applause] >> welcome, governor carny. if everyone, please be seated.

>> madam speaker, i'm not sure whether that's because they're glad to see me go and good rid dance or they're happy for the -- riddance or they're happy for the service we've had together. lieutenant governor, madam speaker, mr. president pro tem, senate majority leader, members of the 15 2nd general assembly, other elected officials who are here, members of my cabinet, distinguished members of the judiciary, invited guests and my fellow delawareans, thank you for inviting me to the chamber for my state of the state address. sorry it's a little bit late. let me start by recognizing the historic nature of today's event. for the if first time ever, a female speaker of the house is presiding over the state of the tate address here today -- state of the state address here today. [cheers and applause]

speaker longhurst and her majority team, majority whip carrie evelyn are harris and new jfc chair kim williams, kim is where? kim, stand up and be recognized. [applause] i look forward to working with all of you for the rest of this session. i also a want to take a moment to recognize two new justices on the delaware supreme court, justice abby la grow and justic- [inaudible] please stand so we can recognize both of you. [applause]

we have a world class judiciary in delaware, and the justices bring a new generation of leadership to our court. thank you for your commitment to public service. and a moment of personal privilege, if i may, i'd like to recognize my wife tracy sitting up here in front for all the hard work she's done on behalf of delaware children over the past seven years. [cheers and applause] tracy has -- [applause] tracy has transformed the role of first lady. we like to call her the first spouse and made sure every

delaware child has a first chance to succeed. she's also stood by me throughout my 30 plus years in public service, and let me tell ya it's not always been easy. thank you, tracy, for your support. prison -- [applause] before i go any further, i'd also like to recognize the army and air national guard. colonel mike berry is unable to be with us today, but he's represented by brigadier general james benson. please stand up for all your army and air national guard -- [applause] we have command staff and other guardsmen and women until if bat colony as well.

it's been -- in the balcony as well. it's been a busy time for the guard, and i think about their service and sacrifice a lot. over the past years, more than 1300 guardsmen and women have been deployed to more than 50 locations around the world. last year we held a deployment if ceremony for more than 150 national guardsmen and women from the 160th engineering company. they recently returned from the military operation in -- [inaudible] again, members of that unit who were deployed are with us today. please join me again in recognizing our citizen-soldiers. they're the very best, and they're up, again, in the balcony. [applause]

it's really hard to believe this, but this is my last state of the state address as your governor, and i suspect, as i said earlier, that there are mixed feelings about the applause tata i was receiving -- [laughter] as i, as i came in. seriously though, i think it's worth a little reflection, if i may, on what we've accomplished working together and on our unfinished business. first and foremost, we've helped create -- >> [inaudible] >> order. point of order. >> [inaudible] fight and defend our nation in congress -- [inaudible] genocide is. you can't -- [inaudible] >> point of order, madam speaker. >> [inaudible] we send you are our children away, it should be an --

[inaudible] not to participate in genocide. that's all i stand for. senators, spook if up --ing. [inaudible] farewell. >> proceed, governor. >> thank you, madam speaker. first and foremost, we've helped create more than 30,000 new jobs since 2017. that's a big deal. for the first time in delaware history, we've provided funding dedicated for low income students and english learn arers in our public schools -- learners. we've given our teachers a big pay raise. for three years running, we've implemented the largest infrastructure plan in state history. finish that means good jobs building new schools, safer roads and bridges and connecting delawareans to the internet up and down the state. and we've kept our fiscal house in order. we turned a $400 million budget

deficit into a -- in 2017, into a $400 million in additional reserves today, and that means a lot. [applause] we're supporting an economic resurgence in downtown wilmington. we've provided paid leave for delaware families and raised the minimum wage to $15 an hour, and the labor market has blown right through that already. [applause] we're building more affordable housing units so delaware families have a safe place to call home. we've reduced crime, and our prison population is down nearly 24%. we've passed sweeping climate change legislation committing to net zero emissions by 2050, and we're keeping our communities

safe is by banning assault weapons and launching targeted gun safety measures. or these are issues that a matter to delaware families -- >> [inaudible] >> you're out of odder, please. >> over 29,000 palestinians -- [inaudible] [background sounds] >> please, please -- >> [inaudible] >> please, we have the governor who's to giving state of the state. >> [inaudible] >> governor, please proceed. >> thank you, madam speaker. these are issues tata matter to delaware families in each of your districts and that matter to future generations; good jobs, quality schools, safe and affordable communities, a

cleaner environment and responsible management of taxpayer dollars. and this last year i'm focusing op leaving the state in a better place than i found it. we should make sure the next governor is in the best possible position to succeed, and we should balance the budge and make sure our investments are sustainable in the long run. and i want to thank everyone in this room for your partnership on this. we don't always agree, for sure, but working9 together what with we do best in delaware. because of our hard work together, i can confidently say today that the state of our state is strong and getting stronger every day. [applause]

as many of you know, i spent a loot of -- a lot of time on the football field. in fact, one of my high school teammates is here in the chamber today, dave. i spent a lot of time with him as a player and a coach, and i know it was a long time ago. but one thing i learned is that the best teams leave it all on the field. and it's in that spirit that i want to talk about some of our unfinished business and the work i believe we can still accomplish together this last year. we've made big strides on financial management, and i want to recognize senator padilla and representative carson for their good work last year as well as senator walsh and representativ- [inaudible] but despite our efforts, we did not pass legislation to permanently control operating

spending at sustainable levels. and an earlier general assembly rejected by proposed constitutional amendment that would have done just that. it's really pretty simple. delaware can't compete in the future if we don't have our budget in order. right now our futuregen assembly or governor could lead us down a path of uncontrolled spending. we haven't done that. that would lead to higher taxes and pain cuts. so let's not go backwards. instead let's build on the progress we've made working together. this year i'm asking you to send me legislation that would make our spending benchmark permanent. i won't be here next year, i know some of you are happy about that, but most of you will. don't set yourselves up for failure. i hope we can find common ground on this very important priority for every delaware taxpayer. we also have the serious issue with health care cost inflation. if this year between medicaid can and our insurance man for state employees and retirees --

plan -- we're spending nearly $2 billion on health care alone. let me say that again, $2 billion. that's billion with a b. and that's roughly $200 million more than our costs were last year. the state share of medicaid alone costs $1 billion. those are jaw-dropping numbers. it's almost a third of our state budget, and it's only going up. and taxpayers are footing the bill. if we don't get serious, health care spending will crowd out all the other investments, investments that we all support; funding for our public schools, for affordable housing and childcare and raises for state employees and state retirees. right now retire's get their pay increases and the funding needed to cover their health care. this is literally an issue we cannot afford to ignore. we should all work together to strengthen our health care bench mark and address health care

cost inflation. senator townsend and speaker longhurst, i know you and many others in this room agree, and i look forward to working together on those issues. [applause] of course, no issue is more important to our state's future than the quality of delaware's public schools. i've a spent a lot of time the last seven years focused on strengthening our schools, especially for children who need our help the most. i know many of you have been leaders on this issue for a lot of years. together, we created opportunity funding, a program that provides additional funding for low

income students and english learners in our state. our budget this year increases funding for this program to $63 million. i can assure you that it's make a difference. last fall i visited east millsboro elementary and and spoke with a young student who had been struggling to read, working with a reading special u.s. funded through opportunity funding. she was improving by leaps and bounds. and that that reading coach is here somewhere with us today, there she is. heather, please stand up so we can -- [applause] over the past seven years, we've also built new schools across the state. we've spent $1.5 billion on school construction alone. let me tell you something that you already know, a school is

much more than books -- brick withs and mortar. it's the pillar of a community, and nowhere with is that more true than on the east side of wilmington where with we're building the first new school in the city in over a half century. ms. -- [applause] the school will be named the maurice pritchard sr. academy after the school's -- [applause] you support that. [laughter] after the long-term principal and community icon who i had the privilege to know as a basketball coach, maurice pritchett. i'm looking forward to the school opening later this year.

students, teachers and neighbors on the east side will have a state of the art school building they can take pride in. join me in recognizing the pens of the pritchett family who are or -- the members of the pritchett family who are also with us today in the balcony, i believe. [applause] thank you for being with us. we also launched the wilmington learning collaborative to provide hyperfocus on schools in our largest city. for the first time, districts serving the city are working together to address the needs of wilmington children. i also want to recognize senator lockman for her work in this area and her committee that she chairs and all the people that are involved with that.

[applause] [inaudible] as a well. and finally, we significantly expanded, madam speaker, mental health services in our schools. the need became even more pronounced during the covid-19 pandemic. and i want to thank you, madam speaker, for your leadership on this earth. effort. working together, i look forward to expanding these services into the high schools this year. [applause] these are are initiatives that we all can be proud of, but it simply isn't enough. here's an uncomfortable truth. statewide less than 40% of children are are reading proficiently at third grade. met me say that again. let me say that again. heads than 40% of children are

reading proif efficiently in third grade. and many schools fall short of that average. imagine if your child went to a school with that kind of result. none of us would tolerate that. but too many children across our state are faced with this reality, and we need to fix it. that's why my budget -- [applause] that's why my budget includes funding for a new team of literacy coaches. they will work with educators and district leaders to focus on the science of reading, an effective approach to teaching children how to read. it's one of the most important things that we can do, and i hope you'll join me in supporting this high priority. my budget also includes a continued focus on early childhood education. i know this is a priority for many of you in this chamber today. our priority is simple, create

more seats for the children and families who need them the most. the research is clear, it shows that children who have access to quality early childhood education have better outcomes. that includes higher graduation rates and more financial stability into adulthood. just 15 years ago the state was investing next to nothing in childcare. my budget this year includes more than $135 million for childcare. that's a big deal, and these are critical investments that will benefit our children as they grow up. [applause] before i leave the topic of educates, i want to thank secretary mark holliday for all his hard work. mark, please stand. [applause]

mark was a teacher, a principal and a superintendent before he took the job as cabinet secretary. and his leadership has been tremendous, study and strong. over the past 19 months, secretary holliday chaired the public education compensation committee. the group studiedinger pay, and they presented a recommendation for paying our teachers what they deserve. i'm determined to win the competition with the states around as. we want the best educators working right here in the first state. that's why my budget fully funds the first year of those recommendations for educators, building on the raise that you passed and i signed into law last year. if we stick the to the plan, we will raise teachers' starting salaries to $60,000 over the next four years.

let's get it done together. [applause] i would like to take a moment now to recognize our lieutenant governor long has been a real partner over these past seven years. she's a nurse, as you all know -- [laughter] and her efforts on the ground during covid-19 were just tremendous. she just knows how to roll upper her sleeves and get things done. so is, lieutenant governor -- the lieutenant governor has also been a champion of science and technology and advancing s.t.e.m. careers for young people in our state, particularly young girls. last summer i signed senate bill 55 creating delaware's rare disease advisory council. this new council will bring together the best and brightest

to help support those living with rare diseases. the effort was led by lieutenant governor long along with senator nicole -- and representative christa griffith9s. please join me in recognizing the lieutenant governor and these leaders on this effort. [applause] i'd like to take another moment to recognize my wife tracy for all her good work as first spouse. [laughter] [applause] that's so typical of her to say, to cut it loose and say let's move on to something else. but truthfully, since 2017 trace

a city has been focused on giving all delaware's children a first chance to succeed. working with the state librarian, she's helped expand dolly parton's imagination library statewide in the middle of a pandemic. that's saying something. [applause] now, more than half of the eligible children are signed up for free books every month. again, there's nothing more important than helping our children lesh how to read, and -- hearn how to read, and this is an important program to do that. this free program will help us achieve that goal. in addition, last year tracy led a discussion on our trauma-informed progress. and she hosted our first youth mental health summit that takes all of us working together to make sure that delaware children have a first chance to succeed from birth to adulthood. please join me -- no, we've recognized her too many times. [cheers and applause]

oh, or go ahead. [applause] let me tell you, i owe all -- i deserve -- i need all that goodwill that you're giving for me today. [laughter] of course, one of the best ways to expand opportunity is to keep our economy strong and growing. as the saying goes, a good job solves a lot of problems. >> [inaudible] >> [inaudible] >> thank you, madam speaker. as the saying goes, a good job solves a lot of problems.

good jobs help families pay the bills, buy home, save for college and retirement and sock away some money for vacation. good jobs also increase our state 's revenue and help us fund our priorities. on my first day in office, i signed an executive order to rethink our approach to economic development, and together we created the delaware prosperity partnership. and we have leaders of that the effort that are with us today. by every measure it's been a success. just in the last two years we've helped create more than 20,000 jobs. that's a big deal for our state. and new budget continues our investment in job creation in the strategic fund, the site readiness fund and the graduation lab space fund and our infrastructure investment. fund. we will not lose the competition with other states around us for good jobs for good people. we also have our eye on the

future of delaware's economy. my budge again includes additional funding for the federal research project nimble and sauber at the star campus at the university of delaware. both projects will build on delaware's strong foundation in science and technology. they will track more high quality workers to delaware and spur unnovation and wiz development -- innovation and wiz adopt. you all know this, but our colleges and universities are more important than ever to the future of our economy. at delaware state university, dr. allen and his team have opened a new early childhood innovation center. the center will chain the next weapon is ration of early childhood educators. they remain at the forefront of job training in our state. we still have more jobs available than we have people looking for work. it's an issue you've heard a we talk about before. right now there are 31,000 jobs available but only 21,000 people looking for work. that requires an intense focus

on job training and on the skills demanded by delaware employers. delaware tech is leading on that work. join me in recognizing the doctors and if their teams for their hard work and dedication to the future of our state. [applause] we're also exploring federal funding opportunities, and we've had some success. last year delaware, pennsylvania and new jersey were selected by the federal government for a hydrogen hub. the program was funded by president biden's bipartisan infrastructure law. the u.s. department of energy selected just seven proposals out of 79 applications across the country.

and we were one of the seven. the federal designation will bring $750 million to the region. make no mistake, this is a generational opportunity to build a clean energy industry right here in delaware and in this region. and to compete for good union jobs of the future. we also received $50 million in federal funding to help expand the port of wilmington. for decades jobs at the port have been a gateway to the middle class for thousands of workers and their families. these are the kinds of jobs our state and country were built on. we're also increasing support for towns and cities across the state. last year we celebrated additional funding to redevelop the once-blighted nylon capital shopping center in seaford. we're building new affordable housing on the east side of wilmington, and is and our housing will be director, eugene young, and his team are leading that work.

[applause] and just a few weeks ago we announced plans to supercharge the redevelopment of downtown dover. [applause] that will make senator pa dee a ya and representative bush very happy. [laughter] and it will also help us attract workers to the area and expand economic opportunity in our historic capital city. i know that work is important to senator padilla and representative harris, bush, lynn and many others, and i appreciate their leadership and your partnership. if we want to keep good jobs and workers in delaware, we need to make sure families feel safe in their community.

i know fighting gun violence has been a shared priority. over the past seven years, we've banned assault weapons, bump stocks and high capacity magazines. we've passed red flag laws and prevented straw purchases. this year we'll take another big step forward and pass the permit to purchase law. [applause] inside the administration we spent a lot of time on what we call group violence intervention is, or gvi. we started xvi in wilmington -- gvi, and have is expanded the program to dover. here's the truth, it's a very small number of people who are committing the vast majority of gun violence in these communities. they're part of groups that

fight with one another. through gv is i, we're directly engaging with those individuals and the gangs and groups they're part of. we're demanding that they put down their guns. and if they do, we'll offer job is training and other services. for those who choose the path of violence, they will be prosecuted to the full extent of the law, and attorney general jennings has been doing just that. thank you, madam attorney general. [applause] more than 300 people have participated in gvi since it started. just in the last several months, we have started offering gvi services in laurel where we recently saw a spike in lethal shootings. we're a committed partner in efforts to -- gun violence ins sussex county. the delaware state police have been instrumental in our response, and we appreciate the

support of representative dukes and short and senator richardson in those efforts. [applause] the future of our communities across our state depends on that partnership. as we look towards the future, we can't ignore or the threat of climate change. delaware is one of the -- is the lowest lying state if the country. drive through some of our coastal and back bay communities, and you'll see for yourself. it's clear to we're already feeling the effects of sea rise. that's why we're spending more than $30 million to harden our coastal infrastructure, projects like south bowers rad to make sure residents can get in and out of town. that's pretty important. and i want to thank the secretaries for their leadership in this area. [applause]

last year many of you were instrumental in passing the most significant climate change legislation in our state's history. house bill 99 set ambitious but achievable targets. we committed to cutting greenhouse gas emissions in half by 2030 and achieving net zero emissions by 2050. if this is critical for future generations, and i want to recognize senator hansen and representative the phillips for their horde work -- hard work and leadership on this issue. [applause] we have a general assembly full of lead leaders who understand the threat of climate change and who have the political will to talk alaska. thank you for your leadership. the transition to clean energy won't be easy.

at times it will be controversial, very controversial. in december we finalized regulation wills to reduce transportation emissions in our state, a big source of carbon and other air pollution. by 2032 the regulations require that 82% of vehicles delivered to delaware will be zero emission vehicles. that will help us reach our targets under house bill 999. and we're following industry trends across the country, major automakers are already or committed to moving towards electric vehicles. our efforts will also make sure delaware isn't left behind in that transition. the threat of climate change is also why we're taking a fresh look at delaware's role in offshore wind industry. in december we began negotiations with offshore wind developer u.s. wind to bring significant benefits to our city as we take an active leadership

role. under terms of the agreement, u.s. wind would bring wind energy into delaware. we expect it the bring more than $100 million of benefits to our state without raising rates. those benefits include funding for work force development, for dredging projects and for projects to mitigate the effects of climate change in our state parks. over the next several months, i hope you'll join me in taking another big step forward or pursuing legislation that will make delaware more of an active player in offshore wind. it will allow us to directly purchase wind-generated renewable energy and to explore if partnerships with states in our region. and, senator hansen, i know this is a big priority of yours, and we look forward to working with you on this legislation. [applause]

i want to end where i started, with some reforest -- reflection. >> [inaudible] >> it's been a great honor for me to serve as your governor. i believe the opportunity to serve as an elected official -- >> [inaudible] is the greatest privilege that a people can we stow on one of their own. one of our colleagues who have enjoyed that the privilege if for 21 years is representative former speaker pete schwarzkopf. join me in recognizing the former e speaker for his incredible service to our state. [applause]

[laughter] there's a lot of love in that standing ovation, representative schwartz cop -- schwarzkopf. these last seven years haven't always been easy. the three years of the pandemic felt like ten to me. but for me, the privilege to serve as governor has been an incredible gift. i got to travel every corner of our state and meet people where they are in firehouses, in schools, at festivals and parades. and during tragic circumstances as well like fires, natural disasters and funeral testimonials. i've been privileged to listen to people's hopes and aspirations for themselves and for our state and sharing hair

good times and their bad. i've learned that the most important thing for an elected official is toen the trust of the people grow represent. they give you the benefit of the doubt so long as they trust you're trying to do the right thing. if you earn that trust, they will follow you when times are tough, and times get tough. finish finally, i want to thank tracy again and our boy, sam and jimmy, for their sacrifices during my time in public service. i couldn't have done it without them by my side. for the if rest of this year, we'll continue to do the right thing. and working together, we'll leave the state better off or for generations to come. i look forward to leaving it on the field with all of you. thank you for your hard work. god bless you and god bless our great state of delaware. [applause]

[appla