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Wednesday November 19, 2008
Archive of Govs' Speeches on Monday May 12, 2008

Governors rip feds in annual policy speeches

If there was any doubt states are frustrated with federal policymakers, the nation's governors provided stark reminders in "state of the state" speeches delivered during the first two months of 2008.
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Summaries of the governors' speeches

A weak economy, the stalled housing market and the high cost of college education are among governors' top concerns heading into 2008. Here is a state-by-state snapshot of governors' key proposals as distilled from their annual addresses to their legislatures. 

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Govs propose investing in higher ed

While governors addressed many issues — from health care to a bad housing market to tax breaks — in their annual state-of-the-state speeches this year, many targeted higher education as an important state asset worth a larger investment.

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Budget picture dominates govs' speeches

From quoting Shakespeare to invoking images of flying pigs, the nation’s governors offered colorful ways to describe their states’ financial situation. The weak economy and stalled housing market obviously weigh heavy on governors’ minds as reflected in Stateline.org’s exclusive look at the governors’ 2008 state of the state speeches.
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Governors pitch ambitious programs

Billion-dollar deficits in California, New York and Arizona haven’t stopped governors there and elsewhere from proposing big-ticket items for 2008. Stateline.org looks at proposals from governors’ 2008 "state of the state" speeches and provides an exclusive summary of all the addresses so far.

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Summary of the State of the State Address

In her address to the Republican-controlled Legislature on Jan. 15, Gov. Sarah Palin (R) touted the revenue benefits of the multi-billion-dollar natural gas pipeline deal she helped engineer last year. She also called for significant new education spending, increased energy conservation and alternative power use and lower business license fees.
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Summary of the State of the State Address

Gov. Bob Riley (R) called on lawmakers to expand preschool, cut taxes and pass ethics reform in his Feb. 7 speech before a politically split Legislature.
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Summary of the State of the State Address

Facing an estimated $1 billion budget shortfall, Gov. Janet Napolitano (D) listed several higher-education initiatives in her Jan. 14 speech to the Republican-controlled Legislature.
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Summary of the State of the State Address

Facing a projected $14 billion budget deficit, Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger urged lawmakers to "face our budget demons" and approve a constitutional amendment to rein in spending.
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Summary of the State of the State Address

In his address Jan. 10, Gov. Bill Ritter (D) proposed what he called “the most revolutionary shift in education policy this state has seen in years” — one that treats all primary and secondary students as potentially college-bound.
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Summary of the State of the State Address

Republican Gov. M. Jodi Rell called for “fiscal caution, fiscal restraint” in her Feb. 6 address, even though Connecticut was enjoying a modest budget surplus as other states were awash in red ink.
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Summary of the State of the State Address

Gov. Ruth Ann Minner (D) asked lawmakers in her address Jan. 18 to create a registry of health disparities among minorities and ethnic groups, provide cervical-cancer vaccine to all uninsured girls and launch a homeland-security initiative that would fingerprint every fourth-grader in the state. Minner also asked the politically split General Assembly to ease the First State’s already business-friendly tax code.
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Summary of the State of the State Address

Despite a $2 billion budget deficit, Gov. Charlie Crist (R) called on the Republican-controlled Legislature to spend $124 million to expand health care to the uninsured and pitched a $200 million economic development package for solar, wind and other renewable energy.

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Summary of the State of the State Address

Gov. Sonny Perdue (R) gave an upbeat Jan. 16 state-of-the-state speech before a Republican-controlled Legislature on the same day he released a $21.4 billion budget that would update the state’s water system and give homeowners a small tax cut.
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Summary of the State of the State Address

In her sixth annual address, delivered to lawmakers Jan. 22, Gov. Linda Lingle (R) asked the Democratic-controlled Legislature to approve the purchase of an embattled, 850-acre resort. Turtle Bay resort on Oahu’s North Shore has met stiff opposition to expansion plans that local residents say will spoil the rural nature of their community. State ownership of the property would preserve the Hawaiian way of life, she said.
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Summary of the Condition of the State Address

During his “condition of the state” address Jan. 15, Gov. Chet Culver (D) emphasized the need for lawmakers to limit new spending this year, while he proposed new initiatives in health care, education and the environment.
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Summary of the State of the State Address

Gov. C.L. “Butch” Otter (R) targeted tax relief, crowded prisons and college scholarships in his Jan 7 address. 
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Summary of the State of the State Address

Reviving the economy in Illinois was the central focus of Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s (D) Feb. 20 address to the Democratic-controlled General Assembly.
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Summary of the State of the State Address

Gov. Mitch Daniels (R) spent most of his Jan. 15 speech urging lawmakers to overhaul the state’s property tax system. For the General Assembly, where Democrats control the House and Republicans control the Senate, it is the “one paramount assignment, one act for which it will be remembered,” he said.
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Summary of the State of the State Address

Gov. Kathleen Sebelius (D) focused her Jan. 14 speech on calling for more early childhood education, improving health care and developing more clean and renewable energy.
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Summary of the State of the Commonwealth Address

Making his first state-of-the-commonwealth address, Democratic Gov. Steve Beshear on Jan. 16 bluntly warned legislators: “The revenue outlook is grim.” Vowing not to raise taxes, Beshear said his administration would address the state’s unprecedented budget shortfall — estimated at nearly $900 million over two years — by trimming government spending and making state agencies more efficient and responsive.
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Summary of the State of the Commonwealth Address

Gov. Deval Patrick (D) used his Jan. 24 address to push the Democratic-controlled Legislature to legalize casinos, the first-term governor’s No. 1 revenue-generating initiative. He also renewed his 2007 request for $1 billion to fund life sciences — including controversial embryonic stem-cell research — a program he said would create 250,000 new jobs.
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Summary of the State of the State Address

In his Jan. 9 address, Gov. John Baldacci (D) asked the Democratic-controlled Legislature to stretch Maine’s flagging revenues without raising taxes or dipping into financial reserves, and without cutting education funding or programs for the needy.
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Summary of the State of the State Address

In her speech Jan. 29, Gov. Jennifer Granholm (D) tweaked the battle lines in Lansing, where clashes with the Legislature last year led to a brief shutdown of state government and to sweeping changes to the state’s tax structure, including a hike in the income tax.
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Summary of the State of the State Address

Gov. Tim Pawlenty (R) warned the Democratic-controlled Legislature during his speech Feb. 13 not to pass any tax increases — a day after Democrats unveiled a plan to hike gas taxes to pay for infrastructure improvements.
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Summary of the State of the State Address

Gov. Matt Blunt (R) used his Jan. 15 address to recommend spending an additional $400 million on health care and education, while cutting tens of millions in taxes.
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Summary of the State of the State Address

With the economy entering an uncertain period and federal Hurricane Katrina money ebbing, Gov. Haley Barbour (R) called for legislators to show fiscal discipline in his Jan. 21 speech before the politically split Legislature. Lawmakers will have to make tough choices, he said, and some good programs will be unfunded.
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Summary of the State of the State Address

Gov. Dave Heineman (R) focused on several new tax cuts in his fourth state-of-the-state address on Jan. 15, including nearly doubling a property-tax credit approved last year.
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Summary of the State of the State Address

Gov. John Lynch (D) Jan. 23 called for a new “wellness” program for small businesses and a tax credit to help lure new businesses to the northern part of the state. But he said a slowing economy will prevent launching expensive new programs.
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Summary of the State of the State Address

“It is up to those of us in this room to change the ‘credit card’ culture of New Jersey’s finances,” Gov. Jon S. Corzine (D) told legislators during a somber Jan. 8 speech focusing heavily on the Garden State’s more-than-$30-billion debt.
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Summary of the State of the State Address

Gov. Bill Richardson (D) delivered his Jan. 15 state-of-the-state address fresh off the campaign trail after dropping his presidential bid.
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Summary of the State of the State Address

After a year of partisan battles with the Legislature, Gov. Eliot Spitzer, a Democrat, struck a more conciliatory tone in his Jan. 9 address, outlining an ambitious package to cut property taxes, expand health-care coverage and fund higher education by privatizing the state lottery.
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Summary of the State of the State Address

Gov. Ted Strickland (D) asked lawmakers to give him more control over the state’s schools and to approve $1.7 billion in borrowing to jump-start Ohio’s flagging economy in his address Feb. 6.
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Summary of the State of the State Address

As Oklahoma celebrates its Centennial year, Gov. Brad Henry (D) laid out his proposals to boost public education by adding five days to the school year, raising teacher pay and adding graduation coaches to lower high school dropout rates.
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Summary of the Executive Budget Address

In his Feb. 5 budget address, Gov. Ed Rendell (D) touted Pennsylvania’s finances but warned that a downturn in the national economy would affect struggling residents.
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Summary of the State of the State Address

Addressing a Democratic-controlled Legislature Jan. 22, Gov. Donald Carcieri (R) said Rhode Island was at a “tipping point” because of an uncertain economy and budget crisis. He proposed to reduce spending by $300 million by making cuts in three areas: social services, employee salaries and benefits and payments to cities and towns.
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Summary of the State of the State Address

Gov. Mark Sanford (R) repeated his goals for the state during his Jan. 16 speech before the Republican-controlled Legislature: restructuring the government, installing tougher drunk-driving laws and increasing tax cuts.
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Summary of the State of the State Address

Gov. Mike Rounds (R) highlighted the state’s energy potential in his annual state-of-the-state address Jan. 8 and urged legislators to restrain spending on education and transportation.
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Summary of the State of the State Address

Gov. Phil Bredesen (D) compared running state government during a national economic slowdown to being the captain of a ship in stormy waters in his address Jan. 28.
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Summary of the State of the State Address

Health insurance and education topped Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr.’s (R) priorities in the first state-of-the-state speech in Utah’s newly remodeled Capitol on Jan. 22.
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Summary of the State of the Commonwealth Address

Gov. Tim Kaine (D) used his Jan. 9 address to call for tighter gun laws, increased mental-health funding and repeal of the state’s much-maligned abusive driver fees. He also urged lawmakers to enact new protections against identity theft, to make it easier to use absentee ballots and to pump more money into pre-K and higher education.
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Summary of the State of the State Address

Gov. Jim Douglas (R) called for tax reforms and environmental measures and asked the Democratic-controlled Legislature to make affordable health care its top priority in his Jan. 9 speech. For the most part, the governor  proposed tweaks to current programs, rather than new initiatives.
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Summary of the State of the State Address

Gov. Christine Gregoire (D) — facing a tough re-election bid this year against Dino Rossi, the Republican she narrowly defeated four years ago — used much of her address Jan. 15 to tout her administration’s achievements, including converting a budget deficit into a “huge surplus” in three years.
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Summary of the State of the State Address

In his address to the State Assembly Jan. 23, Gov. Jim Doyle (D) unveiled proposals designed to brace Wisconsin for an economic downturn.
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Summary of the State of the State Address

Gov. Joe Manchin III (D) used his Jan. 9 speech to announce a campaign to stop student bullying, a first-in-the-nation health-screening program for kindergarten pupils and a free prescription-drug program for uninsured workers. He also asked the Democratic-controlled Legislature for better mental-health counseling for returning Iraq soldiers and a tougher anti-drug program.
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Summary of the State of the State Address

Wyoming’s economy is booming, and the national subprime mortgage crisis has not affected the state as it has many others, Gov. Dave Freudenthal (D) told the Republican-controlled Legislature in his Feb. 12 speech. But, he cautioned, “the abundance we enjoy requires discipline.”
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