Govs' Speeches Subcribe to Govs' Speeches |
 |
|
|
|
|
Boasting an economy more stable than most, Alabama Gov. Bob Riley (R) focused on maintaining a small and thrifty government, while promoting job growth, ethics reform and education.
Read More
|
Arkansas Gov. Mike Beebe (D) challenged lawmakers to expand social services and increase funding for education despite the recession, saying the state’s careful budgeting in the past has put it on better financial footing than other states.
Read More
|
|
|
|
AK: Summary of the state of the state address
Back to the business of running Alaska after a failed bid for vice president, Republican Gov. Sarah Palin announced a state hiring freeze and called for a 7 percent cut in state expenses. In her Jan. 22 address to the state’s politically split legislature, Palin stressed the need to develop The Last Frontier’s vast energy resources while developing a more diverse economy.
Read More
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
CT: Summary of the state of the state address
After a year of belt-tightening, Connecticut Gov. M. Jodi Rell (R) warned that more cuts are in store as the state grapples with the national recession. “The sacrifices will not be easy or painless,” Rell said in her Jan. 7 state of the state address to the Democratic-controlled General Assembly.
Read More
|
|
FL: Summary of the state of the state address
Facing a $5 billion deficit and unemployment at a 16-year high, Florida Gov. Charlie Crist (R) March 3 called on lawmakers to put partisanship aside and quickly use the billions of dollars from the federal stimulus plan as “a bridge to better economic times.”
Read More
|
|
|
|
|
HI: Summary of the state of the state address
Calling for a reduction in wages and benefits for some state workers, Republican Gov. Linda Lingle asked Hawaii’s Democratic-controlled Legislature to tighten its fiscal belt while paving the way to greater energy and food independence.
Read More
|
|
IA: Summary of the condition of the state address
Iowa Gov. Chet Culver (D) focused on two major challenges during his annual condition of the state address Jan. 13: recovering from devastating floods this summer and dealing with a national fiscal crisis which belatedly hit Iowa last year.
Read More
|
|
ID: Summary of the state of the state address
Lawmakers in the Republican-controlled Legislature received a shock when Idaho Gov. C.L. “Butch” Otter (R) announced Jan. 12 that he would seek to cut K-12 education funding by more than 5 percent as part of efforts to trim state spending amid a bleak budget picture.
Read More
|
|
IL: Summary of the state of the state address
While the Illinois General Assembly greeted newly installed Gov. Pat Quinn (D) warmly at his joint state of the state and budget address March 18, Quinn knew his budget would be a tough sell with an agenda that included hiking the state income tax by 50 percent.
Read More
|
|
IN: Summary of the state of the state address
Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels (R) challenged lawmakers to spend state money more wisely and not to raise taxes as they write a new budget for tough economic times. But Daniels also reminded legislators Indiana’s problems were minor compared to those of other states.
Read More
|
|
KS: Summary of the state of the state address
Gov. Kathleen Sebelius (D), facing a projected $186 million shortfall in the current budget, delivered the grim message that she would have to propose eliminating programs, closing buildings and freezing government hiring but would try to protect education, health care and some social services.
Read More
|
|
KY: Summary of the state of the state address
Less than a week after devastating snow and ice storms shut down power and cut off drinking water across Kentucky, Gov. Steve Beshear (D) presented his plans for erasing the state’s $456 million budget shortfall while praising relief workers.
Read More
|
|
|
|
|
ME: Summary of the state of the state address
Unveiling a budget that for the first time in 35 years is smaller than the previous year, Maine Gov. John Baldacci (D) called on lawmakers to create thousands of green jobs, launch new health care programs, and revamp the state’s groundbreaking school laptop program.
Read More
|
|
MD: Summary of the state of the state address
Gov. Martin O’Malley (D) raised eyebrows in his state of the state speech Jan. 29 by listing two reasons why he expected Maryland’s budget outlook to be brighter at the end of the legislative session than at the beginning: “Barack … Obama.”
Read More
|
|
|
|
|
MI: Summary of the state of the state address
In her annual state of the state speech, Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm (D) tried to sell her vision of a revived Michigan economy built on the success of environmentally friendly industries. But in the meantime, Granholm spoke of a pared-down and shaken-up state government.
Read More
|
|
MN: Summary of the state of the state address
Facing a legislature overwhelmingly controlled by Democrats, Republican Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty delivered a state of the state address Jan. 15 chock-full of GOP standards: tax cuts for businesses, performance incentives for schools and streamlined local government.
Read More
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
MT: Summary of the state of the state address
In a state that is faring much better than most in this recession, Democratic Gov. Brian Schweitzer called for reduced business taxes, incentives for the film industry and pay raises for teachers, in his Jan. 28 state of the state address.
Read More
|
|
|
|
|
NH: Summary of the state of the state address
Facing a $500 million projected revenue shortfall over two years, New Hampshire Gov. John Lynch (D) proposed spending cuts in nearly every sector of state government. The governor asked the Democratic-led legislature in his Feb. 12 budget address to “re-think everything state government does.”
Read More
|
|
NV: Summary of the state of the state address
In a speech before the Democratic-controlled Legislature Jan. 15, Gov. Jim Gibbons (R) rejected tax increases and instead proposed dramatic cuts to education and state workers’ salaries — including his own — as a way for struggling Nevada to bring its spending in line with revenues. The governor said his new budget is $2.2 billion smaller than the one he introduced two years ago.
Read More
|
|
|
|
|
NM: Summary of the state of the state address
Hours after President Barack Obama was sworn in on Jan. 20, Gov. Bill Richardson (D) asked the Legislature to take action on the state’s financial crisis but also to embrace his proposals for alternative energy, education, health care, ethics reform and rights for domestic partners.
Read More
|
|
NY: Summary of the state of the state address
Facing a “a historic economic challenge” not seen since Great Depression, New York Gov. David Paterson (D) Jan. 7 called on Congress to enact a large fiscal stimulus package by the end of January, while asking lawmakers to expand health care coverage at the state level.
Read More
|
|
|
|
|
ND: Summary of the state of the state address
Gov. John Hoeven (R) is one of the few state leaders around the country with a budget surplus. In his Jan. 6 state of the state speech, he called for boosting spending on local schools, state colleges and universities, child-care subsidies and the health insurance program for children from low income families.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
OR: Summary of the state of the state address
Oregon Gov. Ted Kulongoski (D) delivered a somber state of the state speech to the Democratic-controlled Legislature Jan. 12, warning of a prolonged “winter of economic discontent” and pushing new spending as a way forward.
Read More
|
|
PA: Summary of the state of the state address
Pennsylvania has far too many school districts and local governments, Gov. Ed Rendell (D) told the politically divided General Assembly in his executive budget address Feb. 4. Consolidation, Rendell said, would help the state save key funds during an economic crisis.
Read More
|
|
|
|
|
SC: Summary of the state of the state address
South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford (R), who has clashed with the Republican-controlled Legislature in the past over what he saw as its reckless spending, told lawmakers Jan. 14 that with the recession the state needed to rein in spending.
Read More
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
TX: Summary of the state of the state address
Gov. Rick Perry, saying Texas is “in better shape than most other states,” proposed freezing college tuition rates, expanding job training, beefing up anti-gang efforts and increasing energy incentives including a $5,000 payment to people who buy plug-in hybrid electric vehicles.
Read More
|
|
UT: Summary of the state of the state address
Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. (R) surprised members of the Republican-dominated Legislature when he announced in his state of the state speech Jan. 27 that he would reinstate up to $3.9 billion in road projects that were put on hold over budget concerns in November.
Read More
|
|
VT: Summary of the inaugural address
Vermont Gov. Jim Douglas (R) called for an overhaul of how the state funds education in his fourth inaugural address Jan. 8 before a Democratic-controlled legislature. His ideas included a freeze on school spending next year and possibly merging the University of Vermont and the Vermont State College system.
Read More
|
|
VA: Summary of the state of the state address
Gov. Tim Kaine (D), who this month was appointed to head the Democratic National Committee, emphasized environmental preservation and job creation in his Jan. 14 address to Virginia’s politically split legislature.
Read More
|
|
WA: Summary of the state of the state address
Fresh from winning re-election in November, Gov. Christine Gregoire (D) challenged lawmakers in the Democratic-held Legislature to step up to the challenge of the nation’s worst economic crisis since the Great Depression and the worst state budget crisis in history.
Read More
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
WY: Summary of the state of the state address
Wyoming, which so far has avoided the dire fiscal straits facing more than 40 other states, typically enters a recession late — “and that pattern is being repeated in Wyoming today,” Gov. Dave Freudenthal (D) warned lawmakers in the Republican-controlled Legislature in his state of the state speech Jan. 14.
Read More
|
|
|
|
Powered by