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[applause] [applause] >> thank you so much you please be seated. lieutenant governor ainsworth, president pro tiem reed, speaker leadbetter, speaker pro temp

pringle, members of the alabama legislature, justices of the supreme court, distinguished guests and my fellow alabamians. [applause] it is an honor to address you all as we begin what will be a consequential legislative session. in just one month on march the fifth, we will also head to the polls to vote in alabama primary which is significant this year as we are now one of the earliest states in the nation and included among those in super tuesday, all the more reason to get out and proudly cast your vote.

any chance i get i remind young people that voting is the single most important civic duty we have from delivering this message each year to speaking with our fourth-grade learners about their alabama history. i'm always proud to share with our students in having the right to vote should never be taken for granted. talking to a group of seventh-graders to prepare for their school elections i told them if you don't vote you can't gripe in the same is true for us adults. as alabamians one thing i'm the most proud of is that after the polls close no matter who we voted for we all still treat

each other with respect whether it's electing your class president or the president of united states. even though we may vote differently. i'll agree in the integrity of our elections in alabama. that's why i'm proud to support legislation. we will put a stop to any manipulation of our elections by closing loopholes that allow paid political goal operatives. this year we have a new bill to protect folks who truly need assistance in getting their voices heard. while the other secretaries of states are worried about picking

their favorite candidates from the ballots i am grateful that secretary wes allen is focused on making sure alabama selections will always be free and fair. [applause] this year when alabamians take their way to the ballot box i hope they will be voting on another issue, gaming. i believe the current proposal being contemplated by the legislature is good for alabama and i will be carefully watching it go through the process. it will crackdown on illegal gambling and it will responsibly regulate limited forms of legal gaming including the statewide

lottery. thank you speaker leadbetter hit his leadership team for the their hard work on this. now's the time for alabama voters to have another say on this issue in more ways than one week and contrast what we are doing here here in alabama with that of washington d.c. or even other states. i'm confident that because of our work together republicans and democrats alike, alabama can be vital for the nations. we recognize the responsibility of the role of state government. that means standing up for alabama values in areas like education, economic development

work laws, infrastructure and public safety. and we will always, always make sure our government is working for our fellow alabamians. i've believe because of these efforts because we are on solid financial footing alabama this in the most competitive position we have ever been in united states history. ladies and gentlemen state of our state is strong [applause] and together we are prepared for the alabama up tomorrow. [applause] fostering safe communities is a

paramount responsibility of government on any level and it begins with protecting the future of our state. our children. that's why i'm calling on the legislature to once again invest in school safety through 100 million-dollar grant program. we must continue investing in critical mental health for our students. unfortunately children across our country including right here in alabama have been victims of human trafficking. we must continue educating the public on this very real evil and we must take action against it where we can. for many the movie sound of freedom was a wake-up call. we will mandate life in prison for those who traffic violence and i'm proud to put my support

behind this important legislation. [applause] in this ever loving world and sharing new technologies of safe and effective public safety measure. today that new technology artificial intelligence may be better known as ai. and look you all i'm not going to stand here and. she about ai. however i do know that new technologies can have benefits. if not used responsibly it can be dangerous. we are going to ensure that ai is used properly. this week i will sign the

executive order to establish a task force to better understand artificial intelligence and to prepare the state to safely and effectively use this emerging technology going forward. the alabama department of corrections is the keeper of our state's public safety and i will be frank running a correction system is a hard job and i know everyone here has an opinion on how they could do it better. there's no one more capable to lead that effort here in alabama then commissioner john hamm. [applause] prisons around the country and on every level federal state and local are experiencing challenges but we remain committed to doing everything in

our power to make improvements where we can in our state system. we are moving forward in our mission to build two new facilities and at the same time we are working to stop contraband from coming into existing and we are doubling down on our recruitment efforts and seeing record graduating classes because of it. alabama proudly facts the blue quitting our correction officers and be steadfast and we support our military. [applause] i'm thrilled to have recently asked general david. she to service the new resident general for the alabama national guard. already in his time on the job the alabama guard has stepped up

for curing the tort on the missions like the f-35 flight and the portions of the state impacted by wet weather. he continues to support the hundreds of alabama soldiers across the southern border to protect their country against illegal immigration. we are proud of these men and women and we thank them for their service. [applause] in addition to supporting our active military men and women we also care deeply for veterans who have served. last november i had the opportunity to visit dovetail landing in lincoln. their vision is to create a place that supports veterans especially those struggling with challenging transition back to

civilian life. by helping these folks develop a new skill set to enter the workforce. i was impressed and moved. this evening i'm calling on you to invest in the construction of this new endeavor. our veterans carried us and now it is time we help to carry them. [applause] alabama is a pro-life state. i am more committed than ever to protecting the sanctity of life and as i have said on this occasion last year our work is not done. this evening i am proud to declare we will foster a culture of life.

we must refocus our efforts to do more to support life. last year commissioner nancy putnam the department of human resources had great success in foster care adoptions. focused on enhancing childcare quality. i am proud to double down on these efforts. to foster a better culture of life we must also do more to support alabamians. in early onset of medical care is necessary for mothers and children. while we are making significant strides we still face challenges especially in rural alabama. that's why i'm proud to support a pilot program that will start posting men and women in nine

county health diploma yet -- in areas of need. folks there's nothing more important than our alabama families. we must come together to find common ground on many ways to support them. the success of any state changes and mark fletcher in the east and the speed of the transportation of commerce. alabama supports have always played a major role in driving our economy. just as their roads and bridges are critical to our success our highways and connectivity are equally important. our state has the duty to connect to a high-speed internet

is most critical thing we can do in support of the modern economy. just yesterday i was in wilcox to announce 21 grants across the state and only $188 million. we are talking 4600 miles of fiber infrastructure. in total, alabama's investment in broadband expansion will be a whopping 2 billion with a b dollars. i'm really excited about this but there's even more to come. [applause] i believe we have the best broadband belt in the country and over the next three years

every alabamians will see the difference and we will be more competitive if we connect alabama. our state has experienced tremendous success in economic development and i am confident we can build on those efforts with their new commerce secretary allen mcnair. tonight i'm proud to report that during my tenure as governor of alabama has seen 48 billion with a b dollars which is treated 86,000 new jobs. [applause] and as i like to say we are just getting started. secretary mcnair and her team are developing a brand-new

strategic plan, one that will meet our goals for economic strategies through the 2030s today. if alabamians in alabama businesses achieve success we must make sure our effort in workforce development match what we are doing to recruit as an industry. last july i will wrote an op-ed to eliminate warning signs we must shift our focus to labor force participation. the administration remains committed to doing that. [applause] in 2015 uncommitted to taking

these reforms a step further so we can remain laser focused on ensuring government always works better for her alabamians. when it comes to the workforce element there are two customers, job seekers and -- the unemployment rate remains historically low and their labor force petition patient rate -- participation rate stands as one of the lowest in the nation. our state will not reach its full potential with half of its population sitting on the sidelines. alabama can do better and it will make the workforce programs more effective and efficient. the mission of workforce development seeks to recruit trained employee and retain

alabamians in high demand jobs. one of our greatest need remained within our health care workforce especially in rural alabama. there's no denying it. we need more people every time there's a health care job out there doctors nurses, you name it. last year i introduced the idea of health care sciences in alabama schools to use our school of cyber technology and engineering as well as their special schools is the blueprint. this will directly expose young men and women particularly rural students to various health care fields. and it gives them options whether they want to graduate with a credential and start working on maybe they want to go

to college and become a nurse or attend medical or dental school. we will give the students an opportunity of a state-of-the-art school to attend. over the last year we have finalized the plans and i'm proposing we locate the school in -- [applause] already we have received tremendous community support in and the gold standard of rural health care is just a few steps away from the proposed site where the students will learn and on top of all this the feasibility report commissioned by the legislature last year has once again validated it is the

ideal location for this important school. [applause] folks, let's get this important project done. i will say this, we have a proven track record of producing health care -- dr. dickers and i'm proud to have been joining us tonight is proof positive of that. as young boy's parent showed him that hard work could help them achieve anything he put his mind to and boy were they right. today dr. vickers is one of the top doctors in the world. [applause]

while currently serving as president and ceo of memorial sloan catering center in new york. students in every alabama county have the potential to benefit from an education just like dr. dickers bid. we will accomplish that through the alabama school of health care sciences. members available in the legislature investing in this is one of my top priorities this session and i'm counting on you to make this a reality. [applause] dr. dickers once had an interview that education is the great equalizer and i could not agree more.

thank you for your contributions to our state and our nation and thank you for being with us today. will you please stand it be recognized. [applause] [applause] during my inaugural address i promised the people of alabama that ensuring every alabama will receive a high-quality education will be my number one goal in this term. members while i'm always delighted to be with you all i'm

especially proud we are joined by many of our young people tonight. we heard the beautiful music from mark jasper high school students who hail from towns. thank you all for being here. [applause] please stand and let us recognize you. [applause] [applause] this last year one of the highlights for me personally was visiting her 15 turn around

schools. 4th-graders from one of these schools, abc elementary in my home county of wilcox are here with us this evening. folks of these boys and girls have the highest rating gains in the entire state of alabama. [applause] [applause] this deserves to be celebrated so abc elementary please stand ami recognized. [applause]

[applause] i believe in every single one of our students in alabama and when you set the bar high for them these boys and girls can wage their fullest potential. progress being made at abc elementary and effector turn around schools initiative. their classmates back home their parents and their teachers we must double down the success of our turn around schools initiative. after i was sworn in by second term to establish the governor's commission on teaching and learning. we have the a report that will serve as the blueprint for

approving student outcomes over the next three years. chief among those recommendations is funding a numeracy and literacy act. our teachers are being trained in math and reading and we are preparing them not only to teach our kids today but also in the future. what we have done to the -- is critical to our success and i will say this again crystal clear, if you want to see any delay of the literacy act on my desk i will veto the bill. [applause] and sharing our students are proficient readers is simply too

critical and these kids have proven when the right resources and curriculum are in place they can do it. i'm very proud of the fact that during my time serving as your governor together we have invested a new historical amount in our public schools each year. this year we will once again have the largest education fund in our state's history. we must also fulfill a promise to have the highest salaries for teachers among our neighboring states. let's get this done this session. improving your state education through the process we have to meet the needs of all students. as governor i realize the way to do that is to make sure their opportunities available for our children. for some families that means having the chance to send their

child to a charter or a magnet, private school or home-school. student choice is needed in last year we recognize to expand the options of alabama we have to first improve our existing schools and the alabama accountability act. you accomplish that. thank you. next, our next step now is to begin with those in need. education savings accounts which will further us honored journey to become a school -- the most school choice friendly state in the nation. [applause] passing an education savings account that works for families

and for alabama's is the number one legislative priority and i am proud to have an education budget chairman. once we get this legislation across the finish line we will prepare for the 2025-2026 academic year. for the first two years we will help families that might not have otherwise have the option to send their children to school of their choice. these education savings accounts. for it the third year and beyond all families will be eligible for the program. as additional families choose to participate in the program and

as their revenues increase we can grow the program responsibly so it can be fuller -- fully universal for every alabama and family that wants to dissipate to this program will be effective and it will serve as a catalyst for making alabama the most school choice friendly state in the nation for years to come. my goal is to put us on the trajectory to make our program fully universal while also maintaining our total support for public education. at the end of the day i believe the choose act providing our k-12 teachers the highest starting salaries will help our public schools become even stronger. i believe we will continue working towards our goal of

being in the top 30 nationally when it comes to student outcomes. folks, i am confident in alabama's future because i am confident in our students. i have met thousands of these young people and i'm more encouraged every day. i'm also proud of alabama and i'm proud of our citizens and i'm proud to continue leading our state forward. the people of alabama deserve our very best. future generations of alabamians deserve our hardest work today. this is our opportunity so let's not it. may continue to each of you and the great state of alabama. thank you all so much. [applause]

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