important to you in the election and why?

washington democratic governor gave his final state of the state address from the capitol in olympia saying that the state of our state is stronger than ever and talks about climate change and clean energy, jobs in the economy, homelessness, education and infrastructure investment. he also discusses protecting civil rights and stresses the need to mention reproductive freedom in the state's constitution. governor ensley has held the office since 2013. >> thank you. thank you. thank you.

thank you. thank you. good afternoon. i would like to start this afternoon by thanking eisenhower for her inspiring vocation. you always inspire me. thank you for your leadership. mccarthy, bobby ray had a wonderful harmony. let's bring harmony to this discussion. for the university of washington huskies, you give us amicable season. that was amazing. mr. president, madam speaker, chief justice, distinguished justices of the court, members of the legislature, counselor core and most importantly, my fellow washingtonians, i come to you as a governor, granddad

and washingtonian. i want to start by thanking you and your families for their contribution to our mutual efforts. my staff and their families also deserve credit, as well and particularly my family and a special person to me, trudy. i love seeing the child care center she inspired us to build for capital families, which is among many causes she advocated for. clamor >> this is not the script, but i want to share a secret. i love you and i'm not alone. s'e let's cut to the chase. i am happy to report that we have been and we are and we

will always be the strongest state in the nation. in fact, the state is stronger than ever. for over a decade, we have advanced nation leading policies to support working families and we have grown economy. we have acted boldly to protect our state's iconic places. we have advanced equity. we have built more housing. we have fought for women's right to choose and we have ushered in a clean energy economy. >> [ applause ] >> is fair to say that in an area of tremendous change, washington has emerged as a beacon for progress for the nation. this year, we are going to make sure that it shines even brighter.

>> [ applause ] >> this is my 11th time that i have had the honor to address the chamber they have had a bigger audience every year. there are 1 million more washingtonians today than when i took office. washington is the place to be. i welcome our new washingtonians who have seen the genius and promise of our great state. the minimum wage was nine dollars in 2013, today, it is over 16. the wages overall have grown by 39% and doubled the national rate. our gdp has grown 45% from 528 billion in 20 $13-$768 billion today. we should be proud of this. we are among the very few states that rank as both a top state for business and workers. we have done great work.

>> [ applause ] >> we contemplate this next year and the work ahead. i think back to my dad who coached track at high school. he told his is to imagine that the finish line was 10 yards beyond the tape and he wanted to make sure that they wouldn't let up before the race was over. my dad always said and it sticks with me, run through the tape. we are going to run through the tape this year. just as i know, he will give it your best work and i will give you mine. this is not a farewell speech and these are not famous last words. i'm not writing into the sunset. winston churchill says, this is not time for ease and

comfort. it is time to dare and endure. we will not relent to our greatest challenges. we will not go backwards. this is both the evergreen state and the report state and we should be proud. we are going forward on our evergreen agenda and we know that climate change is hurting us now today. the claimant claps does not have to be our inevitable future . this legislature puts us on a clear and necessary path to/ greenhouse gases by 95% by 2050. any delay would be a betrayal of our children's future. we are now on the razors edge

between promise and peril. we know that this has historic floods that have stood for generations. when wildfires forced evacuation of entire towns, like medical lake last year before that. the need for climate action is for washingtonians dealing with pollution. people are dying 2.5 years younger on average because of pollution. this pollution is harmful to the lives of washingtonians and communities like everett, wenatchee, spokane and tri-cities. yakima valley, south king county and tacoma. they are neighborhoods in the communities where people are forced to live sick and die younger because of the pollution.

we have made an oath to our children and their children. in that, we will neither flag nor fail. we will go on to give him the grandest of blessings, healthy washington. we will not with the deputies who live in the great torment of pessimism. we will stay the course and when. >> [ applause ] >> thanks to this legislators budget priorities and climate commitment act, we can help more people, like lisa garcia, farmworker. her home was one of 32 in yakima county that had rooftop solar installed thanks

to a program geared towards farmworkers. her home now produces 100% of its energy from her own. her family's energy bills are in zero and it would not have been possible without this legislature. said and her daughter are here today and many people will follow in her footsteps. trick for what you're doing. yoe >> you are going to hear many stories this year like this and beyond about how our climate policies are making life better for washington families for the climate commitment act is letting us invest in work that produces -- reduces pollution. it million free transfer rights for youth in the kenny britt filtration systems in schools,

so people can breathe when there is welfare smoke outside and public charges for electric vehicles. this is money going right back to washington families. it's not going off to houston or other oral hubs with the industries records $200 billion in profit from 2022. now, we have more that we can give back to our communities. i am proposing a 200 utility bill credit for one out of every three households in washington. that is nearly 2 million low in moderate and income washingtonians. we will help thousands of families install energy- efficient heat to cut emission and energy bills. this is what makes it easier to invest. including hybrid electric fairies and save her bike and pedestrian routes. from sustainable aviation fuels and battery manufacturing to electric buses. we are a truck

thousands of good paying jobs, energy and technology. we are training folks who worked at places like trans alta for jobs in the new clean energy economy. these jobs are coming on quickly . the new pacific northwest federal help could create 1000 jobs alone for the production and distribution of green hydrogen to reduce pollution. here is something else. for decades, we have been subjected to the roller coaster of gas prices and we will do something about price transparency in washington state. the gas industry books are posts to the public and it's time for transparency and accountability. i look forward to that. >> [ applause ] >> i believe that this

legislature is capable and more extraordinary achievement on top of these, because i have seen it happen every year that i have been here. we moved heaven and earth to fill permanent duty of funding education in the state of washington. now, i hope you trained me by increasing pay for 32,000 parent educators and by three dollars an hour. raising the cap in special education funding and create incentives for teachers to serve special needs students. >> [ applause ] >> one student that graduated now has more pathways to success than ever. just legislature has created the most generous college financial aid program in the country.

college is not the only pathway to success. that is what we have only -- have greatly supported internships. brian of auburn was going to be an engineer, but then he was in a traumatic car accident and followed by medical bills and had to leave college. fortunately, he got connected to competing for all apprenticeship programs, which is legislature to design and hopes for the greater washington grant. now, brian is here today with a friend -- bright future today. i appreciate that. thank you. this legislature caret people. this legislature caret >> this legislature cares about people. i know that, because of what you've done. this saves thousands of lives

when covid struck and we are now one of a handful of states to curb excessive drug costs and we have more ways to grow healthcare work. we have passed the nation's best paid family medical leave program. our story about this the other day and i went to the county country market for my grandkids. the woman behind the counter said, i have to tell you something and my fellow electorates know that when you hear a constituency that, then you can be in for anything, so i was prepared. here is what she said. she said, i had a broken wrist last year and i couldn't do my job and the only thing that kept my family afloat was the paid family medical leave law. i really hope that you are having those conversations in

your districts, as well. your policies are making it a ends in people's lives. now, we have more work to do. protect healthcare, like wilson, vernon brady says john was diagnosed with cancer and the expected the cost to go from $3000 a month until she accessed the chair public options. her family hundred eight dollars a month and the most that they will pay out of pocket this year for cancer treatment is $2500. they are here today as an example of your work. thank you for allowing us to tell your story. we appreciate that. >> [ applause ] >> our policies change lives when they are focused on the people we are here to serve.

we give people the chance to succeed. people focus policies are also how we are addressing homelessness. something that we can just wave a wand and no what being homeless is. this is the real world and we have an honest solution. build more housing, connect people to the right services, then they will have a chance to succeed. this time last year, a woman found herself in a right-of-way encampment in first avenue and was street in seattle. no one can live in danger and expect the conditions to improve and no one can be swept from one dark corner to another and expect it to get better. we must lift people up. we must give them the tools, services and power of community necessary to get life back on track. state local collaboration got started on her journey and she said that this program quote,

renewed my trust. now, stars work and she has a safe and private place to live and is here today. >> washingtonians can see the dozens of encampments along the highways, which are no longer there. we need to know that it will continue only if we make additional necessary investments , which they are going to see more housing units, thanks to your work. i want to thank the legislature for going on housing last session and trusting that it was necessary just under $1 billion towards new housing already. these are not the only ways we are making lifesaver for washingtonians.

we all want to take steps to increase public save and in that regard, it's not just one solution, but many. the legislature was able to stand up to the nra and pass some of the best grammar homes in washington and it doesn't matter how many defeats, but we finally banned assault weapons in the state for gun reform is public safety. washington state e >> washington state also needs more police officers and that is what pothis budget i hope wi do. my budget finds more state troopers and forensic scientists and organized retail theft task force, thanks to the idea from our attorney general. the more funding for drug

trafficking investigations. we are removing barriers by establishing training centers were more group's are getting some of the best training, including de-escalation training . we are joined by the police department. claudia would not be a police officer today if this legislature had not invested in more, justice centers. it is impossible for a parent to spend 4.5 months away from home for training and in doing what she would have had to done . because we invested in the training centers, officer got to go home from the academy and because of that resource, the people are sacred. thank you for what you are doing.

>> [ applause ] now we all know l contin now we all know l >> we all know that we must vi also continue improving behavioral health services in our state. i recently met someone whose families was devastated by fentanyl and they call that the nuclear weapon of drugs. we propose a $64 million in new spending to fight against opiates and fentanyl. we are going to address an education, overdose prevention, treatment access and recovery support. we will support people with stories, like holly edwards. her life languished in addiction to meth and heroin before she got help out local resource centers. she got her life back and she

is now herself, a recovery can lower, helping people in the same journey at the wellness center. holly is here today and i want to thank her for helping not just tribal members, but our community. thank you with the swedish people. >> [ applause ] >> this legislature works wonders when it embraces ambition. we have the two biggest transportation funding packages in state history during my time in office and connecting washington and moving ahead to washington. we know that we still face questions about how to meet our mission. i do expect that we will have all of the answers this year, but there are things that we could do in the next 60 days. we are already investing in cleaner and i have directed the

state very still anywhere they can to expedite both, but we also must do everything we can to increase. i proposed several things to help us do that. we needed in the state of washington. we pursue some of the most transformative policies in the nation while i have been in the position. for example, i am proud of the leaders of our state that are under no illusion that social justice issues were somehow settled 60 years ago with the passage of the civil rights act. we will continue advancing social justice. we have made equity part of everything we do in the state government. environmental justice policy. >> [ applause ] >> we have done so with the environmental justice policy and a new agency, office of

activity. we must maintain process progress in the past and present . the genius of america, i believe, is that we can recognize that we are not yet in a state of perfection, but we will always work to form a perfect union, which is what we are doing in the state of washington. before i close, i want to say that there are two great threats in the u.s. and in our state today. one threat is to the very basic tenants and blessings of democracy. the other is an ongoing assault on a woman's right of choice. we have not forgotten the u.s. supreme court's frightened decision to eliminate roe v. wade.

fundamentally, this is an issue of freedom. freedom of choice is of the most intimate and personal decisions in life. both in this room are committed to protecting that i, but none of us are going to hold seats forever. they must face harsh reality that there were forces in our nation and in our own state. city destroyed the right of choice. we need to join eight other states. hawaii, alaska and illinois. we need to enshrine reproductive freedom and all constitution and pass a constitutional amendment protecting the right was this year. >> [ applause ] i would like to u

why i am so optimistic aboutto u this session. if i have learned anything with each subsequent legislative session, it is washingtonians are always capable of doing more than they thought we could. when we took office we had all dashes goals that defy the odds -- audacious goals that defy the odds and i had confidence we >> i am confident that we can tackle these challenges, because i have always believed in the unique talent and ambitions of washingtonians. washingtonians have more resilience, love for our state and more endurance to push towards the sunny of the future than any other people on the

planet. the next two months, we are going to make the state better at mental health. look more supportive for educators and students and more committed to our private actions. we made hope for the future possible, because washingtonians are never restricted by the past. we are the bulk of the status quo. inevitably, we will always be called upon to do more for the people of washington. no matter the challenge, we will always do more than we thought possible. it is our honor to the washingtonians. it is our privilege to do this work. it is our destiny to succeed. run through the tape. thank you. good luck. >> [ applause ]

>> thank you. [applause] thank [applause] >> tonight, a look at u.s. strategy in the pacific from the state department and u.s. agency for international development. you can watch the entire relations committee hearing starting at 8:00 eastern on c- span 2.

>> from the technology industry council tech policy summit. this is about 35 minutes.