[applause] [applause] >> thank you, thank you so much. good to see you all.

[applause] you all seem a little restless. well thank you so much. mr. speaker madam president members of the legislature in fellow citizens, 2024 is going to be a banner year for the free state of florida. [applause] now this is somewhat of a unique start to the legislative session because every government building except this one is close in tallahassee because of the weather we have had a lot of whether move through northwest florida. we have issued in the executive order and displayed -- declared a state of emergency and we respond when these things happen so those folks who have been impacted just know the state of florida stands with you and we will handle whatever fallout is from these dangerous tornadoes. we are as a country in the midst of the great people and we see this throughout the land.

under the current administration in washington, homelessness is at record levels, 62% of americans are living paycheck to paycheck and the federal budget deficit is expected to hit $2 trillion this year. a course more than 8 million illegal aliens have entered the united states across the southern border in the past three years alone and that --deaths due to sentinel that of krump come across the border breached record levels. cities throughout the land have raid washington d.c. is experiencing its deadliest year in more than two decades in san francisco has fallen into a doom loop whereby crime homelessness and drug abuse have eviscerated the quality of live in the city. other states have enacted policies that have sparked an exodus of their residents out in their states. in an illinois residents are saddled with high taxes, while spendthrift politicians continued to spend and borrow at some of the highest rates in the

nation with massive unfunded liabilities that will require even higher taxes in the future but a course soft on crime policies have devastated public safety in major cities like chicago. california's part is spending his triple that the florida and yet they face a 68 early in dollar budget deficit. violent crime is up and robberies are up in the stanford university study shows businesses are leaving it grows. florida has millions more residence in new york state and new york's budget is twice the size of ours here in florida. the above $4.3 billion deficit. we now have more manufacturing jobs in new york and have it added twice as many jobs in new york in their employment rate is close to 50% lower than that of new york. it's not surprising giving that we witnessed and contained a witness the great migration of americans away from cities and states pursuing these failed policies with florida serving as

a refuge of freedom and sanity. [applause] these billiards are not the result of chance. they are the result of choices made by elected officials to put ideology over sound policy. in this time for choosing the state of florida has chosen well. we have chosen facts of her fear. we have chosen education over indoctrination. we have chosen law and order over rioting and disorder. we have chosen fiscal responsibility over death and profligacy. our choices have results that are second to none in this country. [applause]

[applause] we have earned rankings at number one for education, number one for education freedom, number one for parental involvement in education, number one for talent development, number one for public higher education, number one for domestic migration for the third consecutive year and number one in new business formation. number one in gdp growth amongst large states and better than almost all countries throughout the world, we are number one for entrepreneurship and we have set the standard for limited government. florida has the fewest state employees per-capita and the lowest state government cost per capita in the entire united states. our crime rate is at a 50 year low and we have the lowest unemployment rate of all large

states. [applause] the 2023 legislative session was monumental and it's upon us to build upon those accomplishments as we continue to deliver results are the people that elected us. my message is simple. stay the course. the state of our state is strong. let's keep doing what works, continue to make florida the envy of the nation. [applause] [applause] florida is the education state. we lead the nation in school

choice. last legislative session under the leadership of speaker runner we enacted the largest expansion of school choice in all of american history. florida has close to 1.5 million students involved full-time in various choice programs from private scholarships to charter schools and choice options within individual school districts. through these programs we have delivered for people like kayla barber who is here with us today. please stand. [applause] cara has 11 brothers and sisters making education somewhat difficult to afford for their parents. because of our school choice scholarship she and her siblings have been able to attend high-quality schools. today she is a college graduate. her three older brothers are college graduates.

two of her younger sisters are in college and the rest are on track to follow in their footsteps. she likes to say in her own words quote when people say the school choice doesn't work, i simply show them my family. thank you, great job. [applause] florida leads the nation in protecting the rights of parents. school systems are important. they exist to serve the students, parents and the community not to supersede the rights of parents and the education and upbringing of their own children. we were one of the first based in the country to enact a parents bill of right and to enact curriculum transparency. we have protected women's sports. as the father of two daughters i think it's important that our girls and women athletes have the opportunity to compete with fairness and with integrity.

[applause] thanks to the legislature we have protected our children from indoctrination and sexualization of the curriculum and we have stood up with parents against the will of in this includes parents like tea beth who is here with us today. from the jacksonville area. she is a mom of three. she fought for her children to be educated without having an agenda imposed on them and she has proved it's exactly what we have done. we must always protect the innocence of our children. let kids be kids. thank you. [applause]

and as we deliver historic -- for parents who provided historic support for our schoolteachers. over the past four years we have invested a record $3 billion solely for the purpose of raising teacher pay. my budget proposed for this year includes another $1.25 billion for even more pay increases in these initiatives are important because they help us recruit and retain great teachers, including our teacher of the year adriana swearingen. please stand up and be recognized. job well done. congratulations. and it is thanks to teachers like a drama that our 4th-graders are first in the nation on their scores.

on october 7, suffered one of the worst attacks in modern history. we knew the effects would reverberate here in the state of florida. many floridians were stranded in after the war broke that were not receiving adequate assistance from the state department so the port -- the state of florida stepped up in organized evacuations like rescuing more than 700 americans a brought them back home to the state of florida. [applause] that includes -- [applause] that includes alice and her husband and two children that were on one of the flights that we have brought back from israel and they are here joining us today. they were able to come back safe and sound. we were glad we were able to help you get back home. [applause]

we didn't stop there. thanks to the help of the legislature, we were able to sign legislation after a special session where we passed expanded sanctions on the country responsible ultimately for these attacks, the republic of iran. they were behind this act and they funded the attacks in the state of florida has recognized we are going to do everything we can to stop having money flow into the coffers of that regime. as threats of violence continue here at home we stood up to protect their jewish state schools or synagogues and jewish students on university campuses. we realize that many universities outside of florida have simply failed. this week jewish students across the country are returning to campuses that have outright condoned anti-semitism. over the coming months they have

a tough decision to make due they pack up and leave or do they stay and continue to endure a environment? if they decide to come to florida i can tell you this, we will welcome them with open arms. this includes waving minimum credit hour requirements for transfers, waving application deadlines for transfers and encouraging universities and colleges to use their existing statutory authorities to provide in-state tuition for students with a financial hardship. [applause] [applause] the pro hamas activities and rampant anti-semitism we have witnessed throughout the country on these campuses has exposed the intellectual rot that has developed on so many university campuses over the years. in florida are universities must

be dedicated to the pursuit of truth, the promotion of academic rigor and integrity in the preparation of students to be citizens of our republic. we reject the modern trend of the universities to coordinate high academic standards in favor of promoting an ideological agenda. to this end we have eliminated so-called bdi from our public universities. [applause] is to hide the ideological agenda that in practice stands for discrimination in dissolution and indoctrination that has no place in our public institutions and universities. [applause]

we have also overhauled ideological litmus test to require all tenured professors to undergo review every five years so poor performers can be terminated. j. t. lee on us as freshman baseball player at new college in sarasota is here. take a stand. which is well on its way -- [applause] new college is on the way to being the premiere classical public loop of arts college in america. reforms instituted by the board of trustees in by president that transform the college from ideological indoctrination into an institution rooted in truth. we have ensured that hired to qishan in florida is affordable, freezing tuition for the past

decade. our out-of-state tuition is less than in-state tuition in many states across this country and we have also supported bright futures scholarships that make it even more affordable for our top students in florida to attend school. while higher education is important at degree from a four-year university is not the only path to success and for many it's not the best pathway to success but when i took office in 2019 i set the goal to make florida number one in workforce education by the year 2030 and with the support of the legislature we are well on their way. since 2019 florida students have earned more than three and 65,000 rapid credentials and just last year more than 235,000 students earned an industry certificate before they graduated high school. we have more than triple their state's capacity to train truck drivers with cdl licenses and this year set a record for cdl program completion, and we have

set a record of 229,000 students enrolled in career and technical education at florida colleges. there is no question on this trajectory and with your continued support, florida will soon be number one in the nation for workforce education. [applause] florida is the state for fiscal responsibility and for economic freedom. the recklessness of spending borrowing and printing of money or for the past four years by the federal government has driven up the cost of everything from groceries to housing and saddled americans with high interest rates. the national debt now stands at an astounding $34 trillion. in new york city there is a debt

clock that shows the national debt going up in real, real time pitted like to see one of those for florida stat. only a florida debt clock would be counting down, not up because we have paid down nearly 25% of our state debt over the past four years. imagine that. [applause] indeed if you took the share of the national debt and apportioned it out to every individual american it would be $100,000 a pop that each american would owe. florida the average individual floridians share of our state debt isn't $100,000. at $661 the lowest per at a debt in all of these united states. that is what the way you do this. [applause]

now we were able to reduce the debt because we are physically responsible but also because we have been embracing smaller government. florida has the lowest number of state employees per-capita and the lowest cost per state resident for state government in the entire united states and let yet we deliver services better than most states and in fact when people move from places like new york the first thing they tell me is that our roads are better our services are better and better schools perform better as well. this year my budget proposal reduces the budget by $4 billion from the previous year placing $16.3 billion in reserves and paying down another $455 million in state debt ahead of schedule. we have run budget surpluses and pay down debt while enacting record-setting cash reductions and even with these tax savings given to our president we have

still brought in $1.3 billion in revenue over the projections just since the start of the fiscal year on july 1. last year as the legislature to reduce taxes on families is the way to mitigate the effects of the federal government induced inflation and you delivered. we have made it past three to raise a child and fortify permanent or moving sales taxes on all baby items, cribs, strollers diapers wipes children's clothing shoes among other items. we say where family-friendly. we didn't just talk the talk we walked the walk and families are benefiting because of what you did in the last legislative session. [applause] [applause] we also provided a very timely

relief for two in the state of corporate and 2023 the total relief program reduce commuter costs by almost half a billion dollars helping nearly 1.2 million floridians saved hundreds of dollars each on tolls. mike honeycutt is here with us today. he's the founder and owner of jedi con air and plants company that recently relocated to tampa from fernando county. their business moved. mike and his employees are still committing to tampa while in the process of relocation and he has taken on the burden of paying not only his tolls would also the tolls of the staff as well and through our toll relief program his staff and he were able to save almost $4000 in toll savings so congratulations on that and keep doing a great job. [applause]

in the governor's budget recommendation i am proposing that we return another $1.1 billion to the people through additional tax cuts that provide even more relief to families, individuals and retirees that are just trying to get by during these uncertain times. let's reduce the cost of homeowners insurance through tax relief. let's continue our record-setting sales tax holidays and let's provide permanent tax relief for florida small business. in d.c. they are failing to get inflation under control. while they cannot control federal monetary or fiscal policy here in the state of florida we can take what is already one of the lowest per-capita tax burdens in the entire country and make taxes even lower. aaa credit rating in the business environment has attracted families, businesses and retirees alike.

but so too has the fact that in florida we are proudly a law and order state. [applause] our policies support law enforcement personnel, to combat riots, to keep criminals off the streets and to remove prosecutors from office the cap florida at a 50 year low and the crime rate and have brought new and law enforcement recruits to florida from all that the other 49 states. law enforcement officers like rachel richardson who is here with us today. [applause]

officer richardson left her home and her job in illinois to come to florida for a new career with the venice police department did she wanted to work for state that valued the difficult look -- work of police officers do it today to protect and serve. we welcome you to the great state of florida. thank you for your service. [applause] i haven't met any police officer that has regretted relocating to florida yet so we must be to something right. this year's budget proposal includes an additional $20 million to provide signing bonuses that we can recruit even more officers to the sunshine state. that helps their police officers and others achieve their dreams of homeownership. we have created the hometown heroes program. recipients of this program

include detective frank jones who is here with us today. stand up, frank. [applause] in 2020 when we saw a lot of places try to defund the police detective jones moved from chicago to call your county to work in a state or he knew his efforts would be respected and supported. thanks to our hometown heroes program detective jones was able to achieve his dream of homeownership. thanks to the leadership of president passidomo for record housing funding countless police officers as well as other staples in the community like teachers and nurses will now be able to live in the communities in which they serve. good job senator passidomo. [applause]

we are proud that our success to provide law and order but we still see the impacts of the open southern border that has made its way all the way to the state of florida. here today is brian ramos who is the victim of a hit-and-run that tragically also took the life of his friend at the age of 28. where are you? standup. [applause] [applause] the driver who ran over brian and niko was here illegally and when the suspect was arrested by the florida highway patrol they found that he had been previously deported three times and had no right at all to be in this country. if the federal government had simply done its job this would not have happened in the first place. also here today is paula

frederick, the mother of amy frederick, who was killed by fentanyl at just 25 years old. fentanyl that has undoubtedly been trafficked across our southern border. we are sorry for your loss and unfortunately this is a loss that is all too common throughout these united states of america. .. we are doing everything we can to about the scourge of the fentanyl epidemic. so god bless you, thank you. [applause] [applause] 's we cannot just sit idly by what we continued to see a

massive invasion across this country. the federal government is not doing anything to stop this. we eat, and florida, are picking up the slack we have now sent over wonder florida state troopers and dozens of fish and wildlife service officers to help texas with border operations through your support we have vanda sanctuary cities and we have also instituted policies to deter illegal immigration into our state in the first place it. the biden border crisis has made every state a border state and thanks to your efforts, florida is fighting back on behalf of our people. [applause] [applause] florida is also the preparation stage. last year hundreds of floridians had their homes destroyed or rendered uninhabitable by hurricane idalia.

we rallied resources to the bennett bend region before, during, after the powerful categories three storm made landfall. under my direction nearly 30,000 utility linemen were strange for preparation for the storm and among thousands of first responders and national guard who prepared to respond. there were members of our newly reformed florida state guard that deployed for the first time since 1947. as a result of our preparations in less than one week 96% of a power was restored. a record for such a rural part of the statement we have michael prendergast. you can stand up and be recognized. we stood side-by-side with the sheriff in the immediate aftermath of the storm. we will continue to stand by the big bend the communities rebuild over these next weeks, months, and years. [applause] and as the big ben recovers fron this past year storm, we still remain focus on the long-term

recovery that is still going on in southwest florida after hurricane ian. while the news and cameras have long since left we are still there to support residents like rachel pierce a sanibel based artist whose art gallery was destroyed by the storm. rachel, thank you for coming here. [applause] after receiving a grant from the florida disaster fund just a few months ago, rachel was able to reopen her art gallery in november. congratulations, rachel. [applause] florida is also the conservation states. with your support we have made good on our promise to leave florida better than we found it as a fishing capitol of the world and under more than 1300 miles of renowned coastline the economic success is tied to a

healthy environment. since 2019 we have invested $5 billion to support everglades restoration and water quality efforts but i am calling for another $1.1 billion to continue these great efforts. much of our states the great outdoors is a way of life we must preserve that way of life for generations to come which is why i'm calling for $125 million to protect conservation land and waterways. while across the nation activists have attempted to take away our god-given right to hunt, fish come enjoy our great outdoors. in florida that we will continue to honor and protect those important predictor traditions. [applause] [applause] now, before i close it's worth pointing out some more

accomplishments we have been able to deliver. i got to run to these pretty quickly otherwise ability her all day. we have a protected floridians against covid authoritarianism. you have a right to breathe without someone putting a mask on your face appeared can always count on that and the free state of florida. [applause] [applause] we have expanded second amendment rights with the constitutional carry bill from session. we have a kneecap to a so-calleg environment social governance. we are not going to let these woke corporations impose radical policies on our citizenry. together we work and pass legislation to protect the sanctity of life. we have a band at china from buying land in the state of florida. note farmland, note land in the military bases, nothing. [applause]

[applause] we have provided hundreds of millions of dollars in relief for florida homeowners and instituted long needed reforms that have come against all odds, attracted new insurance companies into the state of florida. as a bill of rights chipper protect online privacy past the best election integrity measures and all of the united states of america. who could create a program to accelerate repayment of our state debt. we have protect against the position this digital currency. the pedophiles. [applause] back we have brought accountability and transparency to pharmacy middlemen to lower

drug costs for florida consumers. we won the fight finally. after years and years with the federal government to be able to purchase less expensive drugs from canada we will save 100 million plus dollars a year by doing that. [applause] recognizing we are a growing state we pass the moving florida forward initiative to dedicate $4 billion to accelerate road projects so we can alleviate traffic throughout the state of florida. and that is just scratching the surface of what we have accomplished. let's see other states and match that list of achievements it. i think you guys did very, very well. [applause]

>> just outside of this capitol building there it sits a replica of the liberty bell that rang inwhat is now known as independence hall while founding bollards signed the declaration of independence and later crafted the u.s. constitution. was scribed verse from leviticus. proclaim liberty throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof. the replica sits here in tallahassee. 1000 miles away from philadelphia at reminding us of our task. to proclaim liberty. here in the sunshine state good government that protects liberty and maintains public order. we have lawn the backing of a populace reflective of the country at large and we have put forth a blueprint of the revival that has instilled hope into the heart of it millions. it can emanate from the land once more. the spirit of 1776 represented by the liberty bell.

let's enact policies that focus on florida's future and that keep the faith with our nation's founding ideals. together we will keep florida free and provide hope for a revival of the american spirit throughout these united states. thank you, god bless you, best of luck in this legislative session. thank you so much. [cheering] [applause] since

2013.