this is about 25 minutes. [applause] >> mr. speaker, mr. president, ladies and gentlemen of the house and senate, thank you for that warm welcome. thank you for your friendship.

and your honest debate as we continue the dedicated path on improving our beloved state. i want to once again thank you on behalf of the citizens of the state for the commitment to public safety and the success we had just a few weeks ago making our state safe. you absolutely deserve to give yourself a round of applause and the great people of the state believe you have earned it. [applause] >> now, while we are off to a good start, know that those horrific crime statistics won't disappear overnight but you have proven to american that no state is more committed to making communities safe then you all -- than you also i truly thank you. while louisiana ranks 50th in crime, we are among the worst in education, 46 in education. and we won't fix crime if we don't fix our schools.

louisiana is failing our students and the statistics could not be more alarming. 70% of our fourth-graders cannot read and 80% of eighth graders cannot do basic math. we all know that the foundation of a good education comes down to teaching the basics. reading, writing, and math. like my son, jt, tells me, he said, what is the benefit to the student if he or she is not learning? that is the question a college student asked me about education and that is a fundamental question that we should start with. that is a question that parents keep asking. their frustration is boiling over. and it is what propelled many of you to this legislature. we cannot continue to be tone-deaf to the moms and dads who are working two jobs to pay for a decent education for their

child. they want to be free from the dangers of uncontrolled classrooms, free from the bureaucracy that prioritizes petty grievances above children in the classroom, and free from the indoctrination of the latest social radical cause. when we are done with this session, let us send a loud and clear message that the parent is the most important voice in a child's education. education. [applause] despite louisiana spending more per student than mississippi, than florida, spending more than texas and even more than alabama, our kids continue to fall behind. the need to transform the way louisiana educates our children should be bold and we should

just like we ask our kids to dream big. take for example florida. 20 years ago, the state of florida system was no better than louisiana's today. last year, it was ranked number one in education. how? they empowered parents. they challenged the system to do even better. in one educational generation, they became the inspiration for all other states to follow. the steps we need to take are simple. one, make all education lead to vocation. two, put parents back in control and let the money follow the child. [applause]

three, treat our teachers with respect and reward them when their students are successful. over the years we have taken small steps toward finding solutions and with us today are examples of how when we change, our students can succeed. with us today are kayla, anna, actually, -- ashley, amanda and ortega. stand up. [applause] remain standing for just a second. kayla and anya, raise your hand so they can see. kayla and anya attend a charter school. they will graduate not only with a high school diploma but with

an associate degree. an associates degree in line with the high demand and high earning occupations this state needs. they have been educated for success because their charter school allowed them the flexibility so that their education will lead them to a vocation. [applause] ashley, camilla, amanda, ortega, despite living in an underserved minority community, the attend a community christian school. they are an example that proves that school choice works. there school, their charter school has test scores 300 percent higher than the closest schools in their area.

[applause] finally, we are going to recognize our 2023 teacher of the year. kylie? there is kylie? did she not make it? she is up there. there she is. they're supposed to put you down here. kylie. [applause] now she is so brave she is willing to come down here and help us identify how we can remove barriers like the government mandates we place on our teachers that wastes their time and takes their focus off of the classroom so that finally teachers can teach.

i know you believe in our kids. we should trust their parents. but let's start matching our actions with those beliefs. now, we all know too well the stories of those who leave this state for better opportunities. it has been memorialized in our statistics year after year. every state in the south has accepted more people into their state than have left except for one. guess which one. louisiana. like me, you rose to public service because you were frustrated and tired of those stories. you were frustrated at the statistics that continue to place our beautiful and enchanting stay at the bottom of every metric of quality. we ran campaigns out of sadness,

anger and frustration. said because we -- sad because one of the cost of seeing loved ones continue to leave our state, the most uniquely blessed and colorful state for other opportunities. angry because we know we are better than the widely publicized statistics. and frustrated because we know the quality of our people. because we know the work ethic they possess. . we know their values. we know their families. and we know our friends. what i have appreciated is your sense of urgency. all of our problems can be solved if we will have the will and the capacity to deliberate fairly and honestly and arrive at solutions in the best interest of our citizens and our future. some may say we are going too

fast. but that is precisely what you do when you are behind. in the new industrial south, america's best corporations are fleeing states where they are overtaxed, overregulated and underappreciated. they are locating to friendlier states here in the south where people are eager to go to work each day and appreciate the opportunity of building a life for their family. as population growth continues in the south, this is our time. [applause] but we must act. we must act now to create a business friendly atmosphere at this pivotal moment in history. u.s. news and world report rank louisiana dead last in 2023 with our economy ranking 50th.

our occupational license structure is a prime x-acto -- prime example of how we make working in louisiana needlessly difficult. we were the sixth worst state in occupational licensing while we licensed 77 of 102 identified occupations. that is more than any other state in the country. i urge you to address universal occupational licensing reform and remove the barriers of employment in louisiana. [applause] it will make people feel welcome when they come back home. we are working to reorganize the louisiana department of economic development to the ideas -- economic of element. the ideas we will discuss with you are not mine. they are the product of listening to those who have seen

and felt the success of our southern neighbors. the committee of 100 utilized their own private dollars to research and report to us what is working in other states. that is what we will offer to you. for debate and discussion. we can and we will be competitive with other states by a limiting the burdensome and ineffective regulations and streamlining the economic development agencies so it can be competitive. never forget that our advantage is our people. most beautiful diversified skilled and energetic people on earth. they are too ready, willing and able to do the hard work. member as i said hospitality might have been invented in the south but it was perfected here in louisiana. let's showcase our people to this country.

[applause] the focus on the industries that have built estate. now, we are experiencing an insurance crisis. the results of back-to-back hurricanes that have decimated our southern coast. the storms have overwhelmed the insurance industry. the delay of getting claims fairly and thoroughly through the process have led to an unprecedented number that clogged our state and federal courts. many insurance companies have left us. those companies still writing insurance have raised rates to cover those losses. many homeowners and businesses cannot acquire the insurance in the current environment. leading to mortgage disqualifications, the threat of losing one's home, is in his

relocations or even as this failure. -- business relocations or even business failures. working tirelessly to find solutions that make louisiana attractive to the insurance market so more companies will come here. he believes and i agree with him that the deregulatory measures he is undertaking will improve the market conditions. there are several additional ideas and proposals before you this session to address this insurance crisis. i would urge you to listen carefully to these debates, read the bills and arrive at solutions that are fair to the consumer and will work for the companies that we need to attract here so they can ensure our people. while we continue the task of transitioning, each cabinet member has been instructed to

report to the commissioner on operational status of their departments along with recommendations and efficiencies at every level. their work includes looking for savings, innovations, much-needed exercise as we put a new focus on respecting our citizens tax dollars. though we are not -- we are -- we do not have access to the books until january. we have hard to craft a budget that rate sizes are state's finances. over the last year, federal spending during the pandemic has basically caused state budgets to become bloated and generated one-time tax revenue to their coffers. we need to be honest. with where we are and what we have been through financially. remember, government taxes, the

hard work and the sweat of our people and we should be mindful of the sacrifices they make to fund this government. we believe the proposed budget is a blueprint for you to use restraint common sense and necessary conservative money management. recognizing this, we are cautiously optimistic proceeding at -- basically proceeding in a way this coming fiscal year we will work so we are not reliant on further pandemic funds that come from the federal treasury. a possible half $1 billion shortage is forecast for 2025 according to your budget committee's five-year baseline projection. this forecast is a consequence of our economy, the phaseout of federal funds and the temporary

sales tax and our projected spending needs. as a result, our budgetary work we present to you a budget that spends $3 billion less than the state did last year. i ask you to work with me to develop innovative ways to empower our agency heads and all of state employees to identify efficiencies and cost savings in our ongoing operations. some of those savings might well be used on more important and immediate priorities without increasing the base spending and be available in future years to cope with potential shortfalls. we shall continue to work within the constitutional restraints to budget responsibly. now, speaking of the constitution, and constitutional parameters, it is time for us to

open the dialogue about reforming our bloated and outdated and antiquated and much abused state constitution. [applause] i appreciate that. i figured you would not upload for the budget. louisiana ranks among the longest of allstate constitutions having -- of all state concentrations having 72,000 words in it. and a less than 50 years the legislature has proposed over 300 amendments of which over 210 have been incorporated into the 1974 constitution should that is six per year -- into the 1974 --

of course francis remembers abraham lincoln. [laughter] one of the greatest legal minds in louisiana's history. wouldn't you agree? he had advised every governor from 1940 until his death in 2005. no person had more influence in hours in writing our current constitution. astoundingly, he could recite the entire state constitution. a friend of mine who was close

to him relayed a story to me . he said when they were staying together in new lawrence in 1983 when he was trying a case there. he and mr. gravelle every afternoon would get their daily exercise by walking from mr. gravelle's apartment on st. charles of a new down to audubon park. my friend would walk with him. one day, a friend asked him if he could really recite the louisiana constitution. before they had reached audubon park, mr. gravelle had recited it word for word including the 15 amendments that it had at that time. i will never forget that story because i think about it every time we talk about reforming the constitution. today mr. gravelle would have to walk from here to lafayette to recite it. every year, the people of

louisiana lose valuable time and money when they are asked to yet vote on another amendment to our state constitution. we ask them to act like lawmakers. we ask them to study and then to vote on ridiculously long and complicated ballots. we ask our people to act like the legal scholars and analyze complicated and arcane legal propositions. i for one do not believe this is a fair request of our citizens. and our voters. these are decisions that they elect you to handle. in order to best serve the interests of your constituents, this body needs more flexibility to address and correct the state's problems.

[applause] our current system of constitutional protectionism simply does not allow you the legislature to implement the needed change which often leaves solutions coming far too late. we can do better. we must do better. we will do better. so let's rise to that challenge. let's create a constitution that is streamlined and emblematic of the core principles that define who we are as a people. a people with the inclination, will and the capacity to send their very best and brightest to this capital each year to write the laws needed and to manage the state's business affairs. those great people need a

legislature that is unshackled from micromanaging inserted from special interests that help sway at random and obsolete moments in our time. let us place matters in their appropriate statutory contexts. i believe a new uncomplicated constitution reflective of our own nations is a bold but much-needed step toward making our state great. [applause] we are working hard and we are working with much conscientious speed as we possibly can to make this state better pit it has been -- to make the state better. it has been amazing to me. as governor i have had the

burden of part has an problems as effectively as possible. i want you to know i may not always get it right. we are not going to make the same mistake twice. i ask you to from us the shackles -- back at the beginning of this year i asked you to remove the shackles of a federal judge to rectify the congressional redistricting map for obvious time sensitive reasons. you rose to the occasion. he put party aside and you solved a lingering political problem. we next asked you to protest the foremost issue concerning our citizens and you courageously stepped up and demonstrated to the victims of crime across the state that their voice matters. today new problems and concerns moved to the forefront demanding attraction -- to manning

attention and action. i intend to work hard with you this session because your concerns are my concerns. your priorities are my priorities. your constituents are my constituents. that is why our administration is open to you day and night. together, i firmly believe we can improve our educational system. we can develop and redevelop our economy. we can lower our crime. we can safeguard our environment and bring meaningful and everlasting improvements to this beautiful state. let's run a government that now works for and not against the people of our great state. doug bless you. doug bless louisiana -- god bless you. god bless

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