Pursuant to Senate Rule 17 (5), Representative Roth added as a cosponsor of
Senate Bill
322
.
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By Patrick E. Fuller, chief clerk.
Mr. President:
I am directed to inform you that the Assembly has adopted and asks concurrence in:
Assembly Joint Resolution
66
Assembly Joint Resolution 66
Relating to: the life and public service of Norbert DeCleene.
By Representatives Nelson and Montgomery; cosponsored by Senators Cowles and Hansen.
Read and referred to committee on Senate Organization.
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President Risser appointed Senators Taylor and Fitzgerald to escort his excellency, the Governor, to the Joint Convention.
The Chair, with unanimous consent, asked that the Senate adjourn until Thursday, January 24, 2008, upon the rising of the Joint Convention.
The Chair, with unanimous consent, asked that the Senate recess for the purpose of awaiting the Governor's State of the State Address in Joint Convention in the Assembly Chambers at 7:00 P.M.
The Senate stood recessed.
6:35 P.M.
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The Senate proceeded in a body to the Assembly Chamber to meet in Joint Convention to receive the State of the State Message.
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Senate President Risser in the Chair.
The Committee to wait upon the Governor appeared with his excellency the Governor, who delivered his message as follows:
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“Speaker Huebsch, Speaker Pro Tem Gottlieb, President Risser, Majority Leader Decker, Constitutional Officers, Supreme Court Justices, tribal leaders, members of the Cabinet, distinguished guests, members of the Legislature, and fellow citizens of Wisconsin.
Tonight, our nation finds itself at a time of great uncertainty. America's economy is in deep turmoil. In just the last few days, markets around the world have plummeted and talk in Washington has turned from recovery to recession. Make no mistake: challenging days are ahead.
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But one thing is certain... In Wisconsin, we are hardworking people. And when challenges arise, we meet them head on.
...Passionate people who invent and innovate, who build and grow. ...People who enjoy life, who wear cheese on their head and who love the green and gold.
When they said American manufacturing was finished, we showed the world what quality was all about. We got leaner, more efficient, and today we're producing the highest quality products in the world.
When they said California would become the number one cheese producer, we modernized our dairy industry, captured new markets and today we're producing more cheese than ever.
When they said we could not compete with high tech industry, we invested in our universities, built new companies, and supported the best scientists in the world. Now we lead the nation in high tech research.
This is the promise of Wisconsin - our ability to transform challenge into opportunity; to face difficulties and overcome.
In Wisconsin, we've taken steps to prepare for a national economic downturn. We've cut spending, cut taxes, and deposited $50 million in a rainy day fund.
Jobs are up in Wisconsin. Exports are up. And from Uline in Pleasant Prairie to Logistics Health in La Crosse, we're attracting new companies and we now lead the Great Lakes in job creation.
But all signs show that America's economy is slowing, and all of us will be affected in the weeks and months ahead.
Many of the challenges we face today in Wisconsin can be traced to years of bad decision making in Washington. For nearly a decade our national government has failed to address major economic problems like loss of manufacturing jobs, spiraling health care costs, and our reliance on fossil fuels. For too long, Washington has ignored the growing trade deficit and a weakening U.S. dollar.
Today, we are reaping the consequences of Washington's failures. States across the country - from Florida to California, Minnesota to Arizona - all are facing budget deficits.
In Wisconsin we used conservative estimates from the Fiscal Bureau to develop our budget, but because of the national economic slowdown, we too will face a very difficult fiscal situation. We will have to delay some of the things we all agreed on. We will have to make deep cuts and hard sacrifices.
Tonight I stand before two houses of a Legislature each led by a different party. That is a source of strength and a source of weakness. Last year we saw gridlock and a budget that was four months delayed. But in the end we saw what was possible when we work together.
Together we made government leaner and focused on the priorities of the middle class. We cut bureaucracy by more than $200 million. We protected funding for education, for health care, for public safety. We made tough choices to strengthen our economy and make life in Wisconsin more affordable.
We raised the tax on cigarettes to reduce smoking, but we didn't raise income taxes ... didn't raise business taxes ... didn't raise sales taxes.
In fact, we cut taxes on health care, child care, and college education. We cut taxes for farmers and manufacturers. We ended the tax on social security, ended the tax on estates, and continued the tightest property tax limits in history. Over the last four years we've seen the property tax burden fall to its lowest level in more than two decades.
Yes, we have made real progress but there is still much more to do.
Tonight I am proud to report that even during these uncertain times, the State of Wisconsin is primed to meet the challenges ahead. We are ready to Grow Wisconsin...
It will take Democrats, Republicans and Independents working together.
It will take honesty with the people of this state about the problems we face.
It will take a willingness to look forward and see that our long term strength comes from a very basic belief that a strong, healthy middle class represents our best hope for a strong, healthy Wisconsin.
To get there, I present to you tonight the next step in my Grow Wisconsin strategy - real priorities to foster innovation, seize new energy opportunities, make health care more affordable and build an educated workforce ready to compete around the world.
Growing Wisconsin's Economy
It starts with investing in those things that offer the greatest promise for Wisconsin's long term economic growth, like expanding our high tech sector. Thanks to the ingenuity of innovators across the state, we're doing it.
Institutes for Discovery
Just last month ... not at Harvard, not in California, but at the University of Wisconsin, Dr. Jamie Thomson and other Wisconsin researchers embarked on the next frontier of stem cell research - using skin cells to create new stem cells that may one day save lives.
Please welcome Dr. Thomson. Because we kept politicians out of it, Wisconsin remains the world leader in stem cell research. Thank you Dr. Thomson and so many other Wisconsin researchers for helping Wisconsin lead the way.
In the coming months, we'll break ground on the Wisconsin Institutes for Discovery, a new research center that will enhance human health and enhance our economy. We'll bring biotechnology, nanotechnology, and information technology together to turn new discoveries into economic opportunity.
From research at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and the Medical College of Wisconsin to the NanoRite project in the Chippewa Valley and new facilities at the Marshfield Clinic, we're building economic engines in every corner of the state.
Research and Development
Research and development is what keeps Wisconsin at the forefront of the changing global marketplace. From the supercomputer to the outboard motor, Wisconsinites have always been committed to innovation. This commitment has changed our economy and changed our world. Today our universities and public institutions are global centers for research and development. We must drive private sector investment in R&D as well.
We can create an economy built around innovation if we work with Senator Kreitlow and Representatives Kleefisch, Sheridan, and Smith to encourage business to center their research and development operations in Wisconsin.
When a business increases its research and development by 25 percent, let's reward them dollar for dollar for what they invest beyond that.
Attracting Investment
In recent years Wisconsin's share of venture capital investment has doubled. Together we provided tax credits to leverage over $400 million in private venture capital investment by 2015. That's a great bang for our buck.
With the help of Senators Sullivan and Plale, and Representatives Strachota, Schilling, and Hintz we can take it to the next level to further accelerate new business in Wisconsin.
Businesses like Virent Energy Systems, led by Eric Apfelbach - this company is developing renewable fuel technology and could become the next Google or Microsoft.
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By helping kick start companies like Virent or reforming our capital gains tax to drive reinvestment in our state, we can unleash the entrepreneurial spirit of Wisconsin.
Next Generation Agriculture and Manufacturing
Wisconsin manufacturing and agriculture are the core of who we are. We must streamline regulation and make smart investments in the next generation of these industries.
Today we're producing more milk than we have in twenty years because we helped our dairy industry become more efficient. Let's work with Representatives Ott and Steinbrink and Senator Vinehout to do the same for our cheese makers, meat processors, and others.
Small and mid-size manufacturers like GenMet in Mequon have gone from 50 people and $3 million in sales to 80 people and $12 million in sales because they've maintained a commitment to quality and became more efficient. Let's continue our investments in lean manufacturing and work with Senators Lassa and Sullivan and Representatives Jeskewitz and Strachota to direct $85 million to strengthen Wisconsin manufacturers.
Minimum Wage
We've worked hard to create high-paying jobs, but we must provide opportunity for every Wisconsin worker. In my first term we raised the minimum wage after 8 years of inaction.
Legislators, it is time to do it again. Imagine trying to pay $3 a gallon for gasoline when you're making $6.50 an hour. Imagine trying to clothe your children, pay for college, or buy your groceries on $260 a week before taxes. We can do better. We must do better.
Wisconsin's minimum wage now ranks 40th in the nation. Let's support Majority Leader Decker's efforts to raise the minimum wage to help nearly 230,000 Wisconsin families who are trying to get ahead.
Creating Renewable Energy
We have set Wisconsin on the right course to seize new economic opportunities and lead our nation's response to one of the most critical challenges of our time...
Our addiction to foreign oil is compromising our national security, paralyzing our economy, and melting the polar ice caps.
The global threat of climate change is undeniable. Temperatures across the Northern Hemisphere have reached their warmest point in over two thousand years.
A barrel of oil has topped $100...and just look at the price of gasoline at the pump - nearly double what it was just five years ago.
The oil companies don't care. They're making the biggest profits in history.
Our country is sending over a billion dollars a week in oil payments to the Middle East. Just imagine if we were investing that kind of money right here in Wisconsin.
Energy Accomplishments
I've said it before and I'll say it again - we should depend more on the Midwest and less on the Mideast, and today we are.
Since I became Governor, we've worked together to increase production of Wisconsin-made ethanol from zero gallons to half a billion gallons per year.
Last fall, I brought governors from across the Midwest together in Milwaukee to chart a new energy direction for our region and our world.
At the University of Wisconsin-Madison we are launching the Great Lakes BioEnergy Research Center bringing together researchers from five other universities across the country.
Our nation's dependence on foreign oil must end, but drilling our way out of this crisis is not the answer. We must invent and innovate our way to a cleaner, safer energy future.
...and tonight, from generating wind power in Fond du Lac to harnessing the power of biomass in Rice Lake, Wisconsin is ready to lead the way.
