Markers Transcript
 
00:00:23>>thank you thank you you can
really tell when you are in
00:00:40your last term ladies and
gentlemen it is my honor at
00:00:49this time to call the House of
Representatives to order and
00:00:55to also introduce to you the
Presient of the Senate, a good
00:01:01friend, a great leader, and
one I am honored to be with
00:01:06this evening ladies and
gentlemen President of the
00:01:10Senate
>>thank you thank you
00:01:37the memeber of the House and
Senate will assemble and take
00:01:39their seats I think they have
done that is there a quorum of
00:01:43the Senate President the Chair
recognizes President Pro tem
00:01:46Senator Widener is there a
quorum of the House President
00:01:54the Chair recognizes Speaker
Pro tem Representative Huffman
00:01:58>>Mr. President a quorum of
the House is present
00:02:04>>thank they did
do a good job didn't
00:02:17they studied those lines all
day a quorum of the 130th
00:02:30General Assembly being present
this Joint Convention will
00:02:34come to order I invite
everyone to please stand for
00:02:41the presentation of the colors
by the Allen County Sheriff's
00:02:42Honor Guard and remain
standing after the posting of
00:02:47the colors for the Pledge of
Allegiance Please join me in
00:03:55the Pledge of Allegiance, I
pledge Allegiance to Flag of
00:03:58The United States of America
under which it stands one
00:04:03Nation under God indivisible
with liberty and justice for
00:04:07all thank you gentlemen and
please give a round of
00:04:48applause for these fine
Sheriff Deputies and all the
00:04:50men and women who serve we are
truly fortunate to be served
00:05:04by such great men and women in
our law enforcement and public
00:05:06safety communities as well as
all of those who serve us in
00:05:09the Military please be seated
ladies and gentelmen it is my
00:05:21distinct honor to present the
Governor of the great state of
00:05:26Ohio John Kasich ladies and
gentelmen Governor John Kasich
00:08:02>>Thank you. Thank you, Mr.
President. Thank you, Mr.
00:08:06Speaker. Thank you, members
and colleagues from the
00:08:08General Assembly, members of
my Cabinet, the great people
00:08:12of Lima. We love the way you
welcomed all of us here today.
00:08:17Am I right, Members of the
General Assembly? And, of
00:08:25course, my wife, Karen Kasich.
Sweetie, would you stand and
00:08:36say hi? I believe that jobs
are our greatest moral
00:08:39purpose. And when I say it, I
have a couple of thoughts in
00:08:45my head, a couple of videos
that run through my mind.
00:08:51Think of a dad who goes home
one day. Mom's at the dinner
00:08:55table. Maybe she just got home
from work. Kids are gathered
00:08:59around. Dad says to the
family, "I've got some news
00:09:05for you. I lost my job today".
Maybe the kids don't all
00:09:14understand it. Maybe one of
them begins to cry. Think
00:09:20about the mom. Single mom, dad
ran out on her, two or three
00:09:31kids, struggling every day,
she hears word of layoffs. She
00:09:35says, "How am I going to make
it?" She doesn't tell the
00:09:38kids. Let's switch that
picture just for a moment put
00:09:45that same family at that
table, and dad comes home, and
00:09:51he sits with his family. Says,
"Honey, kids, I got a job
00:09:58today". And the kids start to
squeal and clap. Or the single
00:10:06mom who gets the oldest
daughter and takes her up to
00:10:10her bedroom and said, "You
know, honey, I thought it
00:10:14looked pretty bad for us, but
I got a promotion. We're going
00:10:18to make more money. Things are
going to be better for our
00:10:21family." That's what I think
about every day when I get up,
00:10:27and my mission has been to
create a growing economy that
00:10:33allows people to realize their
hopes and their dreams and
00:10:36their purposes. Because it's
through our work that some of
00:10:41our life has meaning. It's
about our mission. It's about
00:10:45the purposes that the Lord set
out for us. And my mission is
00:10:49not just to give some people
work. My mission is to make
00:10:52sure that everybody in our
state has the chance to
00:10:55realize their hopes and dreams
and that their families can do
00:11:00much better. Because it's not
good enough for some to do
00:11:03well while we leave others
behind. And so we must work
00:11:06every day to make sure that
everyone has a chance in Ohio.
00:11:13When I came into office, I
came in and built a team of
00:11:16really great people, including
Members of the Assembly that
00:11:20would put Ohio to work and
reclaim our rightful place in
00:11:22the United States of America
as one of the great states.
00:11:29Ladies and gentlemen, tonight
I can tell you with great
00:11:31confidence - we are succeeding
here in Ohio in turning our
00:11:35state around, and it is
fantastic. Today we are up
00:11:50120,400 jobs--120,400 families
that have a better life. We're
00:12:02number one-number one-in job
creation in the Midwest, and
00:12:07number six in job creation in
the United States of America.
00:12:22Our budget is balanced. In two
and a half years at the end of
00:12:25this fiscal year-this is
pretty breathtaking-we have
00:12:32gone from $ 0.89 in our rainy
day fund to a $1.9 billion
00:12:36surplus. And our credit
outlook has improved. When
00:12:49they downgraded countries all
over the world - in fact, even
00:12:51downgraded the United States
of America-Ohio's credit
00:12:56outlook has improved. And as
you know Lima and Allen
00:13:00County, right where we are
tonight, of course, are shinig
00:13:03examples of a community that
is coming back strong. Thanks
00:13:08to the hard work of the people
here, thanks to their
00:13:10creativity, and you've learned
about it today from
00:13:13manufacturing to advance
manufacturing, to the ability
00:13:16to move things through this
area because of their
00:13:19strategic location. We're
doing better here in Allen
00:13:24County. The unemployment rate
has fallen from 10.8 percent
00:13:29to 7 percent in the past two
years, and right here in Lima,
00:13:322,200 new private sector jobs
have been created. Lima is
00:13:40winning, and Ohio is winning.
This took a lot of effort; it
00:13:50took a special partnership
with you, the General
00:13:53Assembly. The first thing we
had to do was restore
00:13:58confidence and respect in our
state. I mean, we had to
00:14:00balance the budget. No more
smoke and mirrors. No more
00:14:03moving things around. We
needed to have a structural
00:14:07balance and it had to be done
for no other reason than
00:14:11common sense. Hey, folks, I
know many people have lost
00:14:15their way in Washington, D.C.,
but you can never spend more
00:14:21than what you take in.
Overtime, it makes no sense.
00:14:25If a state can't manage its
money-if it can't balance its
00:14:28budget-what can it manage? How
can people have confidence in
00:14:32it if we can't get the common
sense things right? Well, in
00:14:37the process of balancing this
budget, I hope you all note,
00:14:41we didn't just cut, we
re-engineered many of our
00:14:45programs. Thanks to the great
work of Greg Moody and John
00:14:50McCarthy, we reformed
Medicaid. For 25 years, this
00:14:55state wanted mom and dad to
have the resources to stay in
00:14:58their own homes if they were
able and not be forced into a
00:15:03nursing home - where they
could stay in their own homes,
00:15:05where they could be more
independent, more healthy,
00:15:09more independent at a much
lower cost. For 25 years, this
00:15:13was, this effort was made to
fix this. We did it, didn't
00:15:17we? We got it done. And now
mom and dad can stay in their
00:15:19own homes, and they can be
healthier and more
00:15:24independent. We won that
battle. We moved to coordinate
00:15:32care. You know, 4 percent of
Medicaid recipients drive over
00:15:3450 percent of the cost. Their
care was not coordinated. It
00:15:40didn't make much sense to
them. And you know how
00:15:43complicated it is for all of
us to be in a position to be
00:15:46able to understand health
care, and the ins and outs.
00:15:49We're now coordinating the
health care of that 4 percent
00:15:53so their care is not just
coordinated, but logical, and
00:15:56where they are healthier. And
the whole country now is
00:16:00looking at our program. We
have slowed the growth of
00:16:03Medicaid to 3.2 percent -
unthinkable in many places in
00:16:07this country - and we're now
one of the great leaders in
00:16:10the country for Medicaid
reform. Other states are
00:16:12looking at what we have done
in Ohio to not cut people off,
00:16:16not to reduce their benefits,
but to make the system work
00:16:21better. And that's the way you
move to balance a budget.
00:16:24We've also reengineered state
government. We've used the
00:16:26private sector techniques of
Six Sigma, Kaizen and many
00:16:31other reforms. Joe Testa -
over at the Tax Department -
00:16:37Joe figured out folks here in
Allen County and across the
00:16:40state who are watching, that
many businesses have been over
00:16:44paying their tax bill. And you
know what the government did?
00:16:48Never told them. Kept their
money in a drawer somewhere.
00:16:51Kept the secret from them
because after four years, that
00:16:55money became the property of
the state of Ohio. Well, Joe
00:16:59figured it out through his
team's efforts and we have
00:17:02returned millions of dollars
to over 3,500 businesses who
00:17:07had overpaid their taxes, and
Joe is just getting started.
00:17:10It is time that the government
treat the taxpayers with
00:17:12respect and help businesses
when they pay their bills.
00:17:27We've reduced the number of
state employees to the lowest
00:17:29level in 30 years, and you
know how we've done it?
00:17:32Teamwork. We don't need to
fill all the positions. We can
00:17:35get people to think
differently. We have a way to
00:17:38go on all that, but we're
making progress. And we needed
00:17:41to lower taxes, and we needed
to make our state more
00:17:47competitive. Ladies and
gentlemen, this is not
00:17:48ideology; this is just the way
the world works. You know, it
00:17:53is necessary to grow an
economy and to create jobs by
00:17:57reducing that income tax. I
just want you to know, I talk
00:18:02to these CEOs all the time - I
talk to them through in the
00:18:06state, and I talk to them
around the country, and not
00:18:09long ago, I talked to them in
other parts of the world - and
00:18:14when you tell them that you
are reducing taxes and
00:18:16reducing the taxes on income,
they get it. It sends a
00:18:19message and a signal that
Ohio's open for business. And
00:18:23at the same time we killed the
death tax. The driver behind
00:18:26that-Bill Batchelder. And you
know why? The heirs of our
00:18:33entrepreneurs - the owners of
these small businesses and our
00:18:35great small farmers - they
shouldn't have to sell the
00:18:37farm and sell the small
businesses to pay the death
00:18:41tax for their parents who
built something. They should
00:18:44be able to pass this on to
next generation. We also
00:18:57created JobsOhio because the
government agency that was
00:18:59created 50 years ago for the
purpose of business
00:19:02development, it became
antiquated and it became slow.
00:19:07You know, in the 21st century
you must move at the speed of
00:19:12business. You cannot move at
the speed of the statute. You
00:19:16must be out there every day
understanding what the job
00:19:19creators are saying, and
JobsOhio has allowed us to
00:19:23think about defining our
economy and, in fact, we are.
00:19:28Think about Ohio. When you
leave Ohio, you say to people,
00:19:30"what do they do in Ohio?"
Well, you know, they're all
00:19:32manufacturing. Well, we love
manufacturing or agriculture,
00:19:35we love farming, but JobsOhio
has led us begin to think
00:19:39about things like bio-health,
automotive, advanced
00:19:44manufacturing, polymers and
chemicals, financial services
00:19:49-- number two in property and
casualty in the country.
00:19:53IT-there's nothing that's
happening more exciting than
00:19:57in the area of IT. Aerospace,
where we're now beginning to
00:20:00work in the Dayton area
thinking about being able to
00:20:03fly unmanned vehicles. In the
area of agribusiness and, of
00:20:07course, energy, which has us
all excited, and logistics.
00:20:13You see, if you have many
different areas that you
00:20:14target, when one part of the
economy goes down, it doesn't
00:20:18mean it sinks your state. And
so JobsOhio has been able to
00:20:22work to diversify us and it's
clearly working. And now that
00:20:27we're funded, we think we're
even going to get more out of
00:20:30Jobs Ohio than we've seen so
far. We also moved directly in
00:20:35the direction of common sense
regulations. Mary Taylor-Mary,
00:20:38stand up-our Lieutenant
Governor of the State of Ohio.
00:20:48Mary's husband, Mary's husband
is a small businessman. He
00:20:51knows about the regulations
and how they can kill small
00:20:54businesses, particularly the
smallest businesses that are
00:20:57really fragile. Mary runs the
Common Sense Initiative. And
00:21:01let's just talk about our
philosophy in one area - - oil
00:21:06and gas. We believe in having
an environment where we can
00:21:08prosper the oil and gas
industry, but we also believe
00:21:12that in the process of doing
it, we cannot endanger people
00:21:16and we cannot endanger the
environment. And if you use
00:21:20common sense, you, in fact,
can protect the public safety.
00:21:23You, in fact, can protect the
environment and you can create
00:21:26jobs, and we are doing it in
Ohio. Thank you, Mary, for
00:21:29your efforts at bringing
common sense. For me, there
00:21:38was always something unique
about Ohio, something special.
00:21:41I can't help but smile when I
think about coming to Ohio as
00:21:48a kid, as a little boy, seeing
Cleveland. Cleveland rocks.
00:21:57Literally. Been to the Hall?
Lake Erie. Every time I fly up
00:22:03there, I look at that lake and
I say, boy, are we lucky to
00:22:05have that Lake Erie right here
in Ohio. We've got to take
00:22:08better care of it and we have
to tell people more about it.
00:22:13You know, I loved Ohio then,
but then my father took me to
00:22:16Columbus to visit Ohio State
University. A lot of dads, a
00:22:20lot of moms took their kids to
visit Ohio State. I fell in
00:22:25love. You know, I sensed
Ohio's excitement then, I felt
00:22:31its opportunity. I knew Ohio
was going to be my home, and
00:22:36nobody was going to drag me
away from this place because
00:22:39it's just so, so awesome. But,
folks, we have all seen our
00:22:44state drift over time. We've
seen it get old. We've seen it
00:22:49begin to misfire and fall
behind. But like a great old
00:22:53home, I knew Ohio could be
restored to its grandeur, to
00:22:59its greatness. You see, Ohio
is a land of hope and
00:23:02opportunity -- realize dreams
for our families. We're safe,
00:23:08we're friendly, we're filled
with the potential to pursue
00:23:11our passions. We take care of
our neighbors. You know, Ohio
00:23:17is a place where we can work,
contribute, build a better
00:23:20community. We can be a shining
example of how when people get
00:23:26together, they can get it
right. And not just for
00:23:30ourselves, but for our
children, of course, most
00:23:35especially. But, folks, the
rebuilding has to continue. We
00:23:39can't rest on our gains, we
haven't tapped all of our
00:23:41potential. There are too many
challenges that haven't been
00:23:45met and we move forward with
this vision in mind and
00:23:47therefore, we must continue to
build our economy, continue to
00:23:50build the new and exciting
21st -century jobs, and we
00:23:54must rebuild our roads, and
our highways, and our bridges.
00:23:57We must provide for our
children the opportunities
00:24:00that we all had. We need to
lift, we need to lift the
00:24:06poor, we need to lift the
beleaguered, and we need to
00:24:11have America follow us because
I think they're beginning to,
00:24:14and perhaps one day they may
even join us here in the great
00:24:17State of Ohio. This is our
vision, and our budget is the
00:24:30next step in that vision, but
I would ask all of you to keep
00:24:36your eyes focused on the
mountaintop. Don't get
00:24:39distracted or discouraged by
the twists or the turns or the
00:24:42detours along the road. I
really believe our legacy
00:24:47depends on what we do. You
know, Ohio is getting it right
00:24:52and it's being noticed. As
most of you know here and some
00:24:56that are watching may not
know, I recently traveled to
00:24:58Davos, Switzerland for the
World Economic Forum. I really
00:25:02wasn't that excited about
going until I got there
00:25:06because I had the chance to
meet with scores of job
00:25:10creators, CEOs. You know, they
all wanted to meet with me.
00:25:18And you know why? Because they
couldn't figure out why we
00:25:21were figuring it out. All over
the world, things aren't
00:25:25working. There's so much
dysfunction. There's so much
00:25:29falling apart, and they asked
me one simple thing: how are
00:25:35you getting these jobs
created? What are you folks
00:25:37doing in Ohio? And not only
that, they're saying how can
00:25:43you go from $0.89 to a $2
billion surplus, from $8
00:25:47billion in the hole to a
surplus? How is it happening?
00:25:50Because this is something we
have to pay attention to
00:25:52because we may want to come to
Ohio. It was so fantastic to
00:25:58be there and to be a person
that could represent everyone
00:26:02here. I wish you were all
there. Because we think some
00:26:06of them are going to come to
Ohio. We think we do have them
00:26:10excited because of the work
that all of us have done.
00:26:15Well, what do we do now?
Should we rest on our laurels?
00:26:20That's what most people think
when you pull out of the
00:26:22depths of where we were-just,
you know, kind of relax.
00:26:26Should we put the State on
cruise control? Oh, I got
00:26:29another one for you-why don't
we just spend the surplus?
00:26:32Things are good, just go ahead
and, you know, take your foot
00:26:34off the gas. Well, we're going
to keep our foot on the gas
00:26:40here in this Administration,
and we hope you will join us.
00:26:43And when we look at the great
companies around the world,
00:26:46companies that continue to
innovate, continue to embrace
00:26:49change, companies that have
leaders with vision-think
00:26:53about this, folks-the ones
that are the most exciting in
00:26:56the world today: Apple,
Cardinal Health, Amazon,
00:27:01Google, the Cleveland Clinic,
IBM, and right here in
00:27:06Northwest Ohio, Marathon.
These companies strive for
00:27:09change every day and the State
of Ohio must do it as well. We
00:27:12cannot rest on our laurels.
These companies--the companies
00:27:26don't fear big ideas. We must
not fear big ideas. We must
00:27:32embrace them. Oh, yeah, let's
debate them. And that's the
00:27:35fun part of being in the
government, debate them
00:27:38without the personal attack,
debate them on the merits, but
00:27:41embrace them, because at the
end of the day, big ideas, it
00:27:46will renew us, it will restore
our youth, it will give us
00:27:51excitement. We will have a
sprint in our step because big
00:27:55ideas renew people. The only
thing that can stop us, ladies
00:28:01and gentlemen, is the fear of
change, the fear of big ideas.
00:28:07Let's not go there. We're
starting to hit on all
00:28:11cylinders. Our program of
innovation and common sense
00:28:14policies, we believe, does
create success. Just like the
00:28:19first budget helped us to dig
out of the hole and set the
00:28:21stage for growth, this allows
us to shift into higher gear.
00:28:27Our budget is designed to come
together and create jobs and
00:28:31let's not forget, to provide
help for the most vulnerable.
00:28:35First and foremost, Ohio's
taxes are too high, and they
00:28:39are particularly punishing to
our small businesses. We
00:28:42punish our small businesses
with too high of taxes in our
00:28:45state. Flat out, end of story.
They are the engine s of job
00:28:55creation in our state. And let
me be clear, this is a
00:28:58comprehensive program to cut
taxes by $ 1.4 billion, and
00:29:03I'll talk about a few of the
specifics. We propose lowering
00:29:06the sales tax from five and a
half to five percent. We've
00:29:09also proposed broadening the
base. And we've done-and in
00:29:14doing so, we will be able to
provide a 50 percent tax cut
00:29:19to our small businesses, a 50
percent tax cut. For example,
00:29:24if a business has $40,000
worth of income, they will
00:29:29only pay taxes on $ 20,000.
What a shot in the arm. And
00:29:35remember something: these are
the people who create nearly
00:29:3850 percent of the jobs. You
know, when we think about job
00:29:42creation, we tend to think
about all the, the big
00:29:44companies, the big operators.
Over 50 percent of the jobs
00:29:50that are created in our state
and across our country are
00:29:53those small business people. A
50 percent tax cut for them
00:29:58will spur economic development
in our state and we have also
00:30:01proposed cutting the personal
income tax by 20 percent over
00:30:05the next three years. And look
around the country and see how
00:30:07many states are trying to wipe
out their income tax. Yeah,
00:30:12it's a race to see who can
create the best business
00:30:15climate. You know, and we did
all of this with the income
00:30:19tax to avoid driving some of
our best and brightest out of
00:30:23our state. And in case you
don't believe me, talk to your
00:30:26friends. See how many people
escape Ohio to go to a place
00:30:32where the taxes are lower. We
don't want to drive our best
00:30:35and brightest out of our
state. We don't want to drive
00:30:37them out because they take
their charity and their ideas
00:30:40and their innovation. We need
to stop it, and it will
00:30:44breathe new life into Ohio's
economy. You know, we've also
00:30:48proposed modernizing the
severance tax so that all Ohio
00:30:51can benefit from the oil and
gas discoveries in our state.
00:30:56I know many of you are
concerned about that. Since we
00:30:59started talking about it, I
think the amount of money
00:31:02invested in our state in our
reserves is about $4 billion.
00:31:08People are coming here. The
State of North Dakota has a
00:31:11severance tax of eight or nine
percent. They're exploding.
00:31:13They can't even find enough
worker s out there. The
00:31:16problem is oil companies only
pay two dimes of tax, 20
00:31:19cents, on a $90 barrel of oil.
It's not sustainable. And I
00:31:24want us to think about that.
What does it all mean? Well,
00:31:28maybe two business owners said
it best in regard to this
00:31:31program. Kathleen Dewey from
the Mt. Carmel Brewery in
00:31:34Cincinnati said, "These tax
cut s mean a lot to us. What
00:31:39means more to us at Mt. Carmel
Brewery Company is that our
00:31:43government is behind us." And
Cindy Woodward of Early
00:31:47Express in Dayton said, "the
real thing this means to me is
00:31:50it brings hope because we have
someone in power who cares
00:31:54about small business, who
understands that we are the
00:31:59engine that fuels the economy,
and I haven't felt that way in
00:32:03a while." Look at our tax cut
plan, and keep that family
00:32:07sitting around that table in
mind as we move forward on
00:32:09this issue. I'd like to talk
about another job creation
00:32:13program, our plan to improve
the infrastructure, our roads,
00:32:16our highway, our bridges.
We're within 600 miles of 60
00:32:19percent of the country. It is
an incredible economic
00:32:21advantage when I talk to CEO,
I said you want access to the
00:32:25North American market, you
want to be in Ohio. We've got
00:32:28the size, the skill, the
people, but we got the
00:32:32location. We can move things
so quickly through our state
00:32:36because we're improving our
infrastructure. You know, the
00:32:40fact is when you make things
here, you got to be able to
00:32:42move them. But here's the
problem. We have significant
00:32:46infrastructure needs. Under
the current system, we fall
00:32:48way short of funding those
needs. So we figured out a
00:32:52creative way to leverage one
of our great assets, the
00:32:55Turnpike. By bonding against
the tolls of the Ohio
00:32:58Turnpike, we're going to be
able to raise one and a half
00:33:02billion, and when combines
with other federal, state, and
00:33:05local funds, we will have $3
billion, $3 billion to fix our
00:33:10roads, our highways, and our
bridges. And we will bring
00:33:15some projects that were going
to be executed 20 years from
00:33:20now into a six-year window.
And at the same time we do all
00:33:25of that we estimate that this
will create a minimum of
00:33:2965,000 jobs for people who
help to rebuild our State.
00:33:44Folks, JobsOhio just went into
the market and did a bond deal
00:33:47at four percent money. Members
of the Legislature, we're
00:33:52going to debate all these
different things, let's try to
00:33:54move it as quickly as we can.
Because we have a window out
00:33:58there, we have a window out
there of cheap money. We got
00:34:02to go and get it, and as
quickly as we can move it. I
00:34:06know what's going on, I know
the debate about where's all
00:34:09the money going to be. You
know, we work through all this
00:34:11to make sure you get what you
expect, and we'll work
00:34:15together and we'll get it
done, and we'll capture some
00:34:18of that really good money to
help put people to work and
00:34:21make Ohio an even stronger
state. You know, in the 21st
00:34:25Century when we have job
opportunities, we need to make
00:34:28sure that we have the skills
to take advantage of them and
00:34:31nothing's more important than
our K-12 education system.
00:34:35We're going to reflect on the
school reforms that we've
00:34:38achieved before we get into
the details of what we're
00:34:40doing next. We enacted Third
Grade Reading Guarantee. I
00:34:45really want to thank you all
for that. Look, in my opinion,
00:34:48you can't have a kid that
can't read, a student that
00:34:51can't read at the third grade
level pushed to the fourth
00:34:54grade. You just can't do it.
Okay. Now, it's not good
00:35:06enough just go test them. You
got to start early. You got to
00:35:11make sure that they have the
skills starting, you know,
00:35:13pre-K, kindergarten, first,
second, third grade. We will
00:35:15intervene and we will help to
make sure these children can
00:35:20pass, can really have good
quality. Because, you know, in
00:35:23the early years, when you go
to school, a young child
00:35:26learns to read so that later
in their lives they can read
00:35:30to learn. And the studies
indicate that if a child does
00:35:35not have good reading skills
by the tenth grade, going to
00:35:39drop out. It's like going to a
country and not speaking the
00:35:43language. Thank you for what
you did on this. We also have
00:35:48created the A through F Report
Card, and also a building
00:35:51-by-building comparison. So,
look, not only do moms and
00:35:55dads know how their school's
doing, but also inside the
00:35:58school, school boards,
teachers, administrators. We
00:36:03can figure out where we're
strong and where we're weak,
00:36:05and then get about trying to
fix it. That's why we need
00:36:08this A through F. And I want
to thank the Legislature for
00:36:12giving it to us. And we
delayed it for a year because
00:36:15I thought your request was
reasonable, and so we're going
00:36:18to move forward with this
program, and we're going to
00:36:20monitor it, and I want to
thank you for what you have
00:36:22done there. We've also, of
course, expanded school choice
00:36:25for parents with children in
failing schools. And in our
00:36:29new budget, we have proposed
expanding school choice for
00:36:32kindergartners who live in
poverty. It is an expansion,
00:36:38this program, and we're
excited about it. We know
00:36:46about education. You got to
have it. It unlocks your
00:36:48future. You don't have it,
it's not going to work. You're
00:36:52going to fall behind. And you
think about GEDs and that's
00:36:55great, we've got to take care
of that problem, but we've got
00:36:58to have good education. We
have proposed a plan - I want
00:37:02to be clear about this, and I
will put this out so you can
00:37:05read it - we have proposed a
plan to help every boy and
00:37:09girl, regardless of where they
live. Our plan provides a
00:37:12total of $1.2 billion in new
funds over the next two years.
00:37:19That means that by the end of
the next budget cycle, Ohio
00:37:22will actually be providing our
K-12 system more in state aid
00:37:27than they received at the
height of the one-time federal
00:37:30stimulus money in 2011. That
is an unbelievable amount of
00:37:35money according to anybody's
calculation. When it comes to
00:37:45school funding, we have one
common sense guiding
00:37:48principal: Ohio must help
those schools that do not have
00:37:52the resources to help
themselves. Schools that are
00:37:56poor, or schools that have
growing student enrollment,
00:38:00they need more help than those
who are getting richer, or
00:38:03those that are getting smaller
in terms of student
00:38:06population. Every school
deserves help to meet the
00:38:11individual needs of its
students, because on top of
00:38:13the basic formula we know that
we've got to help schools who
00:38:16have children who are
disabled, students who are
00:38:19poor, students who are
learning to speak English,
00:38:24students who are gifted, or
students who have limited
00:38:27access to early childhood
programs. This school funding
00:38:31plan does all of this. Under
our plan, Ohio's poorest and
00:38:35urban districts get more money
than Ohio's wealthiest
00:38:40districts. They get a bigger
share of overall school
00:38:43funding than the wealthiest
districts. They also get more
00:38:46per pupil before funding
guarantees are factored in.
00:38:48Additionally, the poorest
schools in Ohio receive $1.1
00:38:51billion while the wealthiest
receive less than half of
00:38:57that. The very poorest
district will receive $7,500
00:39:03per pupil--$7,500 per pupil in
the very poorest district-and
00:39:08the wealthiest will receive
$110. It's an objective plan
00:39:17that applies equally to all
districts based on their
00:39:18property tax wealth and
residents' income, as well as
00:39:21the individual characteristics
of the students they serve.
00:39:25And most important, this is
driven by the needs of
00:39:29students, not by the needs of
adults. This is driven by the
00:39:33needs of students, not by the
needs of adults. The simple
00:39:38fact of the matter is- now,
this plan also guarantees that
00:39:48no school district will
receive less state formula
00:39:50funding than they did last
year. No one receives less,
00:39:55even if they have fewer
students or growing wealth.
00:40:02You see, we would believe it
would be destabilizing for
00:40:06schools to suddenly allocate
funds strictly by the formula
00:40:10where all dollars follow the
student. And districts only
00:40:14receive funding for the
students they are teaching.
00:40:19We're not moving on this now,
but we're in a period of
00:40:23transition, and over time,
Ohio must begin to look at
00:40:25this guaranteed funding to
find a way forward that
00:40:28delivers resources in the way
that helps our boys and girls
00:40:32the most. The simple fact of
the matter is we're going to
00:40:36have to work together to make
sure that we are moving our
00:40:40resources to those districts
that have unique students,
00:40:44that are not as wealthy-those
districts that do not have the
00:40:49population-we've got to do it
together, because the current
00:40:53system is not serving the boys
and girls in our state as
00:40:55effectively as we could be
doing it, but we're going to
00:40:58have to do it together. Also
critically important, we're
00:41:03giving a significant increase
to vocational education. And
00:41:07somewhere Jim Rhodes is
smiling. You know, he came up
00:41:19with the whole idea of
vocational education and
00:41:22somehow we got away from it.
We're going to give a 16
00:41:24percent increase to vocational
education. And we know
00:41:28this-look, if a student has a
passion to make things or do
00:41:31things, and doesn't want to
follow the traditional
00:41:33academic route, God bless
them. I like to say my plumber
00:41:38makes more than my lawyer.
Okay. The fact of the matter
00:41:41is, feed kids' passions.
Whatever they want to do, let
00:41:45them have it. If they want to
go home at 4 o'clock in the
00:41:49afternoon to work on a car,
let them work on the car in
00:41:52school, and teach them about
advertising because they're
00:41:54not going to sell their
services if they can't write
00:41:57English. Talk to them about
math because they're going to
00:42:00want to charge for the work
that they do, but don't cut
00:42:02them off from the possibility
of a two - year or four - year
00:42:05education. We're going beef up
the academics in those
00:42:08vocational schools so you can
have it all. Higher education.
00:42:25These community college
president s and four-year
00:42:26presidents, they're heroes.
You know, what they decided
00:42:29for the four-year schools that
only 50 percent of the money
00:42:34they get from the state to run
their operations will go to
00:42:37them upon a student's
graduation, not on enrollment,
00:42:43on graduation, because we want
kids to graduate. That is
00:42:45something they stuck their
necks out on. It would have
00:42:51been easy to try to say no, we
don't need to do that or come
00:42:54up with excuses. They're
saying when a child, a
00:42:56student, or an adult enters
our schools, our hallways, we
00:43:00want to make sure that they're
going to graduate. And the
00:43:04same is true for our community
colleges. When they go there,
00:43:07you get reimbursed on, on
completion of courses, not
00:43:10just walking in the door.
Because can you think of
00:43:15anything worse, two or three
years in a four-year school,
00:43:18huge debt, you quit. You got
big debt, got no job, got no
00:43:25certificate. It doesn't work.
And so these community
00:43:29colleges and university
presidents have stepped up and
00:43:33they have answered the bell.
You know, a lot of places in
00:43:37this country, they cut this
higher education. We love
00:43:40higher education. It is one of
the great assets for the state
00:43:45of Ohio, and I never talk to a
job creator where I don't
00:43:47stress the fact that our
colleges and universities can
00:43:50pinpoint and prepare our kids
for the 21st - century jobs.
00:43:55They need an amazing amount of
credit for what they have done
00:43:58and we are now leading the
country in stressing
00:43:59graduation over enrollment. It
is going to strength en the
00:44:03economy of the state of Ohio.
We got to integrate business
00:44:15with academics. I mean, this
is a big challenge and it's a
00:44:20big challenge worldwide. Some
countries get it better than
00:44:24others. Germany does a pretty
good job at this. America's
00:44:27floundered on this. You see,
if we can bring our business
00:44:31community, our job creators in
to K-12 and the two-year and
00:44:36the four-year schools and help
to design the curriculum and
00:44:41help to give people a view of
what it means to work in those
00:44:44different entities, we're
going to turn kids on for
00:44:47education. And it's all this
business of job training, and
00:44:50all of you in the General
Assembly, you get it. I
00:44:56appreciate and thank you for
your attention. I understand
00:44:57the first two bills of the
Ohio Senate are on job
00:45:01training. And we're going to
work on this day and night
00:45:04until we fully integrate it.
We are making great progress,
00:45:08but we have a way to go. And
it involves changing the
00:45:12culture of our state, changing
the culture of academia and
00:45:16convincing businesses that
working with us, we will
00:45:19produce the kind of worker
that can answer the bell in
00:45:21the 21st century. Thank you
for your work in this area,
00:45:24and we are going to stay on
it, and we're going to be
00:45:27aggressive and together, if
Ohio solves this problem of
00:45:32having skilled workers, it
will be another incredible
00:45:34arrow in the arsenal of what
we do to attract jobs and
00:45:38bring companies, not just
expand in Ohio, and not just
00:45:41somebody in Indiana, but
somebody that might even come
00:45:44from India. Let's do it
together. Okay? Let me remind
00:45:57you of my background. I was in
Congress for 18 years. Of
00:46:02those 18 years, I spent 10
years fighting to balance the
00:46:08budget. Tom Sawyer was there
during some of those years. I
00:46:14even worked against the
president of my own party when
00:46:18I thought he wasn't being
aggressive enough. It wasn't
00:46:21comfortable. But I felt we
needed to balance the federal
00:46:27budget. Because of all that
work I became Chairman of the
00:46:30House Budget Committee. Pretty
amazing. And in 1997, I was
00:46:35one of the architects of the
Balanced Budget Agreement, and
00:46:38our budget was truly balanced
for the first time since Neil
00:46:42Armstrong walked on the moon.
We had large surpluses, we
00:46:47paid down large amounts of the
publically - held debt, and we
00:46:51were growing jobs. It was
bipartisan. A lot of meetings,
00:46:59a lot of long hours, a lot of
yelling and shouting. We all
00:47:03kind of liked one another
though, respected one another.
00:47:07And we got it done. And I'm
proud of it. I understand
00:47:12programs like Medicaid and
Medicare. I worked on them. I
00:47:19understand the issues that are
involved in reforming Medicaid
00:47:23and Medicare. My staff helped
create some of the direction
00:47:30that we were going to fix some
of the problems. I know that
00:47:33Medicaid and Medicare have to
be transformed, there's no
00:47:37question. And transformed in
some ways along the lines of
00:47:39what we have done with
Medicaid in the State of Ohio.
00:47:45And when they finally, the
federal government, finally
00:47:47figures out how to begin to
solve the problems of Medicare
00:47:51and Medicaid, we will be ready
to navigate those changes. But
00:47:56in the meantime, while we're
waiting for answers, we should
00:48:03not shoot ourselves in the
foot and send our tax dollars
00:48:05to another state to be spent.
It is not fair to the
00:48:08taxpayers of the state of
Ohio, plain and simple,
00:48:14because if we don't do what we
should do on Medicaid, they'll
00:48:16be spending it in California.
You count on it. We have
00:48:27unprecedented opportunity to
bring 13 billion of Ohio's tax
00:48:32dollars back to Ohio to solve
our problem. Our money coming
00:48:36home to fix our problems. It's
a unique opportunity. We've
00:48:42never gotten our fair share.
Well, I think it makes sense
00:48:47to bring this money home. And
this money can provide health
00:48:52coverage for the poor, a great
number of them who are working
00:48:56poor individuals who make less
than $15,415. They can't
00:49:05afford health care. What are
we going to do, leave them out
00:49:10in the street, walk away from
them when we have a chance to
00:49:13help them? The program
provides a pathway for these
00:49:18individuals to get basic
health care from a doctor. You
00:49:21know where they get their
healthcare now? They get it in
00:49:24an emergency room. Try going
getting primary care health
00:49:27care in an emergency room.
First of all, it's not
00:49:31efficient, it's effective. It
costs everybody more money
00:49:34when they do that because the
emergency room's the highest
00:49:37cost operation you can get for
health care. And it's not fair
00:49:40for them because they don't
get healthier, so they're
00:49:42sicker and we pay for that as
well. We need to get them
00:49:46primary care basic coverage.
Furthermore, the federal
00:49:51government's going to end this
aid to hospitals that serve
00:49:54the uninsured right now. The
federal government's going to
00:49:57phase this out. You know what
this is going to do to rural
00:49:59hospitals? Do you know what
this is going to do to urban
00:50:01hospitals if we turn this
down? I come into Lima today,
00:50:03one of the first building s I
see is the big hospital up
00:50:06there. We don't want to take a
chance on wrecking that place.
00:50:11Going to make sure that
they're healthy, they're an
00:50:13integral part of our
community. You know, I'm not a
00:50:17supporter of Obamacare. We
rejected the federal
00:50:18government telling us to run
the state - run exchange. They
00:50:21didn't give us the flexibility
that would have been best for
00:50:24our state. Mary and I sat
down, we weren't going to go
00:50:25for that. Didn't make sense
for us. We - - I don't believe
00:50:29in the individual mandate. I
don't like a lot of the
00:50:32programs that are going to
drive insurance rates up. But
00:50:34in this case, extending
Medicaid benefits will help us
00:50:38on many levels, including the
positive impact this decision
00:50:43can have on the mentally ill,
and the addicted. Some of them
00:50:51live under bridges, some of
them live on streets, some of
00:50:56them are in our jails tonight.
One of the sheriffs that I was
00:51:02with the other day told a
story of a man whose life had
00:51:06gone really pretty perfectly.
He got sick, started living in
00:51:10the woods. He's now in the
jail. He wraps scriptures
00:51:15around his fingers to ward off
evil. The sheriff told me, he
00:51:21doesn't belong in our jails.
It's a chance to rebuild the
00:51:26safety net that we've all
wanted to since we have
00:51:29released people from, from
these mental hospitals. My
00:51:34personal faith in the lessons
I learned from the Good Book,
00:51:39they're like, run my life. I
mean, I'm serious, they're
00:51:45very important to me. Not just
on Sunday, but just about
00:51:49every day. I ve got to tell
you, I can't look at the
00:51:55disabled, I can't look at the
poor, I can't look at the
00:51:57mentally ill, I can't look at
the addicted and think we
00:51:59ought to ignore them. For
those that live in the shadows
00:52:02of life, those who are the
least among us, I will not
00:52:05accept the fact that the most
vulnerable in our state should
00:52:09be ignored. We can help them.
And I want all of you to think
00:52:12about this. I know it's
controversial. I just want to
00:52:27take you one place. One day
your son comes home, your
00:52:32daughter comes home, says,
mom, my brain's not working
00:52:36right - - put it in your
family. Put somebody that is
00:52:42in your family who becomes the
way ward child. They come home
00:52:48one day, they can't get a job
- - put it on your doorstep,
00:52:56and you'll understand how hard
it is. I respect the decision
00:52:58you're all going to make. I
know it's controversial, just
00:53:03please examine your conscious,
keep an open mind, and I think
00:53:07we can work and get there. I
sure hope so. You know, we're
00:53:09an administration that thinks
no one should be left behind.
00:53:12And, look, I think what's so
great is we're growing jobs,
00:53:14our economy is stronger, we're
running surpluses, our credit
00:53:17is up, we've got industries
thriving, but we're not
00:53:21ignoring the weak. Jim Buchy,
the Lord doesn't want us to
00:53:26ignore them. I want to thank
the Legislature for agreeing
00:53:31to mandate the autism coverage
for families. I called a lady
00:53:37right before we announced it.
She burst into tears, she was
00:53:41the Joan of Arc of fighting
for autism coverage. She made
00:53:45me cry. You know, these
families are under so much
00:53:50stress. They all play by the
rules, and they're hurting.
00:53:52They called it the Christmas
Miracle. Kevin, thank you.
00:53:59Where's the Mayor right here
thank you. They called it the
00:54:02Christmas Miracle, didn't
they? Thank you for helping
00:54:04the families who have children
with autism. They are better
00:54:07in the State of Ohio now
because of what the
00:54:10legislature has done. We gave
$ 5 million to the food banks
00:54:21to alleviate hunger. Oh, my
wife, God bless her. She goes
00:54:25to the Backpack Program, think
about this, on a Friday night,
00:54:29for kids who are embarrassed
to take food home on Friday
00:54:32night, stick the food in the
backpack. They go home and
00:54:36they can eat because when we
didn't do this, they went to
00:54:39school on Monday - - am I
right, Senator Lehner - - they
00:54:42went to school on Monday, they
couldn't learn. Five million
00:54:45dollars for food banks. Two
million dollars in that
00:54:49special grant for Children's
Hospital. I mean, what a great
00:54:52organization that is, and
they're working together all
00:54:54over the state. I think we
have the best Children's
00:54:56hospitals in the country, if
not the world. And I also want
00:54:59to tell you, I remember the
day we announced that, and the
00:55:01look on the parents' face,
these moms and dads who have
00:55:07the severely disabled
children, and you know what we
00:55:10did, we said your kid doesn't
have to work in a sheltered
00:55:13workshop, they can work in a
normal business setting. Oh,
00:55:17these moms and dads were so
excited. I'm just excited
00:55:23thinking about it. Last year
we gave Teresa Flores the
00:55:26Governor's Courage Award for
what she did on human
00:55:30trafficking. I want to thank
the Legislature. We passed a
00:55:31bipartisan comprehensive human
trafficking law. Thank you,
00:55:36Representative Fedor. And I'll
tell you, it's been only six
00:55:41months, there have been five
traffickers indicted in
00:55:45central Ohio alone. And we are
-- we're dedicated to
00:55:57surrounding the victims and
they're pretty awesome people.
00:55:59Again, my wife works with them
at the Catch Court in Franklin
00:56:04County. And these ladies, I'll
tell you, you ought to hear
00:56:06them talk, they're fantastic.
And some of you, the press was
00:56:10there over Christmas and I had
them tell their stories
00:56:14unannounced. They can heal and
they can have a chance, too.
00:56:16Big agenda, isn't it? A lot of
stuff here: turnpike, and
00:56:20higher ed, and K - 12, and tax
reform, and, wow, right, wow.
00:56:24I mean, things are happening
in Ohio. You may not like it
00:56:28all, but it's pretty cool and
look at the total picture.
00:56:31It's a big lift, it's a big
lift to get this done. And we
00:56:35need inspiration, and we get
it from people right here in
00:56:40our state. You know, I started
this Governor's Courage Awards
00:56:45I just love this thing to tell
you the truth - - because what
00:56:47it does is recognize a lot of
people that would never be
00:56:52recognized if we hadn't
created the awards. This year
00:56:55I hold up the example of
Wapakoneta's own Neil
00:57:01Armstrong, who's an
inspiration to all of us.
00:57:07Remember? Some of you are too
young in the Legislature, but
00:57:10remember, "One small step for
man, one giant leap for
00:57:14mankind." But what people will
tell you about Neil Armstrong,
00:57:20he never looked for the
limelight. He never wanted to
00:57:24get on the top of the mountain
and shout, you know, "look at
00:57:27me." I met him once. He was so
gentle. If you talked to his
00:57:30neighbors, he was just as good
a guy as you could ever find,
00:57:35and he had the gift of
humility. I think it was
00:57:38because he realized that even
though he walked on the moon,
00:57:42and it was so historic, he
stood on the shoulders of
00:57:45thousands of other people.
That's what he did. His sons,
00:57:50Rick and Mark, are here
tonight. And they are here to
00:57:54accept this award on the basis
of that fantastic achievement,
00:57:58but also on the basis of what
we can learn from a great
00:58:01man's humility. Please join me
in welcoming Rick and Mark,
00:58:06the sons of Neil Armstrong.
Well, this one, this is going
00:58:52to get you out of your chairs,
too. Sondra Williams, she
00:58:57spent a large portion of her
life being misdiagnosed and
00:59:00misunderstood. As an adult
with high - functioning autism
00:59:06she fought through the
uncertainty and the lack of
00:59:08understanding that surrounds
autism spectrum disorders, and
00:59:12established herself as an
advocate for the condition.
00:59:17Her mission has been to break
the mold of ignorance, to
00:59:19educate the public, and offer
guidance and support to those
00:59:22who are dealing with similar
struggles. She's not only
00:59:25talking the talk, but, you
know, she's walking the walk,
00:59:28let me tell you. She is
currently the Director of
00:59:33Autism, Research Institute's
Youth Division. She mentors
00:59:35young people who have as
autism and gives them hope and
00:59:38courage and strength. She's a
member of the OCALI Advisory
00:59:42Board, she's on the Autism
Society's panel of advisors,
00:59:47she's even an author. She
wrote a book called
00:59:49"Reflections of Self." This is
a special lady, ladies and
00:59:56gentlemen, and she's getting
the Governor's Courage Award
00:59:58for what she has done to serve
all of us and particularly
01:00:03those that have been in need
in the State of Ohio. Please
01:00:08welcome Sondra Williams. Later
this month, Ohio commemorates
01:01:00the first anniversary of a
school shooting that took the
01:01:06lives of three students and
injured three others in
01:01:09Chardon High School. I was
there for a couple of days.
01:01:19The principal, the
superintendent, the teachers,
01:01:21the guidance counselors, the
staff - - what a privilege for
01:01:27me to be able to have a chance
to spend time with them and
01:01:30learn from them. They're
unbelievable. It's not easy
01:01:36there, even today. It's still
tough. And they're trying to
01:01:42put the pieces back together.
Some of the pieces are gone.
01:01:49We know they're never going to
be quite the same. I went
01:01:54there and I could sit there
with them because as many of
01:02:01you have in this auditorium,
I've looked in the black hole.
01:02:07The tragic and sudden death of
my mother and father put me
01:02:10there, but I've healed. The
Lord's grace has healed me.
01:02:16And when I pray for this
great, incredible group of
01:02:23people, and when I think about
the staff and the students,
01:02:28some of whom are still
struggling, and I think about
01:02:30the people of Chardon, I pray
they're going to heal, they're
01:02:36going to heal. They're going
to because they are tough and
01:02:41compassionate and smart.
They're going to make it. But
01:02:46what courage they showed on
that fateful day, and what
01:02:52courage they have shown ever
since. It was appropriate to
01:03:02honor today, with the
Governor's Courage Award,
01:03:04those leaders, those staff
members who've worked day and
01:03:06night to bring peace, to bring
understanding to all the
01:03:12people of Chardon so that at
the end of the day, those
01:03:17killing s and that shooting
will not be lost in vain. It's
01:03:22going to make them somehow
through the tragedy better for
01:03:26it. But we will remember those
who have lost their lives and
01:03:30those who have been injured,
and we'll pray for them. But
01:03:35in the meantime, I'd like to
take a second to honor the
01:03:37great staff from Chardon High
School for their great work.
01:03:41How about all the winners?
Huh, how about all the
01:04:52winners? Ladies and Gentlemen,
we are in a transformational
01:04:57stage in Ohio. A lot of
Ohioans feel it. You know, we
01:05:05can debate the details, but we
can never lose sight of the
01:05:09vision. If we look around the
country, we see so much
01:05:11dysfunction, so much anger,
anger. I've been in politics a
01:05:20long time. I've been the
target of some this anger.
01:05:23I've got to tell you,
fortunately, it doesn't bother
01:05:25me, it just doesn't. Because
when you're about a mission,
01:05:32you don't get stuck by it. But
what does bother me is the
01:05:37tone we communicate to our
children, the tone we
01:05:43communicate to each other. Too
many people are losing faith
01:05:47in our government. They're
tired of the name calling and
01:05:51the personal attacks and the
partisanship, and I'm right
01:05:53and you're wrong, and that's
okay to have that debate. But
01:05:57it starts to get into name
calling and personal. Let me
01:06:03tell you something, the
public's sick of it. They
01:06:08reject it. You know, in, we
see it sometimes in Ohio, but
01:06:17all across America if anger,
vitriol, partisanship prevail,
01:06:22our children, our state, and
our country will continue to
01:06:28suffer. People never remember
positively those who tear
01:06:32down. Uh - huh, they don't.
I've been around a long time,
01:06:38folks. They don't remember
those who seek to destroy or
01:06:41tear down. Do you know who
they respect? Those who
01:06:45buildup. The builders are
what's remembered. People sent
01:06:52us here to solve problems and
improve their lives. That's
01:06:56why they sent us here. What a
unique opportunity that we
01:06:59have to do that. You know, I
walk outside the State Capital
01:07:04I can't wait till the
birds are chirping out there -
01:07:07- and I look over the north,
and I see a man in a hurry
01:07:12over there carrying a
briefcase, a big statue of a
01:07:15man carrying a briefcase who
was always in a hurry. He was
01:07:20one of Ohio's greatest men and
greatest problem solver s. His
01:07:23name was James A. Rhodes. I
knew him, he was something.
01:07:29You think I'm something with
all these things, you should
01:07:32have met him. He was a guy
always on the move. And then
01:07:36when I go in, you know, I go
up those escalators to where
01:07:39my office is located,
"pawdnah" is there -the big
01:07:45statue of Vern Riffe. Vern was
something, he was really
01:07:51something. And as I got older
and as he got older, we became
01:07:56friends. I got to know him
better and better and better.
01:08:00Rhodes and Riffe - - they
worked together, they solved
01:08:05the problems, and they built a
stronger Ohio. There have been
01:08:09times when we worked together.
Some don't like to think about
01:08:13it, but it's true. Collateral
sanctions where we're giving a
01:08:19person the chance to redeem
themselves and get work, a
01:08:21chance to redeem themselves
and have another chance.
01:08:26Cleveland Schools plan. Boy, I
haven't seen two groups of
01:08:31legislators work harder
together than that little
01:08:33group, that little cabal that
put that plan together in the
01:08:36House and the Senate, and
struggled. And I remember
01:08:40bursting into your office that
night, Bill Batchelder, and
01:08:42how excited everybody was
about that plan it's going
01:08:45to fix Cleveland in my
opinion. Human trafficking,
01:08:48I've mentioned. Sentencing
reform can't lock them up,
01:08:53can you, forever? Can't do it.
So we're giving them another
01:08:58chance there as well. And I
want to thank the prosecutors
01:09:02for working with us. And
JobsOhio, too. Who would have
01:09:04ever thought that at the
beginning of JobsOhio, that
01:09:08JobsOhio, too, would receive
bipartisan support. And the
01:09:12energy bill where we put the
regulations in place. Old Sean
01:09:14O'Brien, I mean, I got ta a
call, they said, well, O'Brien
01:09:17wants all these amendments. I
said, well, give them to him,
01:09:19let's pass the darn thing. And
we've got the best rules and
01:09:22regulations in the country on
fracking. You know, we've got
01:09:28to look for ways to work
together. If we do, we can
01:09:32reduce poverty, give
opportunity, we can grow jobs,
01:09:35we can educate our children.
And you know the great thing
01:09:41is, when they find out about
Ohio, when they come here and
01:09:43they spend the weekend, they
start thinking about moving
01:09:47here. And it's because we get
it right. If we unite and we
01:09:52stay together, nothing, but
nothing can stop us from
01:09:59becoming the greatest State in
the greatest country in the
01:10:05world. God bless you, God
bless Ohio, and God bless the
01:10:08United States of America.
>>we ask that
01:11:04you remain in your
seat for the retirement of the
01:11:08colors, color guard when you
are ready please join me in
01:13:00another round of applause the
Allen County Sheriff's
01:13:02Department Color Guard chair
recognizes President Pro tem
01:13:17Senator Widener with a motion
>>Mr. President, I move the
01:13:20Joint Convention be adjourned
>>without objection the Joint
01:13:23Convention is adjourned thank
Note : Transcripts are compiled from uncorrected captions