people the police.

we have a great state. to the family said loved ones, these great carolinians, we find our ... we are grateful for their service. [applause] we have once again with us tonight our first lady, my right, arson and you junior. my wife peggy, we will start with you,.

[applause] i appreciate that. [laughter] our son henry junior and his wife virginia. [applause] or 16 -month-old daughter and our granddaughter is at home daughter mary rogers enters husband sam is here. [applause] cameras from san francisco but they moved to charleston so it's okay. [applause] off their 19-year-old son is at home. i told those children we know

where those babies come from and we are waiting on some more. [laughter] no pressure. [laughter] lieutenant governor and her husband are here tonight. please stand and be recognized. [applause] finally, the best cabinet in the nation south carolina please stand and be recognized. [applause] 's if you're looking for the

a-team, there is right there. like to acknowledge supreme court independence tonight including chief justice retired after seven years, we look forward to working with our next chief justice. [applause] we thank you. mark. [applause] thank you. ladies and gentlemen, there's no higher honor on earth to be selected by people who know you best to serve in positions like this. i think you and i will not let you down. we will continue to act boldly, think they can building on our success. my question is the magnificent

state will look like in 100 years from now. our quality of life and cultural heritage in natural resources and prosperous economy make us unique and offer enormous opportunity. our economy in 2023 want to get created a record budget supports about $4 billion in capital investment in 120,000 jobs group 2022 was people with 10 billion in capital investments just since 2017 we've announced over 36.4 billion in new investments and 86000 new jobs. u.s. census bureau south carolina but the nation and population growth last year. also personal income growth rate

is second in the country third quarter, we are firing on all cylinders. [applause] south carolina tourism industry continues to drive in 2023 meeting exceeding record-breaking tourism growth. south carolina named as one of the top five golf destinations in the world invest in the country. according to the national association golf operator, the only state in the united states to make this list, this reputation was enhanced by the announcement of a new g8 tournament which will debut in

may joining parish tournament. since 1950, the track provided generations of fans with memories, breathtaking issues and a lifetime of stories to be told and retold. nascar cup races are south carolina's largest professional sporting events, 118 million economic impact in the state. you have to see it to believe it. [applause] once again charleston was named the number one city in the south in 2020. the number one city in the united states by travel for the

11th year in a row. [applause] number 1000 and the readers choice ranking best islands in america and readers digest magazine and the nicest place in america. in announce their confidence in our people by their substantial capital investment in 2023. if the leaders will be stand, who will respond when you are all pending. revitalized american brand next

generation truck rugged suv with a 2 billion-dollar investment in 4000 jobs president and ceo please stand. in charleston county, a corporation will invest more than 300 jobs for lithium hydroxide facility. mr. ken masters, please stand. stay standing. thank you. [applause] make the investment more than half a billion dollars and 300 jobs will produce rare earth permanent magnets and help secure the united states

pipeline for rare earth magnets only such facilities in the western hemisphere. please stand. in lawrence county, expanding operations for the growing and evolving mobility infrastructure with $500 million investment in 400 jobs vice president plant manager please stand. semiconductor manufacturing operations please stand. thank you. in richmond county.

to produce lithium ion battery materials with more than 300 new jobs the stand. family-owned beverage company will establish operations with $130 million investment and 103 new jobs. please stand. secretary of commerce and his remarkable team working around the clock to produce successors please stand.

[applause] we thank you all, you've made the right decisions in 2023 and we are going to boom again in 2024. how about power? we need power. south carolina national leader in advanced manufacturing and we are leading the way in the new innovative electric vehicle battery manufacturing. home to 4 million electric vehicle manufacturers. the nation's largest ev battery recycling facility and electric vehicle manufacturers supply chain. our leadership has displayed the south nexus advanced resilient

energy in the department of commerce this was developed in collaboration with research universities, technical colleges in savannah laboratory economic development nonprofits and businesses. this cooperative spirit in this one-stop shop to recruit and assist with electric vehicle manufacturing the state. resources and economic development working group. this coordinates the states energy stakeholders to ensure they have the energy necessary to meet the needs of our future. we know will need more, the

question is, how much power will south carolina need and how will it be produced and transmitted? recently xe mixes the most commerce economic development administration designation is one of the technology innovation post which allows this federal funding and over 400 applications south carolina was one of the 31 select is a federal hub and compete with federal grant funding annually. 15 million to support this and serves as the state match required for this competition. we are going to win and you will

love the story. the technical college there and we could hardly fit into the rooms. we explained exactly what we are doing because we already started this area of power. the we had to put together and we came back and got a call from secretary rolando in charge of the department of commerce.

a highly specialized training workforce of almost 20000 south carolinians and will need them soon. my executive budget recommends $50 million degree specialized ev training institutes at the technical college campuses which is the best technical college campus in the united states. let's talk about is for a moment. we've gotten where we are without them and we do not need to know. we are a right to work state, the lowest union membership in the country. carefully through education training and business recruitment to earn her record of prosperity and will continue to preserve and enhance it. our prosperity and generations of south carolinians to come

basic clear and present danger from the big labor unions they've crippled and distorted congress industries cities and other states. you are familiar, is taken years but they've managed to do it now their membership is at an all-time low so now they are looking at us and over southeastern states none of which want or need labor unions. in 2021 international law association sued the maritimes shipping carriers calling on charleston's state-of-the-art terminal. over the past two and a half years which darted as a secondary boycott to force the state courts authority see state jobs to union labor evolved into a broader threat to current and future prosperity. the claims are run by state

employees crossed over $10 million each and learn how to run and that's why we have state employees running those. the secondary boycott was an issue rejected and later resurrected by president biden's appointees on the national labor relations board. we've taken it all the way to the united states supreme court in the conduct and entire manufacturers are no longer the targets of labor organizers. along the coast now finds a target, too. it seems no business or employee

is safe from disingenuous campaigns of union infiltration. bargaining prosperity funding boycotts and pressure campaigns. will not let our state's economy suffer or become collateral damage and labor unions seek to consume new page numbers and who will not allow administrations growth union policies to chip away south carolina's interest. we will win this battle. [applause]

[applause] superior, we have the largest reserved balance in the lowest amount of general obligations and recommended for additional funds in the states rainy day fund. 54.3 million so maintains the balance of 1.6 million equal to 10% of general appropriations act. a few years ago south carolina had the highest personal income tax in the southeast and 12 highest in the nation. two years ago i found the law, the largest tax code in state history which will cut rates of 6% in the next few years.

dropping it from 6.46.3%. if future revenues allow to speed up income tax cut federal taxpayers keeping more. [applause] as we seek prosperity to expanding, we must be alert to remove obstacles. laws and regulations provide guidelines in the prosperity in the system provides guidelines and injury get roles on joint

liability entered developments of uncertainty and business arena and uncertainty is the enemy. provide accountability and compensation without damaging our economy and i know we can do it. words and judges who must ensure the public has confidence in our states judges. circumstances and events continue to raise questions is past time for accountability in the selection process which provides the bulk of our judges, over 300 and subject to the senate's advice and consent and instituted a new procedure to complete detailed applications

and dave confidentiality protections and authorize the release of records related to any attorney or judicial disciplinary seedings. this process aligns with processes by senate committees on statewide appointments on the government and by those of the judicial commission evaluating judicial candidate by the general assembly. south carolina is one of two states for the legislature chooses the judges election being unique in itself signifies good nor bad, is the process that counts.

rule of law is in our society and constitutional. we need judges to understand the structure as it is written as it returns issues and authorities in the states never granted to the federal government to begin with is essential the general assembly collect qualified intelligent who can analyze these questions raised with frequency and our state. to provide a separate and independent judiciary early on representing executive branch should play a role in selecting judicial candidates for the general assembly exercises authority.

it served our nation well in advance and sick consent of the state and inspire the confidence of our people and encourage attorneys to seek public service. state roads, bridges and highways in our prosperity and rapid growth outpacing capacities and 9000 bridges on primary and secondary roads.

some in a state of disrepair requiring restrictions for trucking, projects that are recommended 500 million from the exemption fund appropriated to the south carolina department of transportation emergency bridge replacement and repairs. this will keep us moving. after 30 years of service secretary of the south carolina department of transportation announced retirement. one of the greatest transportation secretaries in our state's history. allow the department to flourish under her leadership.

transformative infrastructure projects consistently delivering people south carolina and things the legacy of excellence in place the agency in a position for years to come. restoring the agency's finances and financial rotation and leading strategic ten year plan accelerating critical statewide projects. her ability to work within the department results infrastructure projects she's helped lead our state for a number of disasters including the floods of 2015 and hurricane fonts under her leadership and partnership. in a successful and reversal

during coastal evacuation. [applause] [applause] i ask again the question south carolina look like in 100 years and overstates and plan wisely, postings are gone, they are gone. lakes and marshes in the land for kings and queens of all

fertile and brimming with abundance, incomparable heritage distinguishing from others and strength and beauty we must never lose spirit the opposing objectives the must be balanced against the other and they are complementary intertwined and inseparable depend on the other to strengthen one is to strengthen the other. culturally and environmentally monuments, lands and waters, overcome by development management flooding and erosion, is our duty to preserve and protect our history, culture and environment and access to them

before they are lost forever. other organizations dedicated to these and you may remember the cautionary lyrics and you don't know what you got until it's gone. i'm recommending $33 million appropriated to identify preserve culturally or environmentally significant properties and provide disaster recovery efforts and nourishment projects along the coast. k-12 education is universal key to a prosperous and happy future. working together we must continue to invest in public education about the positive

impact of our investments, implement and 4k continues to grow 17437 children, public-school private school childcare and an additional 2500 children expected to enroll in the program and remove this increased. this program is increasing the number of children in kindergarten ready to learn your approximately 41% of children participate in a full day for-year-old kindergarten ready for kindergarten compared to 27% of children in poverty is not participated in the program. we know it works in its final

typical, we have to start with education right at the bottom and those young years. the south carolina board of education released results south carolina college and career ready assessment in reading and mathematics 22 -- 23. the first time in recent history at least half of the students in grades three through eight. this is good news but not enough. we must do more, we must continue to invest in early literacy and personal development and science of reading. if they cannot read, they cannot drive. this will ensure all children read on grade level by third grade. we know students who cannot read proficiently by third grade or

four times more likely to drop out of high school. ... in addition, , this executive budget provides $30 million for the education scholarship trust fund. starting this year these funds will allow low income parents to choose the type of education environment and construction that best suits their child's unique needs. regarding teachers, regarding teachers, we must continue our remarkable progress to raise teacher pay.

in school year year 2017-1e minimum starting salary for teaching south carolina was $30,113. that is not enough. today it is $42,500. that is not enough. my executive budget increases the starting pay for teachers to 45,000 for the next school year. my goal is that by 2026 the minimum starting salary of the teacher will be at least, at least $50,000. [applause] in school year 2017-18 the average teacher salary was 50,182, well below the southeastern average. the school year 2022-23 the southeastern average. the school year 2022-23 the average teacher salary was 57,000 737, exceeding the southeastern average which is a

15% increase over five years that is good news but again we need more. south carolina is also making significant progress in providing school-based mental health services to school aged children. in january 2022 i directed the department of health and human services to perform a comprehensive review and analysis of the school mental health services program at the department of mental health. within four months hhs produced a review of the program and seven recommendations for removing barriers to getting quality mental health services in our schools. these recommendations were enacted on july 1, 2022, and produced a public-private partnership that offered schools more choice and control in giving school-based mental health services for their students. health and human services also conducted a survey at the start of the current school year to

determine the availability of school-based mental health services in south carolina. the survey showed that the number of school-based mental health counselors available for public schools has doubled from 600 in january of 2022, to 1209 in september 2023. september 2023. the ratio was one counselor for 300 students and then. it is now one for 653 students. the survey also showed that students at more than 200 additional schools now have access to mental health counseling and that all 73 of our traditional school districts now have access to mental health counseling. let's speak about higher education. we also know that access and affordability to our education for every south carolinians is essential to ensuring that we have trained and skilled workforce to successfully compete for jobs and investment in the future and meet all

economic challenges. therefore, this marks the fifth year in a row that i've asked the general assembly to freeze college tuition for end-state students, , with an appropriatin to our institutions of higher education of $49.8 million. this represents a 4.5% increase as defined by .5% increase as defined by the higher education price index. i am also requesting $95 million in lottery funds to south carolina workforce industry need scholarships through the south carolina technical college system. despite the high demand for skills, training, and knowledge, many institutions across the nation are seeing declining enrollments. to address these challenges i have proposed funding for the education oversight committee, which is a nonpartisan committee composed of legislators, educators, and business representatives to oversee a systemic review of our states 33

public institutions of higher education. this study will provide a systemic review including an assessment of any advantages from consolidating schools are programs or reevaluate courses, degrees and certificates. the goal is to make sure we're meeting our state future workforce needs. also i propose providing $80 million so that every south carolinian who qualifies for federal need-based financial aid as measured by the federal pell grants have sufficient state financial assistance to attain any, any end-state public college, university, or technical college. students at private, independent, and historical black colleges and universities will receive an additional $20 million $20 million for tuition grants and assistance. recently we learned that could commission on higher education had approximately one and $51.7 million in $7 million in surplus

lottery funds that had not been used for college scholarships. my executive budget recommends allocating these excess funds for additional need-based grants or to pay for an extra semester for life, hope or how metal fell scholarships. these one-time funds should be used to incentivize students to complete their undergraduate degree at enter the workforce as soon as possible. my executive budget also provides $44 million for preferred maintenance and health and safety upgrades at our four-year comprehensive institutions, to your branch campuses of universal south carolina, and our technical colleges. in addition i'm opposing $34 million appropriation dollars appropriation for campus infrastructure resiliency at the medical university of south carolina, a second $70 million installment for the college of veterinary medicine at clemson university, and a $35 million investment dollars investment

for the health sciences campus of the university of south carolina. my executive budget also proposes $1 million for operations and security for the anne frank center and $1 million for the center of civil rights history and research, both at usc. our center on college street inversion south carolina the anne frank center is one of four in the world and is the only one in north america. and finally for education, i propose continued funding of $20 million for the mattel alliance, a collaborative nuclear sciences research partnership between the universe of south carolina, clemson university, south carolina state university, all as full partners with the savannah river national laboratory also. truly, we must have the strongest commitment to education we can muster if we're going to succeed. turning to mental health, our

covid-19 experience revealed that he mental health crisis existed in south carolina. we knew we had problems. he just wasn't clear how bad it was. that's why two years ago i directed health and human services director robby kerr to initiate an immediate review of our states behavioral health funding and delivery system. it became clear from the directors efforts that the time it come to modernize and restructure south carolina's seibold healthcare delivery agencies, the department of mental health, the department of health and human services, the department of health and environmental control, and others. the restructuring of these agencies is and will continue to be a complicated legal and financial endeavor, involving billions of dollars in federal funding that flow through these agencies for myriad of services and programs such as medicaid. last year my executive budget

and the general appropriations act directed the department of administration to purchase a professional expertise necessary to analyze and provide the general assembly with a comprehensive plan to restructure these agencies, consolidating and privatizing services where possible. the prestigious boston consulting group was hired and has provided their initial report. unfortunately, their analysis confirmed what many of us had feared, and much worse. according to the report, south carolina has the most fragmented health and human service delivery system in the nation. as a result, for example, 77% of our states young people with major depressive episodes do not receive mental health treatment, according to the organization mental health america.

this ranks lowest in the country. our citizens and families are suffering as a result of this dysfunction. with little to no coordination between the relevant agencies, south carolinians seeking assistance are forced to navigate through a confusing landscape of offices, agencies, and officials as they seek help for a loved one or dependent. too often the fault of the cracks of a system that does not coordinate, communicate or collaborate. and that is not acceptable in our state, ladies and gentlemen. the time is come for dramatic restructuring. for the consolidation and streamlining of these agencies into one single cabinet agency. one that will develop a strategic plan and operational approach to improve the quality, accountability and delivery of health and human services to the citizens of our state, as the boston consulting group has

recommended. this will require us to reimagine how our state provides access to crisis mental health care, physical health care, substance services, disability and special needs and services and assistance to the elderly and at risk. i implore you, ladies and gentlemen, let this legislative session be remembered for the creation of the most effective, efficient and professional health and human service delivery system in our state's history. turning to law enforcement, our state law enforcement and criminal justice agencies have begun to stem the tide of personnel loss which recruitment and retention pays provided in the two previous general appropriation acts. i propose that that we build on this success providing an additional $17.8 million recruitment and retention pay

raises in fiscal year 2024-25. invaluable experience should not be allowed to walk out the door. i'm also again proposing a $2000 state income tax credit for every active law enforcement officer, firefighter, first responder and emergency medical technician employed by a public entity. additionally, this budget maintains a proviso does spending the $10,000 requirement cap for anyone enrolled in the police officer retirement system. this will allow retired officers to return to work in clear existing vacancies. ladies and gentlemen, placing an noncertified school resource officer in every school in every county all day every day has been one of my top priorities. some of yours as well. at my request the general assembly has begun providing funds to hire more resource officers for our states 1284

schools. this grant program has been very successful and has more than double the number of officers assigned to a school going from 416-2018, 1109 in 2023 year i recommending an additional 13.4 million to add officers in each of the remaining 175 schools which currently do not have an assigned state resources officer. that is an armed, trained resource officer. another subject, animal fighting. especially dogfighting. especially dogfighting. you seen some, you've heard about it. it's one of the cruelest criminal activities in our society. law offices estimate most of the people participating in this barbaric activity have long criminal records. some shares have told that if they could locate a fight at the net over everybody there, they

would catch half the criminals in the county. in september 2022 a sled agent was dedicated to combating animal fighting and work in collaboration with federal law enforcement officers and agencies. sure either after this agent help execute one of the and echo, because takedowns of the dogfighting operation in south carolina history, end quote, according to u.s. attorney's office. this executive budget expands upon the success by recommending 566 ---$56,000 to hire three additional slip agents dedicated, dedicated to animal fighting. in july 2022 south carolina department of corrections again utilizing a process that allows mobile phone providers to permanently disable contraband phones and devices. they are detected by certified contraband interdiction system approved by the federal

communications commission. to date, over 875 phones and devices have been disabled at the correctional institution of them. my executive budget recommends 23 million more dollars to expand this valuable program each person in our state. let's talk about our revolving door. law enforcement officers know who the repeat criminals are. they know that they commit over 80% of the crimes. unfortunately, this is happening every day. people ask and i ask how long are we going to allow this to happen? law enforcement needs her help. they need stronger loss to keep illegal guns out of the hands of criminals and juveniles. and they need new laws to close the revolving door and keep career criminals behind bars and not out on bond. currently there are no graduated criminal penalties for illegal gun possession in state law.

that means the penalty is the same, small, no matter how many times the criminal gets caught. this provides no deterrent. graduated felony penalties with no bond help keep repeat criminals behind bars and not out on bail where they can and will commit more crimes during the last year i continue to call on this general a simile to act, take the vote, has graduated criminal penalties for illegal gun possession so that i can signed into law. and during this last year and is becoming almost daily occurrence for innocent south carolinians to be shot for shot at by a career criminal who should be behind bars instead of roaming the streets with virtual impunity. ladies and gentlemen, this new law, this new law will require no, no money. we have to do is vote yes.

the only money would be whatever it costs to feed these killers while the rest peacefully behind bars, and i believe we can afford that. law enforcement, very important in south carolina. i believe we have the best law enforcement establishment in the whole country. joining us today if south carolina patrol lance corporal fraser. where is lance corporal fraser? [applause] >> corporal, stay standing and your wife, too. of what you ought to look at this man. around 3:30 a.m. on april 16,

2023, trooper fraser was on duty and initiated a traffic stop after witnessing a vehicle traveling at a high rate of speed on highway 78 in bamberg county. think for a moment, these officers get on in the morning and put on a bulletproof vest that doesn't cover everything. as a bamberg county shows deputy director says, trooper fraser was shot by the suspect. what happened was he stopped the car, got the license come with back to check it out, saw that there was a wart out for the man so he was returning to the car. but as a return and other deputy was joining him or just writing, the man in the car pulled up his pistol and shot him in the face. well, those officers returned

fire as a suspect sped away. you seen the video, corporal fraser was lying on the ground calling in information about the vehicle while he was bleeding on the ground and firing to try to stop the vehicle, all at one time. following a a long chase, the suspect crashed into home in branch bill. video from the body and dash cameras are hard to watch as i mentioned. trooper frasers professionalism and composure while under fire and getting shot in the face was remarkable. he embodies the best of the highway patrol, and south carolina law enforcement. ladies and gentlemen, the gun, again that was used to shoot this man, according to the state law enforcement division is a stolen gun. the essay the? derek edwards gathers, according to sled, was a repeat offender

for 22 years that he was repeatedly breaking the criminal law and getting arrested. he was out on bond on charges in the state of georgia his long rap sheet includes numerous charges and convictions for trespass, robbery, assault and battery, dealing drugs, rape, criminal sexual conduct, and seven charges for criminal possession of a firearm. this career criminal should of been behind bars and not behind the wheel of a car in south carolina. we are thankful that trooper fraser is here with us. but ladies and gentlemen, we cannot continue to ask the best law enforcement officers in the country who risk their lives every year to go out and protect us while they are vulnerable to a assault by career criminals who we know my name, rank, serial number and crime. trooper fraser, please stand up high and let us thank you again.

[applause] [applause] >> thank you. so ladies and gentlemen, i ask you again, sending a bill with graduated criminal penalties for illegal gun possession. i will immediately signed into law. we will get these people off the streets behind bars where the ought to be so people and our children can be safe. [applause]

i've got a lot more i would like to say but i guess i will wrap it up. in closing, to the members of the general assembly, i say this. let us continue our successful partnership, one that has been based on communication, collaboration, and cooperation. let us continue to embrace civility and comedy through our thoughts, our deeds and words,, and urge our people, especially young people, to be proud of their state. this is the best place in the world to live, work and raise a family. and let us that our state on a course to provide the opportunity for prosperity, success, and happiness for generations of south carolinian carolinians. ladies and gentlemen, the best is yet to come. may god continue to bless america, and the great state of south carolina. thank you. [applause]

[applause]