JAMES
H. DOUGLAS
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GOVERNOR
State of
Vermont
OFFICE OF THE GOVERNOR
Governor Highlights Successes of Legislative
Session
For Immediate Release:
Saturday, May 3, 2008
Contact: Jason Gibbs
(802) 828-3333
Montpelier, Vt. -- In a brief adjournment address to the
Legislature today, Governor Jim Douglas highlighted the successes of the 2008
legislative session. The complete text of the Governor's address
follows.
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JAMES H.
DOUGLAS
GOVERNOR
State of Vermont
OFFICE OF THE GOVERNOR
Governor’s Adjournment Address
Saturday, May 03, 2008
SENATE
INTRO
Thank you
Lt. Governor Dubie for your steady leadership on so many important issues this
session; President Pro Tem Shumlin, and Minority Leader Doyle for your
leadership; and my heartfelt thanks to all of the members of this
body.
HOUSE
INTRO
Thank you
Madam Speaker, Majority Leader Partridge and Minority Leader Adams for your
leadership; and my heartfelt thanks to all the members of this body for your
work this session.
***
In January, I presented a series of proposals to achieve
prosperity through affordability and to rethink, revitalize and reform the way
our state addresses its most pressing challenges.
We understood
then, as we do now, that by making healthcare, homeownership and the tax
burden more affordable—and by making smart, targeted investments in job creation
and our natural environment—our families and our state will
prosper.
I am pleased to stand before you [this afternoon] to
thank you for working with me to deliver on our obligations to the people of
Vermont.
***
Together, we crafted a responsible, compassionate and
balanced budget. And we turned back
efforts to raise taxes on the already overburdened taxpayers of our state.
Our budget also reflects the principles I laid out in
January: It protects the most
vulnerable and invests in economic growth and job creation. In particular, I want to thank you for
agreeing to increase our investment in the Next Generation scholarships and
workforce training, and for restoring proposed cuts to the Building Bright
Futures early childhood education program and my mentoring initiative for
children.
We can be proud that this budget positions Vermont to
emerge from this national recession with a stronger, more resilient—and
therefore more prosperous—economy for the long term.
I caution, however, that by not making some of the most
difficult decisions there will be more significant budget challenges ahead. We will have to work together, in the
coming biennium, to manage to available revenues and increased pressures in
Medicaid and other areas of state government.
***
We have a robust transportation bill that invests $418
million into Vermont’s transportation infrastructure, emphasizes road and bridge
preservation and puts more Vermonters to work on projects all across
Vermont.
I was pleased to sign the Energy Efficiency and
Affordability Act of 2008 establishing an efficiency program to help homeowners
and businesses reduce fuel consumption and save money.
We passed health care legislation that makes additional
strides in improving the cost and quality of our health care system.
We can be proud of the bold steps we’ve taken to rethink
and reform our system of corrections.
We can be particularly proud of the emphasis we’ve put on preventing
domestic and sexual violence.
And I am pleased we were able to reach agreement on a
housing bill. While it took several
years to get to this point, and the bill does not go as far as I had hoped, it
will result in the creation of homes that otherwise would not be built and, most
importantly, that working families can afford. This is a step in the right
direction.
***
Going far beyond the success of these initiatives,
however, is your swift and diligent work on my Economic Growth Initiative. This package will create jobs and help
ensure Vermont emerges from this downturn with a stronger economy.
Your support for these efforts is appreciated—not just by
me, but also by all the people of Vermont who expect Montpelier to take all
responsible steps to strengthen the economy, provide relief from rising costs
and encourage job creation.
***
From the outset, we recognized we must be unyielding in
our commitment to the fiscal security of our state, the protection of Vermonters
who are struggling, and our investment in economic
growth.
We have made significant progress to improve the lives of
our fellow Vermonters, but there is more to do. We must, for example, redouble our
efforts to address rising healthcare costs and property
taxes.
Vermont must remain vigilant—we will not rest on our
laurels. We must resolve to take
whatever steps necessary to ensure we are the first state to emerge from this
economic downturn with a stronger, more innovative economy.
We’ve done it before—most recently in 2003—and we can do
it again. Thank you all very much,
indeed.
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