Office of Governor of State of New Mex : Governor Susana Martinez Delivers State of the State Address

Susana Martinez

Governor

Contact: Chris Sanchez [phone]

[e-mail]

State of New Mexico Office of the Governor

For Immediate Release Jan. 17, 2017

Governor Susana Martinez Delivers State of the State Address Santa Fe, NM - The following is the prepared text of the State of the State Address delivered by Governor Susana Martinez from the chamber of the New Mexico House of Representatives on January 17, 2017. Governor Susana Martinez: 2017 State of the State Speech

Lieutenant Governor; Senate President Pro Tempore; our new House Speaker; Democratic and Republican leaders; esteemed members of the New Mexico Legislature; honorable members of the judiciary; former New Mexico governors; tribal governors; distinguished guests; the State's first gentleman, my husband, Chuck Franco; my beautiful sister, Lettie and, my fellow New Mexicans.

It is an honor to join you for the State of the State Address and open this legislative session. Over the last six years, Republicans and Democrats have chosen to make tough decisions. We've resisted taking the easy way out. We resisted pursuing the false promise of quick fixes and feel- good gimmicks.

Instead, we have chosen to take on the status quo to challenge those who say New Mexico just can't compete.

We've bet on New Mexico's future. And that's why we've pursued reforms that we know are best in the long-run even though we may take political hits short-term.

We're seeing tens of thousands of new private sector jobs. Companies like Facebook and FedEx are choosing New Mexico, and our graduation rate is now at a record high.

We've done this in a bipartisan manner. And we've done it all in the face of extraordinary challenges: the largest structural deficit in state history, a federal government shutdown, federal budget cuts and sequestration that hit New Mexico harder than other states.

And now we face the steepest drop in oil and gas prices ever.

While these challenges are outside our control, we can control how we respond. Some want to use these challenges as an excuse to take the easy way out, or to devolve into partisan fighting.

But we're better than that. We've met challenges before in a bipartisan manner. And we can do it again.

But it will take courage.

One year ago, I warned about the impacts of lost oil and gas revenue.

And today, we're feeling the effects. Which is why last year, I ordered executive agencies to reduce spending and called lawmakers into a special session.

Unfortunately, during that special session, we didn't go far enough.

We know we can all do better than that, because we have in the past: pension reform, tax reform, unemployment insurance reform and Centennial Care to protect health care for the most vulnerable.

These weren't wins for the Governor or the legislature - for just Republicans or just Democrats - these were big wins for New Mexicans. And we can do it again.

We face another challenge, and we must once again make the tough decisions.

We all know the cause of the crisis. We've been at the mercy of the federal government and an unpredictable oil and gas market.

We are very proud of our labs, bases and our energy production, but we have been among the top five most dependent states on the federal government.

Oil and gas revenues make up a third of our budget. It's been this way for decades upon decades and we won't change it overnight. But we must continue diversifying our economy and restraining the size of government.

When sequestration hit, we got an up-close look at what can happen when we are too reliant on federal government spending, and now we're seeing it with oil and gas. In just a year and a half, oil prices dropped 71 percent.

That hit us hard.

In our highest energy-producing counties, Gross Receipts Tax revenue plummeted. At the same time, GRT rose in every other county.

We lost over 11,000 oil and gas jobs. Despite those losses, we added over 30,000 private sector jobs. That's a direct result of choosing reforms: jobs in manufacturing, high tech, finance and tourism.

Make no mistake about it.

We are diversifying our economy and laying a strong foundation for private-sector growth.

And we are weathering the storm far better than other oil and gas states. That's because we built strong, responsible budgets that did not grow government. And we held reserves over 10 percent.

When we fall on hard times, government should not expect a taxpayer-funded bailout.

Instead, it's on us to work together and find solutions. Let's make New Mexicans proud, just as we've done before, in how we spend their hard-earned money.

When we put political parties aside, we get a lot done.

Like our tax reforms, which closed loopholes and lowered the tax rates. We came together for a comprehensive jobs package.

And we created the state's first real closing fund to help local businesses grow and bring businesses to New Mexico.

We had a huge disagreement over the Unemployment Insurance System, but we came together and made sweeping reforms, to give businesses more transparency and predictability.

We passed pension reform, protected retirement for state employees, and resolved a $12 billion shortfall.

We funded bold education reform; passed stricter penalties on repeat DWI offenders; expanded Katie's law to collect DNA from felons; passed Jaydon's Law to give judges the entire criminal history of offenders; protected victims of sexual assault with Rachael's Law; and ended the dangerous practice of giving drivers' licenses to illegal immigrants.

We can address challenges while protecting the progress we've made.

Let's not take the easy way out.

There is a way forward without raising taxes on hard-working New Mexicans.

In my proposal, we've identified funds in idle accounts that can be swept. We can modernize the tax code, eliminate loopholes and make government smaller and more efficient.

And it takes us back to responsible reserve levels of 5 percent.

If we don't take the easy way out now, it will pay off for decades. We're rebuilding the foundation for economic growth, and it's working.

We've trained over 8,000 workers through the Job Training Incentive Program, also known as JTIP.

Through LEDA, we have added over 7,000 jobs and brought billions in investment with nearly 40 percent of those projects in rural New Mexico. For every $1 million of LEDA we spend, private businesses invest $16 million. And, when you take into account the construction, wages, taxes and other economic activity around new businesses, every LEDA dollar we spend brings back 20 and 30 times that.

Now is not the time to gut those reforms; not at a time when we are diversifying our economy. We are seeing home-grown companies expand, like Wildflower, Ideum and Skorpios

We are also bringing in amazing new companies too: like Safelite, Keter, PCM and yes, Facebook.

Facebook was a year in the making. It started with a trip to California to tell New Mexico's story and ended with a massive data center that will bring thousands of construction jobs, 50 high- paying jobs and $1.5 billion in private investment - with the potential for multiple phases creating more jobs and more investment.

This project will generate billions in economic activity for our state. And we have some more to announce very shortly - stay tuned.

I am so proud to be joined today by executives from companies that call New Mexico home. Like Barbara Baldwin of Dean Baldwin Aircraft Painting. Barbara and her husband Larry took over the Miami company in 1978. Larry ran the paint crews. Barbara did the books. In 1999, they expanded to Roswell where they now employ 130 people. Just last week, I joined them to celebrate an expansion of 70 new employees. LEDA is paying off for Roswell and helping Barbara grow her business.

Thank you, Barbara.