This joint assembly is convened pursuant to the provisions of J.R. S3, which the clerk will now read.

To Gns3 joint resolution to provide for a joint assembly to hear the inaugural message of the governor, resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives, that the two houses meet in joint Assembly on Thursday, January 9th, 2025 at 2:00 in the afternoon to receive the inaugural message of the governor.

Recess.

Madam Sergeant at arms.

With amendments.

You defeated the horse!

Filthy!

We.

Welcome.

Your first time here again.

We.

Will and.

Please remain standing while the State Police honor guard post the colors.

Of.

Those who.

Present and.

Please remain standing while some are booting of Fairfax.

Vermont sings our national anthem.

Oh, say, can you see.

By the dawn's early light.

What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's lights last gleaming.

Whose broad stripes and bright stars through the perilous fight.

O'er the ramparts we watched, watched.

Were so gallantly streaming.

And the rocket's red glare, the bombs bursting in air.

Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there.

Oh, say does that star spangled banner yet wave.

O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave.

Please remain standing while the State Police honor guard leaves the chamber.

Representative Kevin, coach Christie will now sing America the Beautiful.

Oh, beautiful.

For spacious skies.

For under way.

Waves of grain.

For Purple Mountain's majesty.

Above the fruited plain.

America, America.

God shed his grace on thee.

Uncrowned thy God with brotherhood from sea to shine ning sea.

Oh beautiful for patria.

Dream that sees beyond the years.

Thine, love, stir.

Cities gleam.

Undimmed by human tears.

America, America God shed his grace on thee.

And crown thy good with brotherhood from sea to shining sea.

The Chief Justice of the Vermont Supreme Court.

The Honorable Paul L Reiber.

And the governor's mom.

Marion will now come to the podium.

The Chief Justice will now administer the oath of office to the governor elect.

Governor, please raise your right hand and repeat after me.

I, Philip Scott, do solemnly swear.

I, Philip Scott, do solemnly swear I will be true and faithful to the state of Vermont.

I will be true and faithful to the state of Vermont.

And then I will not, directly or indirectly, I will not, or indirect, directly or indirectly, do any act or thing, do any active thing injurious to the Constitution, injurious to the Constitution or government thereof, or government thereof.

So help me God.

So help me God.

I do solemnly swear.

I do solemnly swear that I will support the Constitution.

That I will support the Constitution of the United States of the United States.

So help me God.

Help me God, I Phillippines God I, Philip Scott, do solemnly swear to solemnly swear that I will faithfully execute and I will faithfully execute the office of governor, the office of governor for the state of Vermont, for the state of Vermont, and will therein do equal right, and there will and therein do equal right and justice to all persons, justice for all persons, to the best of my judgment, to the best of my judgment and ability.

Ability according to law, according to the law.

So help me God.

Help me God.

Congratulations.

It is now my distinct honor to present to you the governor of the state of Vermont, the Honorable Philip B Scott.

Thank you.

Thank you.

It's.

A. Mr. president, madam speaker, Mr. Chief Justice, members of the General assembly, honored guests and fellow Vermonters.

I'm honored to have earned the trust and support of voters to serve once again as governor.

It's great to have former governors chairman Kunin and Douglas with us today.

And I just saw Governor Douglas leave.

How he said it was nothing personal, nothing to do with anything I'm about to say.

But he's got a flight to catch, so at least that's his story.

I'm not sure.

We'll see.

I want to thank my wife, Diana, my daughters, Erica and Rachel, my mom, my family and friends for their continued understanding of the day to day challenges and demands of this job.

And that goes for your families as well.

Public service is rewarding but consuming.

With a lot of time spent away from home.

This session, when our work gets difficult and the days grow longer, which they will, let's remember the hundreds of men and women in our National Guard who are away from their families and far from home.

A large number of them were deployed this past week.

In fact, last night I met with a group that was leaving and assured them we would do our very best to take care of their families while they focused on their mission.

We're joined today by General Night and other members of the guard, so I'd like to ask them, and anyone here who has served in the military to rise and be recognized.

And.

I also want to acknowledge former legislators we've lost over the last year, who I had the privilege of serving with over my 24 years in this building bill keel, Kurt McCormick, Dick Sears, and Don Turner.

And of course, there was my former seatmate, Bill Doyle, and my dear, dear friend and mentor.

Dick Wasik all respected and greatly missed between Senators Doyle and Masa.

They served 90 years in this legislature, one a Republican and the other a Democrat.

But they had something in common.

It had nothing to do with power.

The influence earned in the hallways at the statehouse.

They were both successful because their constituents back home trusted them, trusted them to do the right thing and not fall into the trap of red versus blue.

I trusted them to put the people they represented first.

See, they understood from the start that their job was to bring the perspective of their communities.

The statehouse, not the other way around.

They knew it wasn't legislators in this building who elected and reelected them over those 90 years.

So they worked for their constituents, their neighbors, and the folks who turned to them for help.

When you think about it, that's really what being a legislator is all about.

That's the job.

Listening to your constituents and being a voice for those back home is essential, especially for those of you from cities, towns and villages who feel left behind and want to see that the table.

There is no doubt many communities, businesses and families are struggling.

But it's not hard to see that Northwest Vermont is doing better than all the others.

And it's not to say this region doesn't have challenges, but overall, it's where you see a lower percentage of kids in poverty, lower energy costs, higher median incomes, higher home values, and more new housing being built.

And while we're desperate for workers across the state, the size of the workforce in Chittenden and Franklin counties is the highest it's been in recent history.

But as the rest of the state struggles to catch up, they carry the same burden of increasing taxes and fees and navigate the same complicated mandates and regulations.

And regardless of how well-intentioned these policies are, they are expensive and require resources that places like Burlington, Shelburne and Wilson may have.

But small towns like Chelsea, Lunenburg, Plainfield and even Rutland, Newport or Brattleboro do not.

Too many bills are passed without considering the impact on these communities.

Let me read a vote explanation from former Essex Caledonia representative Carolyn Williams, what she gave last year in tears, she said, don't come up to me today and ask me how I am.

The answer is I'm sick and I'm afraid, and I'm defeated and angry and sad.

There you have it.

Don't ask because you have no idea or don't care what you're doing.

To my county and the other 70% of Vermont.

Now, you may not agree with what she said, but we can't ignore how she feels.

And she's not alone.

Two years ago, I shared the story of a somewhat angry guy from Essex County.

And that's not you, Senator Ingles.

He confronted me while I was up in the Northeast Kingdom saying, we're crushing him, and that Montpelier couldn't care less about what they did to folks like him in places like Ireland, pond.

Now, I realize many of you go back home and face constituents with these same concerns and challenges for your workforce.

And student enrollment has been declining for years for your Selectboard.

Doesn't have the time or resources to apply for complicated grants, or your school board is struggling and your community needs jobs and a better economy.

So if any of this resonates with you, here's something to think about.

There are 17 senators and 83 House members who represent these left behind communities, which means if you ignore party labels, you actually had the majority here.

So let's work together to pass bills that fix the problems that matter most to your constituents, and set aside the ones that don't.

Let's put our communities above all else, reset the playing field so it's fair and benefits all of Vermont.

Now, let me ask you to think about a time when you're hunting, mountain biking, driving, or on a hike and you've gotten turned around.

You somehow got off the trail, took a wrong turn, starts to get dark, and it hits you.

I went the wrong way.

When that happens to me, I stop, get my bearings and get back on course.

But when it comes to politics, I know it can be hard to admit.

When you've gone down the wrong path, you need to turn around.

But we're not here to worry about egos.

We're here to do what Vermonters need.

And they just sent a very clear message.

They think we're off course.

But my first six years as governor, we built budgets, funded our needs, made do investments, and stabilize the state's finances, all without asking Vermonters for more.

This common sense approach led to historic surpluses so we can invest in the initiatives we cared about without raising taxes.

It wasn't always easy, but in the end, we were able to come to an agreement.

The last biennium, things changed and the legislature didn't have to compromise.

So they built and passed budgets that met their wants and then raised taxes and fees as necessary to pay for them.

In response, Vermonters told us loudly and clearly, they expect us to get back on course, to spend within their means and, above all else, make Vermont more affordable for them.

Now, you don't have to take my word for it.

Just listening to Travis Harwood, alum and Moore Town resident who rushed from work to a public meeting so he could tell whoever would listen.

I don't live here.

I survive here.

He's had enough.

His taxes and his homeowner's insurance is doubled in his hands at that very moment, or bleeding from the 14 hour a day.

He just worked a schedule that's crushing it, he said.

I'm sick of all this ridiculous spending and the cost of everything doubling every year.

I can't handle it anymore.

I'm 46.

I don't know if I'm going to see anything older than that here in Vermont.

Now, remember his age, because I'll come back to it.

He ended his comments with a simple message it's too expensive.

Straighten it out, figure it out, and come up with a better system because the taxpayers are sick of it.

And that, I believe, gets to the heart of the issue because he didn't say slash and burn the budget.

He said do it better.

In so many areas, I share your goals or we often disagree is how we get there and at what pace.

As I've said, just throwing more money at problems hasn't equal success.

Not in education, state colleges, housing, homelessness in other areas where we funded but haven't fix the underlying structural issues without fixing the holes we're in.

It just keep getting bigger.

And the hard earned money of taxpayers like Travis is squandered.

So this year, I'm asking you to join me to listen to those who sent us here.

Think about what they can afford and what they need, and give everyone the chance to not just survive, but thrive.

There's no doubt the root cause of our challenges is demographics, especially the size of our working class.

The number of students which has been shrinking for decades.

I know some look at recent data showing a population increase and think we've solved the problem.

Well, well, it's good news.

Looking at total population doesn't tell the whole story.

What does are the numbers 14, 28 and 48, according to the Joint Fiscal Office, from 2010 to 2022 alone, we had 14,000 fewer Vermonters under the age of 18, 28,000 fewer age 40 to 54, which is prime working age.

Travis's age, and 48,000 more over the age of 65.

And here's why this matters.

Because it means fewer kids in our schools who are still paying for the system built for tens of thousands more students.

It leads to fewer high school graduates, which means less enrolling in our state.

Colleges are replacing retirees in the workforce.

It means fewer in the trades.

To build the infrastructure and housing we need fewer to work at childcare centers and health care offices, fewer volunteering for your local fire department, fewer joining your police force, fewer teachers and bus drivers, and fewer to take care of loved ones and our long term care facilities.

It also means fewer workers generating state revenue and no one to fill the jobs.

Employers need to survive or grow.

All of it means less revenue for services to support the 48,000 more seniors we have, unless defined, the safety net for the most vulnerable.

With fewer to pay for the growing burden of taxes and fees, education, utilities and health care, Vermont becomes less and less affordable for those still here, and it's competition for a limited workforce pushes wages up.

Everything is getting more expensive.

Meanwhile, it gets harder to attract the people we need because our reputation is one of the highest tax and most expensive states isn't exactly a great marketing strategy.

It's clear you cannot separate affordability and demographics, so both need to be at the center of all we do.

As I say, all the time, we need more taxpayers, not more taxes.

Housing is a great place to start.

We know mortgages and rent are unaffordable for many.

The costs and a shortage of units drives people out of Vermont and prevents families and workers from moving here.

To me, the issue is obvious, and this solution relies on a basic economic principle supply and demand.

According to the Housing Needs Assessment, it will take 7200 homes just to break even.

And if we want to grow the workforce beyond what we have today, we need over 8000 homes a year for the next five years, but our current rate is about 2300 now.

That's an improvement over the 1600 a year we saw over the previous decade, but it's nowhere near enough.

So this session is crucial.

We pass an actual housing bill, focus on four strategies.

First, let's strengthen our foundation with infrastructure for housing and flood recovery, not just with funding, but with a creative expansion of our successful TIF program.

Second, we can give a helping hand to neglected communities by continuing to transform dilapidated houses into homes and economic opportunity.

Third, we need more people investing in and revitalizing working class neighborhoods.

So let's continue to grow creative programs like VIB and help more mom and pop investors be part of the solution.

And fourth, if this is truly the crisis, we all know it is, let's treat it like what?

In order to make real progress, we've got to address our appeals process, which has been abused for far too long, and we have a lot more work to do.

On last year's land use bill, like expanding the Act hundred 50 exemptions currently provided to a select few and giving rural communities see this table so they too have an opportunity to thrive and grow.

As one national housing expert recently put it, it's long past time the legal.

More housing plays an important role for another key challenge education.

As you well know, last year bills went up 14% on average and as high as 38%.

And if this year's projected rate goes into effect, education property tax will have increased 33% in just three years.

And that's only property taxes, which for good reason has received a lot of attention.

But what's not as obvious is all that's been added to the Ed Fund from other sources.

100% of our sales and use tax, about 600 million a year goes into the Ed fund.

So does a third of our personal use tax and a quarter of our rooms and meals tax, as well as 100% of the new short term rental surcharge and all lottery proceeds.

And at times, we bought down rates with general fund money that could have gone to housing, human services, climate mitigation, public safety and so much more.

So when we tell ourselves that we pay for education with property taxes, that's not the whole story, because over a third, about $800 million comes from other sources.

Since I took office, the education fund has gone from 1.6 billion to an astounding 2.3 billion and climbing.

For one of the top education spenders in the nation.

Yet in too many districts, teachers aren't paid enough.

Administrators are tied up in bureaucracy.

Schools have too much empty space, and many are in disrepair.

And most importantly, our kids aren't seeing the best outcomes.

With what we're spending, we should not be in the middle of the pack on any educational scorecard.

And our kids should all be at grade level in reading and math.

In some grades, less than half hit the mark while educators, administrators, parents, and kids are doing their very best to make things work, the statewide system is broken and failing them.

So what's causing the problem?

First, it's the way we pay for it.

The funding formula 48 states set the amount they will spend on education each year.

Vermont does not hear.

Every school budget is set by school boards, and if local voters pass it, the state is required to pay it, no matter how much it costs.

Then the state says the property tax rate using the CLA grand lists, pupil weights and a bunch of other complicated stuff.

If you understand, this is typically done weeks after budgets pass and months after they're built.

So when school boards and voters make their decisions, few know the impact on their property taxes.

If.

They all know there are some communities whose taxpayers can't afford to pay more, so they keep their spending low in hopes the smaller tax increases.

But too often the communities that have more can afford more, so they spend more, and those higher spenders can actually increase the rates of those whose kids and teachers are getting less.

Next, we need to take a hard look at how we govern and administer education.

Put simply, we have a lot of buildings, classrooms, adults, layers of bureaucracy, but fewer and fewer kids and taxpayers.

Today, we have 83,500 pre-K through 12 students, paid for by the Ed Fund for the 80,000 who are in public schools, we have 52 supervisory unions, 119 districts and 287 individual schools.

We also have among the very small class sizes in schools in the nation, and the very lowest student, teacher and student to staff ratios.

Some may think this is a good thing, and maybe it is, but the evidence shows that many high performing schools throughout the country are larger, with bigger classes and higher ratios.

The bottom line is our system is out of scale and very expensive.

As obvious as these challenges are, we haven't been able to fix it.

Efforts like act 68, act 46 and act 127 have fallen short because they tried to tinker with the existing structure.

This simply isn't working well.

So let's have the courage to fix the entire system, to make it work better for all kids, and give them more opportunities from cradle to career.

With my budget in two weeks, we'll share our full proposal to improve the quality, equity, and sustainability of the pre-K through 12 system in Vermont.

With those three principles and the mandate voters gave us in November will propose a multi-year plan to transform education.

First, it will include an entirely new student centered funding formula to provide more and better opportunities for kids to get costs under control.

Second, will propose a new, simpler governance structure so we can deliver better and more equal education across communities.

Third, we'll provide school boards and administrators with support and guardrails to reduce cost pressures, which finally, we know Vermonters can't afford to pay more.

So school boards contain spending growth to the projected level.

My budget will lower the impact of this year's increase, with a goal to eliminate.

Now, I'm not going to sugarcoat it.

None of this will be easy, and I'm sure we'll hear some of the same hesitations and concerns of the past.

Here's a few you might remember.

We need some schools to consolidate or close, but not our school.

We need lower costs, but we won't share a teacher or principal.

We need efficiency, but we want our own school board.

We need pay equity, but we want our own employee contract.

We need the state's help.

But don't mess with local control.

All these concerns are more about adults and students.

And failing to fix this problem is failing our kids.

So let's be bold.

Let's be the ones who makes the difficult decisions to move towards the real change.

The system needs.

And our kids deserve.

Three years.

For years, I've said if I gave you $2.3 billion to educate 83,500 students, it would look far different than what we have today.

This session, we have the rare opportunity to not only make our system more affordable for taxpayers, but also improve the quality of education for all kids, no matter their challenges or where they live.

And we owe it to everyone to seize the moment and be brave together.

There are no silver bullets.

No simple solutions to any of this.

But in a state with so many crises, from demographics and workforce to public safety and disaster resiliency, to affordability of government, health care, education and the cost of living and doing business, we need to start somewhere.

I believe prioritizing housing and education in a way that makes Vermont more affordable, not less, is how we make the biggest gains in the coming weeks.

We'll talk about how to stabilize our health care system, share proposals to improve public safety, strengthen communities, and support climate change policy that's achievable and affordable.

So we'll be juggling a lot of issues, but it's more important than ever to prioritize and stay focused on the fundamentals that matter most to Vermonters.

In a few short months, I'll be standing right here again as we adjourn the first half of the biennium.

Those of you who've been around a while know our time together will be gone in a flash.

So on that day.

What is it you want to have done for your community?

What priorities of theirs will you have addressed?

I can promise you my efforts, my focus, and those of my entire administration will be squarely on solving the problems Vermonters sent me and all of you here to solve.

Creating a high quality, equitable and sustainable education system.

Pushing for regulatory changes to legalize housing and making sure whatever we do, we keep affordability for everyone.

Our top priority Vermonters.

Vermonters ask us very clearly to separate our wants from our needs and to fix not just fund issues that have a major impact on their lives.

Now.

I know this is your process, and I know what's taken up this session, and whether we make progress on these issues or not is in your hands.

So I'm asking each of you to think about what Vermonters will say about our work at the end of the session, to use the time between now and adjournment wisely, to prioritize the issues and perspectives of your constituents, and make sure the concerns of your communities are heard.

The good news is we've shown what state government can do to solve problems and help people.

We, all of us, saw it during the pandemic, and I often think back to what it took to build that response.

Long days, nights and weekends that spanned months and then years.

But even with all the uncertainty, with all the loss, the hardship, difficult decisions and tough calls, we got through it.

And with the federal aid that came our way in the aftermath, we all of us strengthened 246 water treatment systems, supported over 600 businesses, created nearly 2000 homes, protected 3500 acres with climate change mitigation projects and improved broadband for over 100,000 households and businesses.

And this money is still funding projects, so there's more to come.

We've had some success on a smaller scale as well.

A little over a year ago, there was an idea for the team from the Agency of Transportation, the folks who build things into our housing team to make more units available quickly and affordably.

When floodwaters damaged dozens of homes beyond repair for the second year in a row, this group stepped up to say, we can help.

And in a show of true bipartisanship, the board transferred $7 million to get them started.

In a matter of months, they've improved 34 empty lots and place 32 mobile homes, with five already under contract for purchase.

And that's just one example.

Here are a few more.

We've welcomed over 1000 refugees in the last three years, and we'll continue.

And we're going to continue to do our part.

But we're not claiming victory.

Overdose and suicide deaths are trending downward.

So our highway fatalities and crashes.

Since October of 21.

State funding for brownfields has cleaned up 42 contaminated sites, making way for over 700 new homes.

Adding economic value for communities.

After years of being an eyesore since.

Since 2020.

Our VAE hip investments have brought 500 affordable apartments online, with almost 500 more under construction.

As you recall, the average grant is about $36,000, which is a bargain in today's market.

State parks welcomed over a million visitors this year.

One of our best years ever.

Despite the flooding, Barack, the Vermont Outdoor Recreation Collaborative is paying off.

Contributing 2.1 billion to our economy in 2023.

This puts us second in the nation after Hawaii.

We've issued hundreds of rays of kindness recognizing Vermonters for their everyday good deeds, which includes Mr. G, a teacher in Northfield who's here today for his Walking Wednesday group that's been connecting students to exercise in their community for years to better serve Vermonters.

We started the long overdue process of modernizing our 55 year old unemployment.

It infrastructure.

We've completed major projects like the 1000ft runway expansion at the Franklin County Airport, which coupled with the expansion of water and sewer, which we did, will make Highgate an economic hub.

We brought train service from Burlington to New York City.

After two decades of waiting.

But that's nothing compared to another huge accomplishment in transportation, because this year we had just one one truck stuck in Smuggler's Notch.

Now, if we can go from as many as 12 stuck edges down to one, we should be able to do almost anything.

All kidding aside, all across the state, there are good things happening, large and small, every single day.

Last year I talked about the countless Vermonters leading by example to support their communities in good times and bad.

It's something we saw in the summer of 23, and again in 24, when flood waters ravaged the state and Vermonters tapped into the same stubborn sense of community to once again help their neighbors muck out and clean up.

But it's not just about lending a hand.

It's a genuine concern for others.

The selflessness that sets us apart.

About a month after this year's flood.

Me and my team were in Lyndonville talking with a town about their many challenges, but back to back floods.

The local teams were exhausted.

The next two person long term recovery group was struggling to keep up with all the need.

The Selectboard is piecing together funding to cover costs and they were all spread too thin.

But what struck me and it stuck with me was something one of the local homeowners said.

Kerry and her husband, Nathan, gave us a glimpse of life on Brook road, which, along with Red Village Road, some saw some of the worst damage and left many of them included on an island in their own homes.

Since they couldn't drive in or out, they had to walk one kid up the road and the other down to get them.

The school family members were carrying in groceries on foot, and as their generator was running low, they were trying to figure out how to get fuel.

But Kerry wasn't sharing this story to complain.

Her point?

Her concern is not about her family or even the challenges of her town, she said.

I'm just worried about the folks up in Kirby.

That's the key, because even with all Linden struggles, she knew they had more resources and their smaller neighbor.

This is the selflessness.

This is a stubborn sense of community that inspires me to do the work, to make the lives of these Vermonters and all Vermonters easier and better every day.

My friends, whether it's putting the needs of your neighbors ahead of your own significant challenges.

Leaving your family for months to protect democracy around the world, or being a trusted and honest voice for your community over decades?

The examples are there for us.

We just need to learn from them.

This year, once again, we've been asked to step up to solve big problems and help people.

And there's no doubt our challenges are great.

But if we meet them head on.

Accept reality, but refuse to settle for it.

I know when this session comes to a close, we'll be able to go back to our communities where their heads held high.

Proud of the work we did here.

We'll go home with a renewed sense of duty and hope, of the brighter future that all Vermonters deserve.

That's what they asked us to do.

And we cannot, and we must not let them down.

Sorry.

I'm a little slow to the draw.

Well, the joint assembly.

Please remain standing.

And will the committee.

Will the committee please reassemble and escort the governor from the chamber?

Thank you very much.

Mr..