{"id":9030,"date":"2013-01-17T12:06:06","date_gmt":"2013-01-17T17:06:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.kevinbryant.com\/?p=9030"},"modified":"2013-01-26T09:44:12","modified_gmt":"2013-01-26T14:44:12","slug":"9030","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.kevinbryant.com\/kbarchive\/9030\/","title":{"rendered":"state of state text"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"nhaley_web\"<\/a>Mr. Speaker, Mr. President, Ladies and Gentlemen of the General Assembly, Constitutional Officers, and my fellow South Carolinians:
\nThis and every year, we will continue the tradition that recognizes the certain truth that everything we have in this state and this nation we owe, first and foremost, to the men and women in uniform who bravely serve on our behalf.
\nSo now, please join me as we pay tribute to those who gave the last full measure of devotion in the service of their state and country this past year:
\nChief David Lee Crenshaw, Pendleton, Sergeant Channing B. Hicks, Greer, Sergeant John D. Meador II, Columbia, 1st Lieutenant Ryan D. Rawl, Lexington, Master Cpl. Sandra “Sandy” Rogers, Aiken, Private First Class Adam C. Ross, Lyman, Sergeant First Class Matthew B. Thomas, Travelers Rest
\nOn behalf of all South Carolinians, to their families, know we will never forget.
\nWe love and respect our men and women in uniform here in South Carolina \u2013 few things make me as proud as the level of patriotism that just radiates off our state and her people.
\nWhen I make that call to the families who just lost a loved one, I promise them that the people of South Carolina will wrap their arms around them and never let go.
\nAnd the citizens of this state have never let them down.
\nA wonderful example of that is the 4,150 volunteer members of the South Carolina Patriot Guard Riders.
\nYou\u2019ve all seen these selfless men and women \u2013 whether you know it or not.
\nTheir mission is two-fold: to show their sincere respect for our fallen heroes, their families, and their communities, and to shield the mourning family and their friends from interruptions created by any protestors.
\nThey do it magnificently.
\nPlease join me in extending a warm South Carolina thank you to Bruce Ballou, the State Captain of the South Carolina Patriot Guard Riders. You make our state so proud, and may God continue to bless you and your volunteers for their service.
\nWe have another very special guest with us tonight, a hardcore rockstar, Brigadier General Lori Reynolds, the commanding General of one of the greatest military institutions that\u2019s ever existed: the Marine Corps Recruit Depot, Parris Island. If you don\u2019t believe me, tour it yourself \u2013 but take my advice, don\u2019t mess with this General.
\nThe Marine Corps has been at Parris Island since 1915 and has trained there for every major conflict of the 20th and 21st centuries. We are so proud of our Marine Corps, so proud that the most impressive Marine training facility in the world is located right here in South Carolina, and so proud that General Lori Reynolds now calls the Palmetto State home.
\nI\u2019d now ask you to indulge me in a brief moment of personal privilege.
\nWhen we as a family started this Administration one of the biggest challenges was moving into a house that was, more than anything, a museum.
\nA wonderful, beautiful, historic building but a museum nonetheless. And so as a mom my biggest challenge was to make that house into a home for all of us.
\nWe were blessed to have a mansion family that welcomed us and understood the games our kids would play by putting wigs on statues, giving each member of the security team a nickname, and playing jokes on the staff constantly.
\nWe love them all. But there was one person that blessed our lives in a way that no one else could.
\nHe did the same for the Hodges and the Sanford families.
\nHe did the same for many of you.
\nChamberlain Branch became a staple of the Residence, not for the job he did but for who he was.
\nHe greeted many of you and other South Carolinians in a way that was Godly and unforgettable.
\nHe made everyone feel special and welcome.
\nMost importantly, to this mom, he was the person my children couldn’t wait to see when they got home and the one who truly turned that house into home for us.
\nOur family was blessed by his unselfish kindness to our children and everyone he came in contact with.
\nBy now you all know that Chamberlain was tragically killed in December and our hearts remain broken.
\nChamberlain has three young children \u2013 Chyann, Little Chamberlain, and Chaniya \u2013 who were staples running around that house, and we are blessed to have with us tonight his amazing wife Cherisse.
\nPlease join me and the Hodges and Sanford families in recognizing Cherisse, and saying to Chamberlain Branch, one of the kindest, best men we ever knew, that while you will forever be missed you will never be forgotten.
\nI also have the pleasure of being humbled by two little ones who remind me how cool it is to be their mom every day.
\nWhether it\u2019s getting them up and out the door every morning for school \u2013 sometimes fighting about what to wear or whether to go to school at all \u2013 or them not having a care in the world about me being on tv, they have a way of making me remember what truly is important in this life.
\nThey put up with a lot but never lose the smiles on their faces, so please join me in welcoming Rena, who still loves to dance and Nalin, who still has a passion for the game of basketball.
\nOf course, our family is clearly missing someone tonight.
\nMichael is not with us as he has deployed with the South Carolina Army National Guard ADT 49 to Afghanistan.
\nWe miss him terribly but he is doing exactly what he signed up to do \u2013 serve his country. He is excited to answer the call, and his only ask to me was to remind our state and country that we are just one of thousands of families that share the bond of knowing military service.
\nMichael, Rena, Nalin and I thank you for the many prayers and messages of support that have been sent to our family. It has given us strength and inspiration. And we look forward to having him and his entire unit back safely with us next year.
\nLadies and gentleman, the state of our state is productive \u2013 in spite of the challenges that come our way.
\nThe last half-decade or so has not been an easy one for our nation. Through the financial crisis and the deep recession that followed, we have watched Washington flounder on both sides of the aisle, bouncing from one so-called solution to another. The result of our federal government\u2019s incompetence has been predictably poor: a stagnant recovery, listless jobs numbers, rising unemployment.
\nThe opposite has been true in South Carolina over the last two years. 31,574 jobs announced. Over $6 billion in new investment. Unemployment at a four-year low.
\nAnd two 11-win football teams.
\nComing into office, I made a promise to the people of South Carolina, a promise to eat, sleep, and breathe jobs in our state.
\nWe have all the tools to be successful.
\nA beautiful state, a place where any person would want to live, work and raise a family. A loyal, dedicated workforce with a burning desire to learn and a work ethic to match. And one of the lowest union participation rates in the country.
\nWe needed to let the nation, and the world, know that South Carolina was open for business. Show them the positives of our great state, and the progress that we have made as a state and as a people.
\nAnd we have.
\nIn two years, we have announced new jobs in forty-five of South Carolina\u2019s forty-six counties.
\nWe\u2019ve announced more than 6,300 new jobs to rural areas of our state.
\nWe\u2019ve cut taxes on small business \u2013 and special thanks to Chairman Brian White and Rep. Tommy Stringer for their fight to make that happen.
\nWe\u2019ve passed tort reform that, for the first time ever, puts a cap on lawsuit damages.
\nWe\u2019ve fought against the unionization of South Carolina, cherishing the direct relationship between our companies \u2013 who know how to take care of those that take care of them \u2013 and their employees.
\nWe\u2019ve, through Lillian Koller and the Department of Social Services, moved more than 14,000 families from welfare to work.
\nWe\u2019ve created an Agribusiness partnership to showcase the largest industry in our state.
\nWe\u2019ve been awarded, for the second consecutive year, a Gold Shovel in recognition of our economic development successes.
\nWe\u2019ve been ranked as the second best state in the nation as a place to do business. But as Secretary Hitt knows, we aren\u2019t going to stop until we\u2019re first.
\nWe\u2019ve announced $5 billion in foreign investment.
\nAnd we\u2019ve seen no less an authority than The Wall Street Journal say that, \u201cAnyone still thinking the U.S. has lost its manufacturing chops hasn’t been to South Carolina.\u201d
\nSouth Carolina is truly becoming the \u201cIt\u201d state when it comes to economic development and job creation \u2013 not just in the United States, but worldwide.
\nWith us tonight are a number of people who are proof positive that what we are doing is working, and I\u2019d like to ask you to help me welcome these wonderful friends of South Carolina.
\nTo those whose names I call, please stand and remain standing. And please hold your applause until the end.
\n– Representing 500 jobs in Anderson and Lexington Counties, from Michelin North America, Inc., Richard Kornacki
\n– Representing 126 jobs in Georgetown and Williamsburg Counties, from Agru America Inc., Vicky Thornton
\n– Representing 124 jobs in Union County, from Belk, Inc., Dave Penrod
\n– Representing 100 jobs in Colleton County, from SarlaFlex Incorporated, Krishna Jhunjhunwala
\n– Representing 1,000 jobs in Lancaster County, from Red Ventures, Mark Brodsky
\n– Representing 200 jobs in Berkeley County, from Nexans, Cam Dowlat
\n– Representing 80 jobs in Florence County, from McCall Farms, Inc., Henry Swink
\n– Representing 750 jobs in Richland County, from WNS North America Inc., Reese McCurdy
\n– Representing 190 jobs in Chesterfield County, from Schaeffler Group USA Inc., Bruce Warmbold
\n– Representing 50 jobs in Bamberg County, from Tobul Accumulator, Inc., Jim Tobul
\n– Representing Honda of South Carolina Manufacturing, Inc., Brian Newman, in celebration of the fact that they just produced their 2.5 millionth ATV.
\n– Representing Fujifilm Manufacturing USA, John Ueno, in celebration of the 25th anniversary of Fujifilm being in Greenwood, South Carolina.
\nPlease join me in showing our support to these great friends, old and new, and thanking them for making South Carolina their home.
\nAnd as if we didn\u2019t have enough to celebrate last year when Cond\u00e9 Nast named Charleston the best tourist destination in America, this year we\u2019ve topped ourselves, as our beautiful Lowcountry city was named the number one tourist destination in the world.
\nRepresenting the Charleston Area Convention and Visitors Bureau tonight is Helen Hill, who along with the hospitality industry, our own people at PRT, and most importantly the citizens of Charleston deserves a round of applause.
\nI\u2019m also of the mind that when any South Carolinian succeeds, it\u2019s a great day in South Carolina. And we should all be exceptionally proud of a great friend to this state and a proud Clemson Tiger, Dr. Louis Lynn.
\nIn 1985, Dr. Lynn founded ENVIRO AgScience, Inc., and his successes and contributions have not gone unnoticed. This past year, the United States Department of Commerce gave Dr. Lynn the Ron Brown Award as the nation\u2019s Small Business Person of the Year. Congratulations, Dr. Lynn.
\nThat the companies represented here tonight chose South Carolina to be their home is a tribute to the kind of state we have right now.
\nBut we can absolutely do more.
\nAnd we will do more \u2013 because none of us should be satisfied until every person in South Carolina has the opportunity to find work.
\nFirst, we cannot rest on our laurels when it comes to our tax rates.
\nYou\u2019ve long heard me say that South Carolina needs to reduce our tax burden every single year. Never has that been more important than now, with our citizens opening their paychecks this month and seeing that, low and behold, Washington\u2019s tax hikes on the rich somehow got them too.
\nThis year, I propose that we eliminate the six percent tax bracket.
\nThis reform cuts taxes for the overwhelming majority of people who pay income tax, and not a single South Carolinian will pay more.
\nOther states have seen the successes we\u2019ve had in South Carolina and are nipping at our heels. Look around the nation and see all the governors, the legislators, the states that are proposing slashing or even eliminating their income taxes. We have to keep up. Second, we need to take a serious look at our regulatory environment. If government is costing a business time, then government is costing that business money. And while the legislature convenes annually to look at new legislation and regulations, I know of no joint legislative and executive effort that comes together to look at removing regulations that stymie the private sector and hold our economy back. That changes this year.
\nTonight I am announcing the formation of a Gubernatorial Task Force, largely to be made up of members of the business community, that will review regulations and recommend those that can be eliminated.
\nSome changes can and will be made at the agency level \u2013 which is why one of the appointments I make will be the Chairman of Commerce\u2019s Small Business Regulatory Committee, Dan Dennis, and why I will be directing by Executive Order all of my agencies to begin this review process.
\nBut some may require legislative action, which is why I am asking you to join me in this effort and inviting Majority Leader Peeler, Minority Leader Setzler, Majority Leader Bannister, and Minority Leader Rutherford to each make an appointment to the task force.
\nIt has always been my belief that the best way to recruit new businesses in our state is to take care of the businesses we already have \u2013 and that with the business community as our biggest cheerleaders, there is nothing we can\u2019t accomplish in the great state of South Carolina.
\nThird, we have to address our crumbling infrastructure. Our roads, our bridges \u2013 they simply aren\u2019t up to standard. More than 1,000 of South Carolina\u2019s bridges are either load-restricted or structurally deficient. First and foremost, it\u2019s a public safety issue. The citizens of South Carolina deserve to drive on roads that aren\u2019t littered with potholes and on bridges they know won\u2019t fall down.
\nIt\u2019s a core function of government. But it\u2019s also an economic development issue.
\nSouth Carolina has announced our self as the new superstar of American manufacturing.
\nWe build things.We build planes. We build cars. We build tires. We build more ATVs than anywhere else in the world.
\nWe need roads and bridges that match the quality of the companies that manufacture in our great state. And we will get them. But I will not \u2013 not now, not ever \u2013 support raising the gas tax. The answer to our infrastructure problems is not to tax our people more, it\u2019s to spend their money smarter. Why would we raise the gas tax to improve infrastructure when all the gas tax dollars we currently collect don\u2019t go to improving our infrastructure?
\nMillions of dollars each year in gas tax revenue are being diverted away from our bridges and our highways. Let\u2019s change that. Then let\u2019s invest more of the money we already have into this vital area.
\nEvery year you hear me talk about the \u201cmoney tree\u201d that falls during session, whereby new dollars appear above and beyond what was available when we balance our budget in December or January. Let\u2019s prioritize that money differently this year.
\nWe\u2019ve released an Executive Budget that is balanced, funds the core functions of our government, strengthens underfunded needs like mental health and law enforcement AND identifies an estimated $90 million this year for road and bridge improvements. Let\u2019s follow that blueprint. We can make our state safer \u2013 and our business climate even more dynamic.
\nWith us today is Warden Mike McCall, one of the unsung heroes of South Carolina state government. Warden McCall runs Lee Correctional Institution \u2013 one of our most dangerous prisons, housing the worst of the worst of our convicts.
\nAs a legislator, it was always my belief that giving money to corrections was giving money to criminals, and that there were better, more noble places our tax dollars should go.
\nWarden McCall will tell you that\u2019s not true.
\nTwice in the past year, the Warden has had the prisoners take control of parts of his prison. He has seen one of his guards viciously beaten and left for dead in a janitor\u2019s closet.
\nYet Lee Correctional has no towers, no wands, and few cameras. I\u2019ve been there. I\u2019ve seen it. Warden McCall will tell you that if we give money to his facility it\u2019s not going to the prisoners, it\u2019s going to the guards. And that for them, it\u2019s a matter of life or death. Join me in thanking Warden Mike McCall \u2013 and then join me this budget year in helping to keep him, and all our prison guards, safe and secure.
\nOf course, we can\u2019t talk about security in South Carolina without talking about the Department of Revenue and the protection of the personal data of the people of our state.
\nPlenty has been said and written about the international criminal hacking that took place at DOR \u2013 I\u2019m not here to rehash that or to look backwards, except to say this: when it comes to data security, the state of South Carolina should have done better in the past and will do better in the future.
\nThat does not mean that we will be 100 percent protected. The toughest lesson I have learned is that in today\u2019s world there is no such thing as absolute security. That is true for conventional terrorism and homeland security threats, and it is true for cyberterrorism and cybersecurity threats. It\u2019s a hard reality, but reality nonetheless.
\nWhat it does mean is that we will do everything we can to make sure that no state in the country has better security measures in place than we do.
\nAlready we have taken a number of steps in that direction at the Department of Revenue.
\nWe are encrypting all personal and sensitive data.
\nThis month we will have completed implementation of two-factor identification for DOR employees.
\nWe are segmenting our networks to make sure that our most sensitive information is protected separately and securely.
\nWe have created a Security Council within the Department, a team of professionals that will meet regularly to discuss the state of our security in this changing world and constantly update our processes.
\nAnd we have changed the organization of the Department so that the Chief Information Security Officer reports directly to Bill Blume, the director of the agency.
\nBy the end of this process the Department of Revenue\u2019s data will be as secure as any data in the private or public sector.
\nBut it\u2019s not just DOR that requires our attention. In October I asked Inspector General Pat Maley to review the IT standards and practices across state government.
\nHis report made clear the following: while cybersecurity policies were carried out on a near-daily basis in almost every agency, South Carolina lacks a single entity with the authority necessary to better secure our systems.
\nWe must fix that, and fix that this year.
\nI have also directed every single cabinet agency to work with our state IT department to make sure that twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, fifty-two weeks a year, our systems will be watched.
\nThese measures are not cost-free, but they are necessary, and I want the thank Chairman Hugh Leatherman and Chairman Brian White for their help in enabling the state to respond forcefully to this attack.
\nMy ask to you tonight is to ensure that it\u2019s not just cabinet agencies, but every agency in state government that is working with our state IT department to provide our citizens the security they deserve.
\nTo date, more than 1.1 million of South Carolina\u2019s citizens and businesses have signed up for credit protection, either through Experian or through Dun and Bradstreet.
\nThey are good, honorable companies who will help keep our information protected and at the same time be respectful to the citizens of South Carolina who have turned to them in our time of need.
\nSo to every South Carolinian watching tonight, let me say this: if you have not signed up yet for protection, if your parents have not signed up for protection, if your friends or your coworkers or your neighbors or your siblings have not signed up for protection, please, please urge them to do so.
\nIt is so important. Please visit: www.protectmyid.com\/scdor and use the activation code SCDOR123.
\nThere is no question that what happened at the Department of Revenue was a jolt to all of us. My pledge to the people of our state is that as with all crises, all challenges, we will do everything in our power to come out the other side stronger than before.
\nWe\u2019ve come now to the portion of the evening that may feel to some like d\u00e9j\u00e0 vu. Restructuring.
\nFew of us would deny that our government structure is outdated, broken, and does not well serve the citizens of South Carolina.
\nEvery year governors as far back as Dick Riley have stood before you and pleaded to bring our government into the modern era.
\nAnd every year it feels like we end up in the same place, preaching the same changes, facing the same obstacles.
\nThis year I want to keep it simple \u2013 two critical changes to the way South Carolina is structured.
\nFirst, our Department of Education.
\nLast year, for the first time ever, the House passed a bill that would allow governors to appoint the Superintendent of Education.
\nI cannot overstate how important this change is.
\nAnd all we are asking is that we give the voters the opportunity at the ballot box to make this constitutional change.General Zais supports it.
\nThe South Carolina House of Representatives supports it. And I believe that if given the opportunity the people of South Carolina will support it at the ballot box. Let\u2019s give them that opportunity. They deserve it. And now to the Department of Administration. Each of the last two years, I have made the argument as to why ridding our state of the unaccountable \u201cBig Green Monster\u201d that is the Budget and Control Board would move South Carolina forward. Some of you, like Senators Larry Martin and Shane Massey, have made that argument with me.
\nFor me to do so again tonight would be redundant. I believe most of you know it is the right thing to do.
\nInstead, I will make this observation: if one came to South Carolina from another state or country and saw the way the Department of Administration bill was handled last year, he or she would surely be confused.
\nThe Senate unanimously voted in favor of it. A large majority in the House voted for it. And still, it didn\u2019t pass.
\nHow is that possible, one might wonder. How did the Senate not even take a vote on the final day? That\u2019s not the way our system is supposed to work.
\nOne might conclude that some of the votes in favor of restructuring were contrived. One might even think that some wanted to be on the record in favor of it while at the same time trying desperately to stop it from happening. Well, to that, I will say this.
\nI wish a warm welcome to all the newly elected members of the House and Senate, but I want to extend a special welcome to the new senator from Lexington County, Katrina Shealy. Senator Shealy represents one less excuse for those who don\u2019t want to change the wasteful and inefficient way state government operates.
\nThere are no more excuses left. Let\u2019s pass the Department of Administration this year. Unfortunately, our structure of government isn\u2019t the only place South Carolina lags behind the rest of the country.
\nIn recent years, there has become a palpable sense among the people of our state that something is fundamentally wrong with the way many elected officials have conducted themselves. In some ways that sense is unfounded. The vast majority of our elected officials are honest and honorable people. But in other ways, the public\u2019s unease is fully justified. For too long, votes weren\u2019t being recorded.
\nHundreds of would-be challengers were thrown off the electoral ballot while incumbents skated by untouched.
\nThe people, by and large, believe that South Carolina government is set up in a way that serves the public officials of our state rather than the other way around.
\nWe have made some progress over the last years, starting with the passage of a bill that for the first time ever requires that every single vote on the floor of the General Assembly be on-the-record \u2013 and I thank you for making that a reality.
\nBut we still haven\u2019t done nearly enough.
\nThe State Integrity Investigation took a look at every state\u2019s risk for corruption and gave South Carolina an \u201cF\u201d.
\nWe got an \u201cF\u201d for our ethics enforcement agencies. We got an \u201cF\u201d for our legislative, executive, and judicial accountability. We got an \u201cF\u201d for our public\u2019s access to information. We got an \u201cF\u201d for our state budget processes. We got an \u201cF\u201d in nine of the fourteen categories they considered.
\nEvery single one of us knows that is not good enough, that the people of South Carolina deserve better, and that it is our responsibility \u2013 our obligation \u2013 to give it to them.
\nI think we each also know that if the public is going to trust the changes we make to a system that almost exclusively governs us then we should not be deciding alone what those changes look like.
\nInstead our ethical standards should be determined NOT by those inside this Capitol but by those who have no stake in our rules. That\u2019s why, in October, I created a panel of individuals of unimpeachable personal and professional credentials to help us navigate this reform process.
\nThe panel includes former prosecutors.
\nIt includes former members of our ethics commission.
\nIt includes former legislators. It includes members of the press. It includes appointees made from each of your bodies.
\nIt includes Democrats and Republicans.
\nMost importantly it is made up of people who have nothing to gain from their participation other than the satisfaction of moving South Carolina forward.
\nRarely has such a talented and diverse group of people gotten together and worked so quickly, so meticulously, and so diligently toward the task at hand.
\nWhile every member of the South Carolina Ethics Reform Commission deserves our thanks and praise, the co-chairs of the Commission are here with us this evening, and I ask you to join me in recognizing two wonderful statesmen, two former Attorneys General, Travis Medlock and Henry McMaster.
\nThey have thrown themselves into this process with an intensity and sense of purpose that gives me great hope for the recommendations they will deliver to us within the next two weeks.
\nThey have been thorough and thoughtful, taking testimony and gathering research from those within the system as well as those outside it.
\nAnd I have every faith that their recommendations will make South Carolina stronger.
\nOur citizens must have confidence in how we do our jobs. That confidence will come from adopting the recommendations of this bipartisan, professional, and unbiased group of experts. Our citizens deserve no less, and we should accept no less.
\nNow let’s talk about health.
\nFor all the debate we will have over health care in the coming legislative session I believe we all agree that we want and need a healthier South Carolina.
\nAnd no one can deny that this administration \u2013 working with legislators like Rep. Murrell Smith and Sen. Thomas Alexander \u2013 has made health a priority.
\nWe started 2011 with a Medicaid budget out of balance and we brought it under control.
\nWe started with one of the lowest rates of insured children in the country and now South Carolina is recognized for adopting leading edge strategies to reach more kids.
\nWe started with mental health and addictive disorder programs hobbled by cuts and together we have reinvested in both.
\nWe started with a Medicaid program that required little accountability for quality or cost and we’ve demanded better value.
\nThese are successes we should celebrate.
\nBut let us ask a simple question. “Are taxpayers getting the most health for the money they spend on health care?” My answer is no \u2013 not by a long shot.
\nWe spend more money for health services per person than any nation on earth. Year after year we devote a larger and larger portion of our paychecks, our payrolls and our state and federal budgets to health care services.
\nMaybe we wouldn\u2019t worry about all of this spending if our outcomes were better, but they aren’t.
\nThe United States is falling behind the rest of the world in infant mortality and life expectancy \u2013 and here in South Carolina we have one of the lowest life expectancies and highest infant mortality rates in the U.S.
\nWith such high costs and such poor outcomes, why would we throw more money at the system without first demanding improved efficiency, quality, and accessibility?
\nThe Affordable Care Act, known as ObamaCare, says expand first and worry about the rest later.
\nConnecticut expanded early under ObamaCare and just reported a $190 million Medicaid deficit \u2013 in spite of subjecting their citizens to a massive tax increase.
\nCalifornia just raised taxes in part to cover their Medicaid deficit and yet needs $350 million more to pay for ObamaCare next year.
\nThat\u2019s not us. That\u2019s not South Carolina.
\nThe federal government likes to wave around a nine dollar match like it is some silver bullet, some extraordinary benefit that we cannot pass up.
\nBut what good do the nine dollars do us when we can\u2019t come up with the one?
\nAnd what good are any dollars when they come through a program that doesn\u2019t allow us the flexibility to make the decisions that are in the best interest of the people of South Carolina?
\nIn the end, I cannot support this expansion for a very simple reason: it avoids addressing our health system\u2019s high costs and poor outcomes.
\nAs long as I am governor, South Carolina will not implement the public policy disaster that is ObamaCare\u2019s Medicaid expansion.
\nInstead, we need to improve health care value. And we will.
\nWe are taking a lead in payment reform. This year alone over $40 million of payments are tied to performance \u2013 which means better outcomes for Medicaid patients and for South Carolina taxpayers.
\nWe are asking Medicaid beneficiaries to be more engaged in their health. If a patient doesn\u2019t follow a doctor\u2019s advice to stop smoking or doesn\u2019t take their medication as prescribed we end up spending more money than necessary, and more importantly, they\u2019ll never get healthy.
\nWe have to improve patient engagement \u2013 and stop rewarding bad behavior.
\nAnd we are working on hotspots of poor health.
\nWe\u2019ve already reduced harmful early elective deliveries by half, and we are one of the first states in the nation to no longer pay for this poor practice.
\nWe are investing in rural health, because if you have Medicaid and live in Marlboro or Bamberg it is likely you aren\u2019t as healthy as if you have Medicaid and live in Greenville or Lexington.
\nThis is true for reasons that go far beyond health care, but that doesn\u2019t mean we can\u2019t implement changes that make a difference.
\nWe\u2019ve long known that rural hospitals face challenges that larger hospitals don\u2019t, and now, for the first time ever, the State of South Carolina is going to treat them that way. Health and Human Services now pays rural hospitals differently from urban hospitals, and starting next year we plan to fully reimburse rural hospitals for their uncompensated care.
\nThis isn\u2019t new money \u2013 but money shifted from areas where we need it less to where we need it more, and we will continue to get creative as we work to improve health in the parts of South Carolina that for too long have been pushed aside.
\nAs we go forward together through this debate on health, I ask that we keep the following in mind.
\nFirst \u2013 health and well-being is ultimately driven most by income, education, personal choices, genetics and support from family and community.
\nSecond \u2013 when South Carolina says we are going to do something we have to do it well and we have to pay for it.
\nWe can\u2019t promise expanded Medicaid but cut reimbursements so low that doctors won’t see Medicaid patients. We can’t promise expanded Medicaid while we continue to underfund mental health. And we can’t promise expanded Medicaid while maintaining waiting lists for long-term care services. We need to meet our current commitments before promising more.
\nThird \u2013 there is enough money in our public and private health care system today to make the system work. We can\u2019t spend our way out of this problem \u2013 that\u2019s too easy in the short term and too painful in the long term.
\nThe next three years is an extremely risky time for our state budget and for our health system, and while it may be easier to take the federal money and figure out how to pay for it later, I am not willing to commit us to a short-sighted decision we will not be able to back away from.
\nInstead of expanding a broken program we will continue working together to implement real health solutions for South Carolinians \u2013 because a health system that delivers the highest value will be able to thrive regardless of what the future throws at us.
\nFinally, tonight, let us talk about education.
\nFirst, it would be wrong to have a discussion about education without first taking time to remember the victims of the tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary School. Please join me in a moment of silence.
\nThank you.
\nIn South Carolina, we have done some useful things on education in the last couple of years.
\nWe\u2019ve reaffirmed our commitment to charter schools.
\nWe\u2019ve invested in innovation with a focus on both rural and urban areas through programs like Teach For America.
\nGeneral Zais has pushed the federal government for more flexibility to manage and evaluate our schools and educators \u2013 and he won.
\nSo we\u2019ve seen some progress. But our state still has a long, long way to go.
\nThere is no surer path out of poverty and toward a quality life than having a good education.
\nBut it\u2019s not only that. Having a well-educated workforce is a real factor in attracting more businesses and jobs to our state. There\u2019s a real economic element to improving education as well.
\nI know there are some strong school choice bills that are making their way through the General Assembly, and as I\u2019ve always said I support school choice. It will be good for the parents and children of our state to be able to make their own family decisions, and it should have happened a long time ago.
\nBut I have never been one who believes that choice is the only way to improve education. It is one way, a truly important way, but we have to do other things as well.
\nTonight, I want to start a conversation about the way we fund K through twelve schools in South Carolina.
\nI say \u201cI want to start a conversation,\u201d for two reasons.
\nNumber one, I am not by nature patient person but I know from painful experience that the General Assembly is a body that does not often move quickly. So I figure let\u2019s start with a constructive conversation rather than a controversial piece of legislation and let\u2019s see where that takes us.
\nNumber two, I know that when we start to talk about how we fund our schools, a lot of people can get really nervous really quickly. So let\u2019s take this calmly, and just start with a conversation.
\nAs we all know, sometimes conservations lead to more.
\nMy starting point for this conversation is personal.
\nMichael and I are the proud parents of two children in Lexington County public schools.
\nI am grateful every day that my children attend public schools where the teachers are exceptional, the facilities are first-class, and the sense of opportunity and hope for the future pulsate through the classrooms and hallways.
\nBut let\u2019s be honest in this conversation. What I\u2019m describing is not what schools are like in all parts of our state.
\nI grew up in Bamberg, going to school in a brick box. My education was wonderful because of very special teachers, but when it came to resources, we didn\u2019t know what we didn\u2019t have. I know what it\u2019s like in Bamberg and in many other rural and poorer areas of our state.
\nI am NOT one who believes that more money is the answer to our education problems. There are other bigger factors, including poverty and broken families.
\nBut the amount of money that actually touches a teacher and student in the classroom is without a doubt a factor in the differences between those schools \u2013 and between the education that those children receive.
\nNow, here\u2019s the tricky part.
\nWe must not do anything that undermines the quality of our schools in Lexington or Greenville or in any of the economically vibrant parts of our state. The parents of those students pay the taxes that fund their education, and I will play no part in diminishing the return they receive.
\nBut we do have to figure out a better way to bring up the schools in the poorer parts of our state, and history shows that we cannot count on their own depressed local tax bases and restrictive federal dollars to do it.
\nWe need to spend our dollars smarter. We need to be more accountable. And we need to better serve all the children in South Carolina.
\nSo, I want to start a conversation.
\nAnd I want to start it with three distinguished members of this General Assembly.
\nThe first two are Senator John Courson and Representative Phil Owens, respectively the Chairmen of the Senate and House Education Committees.
\nThe third person I want to reach out to for that conversation is Senator Nikki Setzler.
\nNow Senator Setzler and I have had some differences. That\u2019s ok. That\u2019s politics.
\nBut I respect his commitment to public education. I know he shares my interest in keeping our Lexington County schools as great as they are. And as the newly elected Senate Democratic leader, I know he and his caucus have at heart the areas of our state that are in most need of attention on education.
\nSo Senators Courson and Setzler, Representative Owens, I invite you to join me in this conversation.
\nI\u2019m convinced that we can change our policies in ways that improve educational quality for all our children. But I\u2019m also convinced that we can\u2019t do that without touching some sensitive topics, and without bipartisan support and consensus from all parts of our state.
\nLet us begin that conversation.
\nThis new year, I have found myself reflecting on the last two.
\nI came into office wanting to make changes that move us forward in a way the people could feel it in their homes and businesses.
\nWe’ve had some great successes together whether they be job announcements, taking our pensions system from the red to the black, reducing taxes, fighting to protect Boeing from the federal government, or creating an Office of Inspector General.
\nIn the same vein we have had some challenges, watching a two year restructuring effort fall in the Senate on the last hour, learning firsthand what businesses have been fighting for years as criminal hackers targeted our state, or watching with frustration as both parties in Washington are unable to find resolutions that help states but instead place further burdens on them.
\nI come away from these reflections very optimistic because I know what we in South Carolina are capable of when we work together.
\nI know that we have added over 31,000 new jobs in South Carolina because we have acted as a team, from the county level to the economic development alliances to the state.
\nThe success we\u2019ve had in the jobs arena shows what can happen when there is a willingness to work together.
\nThe challenges come in when we lose focus on the issue and the finger pointing begins.
\nMy goal is to continue to strive for a positive environment that produces results.
\nI ask that you join me in proving to the people of South Carolina that we are and will be more productive in the new year.
\nWe won’t always agree but we should always be willing to respectfully work towards a resolution for the good of the state.
\nThe people of our state have enough challenges, and they deserve the satisfaction of knowing that Columbia is working for them.
\nWe have a choice this year. We can spend our time playing politics. We can snipe at each other. We can use the pulpits we all have access to \u2013 the wells of these distinguished bodies, the microphones on top of a podium \u2013 to score political points.
\nBut I believe our state deserves better.
\nI believe this is the year we can make the people of South Carolina proud by giving them successes on restructuring, on tax relief, on regulatory reform, on strengthening protections in cybersecurity, on healthcare, on education and by raising the bar on the ethics of public officials.
\nIt is a great day in South Carolina, but it will only continue if we make it so.
\nI for one look forward to the fingers going down and the handshakes of celebration beginning.
\nThank you, God bless you, and may He continue to bless the great State of South Carolina. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Mr. Speaker, Mr. President, Ladies and Gentlemen of the General Assembly, Constitutional Officers, and my fellow South Carolinians: This and every year, we will continue the tradition that recognizes the certain truth that everything we have in this state and this nation we owe, first and foremost, to the men and women in uniform who […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-9030","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-uncategorized","7":"entry"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/s2gEQ0-9030","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kevinbryant.com\/kbarchive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9030","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kevinbryant.com\/kbarchive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kevinbryant.com\/kbarchive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kevinbryant.com\/kbarchive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kevinbryant.com\/kbarchive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9030"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.kevinbryant.com\/kbarchive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9030\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9082,"href":"https:\/\/www.kevinbryant.com\/kbarchive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9030\/revisions\/9082"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kevinbryant.com\/kbarchive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9030"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kevinbryant.com\/kbarchive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9030"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kevinbryant.com\/kbarchive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9030"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}