Bureau/Division/Agency

Governor

Document Type

Sound

Description

This is Governor John Baldacci.

As the first week in June comes to a close, it is a reminder that the Legislative session will also soon come to a close.

While much has been accomplished by the 124th Legislature, there is still work left to be done.

Together, we have worked through difficult financial times by passing a 2-year State budget that is $500 million dollars less than the previous one.

We have made some hard choices and some painstaking cuts to decrease State spending in the budget for the first time in at least 30 years.

But while times are difficult and money is tight, we must keep an eye toward the future. In order to grow and succeed, we must invest.

We must invest in areas that will create jobs and strengthen our economy.

We must invest in things that draw people here and make Maine special.

We must invest in our most valuable natural resource – our people.

Investing in our transportation infrastructure is necessary and essential to the State.

Transportation is Maine’s lifeline and we should continue to treat it as such.

Hundreds of thousands of tourists use our roads, passenger rails and airports to visit the Pine Tree State four seasons out of the year, every year.

Maine businesses use our ports and rails to ship and receive goods every day.

And you – the citizens of Maine - use bridges and roads for everything from driving your kids to school, to taking a family vacation, to allowing for goods you buy at the grocery store to be delivered to your town.

Our transportation infrastructure is a critical component of our economy now and our economy in the future. We must make investments to keep it strong.

Maine’s economy has the potential to get a significant boost from renewable sources of energy. And now is the time to make those investments.

Maine’s coast is picturesque and pristine, but it is also ripe for offshore wind possibilities.

Additionally, we have already begun to tap into the great potential of our State for wind energy on our land - we have some of the largest wind farms in New England - as well as focusing on energy from wood and solar.

If we allow ourselves to stand idly by while other states and regions make large-scale investments in clean energy, we will lose our opportunity to capitalize on our tremendous natural resources.

We must also continue to put money into the Land for Maine’s Future program, working water fronts, and clean water and environmental protection.

Our natural resources help make Maine special, and we need to care for them and invest in them appropriately.

We must also invest in what I have frequently called our most precious natural resource – our people.

We need to make sure that our young people have the resources they need to succeed at every level and that means making the critical investments in higher education necessary to transform our workforce and give our people the skills and opportunity they need to prosper.

Technology has evolved quickly, so investments in building improvements and energy upgrades are critical to allow the latest technology to be found at our State’s universities, community colleges and Maine Maritime Academy.

Through those institutes of higher education, we have been able to conduct top-of-the-line research, resulting in development of innovations and ideas that receive national recognition and attention.

Investments in research and development continue to pay dividends through economic development and education for the people of our State. When we support the innovators and the entrepreneurs in our State, we support business and job development for our citizens, our communities and our families.

Since taking office in 2003, I have put a priority on job creation and putting our State on firm financial footing.

Those efforts, hard at times, have worked.

We are working through now one of the worst recessions since the Great Depression, and we are working in a bipartisan way. We have been able to adapt to this financial crisis, cutting our budget by $500 million. We have also been able to maintain our strong, stable credit ratings for our State bonds.

So, by doing this Maine can set the example and continue to lead.

I urge the Legislature to continue that effort to pass an aggressive bond package that will help lay the ground work for Maine’s future economic growth and expansion.

Thank you and have a good weekend.

Exact Creation Date

6-6-2009

Duration

00:02:00

Language

English

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