Thank you, Speaker Hanshaw.
Thank you, Senate President Smith.
It’s a great day to be a West Virginian.
I want to start with a few recognitions.
A hearty welcome to the Board of Public Works
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Attorney General J.B. McCuskey
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Auditor Mark Hunt
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Secretary of State Kris Warner
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Treasurer Larry Pack
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Agriculture Commissioner Kent Leonhardt
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State Superintendent Michele Blatt
To the West Virginia Supreme Court
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Chief Justice William R. Wooton
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Justice Elizabeth D. Walker
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Justice Tim Armstead
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Justice Haley Bunn
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Justice Charles S. Trump, IV
To my Cabinet Officials
To distinguished members of the House and Senate
To the Japanese Delegation:
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Ambassador Shigeo Yamada (shi-gay-o)
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Ambassador Mikio Mori
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Honorary Consul Larry Rector
To my Governor’s Office Staff
To everyone in state government who makes this place tick
To my daughter Julia and her husband George
And to our wonderful First Lady Denise.
Thank you for being here…
I want to start with a story.
Every year as your Attorney General, I made it a priority to speak at the American Legions’ Boys State.
It is a tradition I hope to continue as your governor.
It is a tremendous event with some of the brightest high school boys in our state. They run a government and learn about civics, the legislature, and all sorts of cool things.
You can’t help but have a smile on your face when you meet these young men.
Over the years, my speeches have changed, but I have asked two questions.
The first question is: how many people here want to go to college?
When I ask that question, nearly every hand goes up.
Then I follow up and ask: how many people think there will be a good job available for you here in West Virginia once you graduate?
Every year, about 20% of the hands go up. Think about that. It’s heartbreaking: 4 out of 5 of these kids feel they need to leave the state to find a job.
We’ll only really know we’re successful as a state when every one of those kids raises their hand.
Tonight, I want to share my vision for how to make those hands go up and help kids and grandkids make West Virginia home forever.
Let me start by sharing with you my upbringing – It’s not unlike most West Virginians.
My father was a WWII vet who worked for a steel company and my mom was a VA nurse.
With four kids to raise, they worked very hard and saved for everything we had.
My parents taught me the value of hard work, determination, and grit – attributes that also embody the mountaineer spirit.
I started working when I was seven years old and delivered newspapers with my siblings. I worked many odd jobs when I was growing up.
I tried to balance high school with academics, sports, and work.
You wouldn’t believe it, but I was once a skinny cross country runner and a pretty good tennis player.
Nothing’s changed, right?
I paid my way through college, becoming the first in my family to graduate, and went on to get a law degree. I had financial struggles along the way and nearly went bankrupt as a young adult. But, I soldiered on.
That doesn’t make me special. That’s just the story of most West Virginians.
Our people are the proud product of resilience and hard work.
For generations, our state has played a huge role in America’s success.
For over two centuries, we powered the needs of our country, relying on good old fashion West Virginia resources and a hungry workforce.
Our coal miners travel deep inside the earth to extract this rock, which powers our state and makes our steel. Our oil and gas workers break their backs as they work to heat our homes, run our factories, and allow our people to flourish. We won World Wars, in part, thanks to the efforts of so many West Virginians.
We are, and always will be, America’s energy state…
Our fossil fuels have had challenges in recent years. But we persevered through the War on Coal, and dealt a major blow to Biden’s radical Green New Deal.
When I served as your Attorney General, I built the coalition that stopped the radical liberals in DC, which threatened our West Virginia way of life. We went all the way up to the U.S. Supreme Court in the famous West Virginia v. EPA case, and won, saving thousands of West Virginia jobs — and we dealt a big blow to the deep state in the process.
Tonight, I am here to tell you that our deep energy reserves will help our workers soar again.
Right now, there’s a ferocious competition between the United States and China. The winner will be the country which powers the enormous data needs of tomorrow.
Years ago, the China virus devastated our economy and screeched it to a halt.
Now, we have a new threat.
China already generates half of the world’s coal fired power, which gives it a huge advantage in the arms race for computing power and intelligence.
America can either find a way to dramatically increase its power production, or China will eclipse our nation in a technological battle that will determine our national security.
West Virginia will play a critical role in this competition.
Now, with President Donald J. Trump back in the White House, I know our state and our nation are on our way to a resurgence and a golden era unlike anything we’ve seen before.
We will once again be the engine that powers our country.
That means using even more coal and gas, utilizing our rich water resources, and developing nuclear-powered Small Modular Reactors.
It also means expanding the use of micro-grids and investing in our educational institutions to train the high-skilled and well-paid workers who will be the key to success in the next decade.
Tonight, I am announcing a new strategic investment in this area. We will be establishing the West Virginia POWER Tech Center – that stands for the Powering Our Workforce through Energy and Revolutionary Technology Center.
This center will represent a first-of-its-kind collaboration between some of our key educational institutions — WVU, Marshall, Shepherd University, Blue Ridge Technical — to help West Virginia become the most innovative, aggressive supplier of energy to the growing technology industry.
As part of this effort, we will slash the red tape and bureaucracy that have kept our energy in the ground for far too long.
We will partner with the world’s foremost experts, job-creators, and innovators to examine the intersection between energy and technology.
We will adopt regulatory and tax policies that make West Virginia the most dynamic and friendly state in the country for data, super intelligence, and cryptocurrency facilities.
This new center will not only help drive state and national thinking on data and energy needs, but it will create new opportunities for the type of advanced manufacturing jobs that provide long-term economic security for our state. This Center will teach our students in these new fields and also play a crucial role in our state’s vo-tech renaissance.
Beyond the need for data engineers, robotics expertise, and technical literacy, we’ll need to become the preeminent factory training new electricians, plumbers, sheet metal workers, and contractors.
We will ensure that good-paying jobs are available for all West Virginians.
West Virginia has power, and by God, we are going to use it.
We’ll use every last ounce to fuel our Mountain State Comeback.
It’s no secret that West Virginia has its fair share of challenges.
Tonight, we must be honest with West Virginians about the pathway in front of us.
We are going to succeed wildly, but our road to competing and winning will take some time.
Especially in light of some of the problems we’ve inherited over the years.
We rank 49th in educational attainment, 50th in public health, and last in workforce participation. No one should be satisfied with that.
We’ve inherited some big problems.
And then there’s our budget…
The most basic rule of budgeting, whether you’re a family sitting at the kitchen table, or you’re the state of West Virginia, is that you can’t spend more money than you make.
That’s particularly important now.
The budget that I inherited would have put us approximately $400M into the red for fiscal year 2026. And over $500M into the red for 2027, and over $550M-$600M annually after that.
These are not debatable numbers – All West Virginians will be able to see that for themselves.
We inherited a deep structural deficit.
It was papered over with one-time money that’s now running out.
Some have suggested that we have over $2.1B in reserves that can be spent. But that’s very misleading.
The truth is, of that $2.1B, $1.3B is the rainy day fund.
It’s reserved for the most severe of emergencies – think of a major flood or a natural disaster, a severe economic downturn, or a depression. Only in the most desperate of times do you touch that nest egg.
If you dip into this emergency fund, you begin to jeopardize the state bond ratings which would cause our interest rates to go up.
That means we only have about $800M of one-time monies left to deal with a massive structural problem. Without action now, we would have to dip into the emergency fund in less than two years.
That’s why there’s real urgency now.
Tonight, I’m submitting the Mountain State Comeback Budget, a balanced budget which represents a down payment on a multi-year plan to solve our state’s financial challenges.
Under my administration, our hallmark will be fiscal responsibility.
Our budget will not propose new ongoing programs without new ongoing revenue.
We plan on over 2% of general revenue budget reductions and many other changes to bring our budget to balance and to protect taxpayers as we go after waste, abuse, and overspending in the system. Over the next year, we will have even bigger challenges as some really tough choices remaining.
One of my first acts as Governor was to sign an executive order directing all state agencies to review their spending and save taxpayer dollars.
I’ve already proposed consolidating three departments and will soon be pushing to eliminate unnecessary boards and commissions.
We are merging the Department of Homeland Security with the Adjutant General’s Office. Tourism will merge with Arts and Culture. And we’re reuniting Commerce and the Economic Development Office.
We have hired a Chief Financial Officer who will manage audits and performance reviews, find savings, and look for improvements across all parts of government.
We’re going to uncover all of the waste and abuse that hides in the dark corners of state government – and we will root it out. If you like what President Trump is doing in DC, you’ll love what we’re doing here in West Virginia.
Another major driver of West Virginia’s budgetary challenges is the Public Employees Insurance Agency. This is a problem that, quite frankly, has been kicked down the road. And now we must deal with it.
My budget grows P-E-I-A by about $45 million this year so that the state can meet its legal obligations. Yet that new state commitment doesn’t even address the 14.4 percent employee premium increase expected this year. This is one of the many problems that we have inherited!
Tonight, I ask the Legislature to work with me to develop short and long-term solutions to P-E-I-A and to find ways to help retirees on fixed incomes — without pushing our problems into the future.
I pledged to be an agent of change, and I understand that some don’t like it.
Often, I hear, “That’s not the way it’s done around here.”
Well, you’re damn right.
What we have done in the past isn’t moving the needle fast enough.
This is now about coming together as a team to make better decisions for our citizens.
We are all on team West Virginia now.
Despite our challenges, we do have substantial assets at our disposal as we start our Mountain State Comeback.
First, we are America’s energy state, and with President Trump’s help, we will maximize our amazing resources to help the United States compete in the world economy. No one can match our incredible mix of coal, gas, and water resources.
Second, we are strategically located and have hardscrabble workers ready to take on new challenges. The marriage of energy and data centers could lead to generational wealth for our citizens if we seize this opportunity.
Third, we are nimble and can move fast to grow quickly. With your help, we’ll enact legislation to improve education, cut red tape, implement tax reform, and be more competitive.
And fourth, I will work with you and put in long hours to help our state succeed. I actually live nearby, but I will also come to your districts. During my campaign for Governor, I visited every one of our 55 counties at least twice. I am humbled to have earned a mandate of 62 percent in the past election, winning every single county. I know that the vast majority of voters support our agenda.
Tonight, let’s come together and put the people’s interests over the special interests.
Let’s work toward being that shining state in the mountains.
West Virginians can typically agree on a few things we love: coal, pepperoni rolls, and beating Pitt.
As you know, I’ve taken this rivalry to a new level, declaring an economic “Backyard Brawl” with our neighboring states.
Let’s start with the obvious stuff.
Tonight, I am renewing my call to ensure we have the lowest income tax of the states we touch. I want to work with you to make that a reality.
Now, some may question why I want to lower taxes when the state has inherited a shortfall.
But the answer to fiscal constraints is not to raise taxes – it’s to cut spending and grow our economy.
We’re going to make West Virginia the most attractive state to live, work, and do business.
That means being competitive in site selection – where businesses can find easily accessible plots of land to build plants, factories, and technology centers. West Virginia must continue to be prepared to welcome big economic projects into the state, and move at warp speed to bring in more high-paying jobs.
Of course, improving workforce participation is the challenge of our time – and it’s one that I plan to confront head-on.
I have directed our workforce team to put together a dynamic jobs portal to identify and help recruit the best candidates for the job needs we have right now in West Virginia.
Every agency and department will participate in our administration’s effort to grow workforce participation…
In today’s economy, maintaining reliable and fast connections to the Internet isn’t a luxury, it’s a necessity. West Virginians don’t want broadband that moves at the speed of slow.
In the upcoming months, we will work with the Trump Administration on how West Virginia should best take advantage of federal broadband dollars and drive economic growth.
Part of successfully competing with our neighbors means reducing or eliminating needless bureaucracy that presents a barrier to entry into West Virginia.
During this legislative session, I’ve identified several areas in need of immediate reform.
First, we must increase efficiency in the permitting processes, so that our transportation, manufacturing, and energy construction projects are not bogged down in a sea of red tape.
We’re drafting legislation that will create a “one-stop shop” system for permitting approvals. So, when you want to expand a business or build a manufacturing facility – you come to one office to help to coordinate and expedite all the various permits you need to start your project.
To bring transparency to the process, we’re going to set up an online “dashboard,” so you can monitor where your project is in the process – and where the holdups may be. And if you experience delays – and it’s our fault – we’ll refund your fees.
If you need expedited permitting, we will make that an option for you.
This will be efficiency our state has never seen before.
Second, we need universal licensing reciprocity.
We need to ensure that folks such as contractors, electricians, or nurses who are licensed in another state, can move to West Virginia and get to work right away.
When other states passed universal licensing reciprocity, it helped increase their workforce population by thousands.
Third, West Virginia needs a much more competitive healthcare environment. We must repeal Certificate of Need mandates and allow innovation and entrepreneurship to take root
We must also reform how we look at healthcare in West Virginia. Right now, our public health statistics rank lower than any other state in America.
One of the roadblocks to improving our healthcare system is the Certificate of Need process.
A Certificate of Need (CON) is essentially a “permission slip” given out by the government to open a new hospital or healthcare facility.
It hands over power to unelected bureaucrats and major healthcare providers, who decide which communities “need” new or expanded healthcare services.
It’s big government activism at its worst.
Tonight, we move toward the free market!
That’s why I’m calling for a repeal of Certificate of Need laws in the state of West Virginia.
Repealing these laws will help West Virginians, especially in rural parts of the state access more personalized healthcare. It will fast track new private practices, urgent care, and other facilities. It will be a huge shot in the arm for outpatient items and services.
There are too many instances of our citizens not being able to get adequate healthcare within state lines. Senator Rucker’s son, Ambrose, and his wife, Mary Grace, had to travel all the way to Virginia – an hour and a half from their home – to give birth to their child, and go to all the necessary appointments before and after. With West Virginia roots, they were really disappointed their child could not be born on West Virginia soil.
I want to thank the Ruckers for letting me share their story. We’re going to fight for all West Virginians to get the healthcare they need right here in the Mountain State.
Once the government gets out of the way, our healthcare system will begin to flourish.
Repealing CON will be a big step forward to improve access to care for some of our most vulnerable citizens and provide services that barely exist in some parts of our state.
We must eliminate all red tape quickly. Losing out on new businesses and opportunities because of burdensome processes and overregulation is unacceptable.
Because our energy resources are one of our greatest assets, we’re also looking at some very specific ways to boost the production and use of energy – for example, changes that will make accessing oil and gas resources less cumbersome and costly for investors, while maintaining environmental protections.
In order for us to grow long-term, education must be a top priority.
Our classrooms should be centerpieces of excellence.
Recent results from the Nation’s Report Card indicate that West Virginia students are still struggling. In 2024, our students ranked 49th in Grade 8 Math; 48th in Grade 8 Reading; 46th in Grade 4 Math; and 48th in Grade 4 Reading.
While we did see improvement in a few areas – lots of work remains.
It’s one of the reasons the legislature introduced the HOPE scholarship, which I successfully defended as Attorney General. We wanted to ensure every student in West Virginia had an educational option that best fit their needs.
We must continue our focus on the basics like reading, writing, and math – but also embrace 21st-century skills in STEM, coding, and digital literacy.
We’re already seeing great results from the HOPE Scholarship. Nick and Natalie Chapman, who join us here tonight with their son, Noah, utilized the program after their son was diagnosed with dyslexia. They knew that for Noah to thrive, he would need to receive some more specialized instruction.
He enrolled at Covenant Christian in Huntington in November, and Noah’s reading scores skyrocketed. It’s been a life-changer for Noah and the Chapmans, and plenty of others around West Virginia.
The Chapmans are a shining example of what we can provide when we open up opportunities and give parents a choice. Thank you, Noah.
During my inaugural address, I spoke about the importance of paying teachers more competitively with other states we touch.
Good teachers are the heart of any educational attainment strategy.
This year, I will be asking the Legislature to work with me to open up the antiquated school aid formula so that we can address all of our financial needs at once: those of our families, our taxpayers, and our teachers.
This is another area where we should collaborate with the Trump Administration. West Virginia needs more flexibility from the federal government to administer its school aid monies and help our kids excel in math, science, reading, and other subjects.
I know the Trump Administration wants to work with West Virginia to help us rise.
Teachers have told me time and time again that in order to be at their best, they need to maintain control of their classrooms and eliminate distractions. We need to work on this.
That’s why tonight I am calling on the Legislature to allow schools to ban cell phones in the classroom.
Other states have already seen success from similar laws, and I want to give West Virginia’s schools every tool to increase learning outcomes.
We’re going to expand vocational tech and the way we prepare students to enter the job market.
We will have expanded apprenticeships, internships, and partnerships with the business community to show our young people and our workforce that our future is bright.
I want every West Virginian to do meaningful work and make an honest living – no matter what educational route they take.
You don’t need a four year degree to succeed.
One of West Virginia’s great strengths is our conservative values. We stand for God, life, religious liberty, the 2nd Amendment, our Constitution, and our freedoms. And we’ll always fight for those values.
Within 30 short days, we’ve already made progress tackling some of those issues.
From day one, I said that we’re going to root out DEI and eradicate the woke virus from infecting our schools.
Upon taking office, I issued an executive order to eliminate DEI in state government and any entity receiving state resources.
Here in West Virginia, we’re going to follow the equal protection clause of the Constitution. Every person is equal in the eyes of God, and starting now, they will be equal under the law as well.
We are not going to provide unlawful special privileges to special classes of people.
Already, several of our largest universities have taken steps to shut down their DEI programs.
That’s a win for West Virginia – and we’re not done yet.
We are going to stand on the side of truth.
Last week, I joined President Donald Trump in the White House, signing an executive order that banned men from competing in women’s sports.
And I had a chance to meet with my friend Riley Gaines, who has led the charge to save women’s sports and protect women’s spaces.
This legislative session, we will pass the Riley Gaines Act.
We will define sex-based terms such as “woman,” “man,” “girl,” and “mother;” allow for facilities such as locker rooms, bathrooms, and rape crisis centers to be based on biological sex. West Virginia will lead with common sense!
This fight is about young girls like Emmy Salerno, who was forced to compete against a male in track and field.
Emmy and her teammates from Lincoln High School in Harrison County bravely took a stand and refused to participate. We are grateful that Emmy and her parents are with us tonight. Thank you, Emmy.
As Attorney General, I was proud to support them, taking their case all the way to the Supreme Court where it still remains. I think we’re going to win that case.
But it shouldn’t take a lawsuit to fix this. Let’s restore common sense and fairness so Emmy, her teammates, and girls across the state have the right to their own competitions, locker rooms, and private spaces.
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As your governor, my duty is to protect and defend the citizens of West Virginia.
I’m already partnering with President Trump to crack down on illegal immigration and stop the flow of deadly fentanyl into our communities.
The impact can be seen all over the Mountain State.
West Virginia has the highest drug overdose death rate in the country.
Opioids have ravaged our residents, damaging families and ruining lives.
But we have fought back.
Over the last few years, we have made great strides in combatting the drug mess.
Unfortunately, an open southern border and lax immigration enforcement has caused another deadly drug to rear its head – fentanyl, which causes over 80% of overdose deaths.
Thanks to four years of negligence at our southern border, every state is now a border state.
Jennifer Crane is here with us tonight, and she’s had a unique look inside the drug epidemic ravaging our state. Jennifer was once an addict, who recovered and now serves as a support and recovery specialist for others facing addiction.
We’re grateful for Jennifer’s work, and those like her. And we’ll be inspired by her courage as we partner with the West Virginia First Foundation to prevent another generation of West Virginians from falling prey to senseless death. Thank you, Jennifer.
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I’d like to close on a hopeful note.
On Super Bowl Sunday, many millions of people saw an inspiring ad and sang the lyrics to “Country Roads.”
It was a proud moment to be a West Virginian.
As the music filled living rooms across the country, I couldn’t help but think of the many West Virginians I meet every day who call this state home.
To many around the country, and the world, “Country Roads” is all that comes to mind when they think about our wild and wonderful state in the mountains – and that’s a real shame.
There is so much more to West Virginia than our beloved John Denver Song.
In a few years’ time, when Country Roads plays in Morgantown, thousands of students will be singing not only with pride in a Mountaineer victory.
They will sing with pride knowing that
their job…
their family…
and their future…
… will be right here in West Virginia.
Ladies and Gentlemen, the Mountain State Comeback is here – and it starts right now.
May God bless you. May God bless the United States of America. And may God bless the great state of West Virginia.
