Nikki Haley in 2012 Governor's State of the State speeches
On Budget & Economy:
It's time for truth in budgeting; & government spending cap
During the past several years, agencies have faced financial challenges and used fund balances and flexibility to shift money between accounts to cover expenses like rent and payroll. With revenues increasing, state government needs to stop these
non-transparent accounting practices. It's time for truth in budgeting. In my Executive Budget, we have funded agency operations with recurring funds so that taxpayers can see how much and where money is spent. No more agency shell games.
No more one-time money for multi-year expenses. Much of the so-called "growth" in this budget is not growth at all, but simply us being honest about how much it costs to operate state government.To permanently control spending, our government can
and must function within a spending cap. Any General Fund dollars above and beyond that cap must go towards tax relief, debt relief, or reserve funds. We cannot continue to spend every dollar we have. It has to end.
Source: 2012 S.C. State of the State Address
Jan 18, 2012
On Crime:
Restore funding for Law Enforcement DNA lab
Our budget strengthened the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division. We have restored funding to our DNA lab, so that SLED can clear the backlogs. We have increased the number of SLED agents, equipment, and their technology budget.
And we've brought Chief Mark Keel home, where he belongs, so that SLED can return, quickly, to its intended mission: Serving the sheriffs and chiefs across South Carolina.
Source: 2012 S.C. State of the State Address
Jan 18, 2012
On Education:
Make a real investment in our charter schools
Every child in South Carolina learns differently, some more so than others. It is our responsibility as the leadership of this state to embrace that reality, not fight it, and give all of our children the chance to learn, to grow, and to thrive.
And so the time to make a real investment in our charter schools has come--and our budget does just that. Charters are innovators--we need those fresh insights and ideas to help us improve our educational system for all of South Carolina's children.
Source: 2012 S.C. State of the State Address
Jan 18, 2012
On Environment:
Charleston is now US's top tourism spot; sell South Carolina
From the tidal creeks of Beaufort to the shores of Lake Keowee, South Carolina is blessed with the kind of natural beauty that makes us the envy of the nation. And this was the year we finally beat San Francisco--
Charleston was named the top tourist destination in America. But we can't rely on God's gifts alone to keep our tourism industry--the second largest industry in our state--turning. We have to sell South Carolina.
Source: 2012 S.C. State of the State Address
Jan 18, 2012
On Government Reform:
We capped lawsuit damages; next tort reform is loser-pays
Until 2011, South Carolina was the only state in the southeast that did not cap damages on lawsuits. Thanks to the people in this room, that is no longer the case. That was a huge first step. Remember that there is always more to be done on tort reform.
Looking at the states we compete with--the Tennessees, the Alabamas, the Virginias--it would be na‹ve to think they will settle for playing second fiddle to South Carolina in the economic arms race. They will scrap for jobs every bit as hard as we will.
And the greater the protection we give our people and businesses from frivolous lawsuits, the better positioned we will be to capitalize on other assets. The next step in tort reform is a loser-pays system, so that there is a real cost to suits that
waste the time and money of our businesses and our courts, and that our companies understand that South Carolina won't stand for trial lawyers playing games with their bottom line.
Source: 2012 S.C. State of the State Address
Jan 18, 2012
On Health Care:
Medicaid is a broken system; federal mandates cause problems
Our number one health care problem in this country was its high cost--the way to provide better health to our citizens was not just massively expanding a broken system by giving it more government money. Medicaid is that broken system--there is too much
waste, too much fraud, and too little focus on prevention and personal responsibility. And almost all of those problems are caused by the mandates of the federal government. But here in South Carolina, we are tackling the root causes of our problems, not
just the symptoms. We are shifting towards Medicaid managed care, which saves us money and delivers better quality than traditional Medicaid. And we are giving managed care companies a financial stake in improving quality year after year. No longer will
S.C. bear the costs of poorly managed health care alone. We will continue to push back against the federal takeover of our health care system. South Carolina does not want, and cannot afford, the President's health care plan. Not now, and not ever.
Source: 2012 S.C. State of the State Address
Jan 18, 2012
On Health Care:
No government-run health exchanges; transparency instead
South Carolina does not want, and cannot afford, the President's health care plan. Not now, and not ever. To that end, we will not pursue the type of government-run health exchanges being forced on us by Washington.
Despite the rose-colored rhetoric coming out of D.C., these exchanges are nothing more than a way to make the state do the federal government's bidding in spending massive amounts of taxpayer dollars on insurance subsidies that we can't afford.
We will have no part in that. Instead, we will continue to fight to increase transparency between patients and doctors and doctors and insurance companies and to get South Carolinians invested again in their health care .
As a nation, we can no longer allow ourselves to be divorced from the true cost of our health care--and in South Carolina, we won't be.
Source: 2012 S.C. State of the State Address
Jan 18, 2012
On Homeland Security:
We are a patriotic people; we love those in uniform
The hardest part of my job is the calls I make to the families of our fallen heroes, but each time I put down the phone, I am touched and amazed by the strength, the grace, and the pride with which these brave survivors handle the tremendous sacrifice
of their loved one. We are a patriotic people, South Carolinians. We love our state, we love our country, and we love our men and women who put on the uniform, who keep us safe. They are our parents and our children, our husbands and our
wives, our mothers, our fathers, our siblings, our friends.
Tonight, there are 766 families across the state with loved ones in the South Carolina Army National Guard who are deployed and serving overseas, far from their homes.
Our family shares a special bond with the military families of South Carolina. Like them, we know the pride of watching our loved one wear the uniform of the strongest, proudest nation in the history of the world--loving his job.
Source: 2012 S.C. State of the State Address
Jan 18, 2012
On Jobs:
Pledge that every citizen who wants a job, has a job
When this Administration came into office, just over a year ago, with unemployment in double digits and growing, our focus was almost singular--jobs. The reason is fairly simple: if you give a person a job, you take care of a family.
And we have a lot of families to take care of in South Carolina. The good news is we've made great progress this past year. The bad news is we still have a ways to go. But my pledge to each of you sitting before me tonight, and more importantly, to the
4.6 million South Carolinians outside of these walls, is that I will not rest until we've created a climate in which every citizen of this state who wants a job, has a job. We have grown and expanded our
South Carolina family this year, welcoming in some wonderful new partners. And after all was said and done, we were able to celebrate $5 billion of investment in South Carolina, and the recruitment of almost 20,000 new jobs in our great state.
Source: 2012 S.C. State of the State Address
Jan 18, 2012
On Jobs:
We pushed back & NLRB dropped its frivolous Boeing lawsuit
In the fall of 2009, Boeing chose North Charleston as the location to build a new line of 787 Dreamliners. While they were creating 1,000 jobs here, they were expanding 2,000 more in Washington State. Not a single Boeing worker was hurt by their decision
--in fact, just the opposite. A commitment from Boeing--to a state, to a community, to a work force--is a proven commitment.Then, the National Labor Relations Board reared its head, suing Boeing in what will surely be remembered as one of the most
fundamentally un-American decisions ever handed down by the federal government. And South Carolina would not stand for it. we pushed back. Our federal delegation. Business leaders. State and local officials. And most importantly, the citizens of South
Carolina. And Boeing stood tall. Under tremendous pressure from the President and his union allies, this great American company said no, we did nothing wrong and we refuse to cave. And late last year, the NLRB backed down and dropped its frivolous suit.
Source: 2012 S.C. State of the State Address
Jan 18, 2012
On Jobs:
ReadySC: work force training; vocational & technical college
The tools for an effective job training program already exist--we just need to do a better job of putting the puzzle together. Our technical colleges and vocational rehab programs are as good as any in the country.
ReadySC has proven, time and time again, it can deliver the workers our companies need--and deliver them swiftly.
It is our responsibility to ensure that the left hand is talking to the right, that we aren't wasteful, and that every dollar directed to work force training is actually spent training our work force.
Before the month is out, you will see us unveil a restructuring of our work force training program. We will get our communities ready and put South Carolina back to work.
Source: 2012 S.C. State of the State Address
Jan 18, 2012
On Jobs:
I love that we are one of the least unionized states
I love that we are one of the least unionized states in the country. It is an economic development tool unlike any other. Our companies in South Carolina understand that they are only as good as those who work for them, and they take care of their
employees. The people of South Carolina have a strong work ethic, they value loyalty, and they take tremendous pride in the quality of their work. We don't have unions in South Carolina because we don't need unions in South Carolina.
However, the unions don't understand that. They will do everything they can to invade our state and drive a wedge between our workers and our employers. We can't have that. Unions thrive in the dark.
Secrecy is their greatest ally, sunlight their most potent adversary. We can and we will do more to protect South Carolina businesses by shining that light on every action the unions take.
Source: 2012 S.C. State of the State Address
Jan 18, 2012
On Jobs:
No unemployment benefits for workers on strike
Unions thrive in the dark. Secrecy is their greatest ally, sunlight their most potent adversary. We can and we will do more to protect South Carolina businesses by shining that light on every action the unions take.
We will require unions to tell the people of South Carolina how much money they are making on our backs, which politicians they are funding, and how much they are paying themselves.
We will protect the right of every private and public citizen to refuse to join a union, and, by Executive Order, I will make it clear that our state will not subsidize striking workers by paying them unemployment benefits.
And we'll make the unions understand full well that they are not needed, not wanted, and not welcome in the State of South Carolina.
Source: 2012 S.C. State of the State Address
Jan 18, 2012
On Social Security:
Public service retirees: no COLA; no spiking; no double-dip
The size of our pension system's unfunded liability has ballooned from $199 million in 1999 to $17 billion this year. If we are to honor our commitments to those who have already dedicated their careers to public service, then no one can dispute that
this is an issue we must resolve to deal with today.Our current policy of automatically awarding cost of living increases is irresponsible and unsustainable. To protect our pension funds, we must stop granting cost-of-living increases to our retirees
in years when the funds are losing money. It may not be politically popular, but it's the only responsible thing to do.
There are a number of other reforms that we must adopt in order to shore up the retirement systems and to curtail further abuses.
We need anti-spiking provisions that keep employees from using sick leave and vacation to artificially inflate their pension payouts. For new enrollees, we need to close the doors to the TERI program once and for all to prevent double-dipping.
Source: 2012 S.C. State of the State Address
Jan 18, 2012
On Tax Reform:
Flatten individual income tax from six brackets to three
Tax reform is critical to our state--every conversation we have with CEOs at some point drifts to our tax structure. Our budget includes almost $140 million in tax cuts for the people and businesses of South Carolina. These cuts will flatten the
individual income tax from six brackets to three, reduce taxes for the citizens of our state by almost 80 million dollars, and phase out the corporate income tax over a four year period, injecting much needed dollars back into our businesses
and giving us an unbelievable economic development tool. The tax relief we ultimately adopt must be broad-based, offering relief to as many South Carolinians as possible. And these tax cuts should mean lower rates--not more credits, exemptions, and
loopholes that only benefit a chosen few. Together, I believe we can agree to a set of tax cuts that make South Carolina more competitive and send more dollars back where they belong--in the pockets of the people and businesses of our state.
Source: 2012 S.C. State of the State Address
Jan 18, 2012
On Technology:
Deepen the port of Charleston; return to greatness
Our ports are vital. No one will work harder to get the funding necessary to deepen the Port of Charleston--starting with the creation of a port infrastructure fund in this year's executive budget. Part of South Carolina's advantage in recruiting
industry is the Port of Charleston. It is a huge part of why companies like Bridgestone & Michelin come to and expand in our state. From the first day of our Administration, I have worked with our federal delegation to clear away all of the impediments
to making Charleston the premier port in the southeast--starting with getting the port to the depth of 50 feet. There has been much discussion about DHEC's decision and whether two viable ports in the region are good or bad for the economics of
S.C. businesses and our state. I am not afraid of a 48-foot Georgia port, 36 miles up the Savannah River, confined to one-way traffic. You should not be either. Let's quit bickering and work together to see Charleston return to its greatness.
Source: 2012 S.C. State of the State Address
Jan 18, 2012
Page last updated: Aug 10, 2019