Indiana governor delivers his final State of the State address

Gov. Eric Holcomb entered the full House chamber Tuesday night, greeted with applause as he shook hands with everyone along the aisle on his way to the podium to deliver his eighth and final State of the State address.

“A ship in port is safe, but that is not what ships are for”—Holcomb began with a quote from Grace Hopper, one of the first female admirals of the U.S. Navy, of which Holcomb was once a member.

In his address, Holcomb highlighted the changes in Indiana in the past seven years of his term and his plan for the future.

“I do not plan to safely stay anchored in port for the next 12 months. After all, standing still, is not what we are Indiana for,” Holcomb said.

On top of being a top-10 agricultural state and a leader in plant, animal and life sciences, Indiana was ranked the No. 1 state in which to start a business by Forbes, Holcomb said, saying Indiana is also one of the lowest cost-of-living states.

Holcomb added that Indiana’s GDP has grown by over $150 billion and employment is up by 200,000 jobs while unemployment is at a record low.

For changes in taxes and salary, Indiana’s personal income taxes were cut to 3.05% and military members no longer have to pay taxes on their military income or pensions, which was met with lots of applause from the House and guests.

The audience laughed, followed with hollers and applause, as Holcomb joked about the final year of construction of I-69.

“This is the year—yes, it is finally arriving—when I-69 connects Indianapolis to Evansville,” he said. “INDOT has led the partnership with our private sector partners, and I am so proud to be approaching the final mile of construction after decades of discussion.”

Holcomb announced the Lilly Endowment will make the single largest grant award in its 86-year history: $250 million to support READI 2.0 projects. These projects include the rehabilitation and restoration of old houses and statewide arts and culture initiatives.

In attendance were consul generals of Japan and Israel. Holcomb thanked them for their long-standing relationships with Indiana.

“A few months back, I attended an event at Indiana’s War Memorial. A young lady introduced herself and shared an observation that immediately rang true,” Holcomb said. She said the now-old version of the Gold-Star Families’ license plates didn’t convey the full meaning of the sacrifice these Hoosiers made.

The young woman, Lauren Tomikiewicz, lost her husband in a NATO training accident, and she didn’t shy away from helping to redesign the plate. In attendance at the speech were Tomikiewicz and her late husband’s mother. Tomikiewicz held up the new license plate as the audience applauded.

“Let’s continue to live up to the Indiana Model in the legislative session ahead,” Gov Holcomb said while beginning to outline all of the work he still plans to do before his last session is over.

With lots of  “we musts,” Holcomb committed to tasks he would like to see through.

He wants to see third-grade reading policies improved as well as preparing students for a “digitally driven world” by requiring computer science classes to be taken to graduate high school.

In addition to teaching, he said expanding Indiana’s child-care workforce is a plan as well.

Near the end, Holcomb paid homage to his dog, Henry, who passed away recently. “A new year brings about reflection and preparation for what’s next. I only wish our buddy Henry was here to do it with us,” he said.He ended his speech with a final joke and sentiment.

“My fellow Hoosiers, even if I live long enough to need a “smart knee” or two, I will regard the privilege of having served as your governor as the honor of a lifetime.”