Kansas Governor Laura Kelly gave an in person State of the State address Tuesday for her final year in her first term. She started out the address thanking all her supporters along with her husband and two children for their continued support.
Governor Kelly also thanked the “Heroes” of the pandemic saying “Our health care professionals have persevered, working long, hard hours, for weeks, then months, now years, to save lives,” Kelly said. “They continue to be our heroes.”
The Kansas Governor addressed the state’s economy. She started off by saying the state has the highest surplus in 40 years and expressed her continued support for ending sales tax on food in the state. Governor Kelly also said in her budget she is proposing to freeze state tuition increases and work to attract more business to open shops in Kansas.
Another areas that Governor Kelly discussed was Medicaid expansion would be one of her top priorities. “Medicaid expansion is something we can do right now,” Governor Kelly said. “It is well past time. Let’s get this done. A strong health care system will always be a hallmark of a healthy state and a healthy economy.”
Governor Kelly then went on to discuss some of the things she has done for the state of Kansas saying she was able to fully fund public schools while providing grants to students to help catch up on their educational needs. Governor Kelly also reminded Kansas residents how she has given more support to foster children and increased the budget for local law enforcement agencies.
Ending her speech, she began to go over things that she believes Kansans residents would like saying “New businesses that bring good jobs, strong public schools, roads that don’t wreck their cars, safe communities, access to basic health care, a balanced budget and when possible, and when responsible, tax relief to help working families.”
Political divides were also brought up by the governor as being “toxic”. She highlighted the need for civility and being able to compromise so that “We can be role models for our children.”
Kelly finished her State of the State speech by quoting Buck O’Neil, a baseball player for the Kansas City Monarchs, by saying: “Hold hands with the person next to you. That way, they can’t get away. And neither can you.”
Governor Kelly is up for re-election in 2022. Governor is running for a second term in office. Kansas residents will go to the polls for the primaries on August 2nd.
