Chapter 19
Just as the president delivers an annual State of the Union address to Congress, governors present an annual “state of the state” address to their respective state legislatures. This address provides each governor with the opportunity to outline a policy agenda and focus the attention of legislators and the media on proposals to achieve the governors’ goals.
The National Governors Association (NGA) recently reviewed all of the state-of-the-state addresses made by governors in 2009 in a report titled, The Governors Speak 2009: A Summary of the State of the State Addresses of the Nations’ Governors. Not surprisingly, in 2009 most governors focused on the sharp downturn in economic conditions across the nation and the severe pains this was causing to state budgeting. In 2009, 32 governors described their state as in difficult budgetary distress, while only 11 said that their state was fiscally in good shape.