Holcomb makes workforce push in final State of the State address
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In his eighth and final State of the State address Tuesday, Gov. Eric Holcomb called for commitments to improving third grade reading levels, expanding the childcare workforce and building greater awareness of the state’s jobs programs.
His prepared speech, delivered to the full body of the Indiana General Assembly, highlighted items outlined in his 2024 agenda released Monday, including requiring a computer science class for high school graduation, working with public universities to expand offerings of two- and three-year degrees and a controversial proposal to hold back third graders who don’t pass the state’s reading assessment.
The Republican governor also drew attention to the state’s achievements during his tenure, including $150 billion in GDP growth, $320 million in broadband investments and tens of billions of dollars in committed capital investments from companies looking to expand or locate in Indiana.
Last year, the federal government selected Indiana as a hydrogen hub, a microelectronics hub and a biotech manufacturing hub, which he said will help boost the state’s image as an innovation center.
“Each will result in millions in new investment, and thousands of good high-paying jobs, and they position Indiana to benefit disproportionately from America’s renewed focus on defense-related manufacturing and our re-shoring strategy,” Holcomb said.
He called attention to two electric vehicle battery factories being built in Kokomo by StarPlus Energy, whose CEO, Yun Jae Kim, was in the audience. Along with Samsung SDI’s similar investment in General Motors in New Carlisle, all three total more than $9 billion in new investment.
“We couldn’t be more humbled by the faith and trust your companies have placed in our Indiana model,” Holcomb said.
He also announced that the Lilly Endowment would provide a $250 million grant to the Indiana Economic Development Corp. to fund projects focused on blight reduction, development and arts and cultural initiatives. The one-time donation to the state’s READI 2.0 program, the Regional Economic Acceleration and Development Initiative launched in 2021, is the single-largest grant in the endowment’s history, Holcomb said.
Before his term ends, Holcomb pledged to finish building 280 miles of trails across the state, bring high-speed internet to more than 70,000 households and businesses, complete the final mile of I-69 that connects Indianapolis to Evansville and make progress on capital projects including the new archives building, Westville prison, a law enforcement academy and co-locating the Indiana School for the Blind and Visually Impaired with the Indiana School for the Deaf.
In his closing remarks, he promised not to be “a ship in port,” instead vowing to “deploy on multiple fronts” until his last day in office.
“We will find constructive answers to any unforeseen challenges that arise when we move from ideas to implementation during these times of great transformation.”