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Tech Talkin’ Govs 2025: Innovation emphasized in governors’ State of the State addresses

January 23, 2025
By: Laura Lacy Graham

With the start of the new year, most governors deliver State of the State addresses or Budget addresses laying out their priorities for the coming year. With revenues for many states relatively consistent with forecasters expectations, lawmakers, with a few exceptions, continue to maintain cautious or constrained views of their funding priorities and proposed initiatives. As a result, many governors in SSTI’s analysis of addresses delivered so far this season, are speaking more about previously implemented programs and their continued successes rather than rolling out many new programs. However, new priorities for growing stronger innovation economies have not been completely overlooked.

The following highlights have been selected excerpted from eight of the 20 State of the States or Budget addresses given between Dec. 2024 and Jan. 16, 2025, by governors from Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, Iowa, Kansas, Massachusetts, New Jersey, and New York.  

Additional addresses and states will be covered in future Digest issues.

On Jan. 14, Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders gave her second State of the State address, proposing a plan to improve access and affordability of the state’s higher education system through the proposed Arkansas ACCESS. This new initiative seeks to expand Arkansans’ access to higher education and non-degree credentials, as well as overhaul portions of the state’s higher ed. system by streamlining the state’s application processes and associated costs; provide funding for college credits for those students who are still in high school; and expand scholarships to those seeking associate’s degrees and non-degree credentials. The governor also is asking lawmakers to change the state’s higher education funding model to include and/or use state dollars for associate’s and non-degree credentials in addition to bachelor’s degrees.

Colorado Gov. Jared Polis delivered his 2025 State of the State address on Jan. 9, in which he emphasized several of his administration’s key priorities and discussed building on the state’s successes over the past year, such as being awarded the opportunity to establish Colorado as America’s Tech Hub for quantum technology and the implementation of legislation that makes the first two years of higher education free for many Colorado students.

Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont's State of the State address on Jan. 8 promised continued growth of small businesses and entrepreneurs through the Connecticut Boost Fund. He called for increasing Connecticut's energy supply through renewable sources such as wind, nuclear power, and natural gas to meet the growing demands of electricity involving Connecticut’s advanced manufacturing and artificial intelligence industry. Building on education programs introduced over the last two years, the governor urged continued “innovation” to ensure universities and community colleges were offering programs that helped prepare students for the current workforce.

Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds gave her Conditions of the State and Budget address on Jan. 14. As part of her address and legislative agenda, the governor laid out her economic proposals for reducing taxes on businesses, addressing the state's physician shortage, finding local government efficiencies, and exploring nuclear energy. Reynolds announced she will convene a task force to explore the development of nuclear energy within the state and provide recommendations for how to move the R&D of it forward. Finally, the governor reported her administration had launched the State Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to find savings and efficiencies in state and local government.

Focusing on long-term strategies to improve Kansas's future, Gov. Laura Kelly presented her State of the State on Jan. 15. Likening her address to that of a CEO’s quarterly report, she detailed the accomplishments of the past but spoke more toward building Kansas’ future—and how to embrace the change, opportunities, and innovation that will accompany doing so. The governor called for the state to aggressively pursue innovative domestic and overseas business opportunities. She called for a future economy driven by all Kansans—not just those with four-year degrees—by reiterating her administration’s commitment to career paths initiatives and educational opportunities involving apprenticeships, internships, certificates, as well as two and four-year degrees.

Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healy gave her second State of the Commonwealth address on Jan 16. In her address, Healy discussed the funding of an AI TechHub and the recent passage of the state’s clean energy and climate law as major achievements and underscored her commitments to the state’s economic competitiveness. In this new year, the governor detailed a few new proposals, such as further investments in education by creating new early college and job training programs that will give active and recently graduated high school students a leg up on their next steps, announcing an $8 billion transportation and infrastructure proposal, and her desire to make it cheaper and faster to do business in Massachusetts. To further that goal, she is directing her administration and the state economic team to review all business and licensing regulations in the first three months of this year to cut red tape and aid greater economic growth in the state.

New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy delivered his State of the State Address on Jan. 14. The governor detailed a suite of new proposals crafted to support New Jerseyans from the cradle to the college campus and beyond—from expanding universal pre-K to continued investments into education and workforce development programs that assist all backgrounds in either affording a college education or in their pursuit of a non-degree career. Murphy also discussed the creation of the state’s strategic innovation centers, including the AI Hub at Princeton University, and his administration’s support for the Innovation Fellows Program, which foster new industries and job creation.

Gov. Kathy Hochul delivered her New York State of the State address on Jan. 14 and concurrently released a 129-page “2025 State of the State” book that details the governor’s more than 200 policy initiatives, which she is proposing for the new year, and will be reiterated in the governor’s 2026 fiscal year (FY) budget proposal. In the “Build The Workforce of Tomorrow” proposal, the governor aims to provide free SUNY and CUNY community college for adults aged 25-55 pursuing careers in high-demand fields like healthcare and advanced manufacturing. As part of her innovation and economic growth plan, the administration continues to support and advance a $400 million Empire AI Consortium that will drive advancements in artificial intelligence, focusing on research and public good. She would like the state to invest more than $1 billion—the single largest climate investment in New York’s history—to address the climate crisis and achieve a more sustainable and affordable future. As part of the overall plan, the governor is proposing the creation of Clean Energy Zones to streamline renewable energy development and seeks to further the development of the state's new Nuclear Energy Master Plan.

This article was prepared by SSTI using Federal funds under award ED22HDQ3070129 from the Economic Development Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce. (The statements, findings, conclusions, and recommendations are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Economic Development Administration or the U.S. Department of Commerce.

Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, Iowa, Kansas, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New Yorktech talkin govs