Republican Governor Scott Walker delivered his second State of the State Address before a joint session of the legislature and crowded viewing gallery. Governor Walker stayed on message as he has this past year, touting the difficult decisions that were made to balance a $3.6 billion deficit while avoiding major tax increases and mass government employee layoffs.

Throughout the speech, Walker focused on his continued goal of job creation, an improved business climate and on his Wisconsin Working jobs plan, which is intended to direct policies and resources towards Wisconsin’s workforce through training investments and recruitment services. Additionally, Walker indicated his support for mining reforms which can possibly create thousands of jobs throughout Wisconsin.

Governor Walker used the address to announce the creation of the Waste, Fraud and Abuse Elimination Taskforce that stems from a recently released final report of the Commission on Waste, Fraud and Abuse, which identified over $400 million in potential savings. This new taskforce will be charged with implementing and tracking those recommendations and will coordinate state agency sub-groups that will be formed to continually identify waste as well as potential efficiencies.

Wisconsin Eye’s video of the Address, and the video responses from Senate Minority Leader Mark Miller and Assembly Minority Leader Peter Barca are available for streaming online.

The address was not without interruption by random outbursts from Walker opponents who were quickly removed from the gallery.

This post was authored by Hamilton Consulting lobbyist Amy Boyer.