Virginia Governor McAuliffe gave his State of the Commonwealth on Wednesday, and the Democrat Governor focused on cooperating with the Republican-led state legislators to continue making progress on the state budget and other policies.

Governor McAuliffe’s State of the Commonwealth paints a bright future for Virginia, but the Governor warns legislators that now is the key opportunity to make significant progress as a threat of another federal sequestration looms in two years.

The New Virginia Economy” was the focus of the State of the Commonwealth. One of the Governor’s goals is to transform the state education and workforce training sector to meet the private sector demands of highly trained workers.

The Governor also noted on his ongoing goal to develop the state economy by wooing high-growth industries, such as biotech and cyber security sectors. The Governor also stressed the importance of global trade in the Virginia economy by stating the need to make regulatory changes to make goods easier to be imported and exported in the Commonwealth. To illustrate on the state’s progress on global trade, the Governor noted that Virginia apples are now being sent to India.

While mentioning the economic success of the Commonwealth, the Governor spread the credit everyone in state government. By showing a conciliatory tone to his Republican counterparts, the Governor signaled that he want to focus on continue making progress by cooperation than engaging in partisan battles.

The Governor did warn that he will veto any legislation that would undermine gay marriage, undercut gun safety policies, threaten woman’s access to healthcare, and policies undermining the progress against climate change. Nevertheless, the Governor maintained his warm, conciliatory tone with the Republican legislator by making his veto threats a small part of his address.

The strong economy of Virginia has made the friendly tone of the State of the Commonwealth speech possible. Citing a relatively low unemployment rate compared to other east coast states, the Governor used the opportunity to spread the credit around, including to state Republicans. By warning of a possible federal sequestration in two years, the Governor wants full cooperation from the legislative body on matters of state investment on education and workforce training during the drafting of the state budget. By having a stronger economy and a well-trained workforce within two years, the Governor is attempting to minimize the negative economic impact from a possible federal sequestration.

Based on the brevity of his discussion on gun safety and expansion of Medicaid, the Governor is not expected to introduce any significant progressive agenda this year. His priority seems to be legislative cooperation to further develop the state economy.

Also, by stressing on past successes of existing state programs, the Governor is trying to win support from fiscally conservative legislators that many of the state programs are worthy, necessary investments. Policy-wise, the Governor is not expected to propose new state programs per se but instead propose increasing funding that are designed to improve existing state programs.

The next 60 days will be crucial for Governor McAuliffe to carry out proposals mentioned in his State of the Commonwealth address.

Full Text of the Virginia's State of the Commonwealth Address 2016 is here.

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