July 27, 2006

"...if there's one thing that we have to get right, that we can't fail on, it's making sure our young people are given the kind of start they need in an ever-changing, highly complicated and competitive world." -Governor Huntsman

Reporters: (in order of appearance):

KEN VERDOIA, KUED
RICHARD PIATT, KSL-TV
JULIE ROSE, KCPW
REBECCA WALSH, SALT LAKE TRIBUNE
TOM JORDAN, METRO NETWORKS
LISA RILEY ROCHE, DESERET MORNING NEWS
BROCK VERGAKIS, ASSOCIATED PRESS

Transcript:

KEN VERDOIA, KUED: Governor, thanks for joining us today. Reports in Utah newspapers this week, two of them that should have brought a smile to your face, the first is the indication that public approval of your job performance is closing in on 90 percent, and yesterday indicators that the state's economy is performing very well, in fact in the words of one economist, calling the first half of 2006 perhaps the strongest he's ever seen. So abundant political capital, a strong foundation in an economy. How does this translate into a blueprint for the next year?

GOVERNOR HUNTSMAN: Well maybe it means that we can get to work on some of the things we so desperately need in the state, like funding for education, like early childhood literacy, like bridging any gaps we have with respect to some of our new citizens. I think it means we're going to need to focus like never before on transportation. We have needs that are enormous as we look to the next 20 years. And you know the poll numbers are ephemeral to be sure, you know. I guess you could get giddy for a moment, but it's kind of like the hot weather, it's going to pass and you're going to wake up in a little while and they're going to be somewhere else.

But what is important here is that we do have an underlying economy that is strong, and that is strengthening. And all of the indices that would point to long term growth are present. And that's good news for public education, because the whole reason for having an economy that is functioning properly is to be able to put the kind of money, as we did last year, an unprecedented number for public education, to our young people. Because if there's one thing that we have to get right, that we cannot fail in, it's making sure that our young people are given the kind of start they need, in an ever changing highly complicated and competitive world.

So we're not lacking for things to be done in this state. What this might signal is that we're in a better position, maybe, to get some of them done.

RICHARD PIATT, KSL-TV: So the next question, Governor, is with these high approval ratings, 88 percent according to the Dan Jones KSL Deseret Morning News poll, is what are you going to do with it? Are you going to take a Legislative leaders have, for example, said that you've been working with them on tax reform, for example. Will you use that political capital to take a stand and say, "This is where I am on tax reform, this is what I want, and this is what you guys are going to have to deal with from here on?" Is that something that you are willing to do?

GOVERNOR HUNTSMAN: We're not shy about taking stands. We've done it from the very beginning. We've talked about tax reform, going right back to when I campaigned for this office, and I think, for the first time, now, that it's within grasp. And I do sense that there is a coalescing of interests, and I go beyond just the legislative and executive branches when I say interests, in tax reform. And I see people beginning to understand the need for tax reform, and that is securing a base for public education, and ensuring that we are a competitive economy longer term.

All you have to do is look south and see what Janet Napolitano has done in Arizona, in giving a 10 percent across the board tax decrease, or look what Bill Richardson has done in New Mexico, in taking their taxes from 8 percent down to 5 percent. Look what Rhode Island is doing, a 70 percent Democratic legislature, they're doing a dual tax system similar to what we're looking at doing.

And why is it that they're all doing it? They're doing it because the realities of the marketplace are forcing these states to become more competitive. And I don't want to be relegated to, you know, the economic history books as the state that didn't keep pace with the times. And that is why we're getting it done, and that's why I think we're going to be successful at the end of the day.

But it's going to be this, and it's going to be support for education, and it's going to be, I hope, ethics reform. I've talked about that for two years as well, and we're going to keep talking about that and doing something about it during the next legislative session.

So they all require political capital of some variety, and we've always used political capital, whether it's there or not. You like to think it's there, but everything you do requires a little political capital.

JULIE ROSE, KCPW: What about tuition tax credits, school choice vouchers for public education? You're talking about education, the need to invest, and that was something that you campaigned on. It didn't do so well the first legislative session you were involved in. Are you ready to go back to that yet?

GOVERNOR HUNTSMAN: It didn't do so well the first year I was elected, it wasn't on the agenda last year, and I have no idea where it's going to be this upcoming year. What I do know is that we need to close the gap on some of our deficiencies in the early years of childhood literacy. That's what I'm absolutely interested in doing. And that's going to mean a fortified all day K, starting with our Title 1 programs, and it's going to mean fortified reading and math programs before third and fourth grades. And if we can get that component right, that will be far more important than anything else were can do in public education, and that's going to be my objective and undertaking. That, coupled with a strong WPU.

What else emerges over the next six months will happen, and I'll respond to it. I've always said that I'm intrigued by school choice, so long as it meets certain criteria. And I set those out very specifically the first year, and it wasn't to be, and it hasn't re emerged.

RICHARD PIATT, KSL-TV: If I could get back to the poll numbers just for a second. 88 percent, according to that one poll, is extraordinarily high. Do you feel like you've really been tested over your term in office?

GOVERNOR HUNTSMAN: Well, it depends on how you define test. You deal with the times that you're given. And we have floods, we have emergencies, we have Katrina, we have a national guard that is working like never before. We have education needs, we have an economy that's going through a serious transformation. We have growth issues like never before. We have land issues. And so with each administration you're going to have different issues that you have to face.

Whether we have been tested, I think you could consider a few of those things that we've had along life's pathway the last year and a half as a so called test. But listen, we're here to create a framework for the next 20 years, and the environment will be variable in terms of that environment in which you find yourself. And you deal with that environment. You might be dealt storms, you might be dealt floods, or droughts. And you deal with that. But I think what is important is staying focused on the 20 year goal, and that is to ensure our economic prosperity and competitiveness and quality education for our young people.

REBECCA WALSH, SALT LAKE TRIBUNE: Governor, there's a lot of speculation that you endorsed Senator McCain's run for the presidency as a bid for a cabinet post. I know you've disputed that, but there is a lot of speculation out there that you broke with Mitt Romney's camp, your family's still supporting Romney. Is there any truth to that?

GOVERNOR HUNTSMAN: There is zero truth to that. First of all, I have no idea who's going to be a candidate at the end of the day. Second of all, I think they're both very quality people. Third of all, I've had a very satisfying career in Washington, working in three different departments. My kids desperately wanted to come home, which we did, years ago. And we're here, and I couldn't be happier doing what we're doing. I absolutely love this job. I'll finish out this term, hopefully I'll run for a second term I'm a term limits person I won't go beyond that. I'm not sure if I wanted to my kids would allow us to pick up our bags and move at this point.

REBECCA WALSH, SALT LAKE TRIBUNE: So why back Senator McCain?

GOVERNOR HUNTSMAN: Convergence on some issues that are important to me.

REBECCA WALSH, SALT LAKE TRIBUNE: Which are they?

GOVERNOR HUNTSMAN: Well, they go from immigration to Iraq to the west.

KEN VERDOIA, KUED: It was interesting to hear you list Iraq among the issues that you found commonality with Senator McCain. Can you give voice to what that commonality is, how you and he see Iraq in a similar viewpoint, if you will?

GOVERNOR HUNTSMAN: If Senator McCain runs, and who knows if he's going to run, it looks like he might. I don't I'm not able to forecast those things with any certainty. But I've been over to Iraq with Senator McCain, and I do think that 2008 is going to be a wartime election, and we have a lot of brush fires around the world that I do believe are going to need a clear vision of foreign policy, defense policy, and some military experience. Whether North Korea, whether India Pakistan, which is a situation that once again has flared up, whether Iraq, whether Lebanon, whether pulling the pieces together again in Latin America under a new president in Mexico and changing administrations in South America, I do believe that there are some important pieces that need to be put back together again. And I think a lot of that's going to be based on the right kind of experience.

TOM JORDAN, METRO NETWORKS: Going back to something you had just mentioned in passing earlier on transportation. The 2015 transportation alliance is lobbying hard at the moment for a special session to try to get a sales tax, at least on the ballot, because certainly with Lane Beattie, who heads that, has made clear he thinks there's an enormous sense of urgency that we have a comprehensive master plan in place for funding transportation across the Wasatch Front, commuter rail, light rail, west side, mountain view corridor, and things like that. Can you imagine a special session to try to deal with that at this point?

GOVERNOR HUNTSMAN: I can imagine that, and I can imagine calling such a special session during the next year. I suspect it's going to come up in the next legislative session. If it doesn't then maybe we deal with it in some other way. But over the next year I do believe that we've got to get real in defining our transportation priorities, as part of this overall 20 year horizon.

And the gap is significant in terms of what is being prepared for on the books and what it will likely cost longer term to actually deliver many of these projects. So I think you're going to be hearing a lot more about the whole transportation visioning process.

LISA RILEY ROCHE, DESERET MORNING NEWS: Governor, let's go back to your goals for the next legislative session, possibly a special session. You talked about tax reform, you talked about early childhood education, you talked about ethics reform. These are all the same issues that you tried and failed to get passed in the previous session. One, do you have any new goals that you're adding to that list, and two, what are you going to do differently to get the action that you want to see on these issues this session? What's going to be different?

GOVERNOR HUNTSMAN: First of all, it isn't an exhaustive list. Second of all, we've had plenty of great victories that are part of these themes. When you put education on the agenda, you have to remember that getting a 6 percent WPU, and getting the kind of support for public ed that we got last year, I consider to be a huge home run.

Now, did we fail or fall short on all day K? We did indeed. But some things take a couple of years to get through. On tax reform, sales tax coming off of food, we had an extremely important partial victory there. The double weighting of the sales tax. The debate has begun about tax reform, where that wasn't being talked about before.

U STAR is an enormously important victory, I would argue, under the economic development banner. Ethics reform, I failed on. I'll keep plugging away. It isn't always easy, but I think that it is important to the people of this state, and important as it relates to the context in which we all operate in public service.

And I'm going to try again. There's no guarantee that I'll succeed. I might fall short again, but I believe it's important and I'll keep trying.

LISA RILEY ROCHE, DESERET MORNING NEWS: But what's going to be different this time? Lawmakers made it pretty clear they're not interested in all day K, they're not interested in ethics reform in the executive branch, they couldn't agree on taxes, and still can't to this day.

GOVERNOR HUNTSMAN: Well, we're very close on tax reform, and these are highly complicated issues that on average take ten years in most states before they see any kind of tax reform change. We've been at it less than two years. So we can't be too impetuous in terms of drawing conclusions, here. I think we have to realize that these are complicated, they're nuanced, and they take a while before they're actually able to get down the furrow to the end point.

And with all day K, I sense that there is there is growing support. This is something where we have to keep the dialogue alive and well with members of the legislature, stakeholders need to weigh in, those who think it's important, parents who believe in this kind of thing, schools, teachers, and administrators who believe that this is the right thing to do.

And so what has happened since we put it on the agenda last year? A lot of people are talking about all day K. When I took the rural road trip recently I was quite impressed with the number of people in the rural areas who are talking about the importance of all day kindergarten. So while you might not hit it out of the ball park the first go around, you might the second or third go around. And I'm patient. And I know what the end point is that we want to achieve, and I also know there are a lot of good legislators on both sides of the aisle who share some of these views.

JULIE ROSE, KCPW: Governor, you mentioned U STAR, the Utah Science Technology and Research initiative, as a major success for you, a win last year. Many millions of dollars are being invested in that.

GOVERNOR HUNTSMAN: It's a success for a whole lot of people. I never take credit for anything unilaterally. I don't think that's fair in politics. There are a whole lot of people to share that with.

JULIE ROSE, KCPW: Fair enough. I wonder if you're concerned, though, about maybe some unintended consequences of a sizeable investment in something like U STAR, I think it was $65 million and then many, many millions more on top of that.

Commissioner Rich Kendall from higher education this week is expressing some concern that the balance of what students are covering in tuition increases is slowly inching up, that it used to be a 25 75 split in terms of what the student versus the state would cover, and now tuition is going up that's become 35 65, it's going up yet again. Has this pet project come at the expense of students, and what they pay out of pocket for tuition?

GOVERNOR HUNTSMAN: I don't think so. I think by and large our higher education opportunities in this state are still a very good bargain, regionally speaking, and we need to ensure that we maintain access and affordability. And I know that's becoming increasingly a challenge. And we need to keep looking at it, figuring out ways. And maybe it's through more dual enrollment at the high school level, which we funded last year, and which I hope to fund more of, and that is giving kids a head start during their high school years so they don't have as much college to carry in getting to the end point.

But what U STAR I think is going to do, because a large part of it is focused on attracting brain power and bringing the kind of talent to our universities that are really going to make them excellent. And we ought to be interested in a quest for excellence for our institutions of higher learning.

TOM JORDAN, METRO NETWORKS: I think of something sort of in relation to that, a study came out a day or two ago from the Bureau of Economic Research at the U on in migration out migration patterns. And it seems that our in migration is more low skill workers coming in from other states, and we have functionally a brain drain going on on college educated people looking for better salaries somewhere else. Is this something that U STAR can deal with, or are there other ways to stop people from leaving the state who have got the high end skills that we need to have?

GOVERNOR HUNTSMAN: I think absolutely it deals with that. But I think those data that you just referred to are probably in the run up to '04. And we've, since that time, experienced quite a boom in our technology based industries. People are staying, we're attracting more talent to fill a lot of these needs. And with a 3.4 percent unemployment rate we're going to, I think, attract a whole lot more, because it's, you know, when you look at, when you look at our overall population growth, plus unemployment, you know, I think we're going to have a need to draw upon talent from outside the state. Which is a good thing.

I think U STAR then plays into that. If we want our universities to truly be based on excellence, and if we want programs that are based upon the best brain power that we can find anywhere, doing the kind of research that is world class, being translated into commercially viable entities that then fuel our private sector, which is absolutely doable as an integrated kind of plan, then U STAR is a first step, and I do believe that what we've done thus far with U STAR has resonated through the higher ed establishment.

We're on the map, so to speak, in terms of a state that isn't just talking about it. We're doing something about it. And when you then recruit the kind of talent that we envision doing under U STAR, they want to know that the state is making a long term investment in the program, and in the infrastructure that will allow this to happen.

JULIE ROSE, KCPW: What's your message though to the students who aren't involved in maybe some of those high end research projects, who are working a couple of jobs to pay their tuition and are feeling like they're- - Three and a half to 9 percent tuition increases across the board this coming year, and it's coming out of their pocket to help keep the lights on?

GOVERNOR HUNTSMAN: It means that the hard work at the end of the day is going to pay off with the kind of jobs that provide higher salaries. And what you're seeing, as well over the last couple of years, is we're seeing the kinds of jobs in the state that are now ahead of the national average in terms of compensation. And that's exactly what we want for our people who are coming out of programs.

So if they're carrying loans, they're able to pay them off faster. They have the opportunities that will allow them to live here if they so choose at a level of compensation that will provide them with the quality of life and opportunities that are important, as opposed to going somewhere else where the jobs are available. They're now available here, and I think increasingly so.

BROCK VERGAKIS, ASSOCIATED PRESS: Governor, there's a dramatic need to hire thousands of teachers in the next couple of years to keep pace with growth. We're having an incredibly difficult time retaining the ones we have. What can the state do to encourage teachers to stay in the profession, and attract new ones?

GOVERNOR HUNTSMAN: Well, I know that from listening to my grandfather growing up, that people become teachers and educators because they have an absolute love and passion for being in the classroom. As I get around and visit schools and stand before kids in classrooms, I sense that there is no greater thing to be doing in life than educating, and imparting knowledge to young people. It's a great pursuit, and people do it for all the right reasons.

Now we need to make sure that we're providing compensation that is competitive, and that is all part of the WPU, which we were able to hit an all time high on last year, and I hope that we're able to do the same thing, and then some, this year. It might mean that we have to be a little more creative in terms of the compensation packages that we're offering.

Maybe create some incentive programs or sign on bonuses for math and science teachers particularly, because we're seeing those with quantitative skills who are increasingly attractive in the new economy as we begin to blossom in those particular sectors, who do they go to first? They go to those that have the requisite backgrounds in math and science, the quantitative skills. We're seeing some of our teachers who are moving on to different opportunities, and that's a unique void.

I mean aside from all other teachers, the math and the science teachers, we have to make sure that we have them and have very good ones. And we're, without question, going to have to think more creatively about how to attract them and how to keep them. But compensation is a huge part of it.

LISA RILEY ROCHE, DESERET MORNING NEWS: Governor, one of the accomplishments you listed from last session was taking some of the sales tax off food. You had campaigned on taking it all off, and as I recall toward the end of last session you said that was still a goal and something you hoped to accomplish come January. But we're not hearing that any more. Is that still something that people can count on you pushing this legislative session, taking the rest of that sales tax off food?

GOVERNOR HUNTSMAN: Yes, it is still a goal. And whether it comes sooner or later, time will tell. What is important to me initially is to prove the point, and to prove wrong the skeptics and the naysayers who basically have said that it will leave many of our smaller mom and pop shops bereft of income. And we have said, well, on the other hand we're going to hold the municipalities harmless as we go about this tax change.

So as it begins to unfurl itself, I want to make sure that we're comfortable with what we've done so far and to prove the point that we can do it longitudinally, without leaving anybody behind in our rural areas. Once that is done, and probably over the next year or two we're going to have a better sense of that, then we can proceed with step two.

REBECCA WALSH, SALT LAKE TRIBUNE: Governor, the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver threw out what appears to be the last challenge to the Grand Staircase/Escalante Monument. You even approved the attorney general's friend of the court brief in that case. What's your perspective on this? Is the state done fighting the monument, or is there going to be something else coming?

GOVERNOR HUNTSMAN: Ours was really an interest in the Antiquities Act and the way that the Antiquities Act was used in this particular instance. But I think as it relates to the monument itself, I think we're done.

RICHARD PIATT, KSL-TV: Governor?

GOVERNOR HUNTSMAN: I don't think there's anything more to be done.

REBECCA WALSH, SALT LAKE TRIBUNE: What do you think about the monument?

GOVERNOR HUNTSMAN: Well, I drove through it recently on two wheels, and I thought it was breathtaking.

REBECCA WALSH, SALT LAKE TRIBUNE: You think it should be a monument?

GOVERNOR HUNTSMAN: Well I certainly enjoyed the part that I saw. I know there are precious raw materials and resources in some parts of the monument that I didn't get a chance to see, the far end, and again, it goes back to having to provide that very important balance between protecting and preserving, and ensuring a viable economy going forward. But the part that I saw, I was very taken by. It was absolutely breathtaking.

RICHARD PIATT, KSL-TV: Governor, kind of backing up a little bit and talking about your 20 year plan, your economic development goals. What worries you about the way Utah's growing right now?

GOVERNOR HUNTSMAN: The worries right now, I think we're rate limited due to our low unemployment. Now, that may sound a little peculiar coming from someone who is so intent on strong economic performance. But, indeed, a rate limiting feature of growth could very well be our inability to provide labor to growing industries and industrial sectors.

And in turn that will likely provide a flow of labor into the state, so we saw 80,000 come into our state, half of them were born into our state, 40,000 immigrated into our state last year, we could very well see more this next year. But that to me is one red light out there, the labor availability.

Number two would be the increasing cost in the construction sector. Construction costs and material are raising, going up, from an inflationary standpoint, at about 18 to 20 percent per year, which is alarming.

Three would be the overall environment in which we're finding higher interest rates, and I hope that the federal reserve is very careful about how they engineer that going forward.

Number four would be fuel and gas costs. I don't know that we can survive forever on $3 a gallon gas prices. And natural gas prices, when you figure that most manufacturing industry is now pegged to the cost of natural gas, and it is high. And who knows where that's going to go? But it really speaks to the need of alternative sources of energy longer term. But those are really the four areas that I kind of wake up at night thinking might affect us at some point in terms of our overall growth trajectory.

KEN VERDOIA, KUED: Governor, we're in the last 30 seconds of our time together, I want to shift gears a little bit. You've strongly supported professional soccer in the state of Utah. Is there a role for the state, for you, in resolving the seeming impasse with RêAl Salt Lake's bid to get a new stadium constructed somewhere in Salt Lake County?

GOVERNOR HUNTSMAN: I think the role right now is that of encouragement, which I have done. I've stated support for soccer, I would like to see it stay in the state, and now it's up to the duly elected local officials to make that happen. And I think the political and the public policy marketplace ultimately will find the right answer. And if it doesn't we won't get the team. It's a pretty simple thing.

But I do believe that there are some ideas that are still being openly vetted and thought through as it relates to Sandy, and who knows where else.

KEN VERDOIA, KUED: Governor, thank you for your time. A reminder that a transcript of every Governor's News Conference is available on line at www.uen.org.

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