Note: The Governor sometimes deviates from text.

Thanks, Jim. I see the faces of a lot of good friends in this room, and I should start by saying thanks for all you've done to get South Carolina ready for greatness.

Someone once said that if you accomplish the impossible, they'll just make it part of your regular duties.

Well, isn't that just our luck? Not only are we accomplishing the impossible. We've made it almost commonplace.

I talked in my State of the State Address about the progress we've made together, and it has been stunning.

These three years, we've recruited $16 billion in capital investments and 80,000 new jobs. We've nearly cut the welfare rolls in half. We're expanding medical coverage to thousands more children of poverty. We're preserving our most precious lands from development. We're pouring more resources into education than ever before.

All these elements are working together to create an environment of excellence like our state has never seen...and it's putting the American Dream within reach for every South Carolinian.

Today, I'd like to talk about how we can set the bar even higher, especially for the next generation...in the economic climate we create, in the learning opportunities we provide and in the lives that we live.

You are the standard bearers as some of the most innovative, prestigious business leaders anywhere in the world.

If we are to meet your demands for the highest caliber workforce...the 21st century engineers, chemists and computer programmers you need to grow...South Carolina's students must surpass the highest standards of learning.

We've developed a two-pronged strategy this year to help them do just that: #1 is the PASS plan for academic standards and #2 is the Palmetto LIFE scholarship.

Our PASS standards get us started on the front end...by giving every student a firm footing in back to the basics learning.

I commend the House for acting boldly and quickly to pass the standards bill. And I want to thank Representatives Ronny Townsend and Bobby Harrell and Nikki Setzler and John Courson in the Senate, who lent us their insights as PASS Commissioners.

This bill is on the move because lawmakers finally see real potential for deep and lasting reform. For the first time, we're going to do what we should have been doing all along: We're going to teach the basics and teach them well.

We're going to set clear, rigorous standards for every student in every grade in every core subject.

We're going to make sure every child leaves the first grade knowing how to read.

And we're going to say plainly to children, teachers and parents: This is what every student should learn, and our local schools are going to make sure they learn it.

I've studied these standards in depth. And I'll tell you, they've given me new hope in all South Carolina schools can be.

Let me read just one example of what we'll require in the area of technology. After you hear what this child is going to have to know, then you'll agree with me that this student will be a strong employee someday.

By the end of the 8th grade, every student in the state of South Carolina must be able to "communicate with spreadsheets." He or she must "use advanced publishing software, graphics programs and scanners to produce page layouts." They even have to be able to "develop hypermedia home page documents."

When I read that, I can't help but get excited. After all, there probably aren't too many CEOs in this room who can do all that. And these are eighth graders! Just think of all they'll be able to do by the time they graduate!

And as these students reach higher and perform better, they're going to beat a path to the door of our colleges and universities.

And that's where the second component of our strategy comes in: the Palmetto LIFE scholarship.

Under our plan, if high school students work hard and get good grades like we're asking them to, they will earn free college tuition.

If you graduate with a B average and a thousand SAT score, you will earn a scholarship for $2,000 to any college in the state ­ public or private.

If you choose a technical or two-year college, you'll earn a $1,000 scholarship.

That's money for any college expense ­ tuition, books or room and board.

But our program is also designed so families can capitalize on the federal HOPE tax credit. And when you put the two together, good students will have access to $3,500 a year...enough to cover tuition to almost any public school in the state.

This is welcome news for parents, because I can tell you I've already got heartburn thinking about my three kids being in college at the same time!

This plan makes college more accessible for hard-working families, yes. But that isn't the primary goal. Our ultimate goal is to reward and promote excellence.

And the LIFE scholarships will give students an added incentive to study hard, which can only boost SAT scores.

LIFE Scholarships will help keep our best scholars here at home.

And LIFE will challenge our scholars to stay strong throughout their college careers, since their scholarship will depend on performance year after year.

But we know that the most effective way to excellence is through the parents.

And with this carrot dangling out there, moms and dads across this state are going to be saying to their children, "We've got a shot to get your college paid for. We're not going to blow this."

And when parents are involved, when they're making sure their child's homework is done, when they're putting pressure on schools to do better, that's when progress is made.

Through the LIFE Scholarship, we will raise the stakes for parents and raise the bar for students. And we will do it without gimmicks or gambling money!

I think I just threw the first punch in the Haskins-Land debate! But I'll tell you, the money for a scholarship is there. We run this state on about $12.5 billion a year. Paying for the LIFE scholarship will cost about $40 million.

Trust me, we can find $40 million out of $12.5 billion to help pay for our children's education. We don't have to wait around. We can do it right now.

Our children's futures should never rest on the shifting sands of gambling revenues...whether we're talking about a lottery or video poker.

I've made no secret that I believe video poker is putting our citizens in a moral and social
quandary.

People are telling me every day about the damage video poker has done in their homes, in their marriages, in their livelihoods. So to me, video poker's presence in our state is very much a moral issue.

But my concern isn't just based on high-minded ideals. I believe video poker is just plain bad for business.

We're all ambassadors for this state's business community. We're out selling South Carolina every day as a family-friendly tourist destination, as a place where industries can find a positive quality of life for their employees.

But quite frankly, the seedy image of video poker parlors and casinos lining our streets just isn't the image we want for South Carolina.

We've worked too hard to build a global reputation as a progressive, forward-thinking state. We cannot allow an unseemly industry like video poker to cast a shadow on all the good this state has to brag about.

Of course, the chicken littles keep screaming about lost jobs and lost revenue.

And there are plenty of good, decent people employed by the industry. But I guarantee that for every job we lose, there's a better job your businesses are creating.

Just look at our record in three years: 80,000 jobs paying an average of $30,000 a year. There's no lack of challenging, high-paying jobs waiting for the former employees of video poker.

As for the $2 billion generated by video poker last year, my question is this: where did all that money go?

It didn't go into your stores to buy your products or pay for your services...it went straight into a machine never to be heard from again. Every one of those dollars was a dollar less spent on groceries or appliances or saved in a bank account.

Video poker isn't feeding the economy. It's draining the economy.

A recent report from the University of Nevada-Las Vegas estimates that we have at least 14,000 compulsive gamblers in South Carolina. To pay for all the social ramifications of those gamblers, it costs our economy and your businesses about $133 million.

In other words, this industry actually costs the state at least twice what we collect from it in revenue!

Businesses are starting to feel the effects now. I just got a letter from one of the most prominent restaurant chains in the state, Ryan's Family Steakhouse, pleading with us to ban video poker.

"Video poker is adversely affecting our business in South Carolina and we suspect every other retail business in our state," it says.

"Our concern is not only for our business but especially for our 2,000 employees who can succumb to the temptation of 'easy' money only to see their entire paycheck disappear in a matter of minutes. Being in the family segment of the restaurant industry, we are all too close...to those citizens whose lives are being devastated by addiction to video poker.

And when $2 billion is being spent in video poker machines...South Carolina likely is coming out with less revenue than it would be getting if that $2 billion were spent on goods and services. The economic benefits of having $2 billion spread among thousands of businesses that employ our state's citizens (rather than the relatively few employed by the video poker industry) are enormous.

We urge you to take a strong vocal stance against video poker and ban it from our state."

My friends, these are the kinds of businesses I want to align South Carolina and her good name with...not video poker's.

Your industries are based on integrity and quality and innovation.

Your industries are creating jobs with good paychecks and promising futures.

And instead of creating a drag on our resources, your success only creates more success all across this state. You've already given us the best three years this state's economy has ever seen.

You have set a high standard...in word and in deed.

Now if South Carolina will strengthen her footing in the knowledge and truth that made us strong, if we will stretch with everything we've got toward excellence in our daily lives, in our businesses and in our schools you will surely come face to face with the next generation of South Carolinians on the other side of that high bar.

That's a goal I intend to pursue, and I ask for your commitment today to help us see that vision through to completion. Thank you and God bless.

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