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Utah has never been stronger and should serve as a model for the rest of the nation, Gov. Gary Herbert boasted in his annual State of the State address, while calling on lawmakers to do more to address health care for low-income residents, to improve air quality and to help provide opportunities in rural Utah.

"I believe there has never been a better time to live, to work and to raise a family in this state," Herbert said.

It was Herbert's sixth annual address to the Legislature, and the governor spent much of the time focusing on his record during that tenure — increased education spending, air-quality improvements and a recovery from the Great Recession.

It also included many similar themes to past addresses, such as bemoaning federal government encroachment, and modest new initiatives.

"The state of our state is strong," Herbert said, "and I think most of us would say the state of our state is outstanding. That being said, I believe we can do even better."

Herbert gave a nod to two of his predecessors — Govs. Norm Bangerter and Olene Walker — who died in the past year, for providing steady leadership and planning for the future.

He also recalled the funeral service this week for Unified Police Officer Doug Barney, who was shot and killed in the line of duty.

"We will never forget the 50-mile-long motorcade, the streets lined with children holding flags, and neighbors and friends on overpasses saluting one of their own," Herbert said, choking back tears. "I've never been more proud to call Utah my home."

He told the story of Mellowdy Trueblood, a single mother from Ogden who struggled financially, but enrolled in a paralegal program at Weber State University.

"If you remember nothing else from my message this evening, remember this: Education is the most important investment we can make in Utah's future," he said.

The governor noted that $1.3 billion has been added to the state's public and higher-education system in recent years and the high-school graduation rates have increased by 10 percent. But he challenged the system to push the graduation rate to 90 percent — from the current level of 84 percent — over the next four years.

"We will bring to bear the necessary resources, determination and innovation to achieve this goal," he said.

The governor blamed a "fundamentally flawed" Affordable Care Act — commonly known as Obamacare — for leaving thousands of Utahns without health care and noted failures in recent years to expand Medicaid to cover tens of thousands of low-income residents.

Last year, the Legislature handed Herbert an embarrassing defeat, rejecting his expansion plan, branded as Healthy Utah. Then, in November, the Legislature was even more resounding in rejecting Utah Access Plus, a similar proposal that was the result of months of negotiations between the governor and legislative leaders.

As a result, an estimated 70,000 working and low-income Utahns remain without health insurance, and another 55,000 who could have benefited from assistance in getting insurance are not receiving that aid.

"Too often the problems created by the federal government are simply dumped at the feet of the states. We can speak out in defiance, we can choose to ignore them, or we can roll up our sleeves and work together to actually do something," Herbert said. "My friends in the Legislature, it is time to find a solution. This problem is not going away. This is too important an issue to ignore."

Mike Weinholtz, a Democratic candidate to challenge Herbert this year, said Medicaid expansion is an example of an area where Herbert has failed to lead, leaving 100,000 Utahns without insurance.

"The governor could have [expanded Medicaid coverage] unilaterally more than four years ago, and since then he's punted to the Legislature and they've either been unwilling or unable to make it happen," Weinholtz said.

Senate President Wayne Niederhauser, R-Sandy, said he believes the Legislature will begin to address the problem of the uninsured with a bill that would cover some portion of those uninsured living below poverty.

Herbert said he will repeal 52 executive orders that have been issued by governors since statehood that are no longer needed.

"In Washington, D.C., we have a president who thinks it's OK to bypass Congress and create laws by executive order. Well, that's not the way we do it in Utah," he said.

The governor noted that rural parts of the state are seeing children leave their hometowns or the state because they can't find jobs in their communities but touted "new tools available to help in this battle" — roads to mines and other projects to help spur economic development. "I pledge to you tonight that we will not rest until all 29 counties and all 245 cities and towns in our state are full participants in Utah's tremendous economic success," he said.

Herbert recounted the state's recovery from the Great Recession, as the state unemployment rate has fallen from 8 percent to 3.5 percent and seen 219,000 new jobs created during that period.

Democratic House Minority Leader Brian King said the rebound has not helped average Utahns the way it should, and the party is calling for passage of legislation to create a statewide minimum wage of $12 an hour.

"What we see are stagnant wages. We need to see jobs that are created that offer significant wage growth for families to improve," King said. "What has happened are companies are doing well, especially the people at the top of those companies are doing very well, while the average worker is still struggling for the past six or seven years."

Niederhauser said he would rather see the state create a strong business climate and educated workforce that draws high-paying jobs. "I don't see the Legislature passing a bill to increase the minimum wage or to have a state minimum wage," he said.

Herbert touted emissions reductions — 35 percent over the 10 years — aimed at improving air quality, but "the data [mean] very little when the inversion sets in and those emissions hang in the valleys."

He called for investment in technology and programs to continue the reductions, including inducing refineries to make available cleaner-burning gasoline and noting that one, Tesoro, has agreed to transition to the new fuel.

Overall, House Speaker Greg Hughes, R-Draper, said the speech showed that Herbert's vision was aligned with that of the Republican-led Legislature. "Without any coordination at all, you saw from the governor tonight common themes and common issues that we have brought up as well in terms of education, water, clean air," Hughes said. "These are big, big issues and it was good to hear the governor pointing to those as priorities."