Watch live here. Gov. Jared Polis will deliver his final State of the State address to the Colorado General Assembly this morning and outline his agenda for this year’s legislative session, notably in the areas of housing, early childhood development, and the economy. He is also expected t o tout his accomplishments in the last seven years, as well as spell out the challenges ahead. “I don’t think when I was elected I imagined any of those curveballs,” said Colorado’s 43rd governor. “I knew there’d be fires” — he said — but not the three largest ones in state history. President Donald Trump is bookending Polis’ final term in office. The first time was a much less adversarial period, he said. There is no love lost between Colorado and Trump. Colorado Democrats have not been cooperative since Trump took office, and the White House has withheld funding from Colorado and other states, not to mention the two sides suing and countersuing over the last several months. One thing many are watching is what Polis’ final year as governor means for his relationship with legislators. Polis is already facing pressure on the legislative front, and it remains to be seen whether he will be more aggressive in halting — vetoing, should it come to that — his party’s priorities. Notably, unions and their allies at the state Capitol are pushing for legislation he vetoed last year to make it easier for labor organizations to impose dues on non-union members. The governor said he is frustrated by that move. Meanwhile, businesses are also likely to press the governor to use his powers to stop more regulations. Accomplishments Polis started the speech in front of the joint session with a list of accomplishments during his seven-year tenure. Those accomplishments included: Delivering on the promise of free kindergarten and preschool, saving families thousands and giving our youngest learners a strong start. Expanding low-cost clean energy to help more Coloradans save money on energy bills, protecting our air and water, and creating good-paying jobs. Expanding low-cost clean energy to help more Coloradans save money on energy bills, protecting our air and water, and creating good-paying jobs. Building out low-cost clean energy for more Coloradans to save money on energy bills, protecting our air and water, and creating good-paying jobs. Additionally, Polis said his administration has been able to generate more than $470 million each year in new funding for our roads, bridges, and transit – with the vast majority of that funding going to roads and bridges. Covid Reflecting on the year of the pandemic as the state’s leader, Polis said in the middle of it all, the state came together. “We came together to deliver on the promises we made long beforethe pandemic hit,” he said. “Democrats, Republicans, and my Administration all worked together to keep Coloradans safe while at the same time, passing free preschool and historic transportation funding. When we work together, we do big things.” Shootings Continuing to reflect on his time as governor, Polis took a moment to address the high number of mass shootings over the last seven years. “We witnessed horrific mass shootings at the STEM School in Highlands Ranch, Club Q in Colorado Springs, King Soopers in Boulder, and most recently at Evergreen High School,” he said. “We endured a horrific antisemitic attack on Pearl Street Mall in Boulder.” Tragedy has also struck at the Capitol as Polis called for a moment of silence for former Sen. Faith Winter who was killed in a car accident in November. The state also lost Minority Leader Hugh McKean, Polis noted. Blaming Trump, Polis calls federal cuts ‘mean’ Polis expectedly blamed the Trump administration for Colorado’s fiscal woes, saying that Washington, D.C., appears intent on “making life harder and less affordable. To make Americans feel more fearful, more belligerent, more vulnerable.” Polis said the Trump administration has threatened to withhold more than $1 billion in funding for Colorado, claiming the cuts target support for the “most basic and essential needs” of families and children. He noted that the White House denied two major disaster relief requests and vetoed bipartisan legislation to help complete a water pipeline project. That’s not to mention the congressional budget that, Polis said, “gutted” the state budget by $1 billion overnight. The result, he said, was to eliminate TABOR refunds and slash Medicaid and food stamp dollars. Trump’s tariffs, he added, are costing Coloradans on average $1,700 a year.  Not the Colorado Way In criticizing Republicans, Polis stressed that “it often feels like Big Government is in our wallets, our doctors’ offices, in our homes, bullying businesses of all sizes.” “This is not the Colorado way,” he said. “Driving up costs with tariff taxes is not the Colorado way. Ripping away critical access to food and health is not the Colorado way. Tearing families apart with a costly and cruel immigration agenda is not the Colorado way.” Colorado for All Polis said in Colorado, there is room for all, “opportunity for all of us.” “In our Colorado for All, we welcome immigrants and refugees who seek to build a better life here, who strengthen our economy and enrich our communities under the shelter of our democracy,” he said. “In our Colorado for All, an attack on one of us is an attack on all of us.” Housing Polis addressed the Colorado housing crisis that has persisted for several years, thanking the legislature for rolling up their sleeves to make ADUs possible, addressing construction-defect issues in condos, reducing red tape in the permitting process, and working toward making homes more affordable. Polis also applauded the Educator First Housing initiative, which helps 3,000 teachers buy their first homes. Through Proposition 123, Polis said the state has built more than 10,000 new homes, including in rural communities. However, Polis said there is still a lot of work to be done to help families access affordable homes. “This year, we want to ensure local governments have the resources they need to build and improve bus and train stations, and to pair these investments with more housing near transit,” Polis said. Transit Polis said getting around Colorado currently takes up “too much of Coloradans’ budgets and time, and puts out too much pollution. “We’re showing that there’s a better way forward for Coloradans, one with more choices and greater convenience,” he added. Polis said when he first took office in 2019, there were 18,000 electric vehicles in the state. Today, Polis applauded that there are now 204,000 electric cars in Colorado, giving the state a No. 1 ranking. Ultimately, Polis said the state continues to examine every piece of the puzzle to make it safer and more affordable to travel across the state. “Today, high auto insurance rates – the 5th highest nationally – lead to far toomany uninsured drivers, making our roads less safe for all and further driving up rates,” he said. “That’s why I launched the Roadmap to Reduce Auto Insurance Premiums, an action plan to improve road safety and lower auto insurance costs.” Education When Polis became governor in 2019, education was his top priority, and it has remained his focus throughout his two terms. “My passion for education is what drew me into public service after starting my career as an entrepreneur, and is what continues to drive my work as Governor,” he said. Among his educational accomplishments, Polis cited the creation of free preschool and all-day kindergarten. Polis said students are now attending fully funded schools, with class sizes down by one student since he was first elected. In applauding teachers, Polis said educators’ salaries have increased an average of $13,000 per year since 2019. Workforce With workforce development being a vital part of the state’s success, Polis said the current job-training system is not working for every Coloradan. “It’s a maze of more than 20 divisions, offices, and units across seven state departments,” he said. The 110 programs available have different eligibility requirements, applications, and outcome measures.” Given the complexity of the system, Polis joked that if he can’t even name all the programs, how can students navigate it? “That is why we are calling for a unified department to serve as a one-stop shop for Coloradans to access high-quality skills, training, apprenticeships,and education,” he said. Helping Coloradans become job-ready will remain his focus in the final year of his term. 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