Key themes likely to be revisited in Brown talk

Governor set to deliver last State of State speech

SACRAMENTO — There are three things Gov. Jerry Brown has unfailingly brought up in nearly every State of the State speech he’s delivered since 1975: the need to temper spending, increase educational and job opportunities, and protect the environment.

And those are likely to come up again in his 16th and final State of the State speech on Thursday at the state Capitol.

A review of Brown’s State of the State speeches reveals the huge dilemmas California faced in the mid-1970s and early ’80s with crime, poverty, racial inequality, natural resources, water and the emerging tech industry. Brown’s position on nearly all of the big issues has remained steady — except for one: crime.

Early on, Brown pushed for and signed laws that lengthened prison sentences and called for building more prisons. In recent years, he’s pushed for reforms that reduce

prison overcrowding in order to meet a court mandate. He’s also changed course on how prisoners are sentenced and signed bills that reduce the time some offenders serve, created new parole opportunities for people who committed crimes while in their early 20s or younger and overhauled the state’s sex offender registry.

“I would love to see him spend five or 10 minutes talking about what he has learned,” said Bill Whalen, a research fellow at the Hoover Institution and a former speechwriter for Republican Gov. Pete Wilson. “But, I don’t think he will do that. That’s not him. It’s not in his DNA.”

State of the State speeches are typically a chance for governors to spotlight what they care about while showcasing their oration skills.

Brown, who served two terms as governor in 1975-83 and began another two terms in 2010, has put little emphasis on the pomp. Twice, Brown combined his State of the State and inaugural speeches into one address.

His speeches are often punctuated by his brevity. Last year, he spoke for just 16 minutes.

“Traditionally, he’s used the speech to draw lines in the sand, the most prominent being that we won’t go on a spending spree,” Whalen said.

Here’s a sampling of what Brown had to say in his State of the State speeches over the years on four major issues.

Hold the line on spending:

1976: “It is simply not responsible to spend down to the last dollar in hopes the economy will simply grow and grow.”

1979: “I am concerned about the overconsumption, the focus on the present and the failure to recognize that the future is coming upon us and we must prepare for it.”

2014: “Boom and bust is our lot and we must follow the ancient advice, recounted in the Book of Genesis, that Joseph gave to the Pharaoh: Put away your surplus during the years of great plenty so you will be ready for the lean years which are sure to follow.”

Changing perspectives on crime:

1977: “We are going to have to reform it because justice that is not swift, that is not certain, is no justice at all. It is no deterrent ... unfortunately in our society there are some people that have to be locked up for a long, long time. For that reason I am going to propose that for those who commit capital crimes that life without the possibility of parole be the sanction available to juries in our state.”

1981: “I am proposing a $120 million increase to assist in the apprehension, prosecution, and incarceration of criminals. But this is only the beginning in the battle against crime!”

2014: “Our prisons are pioneering new programs and treatments — and so are the counties. Last week, I visited the Lerdo Jail just north of Bakersfield and sat in on some classes. It was moving to hear the men’s stories and the struggles they encounter. It was also inspiring to see the enthusiasm of Sheriff Donny Youngblood and his efforts under realignment to work with probation, the district attorney, local judges and the police to try new ways to deter crime and help offenders straighten out their lives.”

2015: “All these changes attempt to find less expensive, more compassionate and more effective ways to deal with crime. This is work that is as profoundly important as it is difficult, yet we must never cease in our efforts to assure liberty and justice for all.”

Poverty and racial equality

1976: “While the state cannot create all the jobs we need, it can certainly work to insure that all our citizens, whatever their color or sex or age, be given a fair chance at all levels and types of employment.”

1979: “We confront the paradox in the State of California that in the year 1978 we created more jobs in an absolute sense and on a percentage basis than at any other period during peacetime in our history. We created well over a half million new jobs, and yet alongside of these new jobholders we confront the paradox of hundreds of thousands of people who are still out of work . ... Many are minorities, young people, who have not all experienced this great wave of prosperity that swept across the State of California. In fact, many of those jobs went to people who twelve months ago were not in the State of California. They have come from other states and other places . ... I see in that paradox the fundamental requirement that we make sure as we extend job opportunity principally in the private sector, that state government redouble its commitment to affirmative action and those programs that will assure an equal opening of the job markets to all the citizens of our state.”

2017: “California has enacted several protective measures for the undocumented: the Trust Act, lawful driver’s licenses, basic employment rights and non-discriminatory access to higher education. We may be called upon to defend those laws and defend them we will. And let me be clear: We will defend everybody — every man, woman and child — who has come here for a better life and has contributed to the wellbeing of our state.”

Concerns over water, pollution and climate change:

1977: “We’re facing the prospect of a very serious drought. Last year we had the third worst drought in the history of this state. Only 1934 and 1924 were worse. This year, if predictions bear out, may even be more difficult. Two dry years. The Shasta Dam, which is 25 percent filled, the rainfall has been about 10 percent of normal. At a time when our dams and reservoirs should be filling up, they are emptying out and the rainfall is far below what it should be. We are going to require conservation measures; in some places rationing.”

1980: “A growing threat to our natural systems and the health of our entire society is the increasing use of toxic materials. There has been an explosion of over 70,000 different chemicals in use in this industrial society, without adequate pre-testing for hazards, and it’s resulted in a serious pollution of our air, our water and our work places . ... We are told by Health Education and Welfare that only one substance, asbestos, will take over a million American lives. It is time we invested in the future. For that reason I propose a total of 30 budgetary and legislative proposals which will more than double the current state effort to eliminate these hazards and substantially strengthen our hand in dealing with corporate scofflaws who irresponsibly handled toxic materials and thereby endanger the public.”

2017: “Whatever they do in Washington, they can’t change the facts. And these are the facts: the climate is changing, the temperatures are rising and so are the oceans. Natural habitats everywhere are under increasing stress. The world knows this.”