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Holcomb To Deliver Fourth State Of The State Address

Gov. Eric Holcomb will deliver his fourth State of the State address Tuesday evening.
Gov. Eric Holcomb will deliver his fourth State of the State address Tuesday evening.

Gov. Eric Holcomb will deliver his State of the State address to a joint session of the General Assembly Tuesday night.

Holcomb is largely expected to focus on his 2020 agenda, which he announced in December. Perhaps the most controversial part of it is an effort to ban driving while using a cell phone unless hands free – something the General Assembly hasn’t embraced. Many will be looking at how Holcomb addresses that issue in front of lawmakers.

But it’s likely teachers who will be most curious about Holcomb’s yearly address. Issues of teacher licensing, evaluations and – notably – salaries have been the subject of intense debate leading into the 2020 session. And educators will be listening for Holcomb’s message on those topics.

Holcomb’s fourth State of the State is also the final one of his first term, so a re-election campaign will loom over his remarks Tuesday evening.

Contact Brandon at  bsmith@ipbs.org or follow him on Twitter at @brandonjsmith5.

Brandon J. Smith has previously worked as a reporter and anchor for KBIA Radio in Columbia, MO. Prior to that, he worked for WSPY Radio in Plano, IL as a show host, reporter, producer and anchor. His first job in radio was in another state capitol, in Jefferson City, as a reporter for three radio stations around Missouri. Brandon graduated from the University of Missouri-Columbia with a Bachelor of Journalism in 2010, with minors in political science and history. He was born and raised in Chicago.