Water Policy Across the States: What We Can Learn from the Governors’ Annual Speeches

March 31, 2025

Each year, governors provide an update on the “state of the state,” similar to how the president delivers an annual “State of the Union” address to Congress. While these annual speeches vary widely from the timing to content, they are typically a formal address to the legislature and tied to annual budget priorities. These addresses can give us a glimpse into the state’s political dynamics and potential upcoming policy debates.

The contexts in which water is mentioned (or not) can give us insights into the state’s water policy priorities. Water may not be explicitly mentioned in the governor’s remarks, but it can be directly related to other policy priorities like economic prosperity and community resiliency. Water continues to have bipartisan support and is essential to our environment, economy, and community health and well-being.

Natural Disaster Recovery and Resilience

Governors often serve as the primary statewide leader responding to and guiding the recovery efforts from natural disasters. Over the past year, several extreme weather events have impacted communities across the country, including Hurricane Helene. At least five governors mentioned hurricanes in their remarks, including recovery priorities for the state budget. Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds remarked, “We faced devastating tornadoes and historic flooding that left families, farms, businesses, schools, and communities reeling. To put it into perspective, Iowa was granted three presidential disaster declarations in just two months.”

These devastating events and aftermath can also become an opportunity to bring the community together to build resilience. Maine Gov. Janet Mills emphasized the importance of legislative efforts to make infrastructure more resilient against future storms, and Hawaii Gov. Josh Green discussed details about recovery efforts related to the 2023 wildfires on the island of Maui.

Water and the Economy

As most water advocates know, the connection between water and the economy is strong. Some governors focused on infrastructure and jobs as policy priorities but did not explicitly mention water. Others were more direct in outlining the interconnections between water and economic development, like Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey who pointed out that, “Part of building a strong economy is having strong infrastructure. Transportation infrastructure, digital infrastructure, and water and sewer infrastructure. We are tackling it all.” New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham drew a similar connection, saying, “We can spur innovation, create good jobs, eliminate pollution from forever chemicals and uranium, and protect our communities from natural disasters—all while preserving our essential freshwater supplies for growing our crops and servicing the taps in our homes. In New Mexico, we’ve shown how we can combine sustainability with innovation and economic growth.”

Some governors addressed affordability concerns within their communities. Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte shared his priorities for making housing more affordable and the need for infrastructure improvements, including, “historic investments in sewer and water.” Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek also remarked on the need for affordable housing and infrastructure improvements.

Michigan is poised again to debate water affordability policy options after legislation failed to pass in 2024. Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer discussed making “life more affordable” in her remarks, and her 2025 – 2026 fiscal year budget proposal includes funding for water affordability as well as infrastructure investments. This includes seven million dollars in total (one million dollars for program administrative costs and six million dollars as a one-time investment). The proposal also includes 80 million dollars for lead service line replacement and water infrastructure investments and another six million dollars for water programs to build state agency capacity to ensure clean drinking water. State policymakers could be continuing the debate this year throughout the long legislative session.

Water and State Governance

States regularly revisit how they approach different policy issues and seek to improve their governance structures to address pressing and evolving state needs. Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly discussed the need to protect the state’s water supply and proposed the creation of a new Office of Natural Resources along with the investment of an additional 30 million dollars in her budget proposal.

Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen remarked, “Water is the lifeblood of Nebraska, and what we do to protect our QUANTITY and improve our QUALITY of water will be our legacy.” Gov. Pillen expressed support for state legislation to combine the Department of Energy and Environment with the Department of Natural Resources to create a new Department of Water, Energy, and Environment to “streamline the mission of stewarding and protecting our natural resources and environment and enhance collaboration.”

Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs spoke about the future of the state’s water supply and security, including efforts to protect groundwater. The legislature and the governor have not always agreed on groundwater policy and may try to find a bipartisan solution over the next year to secure the state’s water future across all communities and industries.

What Comes Next?

As governors lay out their policy and budget priorities, state legislators are busy working on their own proposals that may (or may not) align. States are actively debating how to allocate limited funding, including to support recovery from natural disasters. Texas is poised to continue to lead on water policy and infrastructure funding, with strong leadership from the governor, legislature, and, of course, local One Water champions. In other states where different political parties control the legislature and the governor’s office, we can look toward policymakers crafting bipartisan solutions to address water infrastructure and resource challenges.

As reflected in the Value of Water Campaign’s annual index poll, the 2025 version of which will be released next week, water continues to have strong support as a nonpartisan issue that can unite policymakers in making decisions to best serve their communities. Alliance staff are keeping an eye on state policy developments across the county and love hearing from our members on what state legislation and other actions they are tracking, supporting, or opposing. Feel free to reach out!