Wednesday, June 1, 2011

Inaugural and State of the State Addresses of the Governors of the Commonwealth- Treasures of the State Library for June, 2011

In the first year in office, the Governor of the Commonwealth delivers his or her Inaugural Address. Speeches given in a Governor's other years in office are called the "State of the State." These non-inaugural addresses have also been termed "Communication from His Excellency the Governor" or "Annual Message."

These special documents are all housed in the State Library. For the years before the legislature adopted a "two year session" (the first was 1995-1996) ,these were always found in the legislative documents of the Senate and were Senate bill number 1 of each year.

With the two year sessions, the Inaugural address is Senate 1 and the subsequent speeches by a Governor may have another Senate number.
The State Libary's collections include all petitions put forward in the legislature.

Pamela W. Schofield, State Library Reference