Gov. John Hickenlooper began his second term this week with a different set of challenges than the ones he faced during his first term. His fifth State of the State address Thursday outlined how he will address the challenges of a more prosperous state than the one he led in 2011, and perhaps the legacy he wants to leave.

In his 44-minute speech, the governor noted the state’s economic successes while calling for stronger investment in education and rural economic development. He also asked the General Assembly to work with him on a felony DUI bill and called for legislation that would require fiscal impact statements for ballot measures amending the state constitution.

To highlight the state’s economic successes, Hickenlooper drew upon the examples of entrepreneurs like Chris Klein and Frantz Garsombke, founders of Rachio, which won a $50,000 prize from the state for the most innovative start-up. Their company developed a smart sprinkler that automatically adjusts for changes in weather. A second example came from Tim and Peg Rossiter of Dolores County, founders of River Rim Teardrops, a camper company that was assisted by the Southwest Colorado Small Business Development Center. Hickenlooper also saluted the work of Lockheed Martin and United Launch Alliance, both involved in the recent launch of the Orion spacecraft headed for Mars.

The state’s economic success also comes from attracting new business to Colorado and keeping existing jobs here, Hickenlooper noted. That includes bringing in companies like Ardent Mills, Hitachi and Panasonic, and keeping jobs with Lockheed Martin, Woodward and Charles Schwab.

The state still needs to do more for the long-term unemployed and rural areas of the state that have not seen the economic success of the Front Range, Hickenlooper indicated. He said his Office of Economic Development and International Trade will visit all 14 regions of the state to come up with a vision for economic development.

Hickenlooper largely stayed away from some of the state’s more recent “hot-button” issues, like affordable housing and construction defects, fracking or whether the state should issue TABOR refunds in 2015-16.

Among the specifics: a $480 million increase for K-12 education, with 70 percent of that coming from the state general fund; a boost of $107 million in general funds for higher education, and $30 million more for the Colorado Opportunity Scholarship Initiative; and $6.6 million to hire 130 more caseworkers in the Department of Human Services to address child welfare needs.

Taking advantage of the state’s increased profile in cycling, Hickenlooper said the state would launch a Bike Health initiative that would develop a database of existing bicycle trails, seek feedback from cyclists, and look for construction funds for new bicycle infrastructure. Hickenlooper, an avid cyclist, said that the initiative also would include a plan “to connect bike routes across communities and around the tallest mountains in Colorado.”

Perhaps the most popular idea in Hickenlooper’s address was his call for the legislature to pass a felony DUI statute. He noted that Colorado is one of only four states that doesn’t have a felony DUI law.

Toward the end of the speech, Hickenlooper referred to the state’s “fiscal thicket,” a theme that also came up in his inaugural address two days earlier. But he was vague as to what he would do about it. “Under TABOR, rebates are required even as we see legitimate needs all over the state going unmet…There is a legitimate debate of whether government should be a bit bigger or a bit smaller. But that misses the point. Regardless of size, government must work.”He noted that some people would get rid of TABOR, others would eliminate Amendment 23 and still others would get rid of Gallagher. He didn’t suggest what he would do, other than to say that “the state budget can only endure so much cutting.”

Early in his remarks, Hickenlooper apologized to the Northern Cheyenne and Northern Arapaho tribes for the Sand Creek Massacre 150 years ago. He said he did so with the unanimous support of Colorado’s four other living governors. “Healing begins with an apology, empathy and kindness,” he said.

— Marianne@coloradostatesman.com