The Florida Legislature will begin tackling several tough issues today, but first Gov. Rick Scott highlighted Florida's improving economy in his State of the State address.

Scott began his speech about 40 minutes late. After the requisite introductions and acknowledgments, he launched into a litany of claims that his administration has created jobs, cut crime and brought about gains in education.

"Like Washington, Florida's economy was driven into the ground by what some embraced as 'free money,'" Scott said. "Of course, as we all know, there's no such thing. Florida's big spending racked up big debt."

Scott described the bleak economic condition the state was in when he took office in 2011, then highlighted efforts he's made to make the state more business friendly. Without directly naming Charlie Crist, a Republican-turned-Democrat who hopes to challenge Scott in November, he placed blame on his predecessor for Florida's hard times.

He said his administration has reduced unemployment by 6.3 percent, paid down $36.6 billion in state debt and paid back another $3.5 billion borrowed form the federal government for unemployment assistance.

"We could have kept growing government and expecting our challenges to solve themselves, but we didn't," Scott said. "Together, we made government more efficient. Together, we have cut almost 3,000 regulations on small businesses...

"Working together, we rejected the tax-borrow-and-spend strategy that was hurting our future. It wasn't easy getting Florida's fiscal house in order. And it wasn't fun, either. In my three years as governor, I have yet to have anyone come into my office and lobby me to spend less taxpayer money."

Scott also claimed that Florida has made major gains in education. He said the state's fourth- and eighth-graders have had the largest achievement gains in the nation and that Florida's fourth-graders are second in the world in reading.

He said the state's a crime rate is at a 42-year low.

The speech reflected more on the governor's accomplishments than it laid out a vision for the final year of his first term. It also introduced a new catchphrase that will likely be used in his re-election.

Scott campaigned with the catchphrase "Let's get to work" and last year proclaimed "It's working" in his State of the State speech. This year he said "Let's keep working" several times in the speech that marks the opening of the Legislature's 60-day session.

"Unlike the previous administration which lost 1 million jobs, we added almost a half a million jobs," Scott said. "Working together, we have made Florida not just a destination for tourists, but a destination for opportunity."

Scott said his administration has cut taxes 24 times already. He urged lawmakers to continue cutting taxes by another $500 million this year, including a rollback of vehicle registration fees that were increased under Crist, and further cutting corporate income taxes.

He also criticized laws passed under Crist that allowed state universities to increase tuition and asked lawmakers to keep tuition from rising this year.

Scott, a former hospital chain CEO who spent $73 million of his and his wife's money to win the 2010 election, has been perceived as being out of touch with working families. He used his speech to describe his own humble beginnings, telling lawmakers that he lived in public housing and never knew his birth father. He said his adoptive father struggled to keep a job and that he remembers the heartbreak on his parents' faces when their car was repossessed.

He said he and his wife, Ann, furnished their first home with camping equipment they received as a wedding gift, saying a cooler was their coffee table and they slept in sleeping bags on the floor.

"We are all products of our own experiences in life. I've seen what happens to families who are struggling to find work. I've had Christmas without any presents. And I don't want any of our people to ever feel stuck in those situations," Scott said. "I didn't start caring about jobs when I ran a company. I started caring about jobs when I saw my father lose his."

In closing, Scott said, "I am asking you to join with me this session to say to all the people of Florida, we have more work left to do, so let's keep working."

The legislature is set to take on several tough issues. Those include gambling, tuition costs, pension reform and medical marijuana.

Information from the Associated Press was included in this report.

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