JACKSON (AP — Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour delivered his final State of the State address Tuesday night at the state Capitol in Jackson. Here are some excerpts:

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“As governor, I have cut the budget by a total of about $700 million in just the last two years. Just as our constituents have had to cut back, they expect state government to cut back. They know that the alternative is raising taxes because government has no money except what it takes from taxpayers.”

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“To keep law enforcement where we want it, I am announcing tonight that I will dedicate $7.3 million of the governor’s discretionary funds to hold a trooper school this calendar year.”

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“I’m proud that Mississippi cast the highest percentage of its vote of any state in the country for the Defense of Marriage Act, defining marriage as a union between one man and one woman; and that in that first year, 2004, after we worked together to enact comprehensive pro-life legislation, Americans United for Life, a national right to life organization, named Mississippi the safest state in America for an unborn child.”

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“Last week I announced that the Division of Medicaid appears to be on track to run a surplus of $40 to $50 million this year, probably because of less utilization than projected…. I have instructed the Division of Medicaid to exercise its authority under state law to use a portion of this FY11 surplus to create 7,800 additional slots for eligible Medicaid beneficiaries to receive home- and community-based care.”

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“You know, it’s true that the Lord works in mysterious ways. Because today, I realize that (Hurricane) Katrina — something you wouldn’t want to happen to your worst enemy — that the response of our people to Katrina and its devastation has done more to help the image of Mississippi than anything else that’s happened in my lifetime. People saw our state and our people in a new light.”