Governor Neil Abercrombie reiterated his request for the Hawaii State Teachers Association to provide a new proposal for a contract in his 2012 State Of The State Address Monday.

"After good faith negotiations achieving two agreements, the teachers still have not ratified a contract," said Gov. Abercrombie. "I will continue to press for a resolution."

Gov. Abercrombie said the state will be using all management, administrative, legislative and legal tools to implement an evaluation system that not only measure, but achieves student growth.

The governor is also setting goals to turn around low-performing schools and supporting tecachers in increasing their effectiveness.

Gov. Abercrombie also talked about the state of the Hawaii economy. He says since last year recovery has been steady.

The governor pointed to the following economic figures:

• The visitor industry saw a 3.4 percent growth in arrivals and visitor expenditures went up by $5 billion dollars in 2011.
• General excise tax revenue increased by an average of 8 percent compared to the previous year.
• Hawaii's unemployment rate remains one of the lowest in the nation at 6.5 percent.
• Payroll employment increased 1.3 percent after three years of decline.
• Initial unemployment claims declined 8 percent in 2011.
• Bankruptcies dropped 15.9 percent.

In 2012, Gov. Abercrombie wants to step up the state's construction industry.

"All the signs show that private investment and construction appears hesitant and tentative," said Abercrombie. "Therefore, it is the public sector that must step up to invest in repairs and maintenance, construction projects and infrastructure improvements. By aggressively putting these projects into action, we will ensure that job creation continues."

The governor is looking at providing affordable housing opportunities. One example is the proposed Pohukaina project that is designed around the consolidation of mixed-use and mixed-income.