California Governor to Deliver Virtual State of the State Address

California Gov. Gavin Newsom speaks during a press conference in Sacramento on Feb. 1, 2023. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

California Gov. Gavin Newsom will deliver the 2024 State of the State address June 25 in a pre-recorded message after delaying the report for three months.

After he sends the text of his speech to the Legislature, the address will be available on the governor’s social media pages starting at 10:00 a.m., his office said Sunday.

The address is meant to speak “directly to the people of California,” according to Mr. Newsom’s office.

The remarks come a few days after the governor and state lawmakers reached an agreement on the state’s 2024–25 fiscal budget, which goes into effect July 1.

The governor’s decision to diverge from a traditional yearly speech is not new.

Last year, Mr. Newsom sent a letter to California lawmakers rather than deliver a formal address. He also embarked on a four-day “Tour of the State of California” last spring.

California’s yearly gubernatorial address is usually delivered at the beginning of each calendar year. The state Constitution requires the governor to report annually to the Legislature “on the condition of the State and may make recommendations.”

The last time Gov. Newsom delivered a traditional in-person State of the State speech was in March 2022 in Sacramento. In 2021, he addressed Californians in a virtual presentation from the then-mass COVID-19 vaccination site, Dodger Stadium.

In 2020, the governor also chose to break with state of the state tradition by delivering a single-subject address to the Legislature on homelessness in California.