Walker to deliver State of State speech Jan. 25

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker plans to deliver his second State of the State speech on Jan. 25 before a joint meeting of the Legislature.

The speech is scheduled a week after organizers of an effort to recall him from office plan on submitting petitions with more than 540,000 signatures to force an election.

The recall effort was launched following Walker’s first tumultuous year in office, which saw him successfully balance a $3.6 billion budget shortfall in part through curbing collective bargaining rights of public workers, cutting education funding and slowing spending on Medicaid services for the poor and disabled.

Last year Walker revealed little in his State of the State speech which came just 10 days before he unveiled his collective bargaining proposal.