Gov. Rick Scott used his final State of the State address to reflect on hurricanes Irma and Maria, job growth and the importance of law enforcement officers and first responders.

The Republican governor leaves office next January due to term limits. He is said to be considering a run for U.S. Senate.

Tuesday's speech kicked off the new legislative session in Tallahassee. Scott started his speech by thanking his wife, Ann, for her support while he has been in office, then talked about his eight years as Florida's governor.

"Working together, we’ve created an environment where our private sector has added nearly 1.5 million jobs," he said. "Our GDP has grown 26 percent; home values have skyrocketed; we've decreased state debt by $9 billion; and our unemployment rate has dropped from over 10 percent when I took office to a more than 10-year low of 3.6 percent — even lower than the national rate."

Scott said he was proud of how state residents responded in the days before and after the destructive Hurricane Irma ravaged the state in September of 2017.

"And after the storm, we showed up. From handing out water, to working at food banks, so many Floridians and many of you in this room helped your neighbors in need," Scott said. "And I believe Florida has come back even stronger."

The governor spoke on the one-year anniversary of the deaths of Lt. Debra Clayton and Deputy First Class Norman Lewis, who were killed during the manhunt for Markeith Loyd.

He also talked about Sergeant Sam Howard and Officer Matthew Baxter. They were shot and killed in August of 2017 while on patrol in Kissimmee.

"Since I have taken office, 41 officers have tragically been killed in the line of duty. These brave men and women died as heroes and it is important that the state does everything possible to take care of the families who lost a loved one who was working to protect our communities."