of government of Indiana's executive branch, which had dissipated in its functionality in the later years of O'Bannon's tenure. Economic matters Kernan assumed office amid an economic downturn in the state, with state revenue decreasing and unemployment rising. During his governorship, the state struggled with budget deficits and job losses, which Republicans faulted Kernan for, but which Democrats blamed on the lingering aftermath of the early 2000s recession and the dot-com bust. In 2004, the Indiana Fiscal Policy Institute (IFPI) found that the state was facing a $824.3 million structural deficit, a deficit equivalent to more than 7% of the state's existing revenues, with the deficit anticipated to significantly grow every year under the existing budget priorities. On a positive note, in 2004, the state began to experience notable increases in revenue in mid-2004. In November 2003, Kernan and Davis unveiled the Opportunity Indiana initiative, which would aim to optimize how the state conducts business and would aim to increase opportunities for Indiana companies. Under this program, they created a working group to review how the state of Indiana deals with purchasing goods and services, and to provide recommendations to adjustments. In his 2004 State of the State address, Kernan outlined the Indiana@Work program, an expansion of the state's new jobs initiative. By the end of 2004, 30,000 Hoosiers would receive skills assessments through this program. Education In January 2004, Kernan announced the Early Learning Trust, which was an initiative with the goal of providing every child in Indiana with access to voluntary full-day kindergarten by the year 2007. It would also create pilot programs for early learning opportunities for at-risk children. In March 2004, Kernan requested to the state's public colleges and universities that they cap tuition and fee increases at 4% for the 2004–05 academic year. In October 2004 he unveiled plans to expand the state's community college system from having ten campuses to having 23 in time for the fall of 2005, which would mean that every state resident would live within a 30-mile radius of a community college's campus. Through executive order, Kernan created the Early Learning and School Readiness Commission. As co-chair of the Indiana Education Roundtable, Kernan took charge in work to adopt the P-16 Plan for Improving Student Achievement. Healthcare Kernan took actions as governor to address rising healthcare costs. Changes were made to HoosierRx to allow senior citizens twice the discount when