Kelly Ayotte has a new policy priority: Ban cell phones from New Hampshire classrooms.

Republican lawmakers watching her inaugural address met that announcement on Thursday with a standing ovation. On Wednesday, Senate Republicans said they’d pursue legislation that’d require local school districts to adopt policies surrounding student cell phone use. That bill is sponsored by Rick Ladd and Glenn Cordelli, who chair the education committees, and supported by other high-ranking conservatives.

“Screens are negatively impacting our learning environments, drawing students’ attention away from their classes, and becoming a barrier for teachers to do their jobs – no more,” Ayotte said in a post on X.

During her speech on Thursday, after she was sworn in as the 83rd governor of New Hampshire, Ayotte announced new items on her agenda and doubled down on campaign promises, including how she’ll tackle the housing crisis, her support for Education Freedom Accounts and pledging once again to veto any abortion ban more restrictive than New Hampshire’s current law.

Here’s what else to know from her first address as governor:

Ayotte announced the creation of a new Commission of Government Efficiency, to be led by former Republican governor Craig Benson and NH Lottery Commissioner Andy Crews. She jokingly called it the COGE, referencing the incoming Trump administration’s newly created Department of Government Efficiency, known as DOGE.

“There is nothing harder than politicians and asking them not to spend money,” Ayotte said, met with applause from her Republican colleagues. “The COGE will make us smarter than ever before when it comes to saving taxpayer dollars and finding better ways to serve the people of this state.”

As a former New Hampshire attorney general, Ayotte’s proclivity for law enforcement was never in question. But she reaffirmed that commitment at her inauguration, saying she’ll always “have the backs” of police officers and first responders, as well as veterans.

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She also signaled support for allocating more money toward retirement pensions for Group II state employees, which includes firefighters, police officers and corrections officers. A group of workers recently sued the state, saying they hadn’t been given the pension and benefits they were once promised.

“If we do not make these critical investments,” Ayotte said, “we will not be able to recruit and retain the people that work in our communities on nights, weekends and holidays to make sure that all of us enjoy our quality of life.”

On immigration, she drew a comparison to Massachusetts and said New Hampshire can’t afford to go down the same road; she called the Bay State’s policies dangerous, “not just to communities but to a budget.” She also said she’ll ban sanctuary cities in New Hampshire, of which there currently are none.

It’s one of the few issues that united everyone in Representatives Hall. As Ayotte promised to bring more mental health support to the state, including more providers, lawmakers from both parties rose in a standing ovation.

Ayotte called it an “urgent need,” saying that after visiting a recovery program in Manchester, she learned that the state’s licensing process can make it difficult to staff those places with therapists and other mental health care providers.

“We are going to look for ways, working with our community college system and our university system, to expand educational opportunities for our mental health providers,” Ayotte said. “All too often, substance use treatment and mental health care are siloed when it would be better for us to address these challenges today, to treat the whole individual.”

Charlotte Matherly is the statehouse reporter for the Concord Monitor and Monadnock Ledger-Transcript in partnership with Report for America. Follow her on X at @charmatherly, subscribe to her Capital Beat newsletter and send her an email at cmatherly@cm