President Clinton is not the only well-known official that gets to stand in front of politicians to talk about health care, welfare and crime -- yesterday Gov. Robert P. Casey had his turn.

In his first speech to the state legislature since he returned to office in December, Casey outlined his plans to reduce crime, adopt a universal health care plan for all Pennsylvanians and change the state welfare system.

Mirroring Clinton's movement for stronger gun control, Casey proposed a statewide ban on assault weapons and said he wants to strengthen laws on parental responsibility to keep guns away from children. He said he also wants to prohibit minors from possessing firearms except when hunting or engaging in other lawful, adult-supervised activities.

John Lance (junior-administration of justice) said crime has become a broad "catch phrase" used to incorporate all sorts of violent actions in rural and urban areas across the state.

"It used to be that you only heard about crime when you discussed cities like Philadelphia or Pittsburgh . . . there were only 'incidents' in other towns," Lance said. Crime has started to spread across the state -- even reaching towns like State College, he said.

"Pennsylvania is certainly not a crime capital of the nation -- but violent crimes seem to be on the increase," Lance said.

While welfare change is a priority on the state level, Casey reiterated some of the ideas expressed by Clinton in his State of the Union address Tuesday night. Casey said he wants to free the welfare system of disincentives to work, continue to crackdown on parents who do not pay child support and increase job training for welfare recipients.

Lisa Maslon (freshman-division of undergraduate studies) agreed with many of Casey's proposals but thought his welfare reform and business tax plans could be more detailed.

"I don't think the government should support one faction of the American public," Maslon said. The welfare concept is a good idea in theory, but it does not carry over into "real life," she said.

Last year, Casey unveiled a sweeping proposal to revamp the way Pennsylvanians access health care. The plan, designed to ensure coverage for nearly 1 million uninsured Pennsylvanians, relies on managed care to curtail costs.

Although Dedee Milleran did not see Casey's address, she said Casey has always taken a strong position on health care reform.

"His plan is very similar to Clinton's and this country -- as well as Pennsylvania -- need reform," said Milleran (graduate-English). She added that she favors restructuring the entire health care system and replacing it with a "user-friendly" system.

Casey also called for a doubling in the state's personal income tax exemption for children and a new high-security prison for the most dangerous juvenile offenders.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.