In this week's episode, you will continue to join Maggie Mick in her home state of Kentucky for a constellation of conversations had with colleagues and friends attending the National Conference of State Legislatures' 2024 Legislative Summit in Louisville.
[00:00:11] Well, we have reached the final furlong of NCSL's Legislative Summit in Louisville, and I am so pleased to introduce you to Jay Hartz, the Director of the Kentucky Legislative Research Commission.
[00:00:23] I will disclose that he and I had had this chat at the final event at Churchill, but due to the volume and the recording got re-covered up with silence,
[00:00:38] so we're going to try and rehash what we talked about because it was such a fantastic way to end our time in Louisville.
[00:00:45] So Jay has been with the state government and has held a number of different leadership roles, but he was a core leader in the planning of this incredible week.
[00:00:58] So Jay, thank you for hosting us, and what can you tell us about your reflections from the meeting and all that went into the planning?
[00:01:06] Thanks, Maggie.
[00:01:08] When you and I spoke about halfway through the final night event at Churchill Downs, I was hot, sweaty, tired, and my first comment to you was,
[00:01:25] I was ready for everyone to go home, and now that it's been a few days and I've had a shower and gotten some sleep, I'm still glad everybody went home.
[00:01:38] So it was...
[00:01:39] Safe and sound.
[00:01:40] Yeah, so it was an interesting experience to be part of putting on an NCSL summit.
[00:01:52] So I'll just speak to you a little bit about, from sort of a staff organizational perspective, what that process was like.
[00:02:02] And to put a lot of what I'm going to talk about in context, we ended up with over 5,300 paid registrants for NCSL.
[00:02:15] That is larger than the 2019 NCSL in Nashville.
[00:02:23] It's larger than the pre-COVID election year NCSL legislative summits.
[00:02:31] So it was big.
[00:02:34] There were a lot of people here.
[00:02:36] There's a good rule of thumb that there's, for an NCSL summit, there's probably another thousand people who are in town that don't register.
[00:02:45] So lobbyists, advocates, state government officials from other states.
[00:02:52] So well over 6,000 people were in Louisville to attend the legislative summit.
[00:03:00] And this process started more than three years ago when the executive committee accepted Louisville, Kentucky's offer to host the event.
[00:03:17] So even now, for the past three years, every working day, I've had some conversation about putting on this event.
[00:03:29] And I'd say, and these are not in order of importance, but some key factors to putting on an event like this was the vision of the speaker and the Senate president,
[00:03:47] Speaker Osborne, Senate President Stivers, and the other members of the host committee to point us in the direction we needed to go.
[00:03:55] So their clear vision was most helpful.
[00:03:58] The excitement of Kentucky-based sponsors to participate.
[00:04:06] Not only was our budget fully funded, but we were in the enviable position of being able to discuss what more can we do rather than what less can we do and not have anybody notice that we're doing less.
[00:04:22] So that was awesome.
[00:04:27] The new mayor of Louisville, Mayor Greenberg, his office was extremely helpful.
[00:04:36] We had a great presence from Louisville Metro Police in and around the convention center.
[00:04:45] And I'll talk some more about the opening night event, but a portion of the opening night event took place on a city park called the Belvedere.
[00:04:54] And their willingness to make that open to us and help us work through the permitting process was key.
[00:05:02] It took my breath away when I saw it.
[00:05:04] I mean, it was a beautiful event.
[00:05:06] Was key.
[00:05:07] And I would say that this is probably not in order of importance, but this last one may be the most important thing.
[00:05:14] Were the LRC staff who were willing to volunteer.
[00:05:19] We had over 137 LRC staff volunteer.
[00:05:26] They worked thousands of hours, not just in preparation, but if you do the math of all the shifts that all those people worked, they were there for thousands of hours.
[00:05:42] Helping people get registered to, we had people standing on the street in between the convention center and hotels.
[00:05:50] That is, somebody needed some direction on how to make it from their hotel to the convention center.
[00:05:55] We were able to direct them.
[00:05:57] You even had a wayfinding committee?
[00:06:00] Yeah, so I'll get to that.
[00:06:02] Very intentional.
[00:06:03] And the first shift started at 6.30 a.m. on the Sunday before it actually began.
[00:06:14] There's executive committee activities on the Sunday before the conference actually starts.
[00:06:21] So we had people on site at 6.30 a.m. all the way through, on Sunday all the way through about 10 o'clock p.m. that following Wednesday.
[00:06:33] And as Maggie mentioned, we had 10 different staff committees.
[00:06:39] Everything from, we had a committee of staff who were in charge of the opening night event, the closing night event.
[00:06:50] When you go to one of these events, you'll notice that they have multiple meetings in the same room during the day.
[00:06:57] Somebody has to swap the signs out and count how many people's in the room.
[00:07:02] So we did that.
[00:07:03] Our print shop was involved.
[00:07:05] All of the signage was actually produced by LRC staff.
[00:07:11] So one of my better moments was as we began to organize these staff committees, I had a meeting with all the staff that agreed to be co-chairs.
[00:07:22] And I got to tell them, my problems are now your problems.
[00:07:27] So that they were able to take a lot off my plate.
[00:07:30] So 10 different staff committees, thousands of hours worked.
[00:07:34] But all the feedback that I heard from people from other states, the most important thing that those volunteers did was smile.
[00:07:46] Everybody smiled.
[00:07:48] Everybody was helpful.
[00:07:50] Everybody was helpful.
[00:07:51] And I think if there was a clue that held this whole thing together, it was the smiles on our volunteers.
[00:07:59] So I think when people, I don't know what people's vision of Louisville was when they came.
[00:08:07] But I think it's, in most every instance, it's different in a positive way.
[00:08:14] And I think that Kentucky, out of all the states that really step forward and host a lot of conferences, whether it's for ALEC, CSG, NCSL, Kentucky is actually one of the most hospitable states and has taken on these conventions many times over the years.
[00:08:32] So I think that you have a well-oiled machine.
[00:08:34] But in terms of, you know, just the expectations that folks have when they come to an event hosted by a Kentucky host state, I think that there are shorter lines.
[00:08:46] I think the logistics are smooth.
[00:08:48] And I just think that you all have created a playbook that is really, really impressive.
[00:08:53] So I notice it by going to a lot of different meetings in a lot of different states.
[00:08:58] And I think it's intentional that you all have perfected this process.
[00:09:04] And the fact that you have 10 planning committees and that many staff involved, and the leaders too.
[00:09:11] I mean, the leaders are really leading the charge.
[00:09:15] They're involved day to day.
[00:09:16] They are presenting that vision that you mentioned.
[00:09:19] It really is just, you know, top shelf, as we say, in Kentucky.
[00:09:25] Thank you for that, Maggie.
[00:09:26] You know, it's everybody bought into this idea of showcasing not just Louisville, but the entire Commonwealth.
[00:09:38] So, you know, I am by nature a under-promise, over-deliver kind of guy.
[00:09:48] So during the conference, my comment was going into it, I was cautiously optimistic.
[00:09:56] As things started to develop, I was telling everybody I was moving my needle from cautiously optimistic to hopeful for a positive outcome.
[00:10:05] So I don't know.
[00:10:07] I probably still need to catch up on some sleep to determine where my needle is now.
[00:10:13] But it's probably somewhere exceeded expectations in every way.
[00:10:17] Yeah.
[00:10:18] And a couple more things, Maggie.
[00:10:21] You'd mentioned the opening night event.
[00:10:26] That one is noteworthy.
[00:10:29] Early on, the Kentucky Center for the Performing Arts offered their space for us to use, which is a – it's a beautiful space.
[00:10:38] If you've never been there, when you walk in, it's a vertical space.
[00:10:43] So there's several different levels that you can interact with people on.
[00:10:48] And it is – its aesthetic is very pleasing.
[00:10:54] And then there was – so there was an indoor event, and then there was also an outdoor portion.
[00:10:59] And as I mentioned, there's a city park just out behind the doors of the Kentucky Center called the Belvedere.
[00:11:07] And we like to plan for indoor-outdoor because then we are not at the mercy of what the weather is.
[00:11:14] So if it's rainy, people can come in.
[00:11:18] But outside, we had a live band.
[00:11:21] There were 10 different members of the Kentucky Guild of Brewers there.
[00:11:27] Country Boy did a special handshake lager.
[00:11:31] They brewed a special beer just for the event.
[00:11:35] And we ended up having 1,000 more people show up for that event than we planned for.
[00:11:44] The original estimates were 1,500 after we saw registrations coming in at a really high level.
[00:11:51] We agreed to NCSL that we need to bump that up to 1,900.
[00:11:55] Based on the food we serve, there were probably 3,500 people that attended that event.
[00:12:02] Some folks I know from other states said they actually had dinner plans that night and weren't planning on attending until they had heard what was going on and canceled their dinner plans and came to the event.
[00:12:13] So that's probably a fish and loads kind of situation.
[00:12:18] We didn't run out of food.
[00:12:20] It's Kentucky, so I'm not surprised we didn't run out of bourbon.
[00:12:23] But we didn't run out of food.
[00:12:25] And that really was a great event.
[00:12:33] There were a lot of people there, and it didn't feel too crowded.
[00:12:38] So I think we used that space effectively to introduce people to Kentucky.
[00:12:44] Kentucky, and one of the reasons why I felt strongly about including the Belvedere was at the far end of the Belvedere, you can see the Ohio River.
[00:12:55] And Louisville is a river city, and I thought it would be people would not be well served if they came to Louisville and didn't have at least have an opportunity to see the Ohio River.
[00:13:05] One of the times when I was walking by, there was a coal barge going by, and there were a lot of people that availed themselves of being able to see that connection between Louisville and the river.
[00:13:19] And the river is why Louisville is where it is.
[00:13:22] So I thought it was, you know, if they were either if they had some Kentucky bourbon or some Kentucky beer watching the coal barge go by, that's sort of a quintessentially Kentucky thing to do.
[00:13:34] And I'm glad they got to have that experience.
[00:13:36] Can you take us to that final night where we had our first chat and explain what happened?
[00:13:40] Because I cannot tell you, sitting, I kind of sat back in the bleachers watching what unfolded, and I don't think I've ever had more pride in our state.
[00:13:53] Can you explain kind of the planning and kind of the bells and whistles that you put into Churchill?
[00:14:00] Churchill.
[00:14:00] So Churchill was a, well, it still is, but before they added the new paddock, Churchill Downs is an incredible location to do an event.
[00:14:15] Now that they've added the paddock, it is a world-class location to do an event.
[00:14:21] And Maggie, I had a similar experience.
[00:14:25] I do like to bet on the ponies, so I do frequent Churchill Downs as a private citizen.
[00:14:32] But I agree with you.
[00:14:34] It's been a long time since I've seen it through somebody else's eyes.
[00:14:40] So as folks got off the bus, they were dropped off at the entrance for the new paddock.
[00:14:47] So when they walked in, they were, I'll use visually assaulted, but I'm using visually assaulted in a positive way.
[00:14:56] Visually assaulted with this brand new world-class facility and were immediately greeted by a Churchill Downs server with a mint julep.
[00:15:09] So they didn't even have to go stand in line at the bar.
[00:15:12] That's a drawback to many of these things.
[00:15:15] The first thing you do when you get there is you have to go stand in line to get food or at a bar to get a drink.
[00:15:22] And they were immediately greeted with a mint julep.
[00:15:26] Yeah, with a mint julep.
[00:15:28] And then through the help of Churchill Downs, we were able to arrange to have two live horse races.
[00:15:39] Of course, it's not their meat.
[00:15:41] So these were essentially training races.
[00:15:45] But there were two races with six horses.
[00:15:49] They went about six furlong.
[00:15:52] So it was, they did a turn.
[00:15:57] And that crowd, so there were a lot of people there.
[00:16:01] The grandstands were filled.
[00:16:03] But for both those races, as those horses came down and headed towards the finish line, they were as loud and as enthusiastic for that training race as I've seen people be for the Kentucky Derby or for the Breeders' Cup.
[00:16:24] So to watch other people who have only heard about Churchill Downs before, get that experience of, I'd say that was as close to a Derby Day experience that you're going to get as a visitor if it wasn't Derby Day.
[00:16:46] Yep, the first day of May or Saturday of May.
[00:16:48] Yeah, so it was, so I think the way to, you know, the best way to describe that was the event was supposed to be over at nine.
[00:17:00] And at 8.55, there were still a couple thousand people sitting in the stands at Churchill Downs enjoying an adult beverage and watching the sun go down.
[00:17:14] So Churchill Downs security actually had to kick us out.
[00:17:18] And so, and to think about that, these are people who have been away from home potentially for four or five days.
[00:17:25] Most of them would be catching an early flight the next morning.
[00:17:28] And the way these events usually play out, people don't stay to the end because they want to get back and get packed and get ready for their early flights.
[00:17:38] They didn't want to leave.
[00:17:40] It was amazing.
[00:17:41] And as they walked out, as everyone walked out, they received a Derby glass.
[00:17:48] So this year's Derby glass, they were provided as they left.
[00:17:52] And of course, that's a special one since this was the 150th Derby.
[00:17:56] But Churchill Downs went all out.
[00:17:59] There was NCSL signage everywhere.
[00:18:02] All of the signs that normally say Churchill Downs, all were displaying NCSL.
[00:18:09] And throughout the course of the week, one of the longest lines, I will say, was to make the hats and the fascinators, which was outside the exhibit hall.
[00:18:15] But people, I mean, you had real craftsmen putting together what attendees chose for their mixture of feathers and lace and whatnot for their hats.
[00:18:28] And so to see people wearing those hats and cheering like it was the first Saturday in May, it really was a moment.
[00:18:36] So thank you for making that possible.
[00:18:39] It was an incredible way to end the week.
[00:18:43] Well, I don't know how Boston will top it, but I guess we'll find out.
[00:18:49] Well, Jay, get some rest.
[00:18:51] Thank you for this conversation.
[00:18:52] Thanks for having the conversation again.
[00:18:54] Even more fun the second time.
[00:18:56] And I'm grateful for you and working with you all these years and look forward to seeing what Kentucky actually does next in 26 for CSG.
[00:19:05] Yeah, yeah, that was.
[00:19:07] Thank you for reminding me, I guess.
[00:19:10] Towards the end of our conversation at Churchill Downs, I mentioned that the CSG South annual meeting, the Southern Legislative Conference, will be in Lexington in 2026.
[00:19:23] Another fantastic city.
[00:19:25] Yeah, so that's a little, I'm not sure what we'll do yet, but I'm sure that we will live up to the high standards that we've set.
[00:19:33] Well, thanks, Jay.
[00:19:35] Have a great weekend.
[00:19:36] Thanks, Maggie.
[00:19:38] Well, we are ending a fantastic week in Louisville, and I am so pleased and honored to bring forth one of our members of the Kentucky State Legislature, a member of the leadership team, and a fantastic part of the planning for this week's incredible meeting in Louisville.
[00:20:00] Representative Suzanne Miles was first elected in 2014.
[00:20:03] And so this is your 10-year anniversary of being in the legislature, going into next session.
[00:20:11] So give me kind of your thoughts about how this week has gone.
[00:20:17] Well, it's been a very fun week for one thing, but also the content of the meetings.
[00:20:24] I mean, it was just endless, the amount of items that were brought to us and opportunities to learn.
[00:20:31] So it's good to get to meet everybody.
[00:20:34] It's good to get to see some old friends from other states and things like that.
[00:20:39] But the content of the meetings, I thought, was phenomenal this time.
[00:20:44] So that was what I was really, really excited about.
[00:20:50] When we saw each other at the beginning of the week, we were talking about AI being such a dominant issue currently in the legislatures.
[00:20:58] And there were seven sessions on AI.
[00:21:01] And I know that you're on a special task force in Kentucky.
[00:21:03] Were you able to hop into any of those sessions?
[00:21:05] Any kind of key learnings that you thought leaders brought forth?
[00:21:12] Well, I probably, as far as more of the AI things, I saw more of those in the exhibit halls.
[00:21:19] I was able to kind of see some ideas there more than I was during the meetings.
[00:21:24] I spent most of my time in a lot of the energy meetings.
[00:21:27] That's right.
[00:21:28] I'm also active with the nuclear working groups and things like that.
[00:21:32] So energy is where I spent most of my time with that.
[00:21:36] But with that being said, almost all of our energy meetings are including an AI part to that, too, because it's affecting everything.
[00:21:46] The energy, the natural resources, energy and environment committee.
[00:21:51] We actually had someone come on the pod to give us the scoop on that.
[00:21:57] More debate that has in years.
[00:21:59] And so it was really wonderful to see emerging topics being brought forth in that committee that state leaders will have to wrestle with in the coming sessions.
[00:22:08] But just the debate, you know, just I was like, we haven't seen theater like this in a while.
[00:22:13] So really, really good conversations in the committee meetings.
[00:22:18] So in terms of the week and the scale of the event and probably over 6,000 people in town, just in terms of, you know, what you as a leader in Kentucky wanted to bring forth and share with folks from around the country.
[00:22:34] You know, what were some things that you were most proud of that we put on display as Kentuckians this week and you as a host state?
[00:22:41] Well, probably the repeated thing that I heard from people that came in from out of state was the hospitality.
[00:22:48] And it was so nice to hear repeatedly how great the hospitality was from the people in Kentucky, all the hotels, all the...
[00:22:57] I even had someone tell me that the cab driver was excited that they were in town, that he had even enjoyed that.
[00:23:05] So it's just really nice whenever we bring them and we roll out the red carpet in the best way we know how.
[00:23:12] And it's second nature for us.
[00:23:14] It's not like it was an effort.
[00:23:16] It was our normal, the way that we treat any guests that comes into our state.
[00:23:21] And so to me, it was just, it was really nice to hear it repeatedly, how nice the facilities were, how nice everything was set up, how convenient things were and everything.
[00:23:33] But probably the most fun and excitement that I saw from people were making the hats.
[00:23:39] That was such a neat thing.
[00:23:42] And then seeing them at Churchill, I mean, seeing it like go from making it to seeing it come to life.
[00:23:48] I mean...
[00:23:50] Well, and that was the other thing that we had commented on.
[00:23:54] Churchill was kind enough to do two races so people could actually see live racing and see what that looks like.
[00:24:01] Of course, there was no betting involved.
[00:24:03] And to hear people cheer for their horses, that the energy and excitement was just so much fun to get to see how happy people were to be in Kentucky.
[00:24:13] And so many people, I think we'll see them come back for Derby.
[00:24:17] I could be wrong.
[00:24:18] I think they'll be coming back to our state to do other things that they really necessarily might not have had time to do when they were here.
[00:24:25] But they're like, kind of like what we normally do.
[00:24:29] They want to bring people back with them and show them whether it be their family or friends.
[00:24:33] They can't wait to come back and bring family or friends to get to have some of the experiences that they had while they were here in Kentucky.
[00:24:40] I have heard from a number of people texting me in the past two days.
[00:24:44] I think everybody gets so used to being around people all the time.
[00:24:47] And then you want to go and rest.
[00:24:48] But then everybody's still kind of, you know, so excited about what occurred.
[00:24:51] I've had so many people text me and say, that was my first time in Kentucky, but it will not be my last.
[00:24:56] That it was, you know, exceeded expectations.
[00:25:00] That it was a special time.
[00:25:02] So, yes, I look forward to having people come back.
[00:25:05] And that was actually one thing I wanted to raise with you is that Kentucky, you know, we're a small state.
[00:25:13] NCSL has held two legislative summits here two times in 14 years.
[00:25:19] I think that puts us on par with, like, a Boston or Chicago, where we will be next year in Boston.
[00:25:24] But Chicago is hosted a couple of times.
[00:25:27] The populations of those states are double and triple Kentucky.
[00:25:31] But for some reason, the legislature has the playbook down or just the confidence to be like, we can bring 6,000 people here.
[00:25:39] Like, let's do it.
[00:25:40] What do you think, you know, what do you think that is?
[00:25:42] Is it the, you know, the leadership just, you know, really being confident in the ability?
[00:25:47] Is it the staff?
[00:25:48] Like, what is the that enables Kentucky to host so many of these legislative convenings?
[00:25:58] Well, I think the leadership part of it is a major role in wanting to do it and being willing to do it.
[00:26:07] But quite honestly, I have to defer to the staff.
[00:26:11] The staff have been the ones that are actually the ones that deliver.
[00:26:17] And we saw that in a big way.
[00:26:19] Obviously, we had lots of LRC staff that were there.
[00:26:23] And I saw them repeatedly in multiple different places and knew several of them, which shifts they were working,
[00:26:31] what areas they would be working and checking in on them and things like that.
[00:26:35] And quite honestly, it comes down to the staff of what they deliver.
[00:26:39] Where obviously leadership says, hey, we want to do this.
[00:26:42] Can we do this?
[00:26:44] And it's always been one of those deals where it's, you know, at the end of the day, it's like, can we do this?
[00:26:51] And they're saying, absolutely.
[00:26:53] Tell us what you want to do.
[00:26:54] And we'll do our best to deliver.
[00:26:56] And they repeatedly deliver in a big way.
[00:27:00] And I think that they go even bigger every time.
[00:27:03] Yeah.
[00:27:04] I think the conference people, too, they look forward to coming back and working with a group of people that, you know, it's like, no, you can't do this.
[00:27:12] No, you can't do this.
[00:27:13] Instead, it's like, what do you want to do?
[00:27:16] OK, let's figure out how we can deliver that.
[00:27:19] Yes.
[00:27:19] And I can speak to that directly.
[00:27:23] I have been absolutely blown away when I planned the 2018 National Conference for CSG with Kentucky.
[00:27:33] Senate President Stivers was the national chair.
[00:27:37] And so we worked mostly with Senate staff on that and the LRC, Jay Hartz and Becky Harrelson.
[00:27:44] They are what can we do bigger?
[00:27:46] What can we do, you know, next?
[00:27:49] And they I mean, it is it is an incredible learning experience to be around them when they put these together.
[00:27:56] And I know that the House was intimately involved with this year's event.
[00:27:59] But Becky Harrelson has been doing this for many decades and has written that playbook.
[00:28:05] And I learned a lot in 2018.
[00:28:07] And I'm sure the NCSL staff even learned this year from this host state.
[00:28:12] So, you know, Jay Hartz obviously does a phenomenal job.
[00:28:15] Teresa Arnold is the other one.
[00:28:18] The one that has above and beyond.
[00:28:23] Yes.
[00:28:24] Above and beyond.
[00:28:25] And there's many.
[00:28:26] There's many, many.
[00:28:27] But but those main two, I would say, are the ones that that I've seen the most of and had most interaction with on these.
[00:28:36] And they just they deliver.
[00:28:38] And they want to they just want everyone to feel like that they came to Kentucky and had the best experience they ever had.
[00:28:45] And you just can't ask for more than they have from them.
[00:28:49] Yeah.
[00:28:49] So I know that you are a policy with is on a lot of different issues.
[00:28:55] Was there any issue that you had never heard of or learned more about at this meeting?
[00:29:01] Like sneak peek to 20 to 25 legislative sessions.
[00:29:04] Any emerging topics that you were like, OK, that's coming down the pike.
[00:29:07] Like get ready.
[00:29:10] I think a lot of them are.
[00:29:13] I mean, a is here.
[00:29:14] I mean, that's one that's here.
[00:29:16] We just need to figure out what we do with that at a government level.
[00:29:21] As far as I goes.
[00:29:23] So I think that's one of the items that we need to spend close attention to.
[00:29:27] Obviously, the energy issues continue.
[00:29:31] And I mean, in the whole reason we need more and more AI or more and more energy is a direct correlation to data centers and things like that and everything else with AI.
[00:29:45] So those are a lot of them.
[00:29:47] Obviously, education.
[00:29:49] We're looking to see what's next with that as far as where do we go from here.
[00:29:55] Our health care workers, we're starting to see some progress on on, you know, making sure staffing is up on that.
[00:30:04] I had a meeting after the conference for that coming up.
[00:30:09] So, you know, it's just things like that that we're trying to pay attention to.
[00:30:13] I don't know of anything really.
[00:30:18] You know, new topics, so to speak, it's just I feel like we we have the same items.
[00:30:23] We're just trying to figure out each and every time how we make everything we have better.
[00:30:28] So you're looking at all the gamuts of everything that's out there to try to figure out how do we how do we step up the next game?
[00:30:35] How do we listen to other states that have done something better than we've done?
[00:30:39] And we can progress through there or, you know, what do we share?
[00:30:44] And that's and that is what I heard more than anything of the different people at the conference of talking to each other and going, hey, what do you all do about this?
[00:30:52] Oh, I hadn't thought about that.
[00:30:54] Well, we do it this way.
[00:30:56] And it was those are the valuable conversations you have outside of the information that were provided.
[00:31:04] Right.
[00:31:05] The a lot of the we just didn't have a panel of people that everybody said the same thing and agreed with each other.
[00:31:13] There were there were there were different opinions, which made for a very engaging conversations.
[00:31:20] And so that you got to hear the, you know, positives and negatives on a lot of things.
[00:31:26] And it just it really helps for you to actually have kind of the sausage making conversation compared to just being presented information and not actually working through that process of what it looks like for Kentucky compared to what it looks like for Washington compared to what it looks like for Texas.
[00:31:47] So that's that's one of the main things.
[00:31:49] It's not going to be the same for every state.
[00:31:53] All the states have some similar problems, but it depends on how they've reacted to it.
[00:31:59] So I just think that's part of it.
[00:32:01] It will be different.
[00:32:02] Sure.
[00:32:03] I appreciate how you view policy, because in your in your day and your your long time career, you've served as a aid in Congress.
[00:32:12] And so you've got that federal lens in and then you serve in a leadership post in the state.
[00:32:19] So not only are you working on policy, but you have to help lead your chamber.
[00:32:25] I just think that that triangulation of those things just makes you such an interesting leader.
[00:32:31] And I'm thankful that you wear all those Kentucky Derby hats.
[00:32:35] It's just a very unique lawmaker in our country.
[00:32:39] And thank you for hosting us this week.
[00:32:41] Thank you for this conversation.
[00:32:43] And I look forward to seeing you hopefully at a CSG meeting soon or another event down the down the road.
[00:32:51] So, you know, I'm sure we will.
[00:32:53] I look forward to seeing the mix real soon.
[00:32:56] Thank you, Maggie.
[00:32:58] Yeah, hopefully I'll see you with the kids before I see you at another meeting.
[00:33:01] Yes, yes, absolutely.
[00:33:04] Absolutely.
[00:33:04] Thank you for your time.
[00:33:05] Get some rest this weekend.
[00:33:07] But you do the same.
[00:33:08] Thank you.