Time now to review some major developments in Frankfurt this week and what we're anticipating in the upcoming week with a pair of well-heeled Frankfurt insiders.

Government relations experts have Stephanie Bell with us and Jason Rainey.

Good to see you both.

Thank you.

Good to see.

You.

Hope you get some rest this weekend because next week, with just four days left before they take a veto period, is going to be some high octane movement.

Is it not a late night for sure.

Stephanie, we'll just start there.

What do you think?

I mean, assess where we are right now and what we still have left to do or they still have left to do?

Well, you know, they they have been meeting in pre conference for the budget and the revenue.

Well, I guess the revenue bill goes probably next week.

But they've been meeting and kind of mixing the two and getting their proposals together and negotiating and things like that.

But, you know, they have to get them out the door next week or they're going to be subject to governors vetoes.

And so, you know, that's their goal, to get them out, get them voted on, get them to the signature for the governor next week.

So, you know, you've got a lot of parties that are lobbying for their for, you know, what they want.

The governors, one of those, you know, he's trying to rally the troops to get some things that are important to him, like teacher raises as disaster recovery type things that the General Assembly is doing.

So, you know, all the groups are kind of getting together and trying to make that last minute push to get get, get what they want in the budget or not or not.

Right.

I mean, you know, we would say maybe by this time there are some ideas that have congealed around.

Right.

Like, these are our principles.

This is what we will do.

This is what we will not do.

We would think that perhaps that's where they are in the budget process.

And now it's just brass tacks.

Well, and it's it's interesting.

There's such a divergence in the Senate version versus the House version of House Bill one.

Right.

Lots of new projects included in there.

Some projects that are exciting for Kentucky.

Right.

One time use of moneys initiatives for University of Kentucky, Morehead State, NASA's space science up there, the Initiative for Excellence in Covington with the University of Kentucky right in queue.

Chase College law potentially moving down to the river front at the IRS site.

So there's there's lots of stuff, $100 million for revitalization for downtown Louisville.

Right.

Which is interesting.

Right.

Those kinds of things that get added in may drive conversations across the state.

Well, can my community could we have gotten that?

Well, and that's right.

Is it in is it too late for those communities who are now hearing that there's a little pot of gold here?

A little pot of gold there?

It can they get in on it at this particular point if they haven't already?

I think that's a that's a good question.

Right.

For Lexington, there's $10 Million for Affordable Housing that's that's baked in the Senate version of House Bill one.

So it'd be interesting to see.

Well, if you don't ask, you don't get 100% of the time.

So, you know, people need to make that push.

I mean, things end up in the budget bill that you've never even heard of all the time.

Right.

At the at the end.

When you were in the free conference committee to define what Stephanie was talking about.

Anything's game, right?

Yeah, right.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

One of the other things that was included in the Senate version is a $50 million pot of money economic development fund for the top 60 highest unemployment counties in Kentucky.

The top 60 the tops of 120.

Yes, that's.

Interesting.

So, you know, I don't think there's a lot of there's a lot to be filtered out.

Right, with what that could look like.

But, you know, I mean, anything we're doing to try to increase job opportunities in Kentucky is a good thing.

Are those like HRC counties?

I'd say I'd say a lot are right.

Appalachian Regional Commission County.

So Eastern Kentucky Counties, right?

Yeah, it could be across the whole state.

I mean, I might have spent this morning looking up, okay, where does my community that I represent for economic development, where do we fall in this?

Do we qualify?

You know, and it's nice.

I mean, that's a good initiative.

Yeah.

So so we'll see where all of that goes.

We know that other bills are moving or are not moving, right.

Some high priority bills like House Bill seven that deals with autonomous vehicles, you know, that seem to have hit a wall here.

But it doesn't mean that it's completely stalled out.

But it's got to have a big push in the next four days working day that is.

Yeah.

House Bill seven dealing with autonomous vehicles and regulation around that.

You know, it's had a lot of activity this session but it would be nice to kind of see where that I mean we're running out of time right But as we continue to see folks leaning in on autonomous vehicle usage, we've got to figure out a regulatory framework for that.

Right.

There's a task force already for that.

But it passed last session.

Yeah, that's right.

And it was vetoed.

That's right.

Yeah.

And too late for.

Them to override it.

Yeah.

So it's interesting what what is different from the last bill.

That's the the sticking point, right.

Yes.

Yeah.

If more of the labor concerns are sticking more this time or what is it.

But we also know there are other bills.

You know, we're still waiting on the big die bill and there are some other controversial measures that are still being waited to have some finality on.

And so they could pass those when they come on the other side of the governor's veto period and just risk not being able to override it.

Yeah, well, I think groups are starting to recognize they need to get in the game on those type bills, bills, those type things.

Right.

I know there's several groups in Lexington that have kind of gotten mobilized to start making calls against those type bills.

And so, you know, this is the time they need to act.

Yeah, for sure.

Right.

What are you got your eyes on?

Real quickly, what's the one thing you think?

Okay, this is going to make it.

I mean, I think how this this all gets filtered out, bringing the two budgets together in those versions, how do we reconcile the funding of SEEK and the formula around around the schools?

There's a lot of debate around that, obviously.

And, you know, how does that tie in with the teacher raises?

We were talking about that before we started recording, but that's something that I am super interested to see.

How does that really get nailed down?

Because right there at the end of the day, we all care about teachers and the the education system.

It's key to everything we're trying to do to further the state of Kentucky.

It's just how do how do we get to that?

And, you know, one version, one one version of the bill has that nailed down where it's going to be in the part of the Sikh formula and the increase in the Sikh formula.

Yeah, and some say but that's still not fair, though, to some other districts.

Right.

And that Sikh formula is a very difficult, complex formula.

Yeah, right.

And so certainly maybe that's a conversation that even happens again during the interim as they are had already started these conversations.

Do I?

I think data privacy is you know, we saw a number of bills regarding data privacy and they haven't yet reached the finish line.

And you know, we've been waiting kind of for the feds to to do something to make some parameters for states, but they haven't.

And I think that consumers are demanding that states do something to protect their data.

But, you know, of course, data is very valuable for companies, too.

So it's a very fine line for those bills because it's, you know, the groups that mobilize against these bills, if they're just one slight language and it brings a whole lot of people in.

And so I think data privacy I those trials have been discussed a lot but they none of them have reached finish line yet.

Yeah.

So we'll keep our eye on it these these few few short minutes I go by fast and thank you both for keeping your eye on it and rest up for a busy week.

Next week.

Thank you.

Thank you.