All week we've brought you stories from the National Conference of State Legislatures, or Newcastle Summit that was held in Louisville.

This is the second time the summit has been held in Kentucky's largest city since 2010.

Thousands of lawmakers and their staff from around the country convened in Louisville to learn from each other and to get a taste of Kentucky's generous hospitality.

While we were there, we had a chance to catch up with several Kentucky lawmakers.

We wanted to know what they were taking away from the conference and how it might shape future legislation.

Katy's Kacey Parker Bell spoke with Carter County Democratic Senator Robin Webb.

As Kentucky edition goes on the road.

So what are some of the issues facing Kentucky that you're hoping to hear some potential solutions for?

Well, having been on the nuclear energy task force.

I think how we diversify our energy mix, our grid stability and access and calls are always going to be paramount in an ongoing discussion and then some ag issues.

And again, going back to solar siting and the impacts of farmland and a loss of farmland are issues that are important to me that I think we'll be talking about.

Yeah.

Any particular potential solutions that you've heard this week you think might help solve one of those?

We've heard some interesting things from other states, and I think we're going to explore that.

I think we need them for more information.

Yeah, I guess that's part of the purpose of in Cecil is to figure out what other states are trying so then you can try and work on it as you go.

On identify strategies or experts or people to come in for the committee process or whatever.

Yeah.

Now, this is one of the other benefits of instances.

When you have a success, you can tell other people that they should look to your state.

So what?

I did that yesterday.

Well, what you.

Say to our Sportsmen's Caucus, we had I don't know how several states that came to our reception and we talked about our Elk project in southeast Kentucky, the cooperative effort between Virginia and Tennessee and the unconventional stakeholders and partners that we had from the federal government to the Nature Conservancy.

And I had several states ask me how to replicate that conservation easement initiative in their state.

I know that there are sometimes new and emerging topics.

One that everyone has mentioned, it seems to me has been artificial intelligence.

But is there is there been anything surprising to you or new that you now have ideas about that you might not have before?

I was pretty we were talking about it at the lunch table.

I mean, that's how intrusive I guess it's becoming and fear in the loss of jobs, the impact on the economy, the validity of information, and how to best regulated without impugning First Amendment rights or other other rights that we have.

So those are all emerging issues that's going to, I think, be consuming.

We are looking forward to the next legislative session.

What what do you anticipate Kentucky is going to be trying to tackle energy issues.

Continuing education and health care issues, juvenile justice, juvenile justice and corrections, I think, are going to take the forefront, especially in light of House Bill five and the intended and unintended consequences of that legislation.

You mentioned nuclear energy is one of the things that Kentucky's working on right now.

Your work on the task force.

How close are we to seeing potentially a change in legislation towards nuclear energy?

Is that is that mood changing in front of us?

Oh, yes.

And the public's being educated in the technologies, being understood.

Our neighbors in West Virginia are, you know, an example of a coal state transitioning in a rational manner.

They're probably ahead of us, but certainly it is going to be part of the diversified mix of energy, which it's going to take everything.

And I think we're going to continue to have conversation and more enabling.

Even though the timeframe may not be immediate.

We should have been prepared probably five or ten years ago.

And this is coming from a coal miner that never was to have nuclear energy.

But but it's changed a lot.

It's changed a lot and it's a lot safer.

Still have a few issues with waste and what not and potential risk watershed.

And those are all concerns we'll be studying further.