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A
Good
morning
welcome
to
meeting
five
of
the
interim
committee
meeting
on
economic
development
and
workforce
investment.
Thank
you
for
coming
here
today.
We
have
a
pretty
full
agenda,
including
some
interesting
topics
such
as
workforce
development
and
cryptocurrency.
A
So
without
a
do,
we
will
begin
if
I
could
entertain
a
motion
to
approve
the
minutes
from
the
last
meeting,
all
right
hearing,
no
opposition,
the
minutes
from
the
last
meeting
are
approved.
Okay.
First,
oh
sorry,
I
guess
we
need
to
probably
call
the
call
the
roll
to
make
sure
we
have
a
quorum.
So
I
apologize.
B
A
When
secretary
do
we
have
a
quorum
all
right
so
now
that
we
have
officially
counted
a
quorum?
I
have
a
motion
to
approve
the
minutes
from
the
last
meeting
have
a
second
second
okay.
The
minutes
from
last
meeting
are
approved.
Okay,
first
on
the
agenda,
we
have
members
of
the
education
and
workforce
development
cabinet.
A
My
understanding
is
that
they
are
appearing
virtually.
Is
that
correct.
A
Good
morning,
well,
it's
a
shame
you're,
not
here
with
us
in
person,
but
all
the
same,
we're
interested
to
hear
what
you
have
to
say.
If
you
want
to
proceed,
ma'am.
H
Great
thank
you
so
much
good
morning,
chairman
and
other
members
of
the
committee.
My
name
is
heather
dearing
and
I
am
the
deputy
chief
of
staff
for
lieutenant
governor
coleman.
Thank
you
so
much
for
having
us
this
morning.
H
Next
slide,
please,
through
the
education
and
workforce
development
cabinet,
we
are
providing
kentuckians
from
all
across
the
commonwealth.
The
opportunity
of
transformational
change
to
get
a
great
education
and
a
quality
training,
so
they
can
attain
a
meaningful
career
support
families,
break
the
cycle
of
poverty
and
prosper.
H
We've
been
doing
this
by
focusing
on
the
four
e's
of
education
and
workforce
development,
so
that
we
can
ensure
kentuckians
have
a
greater
chance
of
success
to
enter
the
workforce
in
a
strong
position
and
our
industries
can
retain
our
best
and
brightest.
First
we're
expanding
opportunities
for
early
childhood
education.
H
Second,
we're
providing
exposure
to
middle
school
students
for
career
opportunities
in
their
own
communities;
and
third,
we
help
high
school
students
gain
experience
in
real
world
workforce
training
opportunities
and
finally,
following
post-secondary
education
or
our
training,
we
hope
we
are
helping.
Kentucky's
kentuckians
gain
expertise
in
their
chosen
field.
H
As
you
know,
this
administration
is
focused
on
diversifying
the
workforce
landscape
and
even
through
the
pandemic,
has
ensured
continuous
growth
for
the
commonwealth's
economy.
In
fact,
this
growth
will
be
transformational
for
years
to
come.
We've
secured
the
single
largest
economic
development
project
in
kentucky's
history,
with
the
recent
ford
announcement
and
there's
been
thousands
of
new
jobs
announced
in
the
past
few
years,
with
billions
of
dollars
of
investments
and
as
more
kentuckians
are
vaccinated
and
as
american
rescue
plan
act
spending
supports
our
economy.
H
H
We
know
that
next
on
the
agenda
is
our
partners
from
the
kentucky
chamber
of
commerce
who
will
be
providing
you
with
a
more
in-depth
look
at
these
challenges,
so
I'm
going
to
leave
that
to
them,
but
I
do
want
to
point
out
that
none
of
these
challenges
were
caused
by
the
pandemic.
They
all
existed
before.
H
H
I
Great
thanks,
heather
and
thank
you,
chairman
and
committee
for
having
us
today.
As
heather
said,
we
understand
the
challenges
in
the
workforce
and
I
think
that
the
chamber
will
be
addressing
those
more
in
general.
But
I
want
to
talk
about
what
we're
doing
to
address
those
challenges
and,
as
we
went
through
the
pandemic
last
year
and
continue,
I
don't
think,
there's
anyone
who
doesn't
recognize
that
broadband
is
a
necessity.
I
This
is
a
critical
priority
for
the
administration
and
we've
taken
proactive
steps
to
address
the
broadband
as
we
move
forward.
So
the
american
rescue
plan,
the
governor
invested
300
million
to
expand
broadband
to
make
it
access,
affordable
and
reliable,
and
any
of
you
have
been
in
the
different
areas
of
kentucky.
I
The
current
fcc
maps
that
map
out
today,
where
internet
and
service
is,
is
not
really
the
reality
that
we
feel
on
the
ground.
D
Good
morning,
chairman
members
of
the
committee,
I'll
be
brief.
I
know
you
have
a
busy
schedule
today.
I
just
want
to
talk
about
a
few
programs
that
are
focused
on
employers,
hiring
disadvantaged
people.
The
first
one
I
want
to
talk
about
is
the
workforce
or
work
opportunity,
tax,
credit,
certification,
better
known
as
watsi
the
work
opportunity.
D
Tax
credit
is
a
federal
program
administered
by
each
state
awarded
to
companies
that
hire
individuals
who
are
consistently
faced
with
significant
barriers,
such
as
ex-felons
government
assistance
veterans
and
long-term
unemployed
employers
may
receive
watsi
credits
up
to
between
1200
and
9
600.
Depending
on
the
target
groups.
D
Our
office,
employee,
apprenticeship
services,
does
all
the
work
for
the
employer.
They
certify
certify
the
employer
to
claim
the
credit
with
the
irs
the
turnarounds
about
one
day.
Employees
must
be
on
the
job
for
28
days
and
work
a
minimum
of
140
hours
to
receive
the
tax
credit.
D
The
kentucky
transformation
employment
program
ktep,
as
it's
known,
is
a
new
initiative
to
help
kentucky
employers
find
and
retain
the
workforce.
They
need
to
support
and
grow
their
business
while
giving
more
kentuckians
the
opportunity,
access
treatment
and
achieve
remission
and
recovery
from
substance
abuse
disorders.
D
The
program
provides
a
framework
for
employees
to
facilitate
access
to
treatment,
current
employees
or
candidates,
and
also
encourage
business
to
hire
individuals
impacted
by
substance
abuse,
an
initiative
that
has
been
around
for
some
time,
but
a
lot
of
employers
have
not
known
and
we're
truly
marketing
is
the
best
way
we
can
is
the
federal
bonding
program.
It
lessens
the
employers
risk
of
hiring
to
place
job
seekers
by
providing
a
fidelity
bond,
a
limited
liability
insurance
policy
at
no
cost
to
employer
issued
from
5
000
to
25
000
coverage
for
six
months.
D
The
bond
ensures
employers
against
theft,
forgery,
larceny
or
embezzlement
by
the
bonded
employee.
The
bond
does
not
cover
liability
due
to
poor
workmanship
or
job
injuries
or
work
accidents.
But
what
is
the
benefit
of
the
fidelity
bond?
It
gives
employer
peace
of
mind
to
hire
at-risk
job
applicants.
It
protects
the
employer
against
fraud
and
dishonesty
and
covers
any
type
of
stealing
larceny
embezzlement,
forgery
and
theft.
Many
private
bonding
companies
will
not
bond
job
applicants
who
are
qualified,
but
at
risk,
meaning
the
job
seeker
will
not
get
hired.
D
D
The
benefits
of
the
bond,
it's
free
to
job
applicant
and
employer,
there's
no
deductible,
it's
available
for
any
job,
any
employer
in
any
state
in
any
industry,
there's
no
paperwork
for
the
employer
or
the
employee,
oes
office,
employee,
apprenticeship
services
does
all
the
work
for
the
employer
and
the
employee,
and
it
saves
millions
of
dollars
of
tax
money
by
getting
justice
involved.
People
employed.
D
Oh
I'm
sorry.
This
is
me
again
so
a
couple
months
ago,
secretary,
jim
gray,
transportation
cabinet
secretary
and
the
commissioner
of
aviation
met
with
us
to
discuss
the
need
for
pilots
and
aviation
mechanics
in
the
state
of
kentucky.
D
So
we
have
scheduled
a
workforce
discussion
with
the
industry
statewide
on
november
4th
discuss
the
needs,
demand
for
pilots
and
aviation
mechanics
and
other
demands
in
the
aerospace
and
aviation
industry
moving
forward,
so
that
is
november.
4Th
2021
2
p.m,
to
3
30.,
so
anyone
that
would
be
interested.
In
joining
that
conversation,
we
certainly
can
extend
that
information
to
you.
D
Secondly,
information
technology
code,
kentucky
and
commonwealth
coders.
We
have
seen
a
demand
for
individuals
entering
the
software
and
programming
website
development
code.
Kentucky
is
an
expansion
of
cold
louisville.
We
saw
the
success
we've
seen
over
800
individuals
graduate
from
code
louisville
with
650
landing
positions,
and
I
believe
it's
like
230
companies
that
have
hired
those.
D
So
we
thought
that
if
the
success
in
louisville
is
so
has
performed
as
it
is
that
we
would
expand
throughout
the
state,
so
we
thought
we'd
do
a
pilot
product
project
with
northern
kentucky
and
eastern
kentucky
and
the
numbers
are
off
the
chart.
I
just
want
to
share
with
you
real
quick
there's
from
early
july
to
today.
D
630
total
people
have
expressed
interest
in
the
website,
sign
up
form
for
code
kentucky
153
people
have
gone
on
to
complete
the
full
application
and
begin
the
pre-work
assessment
for
that
commonwealth
coders
is
a
16-week
program.
It's
more
intense,
it's
8
to
3
30,
whereas
code
kentucky
is
six
to
eight
each
night
for
12
weeks,
commonwealth
coders
focuses
more
on
web
development,
whereas
co
kentucky
focuses
on
web
development,
but
also
software
development
and
programming.
So
we're
seeing
great
success
in
this,
and
we
know
that
it
is
the
job
of
the
future.
So.
I
So,
as
heather
mentioned,
we
in
the
in
the
cabinet
are
are
looking
at
things
from
cradle
to
career,
and
so
we
have
a
new
program
for
a
registered
apprenticeship
as
a
workforce
solution
that
has
traditionally
been
reserved
for
industrial
careers
in
a
male-dominated
field.
I
But
we've
introduced
a
new
apprenticeship
sector
in
the
field
of
early
childhood
development,
and
this
innovative
approach
offers
opportunity
to
individuals
in
the
field
who
may
have
been
overlooked
in
the
past,
and
it
recognizes
not
only
the
value
of
post-secondary
education,
but
it
also
elevates
the
workplace
where
earn
as
you
learn,
model
is
implemented.
So
we're
very
excited
about
this,
and
the
program
will
funnel
new
workers
into
the
early
care
and
education
industry,
but
also
open
up
additional
classrooms
for
families
in
need
of
quality,
child
care
programs
to
return
to
work
next
slide.
A
D
Yes
ma'am,
so
the
cabinet
continues
to
invest
in
programs
for
critical
jobs
of
tomorrow.
The
lontech
program
is
an
initiative
that
was
brought
to
us
between
jefferson,
community
college
and
lg
lg
e.
We
have
learned
over
the
last
couple
of
months
that
there
is
a
high
demand
for
line
technicians.
D
D
Not
only
does
the
the
program
focus
on
line
technician,
but
it
also
provides
these
individuals
with
cdl
licenses.
The
cost
for
the
tuition
is
about
eight
thousand
dollars,
which
limits
a
lot
of
folk
individuals
to
to
be
able
to
participate.
So
our
focus
is
trying
to
find
funding
and
provide
funding
for
those
individ
individuals
to
be
able
to
participate,
and
it's
industry.
D
Reps
say
it
takes
about
five
years
to
get
the
experience
that
they
need
to
be
a
top
notch
class,
a
level
tech,
but
the
jobs
start
out
somewhere
between
50
and
60
000
and
according
to
the
industry,
after
five
to
six
years
and
willingness
to
work
and
deal
with
disaster
recovery.
These
individuals
can
make
up
to
six
digits.
I
The
next
these
are
additional
programs
that
we
are
also
working
on
today.
As
I
think
many
of
you
are
aware,
we
have
a
shorter
shortage
of
bus
drivers
and
drivers
why?
This
is
why
we
see
the
supplies
supply
chain
interrupted,
so
we're
working
with
kctcs
in
their
facilities.
We're
also
working
with
the
proprietary
schools
across
the
commonwealth,
and
we
have,
as
of
yesterday,
entered
into
an
agreement
with
kde
to
offer
that
local
air
local
school
districts
can
use
these
proprietary
schools
to
train
their
bus
drivers
get
their
cdl
license.
I
This
isn't
a
mandatory
initiative,
but
just
that
these
schools
are
available
to
train
new
bus
drivers
for
their
cdl
license,
and
then
we've
also
introduced
a
registered
apprenticeship
website,
and
this
will
have
an
ease
of
access
and
support
for
employers
for
recruitment
retention
and
workforce
initiative,
and
another
area
that
we
are
partnering
with
other
cabinets
is
fair
chance
hiring.
So
we
allow
kentuckians
who
are
coming
out
of
prison
or,
if
they're,
coming
out
of
addiction
and
treatment,
centers
working
with
them
to
provide
services
to
get
them
back
into
the
workforce.
I
I
U
we've
had
46
100
individuals
who
have
taken
the
ged
exam
and
79
have
earned
their
ged,
so
we
continue
to
move
that
needle
and
continue
to
work
with
those
adults,
and
I
want
to
extend
a
special
thank
you
to
the
legislature
for
working
with
us
to
partnership
with
goodwill
who
will
be
providing
kentuckians
18
years
or
older
older,
to
go
to
high
school
in
the
excel
center
in
louisville.
I
Currently,
this
model
is
offered
in
indiana
and
it
is
very
successful,
so
they
are
going
to
be
launching
in
the
spring
and
very
excited
and
grateful
to
the
legislature
for
working
with
us
to
provide
this
with
goodwill.
I
think
it
will
have
a
huge
impact
on
those
adults
coming
back
into
the
workforce,
and
I
also
want
to
highlight
the
governor's
school
of
entrepreneurs.
I
I
The
this
was
an
initiative
from
the
lieutenant
governor
to
offer
3000
individuals
across
the
state
k
through
12
to
do
a
summer
enrichment
program,
the
lieutenant
governor,
and
we
felt
that
kids
really
needed
after
being
inside
of
the
epidemic
during
the
pandemic,
to
get
out
into
our
state
parks
and
have
a
day
of
learning
to
come
back
into
school.
This
fall
so
that
was
very
successful
and
we're
looking
to
extend
that
into
a
permanent
summer
program.
I
And
these
are
the
areas
in
which
we
see
significant
growth,
with
the
announcements
of
economic
development
that
the
governor
has
brought
in
and
with
the
education
that
we
need
to
put
in
to
place.
These
are
really
the
expanding
markets.
It's
a
very
exciting
time
to
be.
In
this
arena.
We've
got
agrotech
coming
in,
we've
got
advanced
manufacturing,
we've
got
paper,
recycling
and
sustainability
in
the
west
healthcare.
We
continue
to
partner
and
work
with
addressing
those
shortages
as
they
are
today,
so
that
we're
prepared
as
we
go
forward,
and
then
cyber
security.
I
We
have
been
working
with
in
northern
kentucky
with
some
companies
out
of
florida
who
are
hiring
our
trained
individuals
in
northern
kentucky,
where
they
can
work
for
from
home
and
still
be
part
of
cyber
security,
so
that
is
also
a
a
very
growing
industry
and
then
our
telework
program,
which
we've
had
but
we've
expanded
throughout
the
state.
We
are
working
with
employers
like
hilton,
with
marriott
with
nordstrom's,
and
these
telework
positions
offer
good
paying
jobs
while
keeping
people
here
in
kentucky.
I
So
again,
we
are
excited
grateful.
We
are
going
to
keep
moving
forward
and
I
would
thank
you
for
the
opportunity
for
us
to
present
to
you
today
and
open
it
up
for
any
questions.
A
E
E
E
D
Sure,
representative
and
what
I
was
referencing
was
the
work
opportunity,
tax
credit
and
there
is
a
tax
credit
for
employers
that
hire
veterans
that
have
been
unemployed
for
four
weeks
up
to
2
400
than
disabled
veterans
that
have
been
employed
up
for
six
months,
that
tax
credit
could
be
up.
9
600.
there
is
a.
There
is
a
program
specifically
for
veterans,
it's
actually
under
the
labor
cabinet.
E
I
Okay,
sure
this
is
a
partnership
with
goodwill
that
will
it's
a
stand-alone
facility
up
in
louisville
that
will
offer
a
ged
education
for
kentuckians,
18
or
older,
who
haven't
completed,
have
their
high
school
diploma.
It
will
offer
child
care
legal
help.
It's
an
entire
center
for
adults,
so
they
can
be
trained,
get
their
ged
and
go
back
into
the
workforce.
F
J
F
When
you
mentioned
early
childhood,
you
said
that
you,
the
training,
you
said
that
you
were
working
with
the
overlooked
section
of
the
population.
What
is
an
overlooked
section
of
the
population?
I
We
we
want
to
ensure
that
early
childhood
has
a
pipeline
of
individuals.
We
don't
have
that
today,
and
so
what
what
we're
looking
at
at
is
individual
wells
who
maybe
need
the
wrap
around
services
to
come
back
for
that
kind
of
training.
H
Okay,
maybe
I
jump
in
here
to
representative
banta,
I
think
in
the
context
too,
of
developing
apprenticeship
programs.
Apprenticeship
programs
are
largely
housed
in
the
advanced
manufacturing
and
construction
sectors
of
workforce
development,
so
for
us
to
have
an
apprenticeship
program
for
early
childhood
education,
we're
really
kind
of
tapping
into
a
different
market
of
potential
apprenticeships.
F
Okay,
so
not
necessarily
overlooked
people,
but
just
in
a
different
category,
correct
yeah,
maybe.
F
Okay,
how
is
the
summer
enrichment
children
chosen
the
3000,
because
I
know
in
my
my
county
I
would
probably
have
had
3
000
alone.
K
I
I
Well,
they
weren't
chosen.
They
were.
We
worked
with
the
individual
school
district
to
identify
those
who
were
interested
in
going
this
summer.
It
was
a
pilot
program
to
see
how
we
could
get
people
who,
who
you
know,
as
as
everyone
knows,
that
the
camps
were
entirely
full
last
summer.
So
we
wanted
to
develop
a
program
that
students
with
out
normal
access,
who,
maybe
normally
you
know,
don't
go
to
camp,
had
an
opportunity.
I
So
we
work
with
the
school
district
in
developing
just
the
interest
and
then
work
with
them
on
getting
those
kids
into
the
program.
I
So
we
we,
we
would
like
to
expand
it
and
I
think
they're,
based
on
our
results
from
last
year,
bringing
in
the
science
center
to
do
some
classes
out
in
these
state
parks
was
very
helpful,
so
we
hope
to
expand
it
moving
forward.
E
Yes,
thank
you
first,
I'd
like
to
just
say
thank
you
guys
for
your
presentation.
Today
there
was
a
multitude
of
things
covered,
a
couple
of
which
I'm
very
passionate
about.
I
heard
you
mention
proprietary
schools
and
trades
and
really
working
with
some
of
the
colleges
and
kt
the
kctcs
and
trying
to
work
with
folks
to
get
some
of
these
guild
workers
out
and
and
provide
them
opportunities.
E
C
This
is
my
third
day
of
committee
meetings
this
week
and
so
far
we
have
not
seen
anybody
from
the
administration
here
public
in
you
know
in
person,
is
there
a
policy
right
now
in
place
that
administration
only
reports
to
the
legislature
via
zoom
or
and
if
there
is
when
can
we
expect
that
to
change?
You
know
our
other
two
presenters
that
are
here
are
in
person.
C
We've
had
rooms
full
of
people
reporting
to
us
and
I'd
like
to
see
as
much
as
I
like,
the
the
report
that
was
given
to
us
via
zoom.
C
I
I
understand
the
information
better
when
it's
presented
in
person,
and
we
can
ask
questions
so
just
a
question
since
your
deputy
chief
of
staff
probably
close
to
those
discussions.
Could
you
fill
us
in
on
that?
A
little
bit.
H
Well,
I
would
love
to
fill
you
in
on
that,
but
I'm
fairly
new
to
my
role.
I
personally
am
not
in
person
because
I'm
on
my
way
to
bowling
green
today
and
I
apologize-
I
couldn't
be
there
in
person
as
far
as
a
policy,
I
believe
we're
just
waiting
for
it
to
be
the
safest
possible,
but
I'd
be
certain
I'd
be
happy
to
get
back
to
you
with
more
information
on
a
time
frame
for
when
we
can
start
getting
back
in
person.
A
Okay,
next
up,
we
have
representatives
from
the
kentucky
chamber
of
commerce
if
you'd
like
to
come
and
take
a
seat-
and
I
think
one
of
you
miss
miller
is
online.
Is
that
correct
all
right.
L
While
we're
working
this
out
I'll
go
ahead
and
jump
into
things
first
of
all,
I
do
want
to
thank
this
committee
very
much
for
having
the
chamber
back
to
to
talk
about
this
issue,
and
I
particularly
want
to
thank
you
all
for
the
amount
of
time
you've
spent
on
the
workforce,
challenges
that
have
really
shaped
not
only
kentucky's
economic
recovery,
but
the
nation's
economic
recovery.
For
that
matter,
we
do
appreciate
you
all
spending
so
much
bandwidth
on
this.
L
L
So
I
had
an
opportunity,
along
with
our
president
and
ceo
ashley
watts,
to
talk
with
you
all
a
few
months
ago
about
this
new
report
that
the
kentucky
chamber
was
producing
at
the
time
that
I
talked
with
you
all
about
that
we
were
still
in
the
production
process.
We
were
kind
of
finalizing
some
of
our
data
and
putting
that
out
that
report
is
officially
live.
It's
out
there
in
the
world.
L
Now
you
can
access
it
on
kychamber.com,
we
have
printed
copies
that
are
on
their
way,
and
so
those
will
be
certainly
in
front
of
you
all.
As
soon
as
we
have
them.
I
will
say
ever
since
we
produced
this
report,
it
has
not
gone
unnoticed,
we've
been
doing
dozens
of
interviews
and
places
all
throughout
the
state.
This
is
just
a
sampling
of
some
of
the
media
coverage
that
we've
gotten
on
this
report,
and
I
share
this
with
you
just
to
illustrate
the
point.
L
People
are
talking
about
this
and
that's
one
of
the
exact
reasons
we
wanted
to
share
this
report.
We
wanted
people
having
lively
conversations
on
kentucky's
workforce
challenges
and
you
can
see
outlets
all
across
kentucky
are
focusing
on
this
issue
and
exploring
it,
and
in
fact
I
know
I've
talked
to
some
legislators.
Their
constituents
are
talking
to
them
about
it.
I
was
even
at
a
public
event.
L
L
What
I
want
to
do
here
today
is
you
know.
Last
time
we
talked,
I
I
focused
more
on
the
problems
that
kentucky's
facing
when
it
comes
to
workforce
challenges,
I'm
going
to
move
over
those
fairly
quickly
and
instead
I
want
to
talk
with
you
all
about
what
we
see
as
some
of
the
major
causes
of
kentucky's
workforce
challenges,
but
then
also
some
some
really
specific
legislative
actions
that
you
all
can
take
in
2022.
L
Even
to
begin
addressing
some
of
these
big
issues
and
that's
going
to
take
a
really
multi-faceted
approach,
but
we
have
some
specifics
and
some
some
real
legislative
work
that
could
be
done.
I
want
to
back
up
for
a
minute
and
talk
about.
Why
did
we
do
this
report?
In
the
first
place,
the
kentucky
chamber
has
produced
a
lot
of
reports
on
workforce
challenges
over
the
over
the
past
decade,
or
so.
We
found,
though,
that
there
was
a
need
to
really
increase
the
urgency
around
this
issue.
L
This
is
one
of
the
primary
things
we
hear
about
when
we
talk
to
our
members.
When
I
talk
to
any
business
throughout
the
state,
I
always
ask
them
how's
business
going.
Then
I
ask
them
how's
staffing,
going
it's
the
same
answer
every
single
time,
they're
all
struggling
with
staffing,
it's
a
very,
very
consistent
thing,
so
we
determined
we
really
needed
to
create
an
increased
sense
of
urgency
around
addressing
this
problem.
The
other
reason
that
we
wanted
to
do
another
report
is
because
we
wanted
to
reframe
this
conversation.
L
Another
thing
you
know
when
you're
talking
to
folks
about
workforce
challenges,
we
tend
to
get
focused
on
really
specific
causes.
Is
it
wages?
Is
it
our
unemployment
insurance
structure
and
you
kind
of
people
just
tend
to
kind
of
fixate
on
those
one
things
at
a
time?
One
of
the
things
we
wanted
to
highlight
with
this
issue
is
the
causes
are
extremely
multifaceted
and
often
often
interconnected,
and
so
the
solutions
need
to
approach
that,
from
that
exact
same
perspective,
a
large
approach
that
includes
a
whole
bunch
of
different
ways
of
addressing
the
issue.
L
So
I'll
be
doing
this
report.
We
take
a
data-driven
historical
analysis
of
kentucky's
workforce
challenges.
We
went
through
roughly
two
decades
of
labor
force
data
and
labor
market
data.
To
kind
of
highlight
some
of
these
points.
We
talk
about
real
causes
and
then
we
talk
about
specific
state
policy
solutions.
L
The
problem
that
we
are
highlighting
in
this
report-
I
think,
can
be
well
illustrated
by
this
chart-
that's
right
in
front
of
you,
which
shows
the
workforce
participation
rates
for
the
united
states
and
for
kentucky
over
the
past
roughly
21
years.
That
red
line
is
the
united
states,
labor
force
participation
rate
or
workforce
participation
rate.
Again.
This
is
the
combination
of
employed
and
unemployed
individuals.
L
As
a
percentage
of
the
adult
civilian
non-institutionalized
population
that
red
line
u.s
workforce
participation
rate,
you
can
see
a
steady
decline
downwards
blue
line
kentucky
you
see
that
exact
same
trend
line,
but
a
couple
of
things
we're
pointing
out.
First,
if
you
look
at
the
sort
of
bottom
right
hand,
part
of
that
graph,
you
see
that
cliff
that's
covid,
hitting
in
the
context
of
kentucky.
We
saw
about
a
hundred
and
twelve
thousand
individuals
exit
the
workforce
within
the
span.
Roughly
three
to
four
months.
L
L
But
what
we
saw
last
year
was
was
really
unprecedented,
but
I
think
the
more
unnerving
thing
in
addition
to
that
drop
is
the
recovery
of
individuals
re-entering
the
workforce
which
you
can
see
on
this
chart
has
we're
nowhere
near
back
to
where
we
were
we're
still
about
90
000
workers,
short
of
where
we
were
before
the
pandemic
started.
But
the
big
thing
I
want
to
call
your
attention
to
with
this
chart
is:
is
the
downward
trend
is
troubling?
This
is
a
national
trend.
Kentucky
is
following
that
national
trend.
L
This
goes
back
all
the
way
to
2000,
but
that
gap
between
the
national
workforce
participation
rate
in
kentucky's
workforce
participation
rate
is
the
thing
that
that
really
catches
our
attention.
This
is
something
that
makes
kentucky
very
unique
and
to
look
further
into
that.
We
compare
ourselves
to
other
states,
and
this
is
something
that
I
think
most
folks
in
this
committee
are
perfectly
well
aware
of.
Compare
kentucky
to
other
states
were
lower,
with
the
exception
of
west
virginia,
we
zoom
out
even
further
to
look
at
the
entire
united
states.
L
L
The
big
takeaways
of
in
terms
of
talking
about
the
challenges
in
this
report,
the
workforce
challenges
is,
can
be
illustrated
here
with
these
takeaways.
The
percentage
of
kentucky
adults
who
participate
in
the
workforce
has
been
in
a
state
of
decline
for
two
decades,
and
this
is
part
of
a
national
trend,
but
it's
worse
here
in
kentucky,
and
it's
worse
here
than
almost
anywhere
else
in
the
nation,
and
this
this
framework
is
what
we're
presenting
to
you
all
as
legislators
for
thinking
through
a
lot
of
these
workforce
issues.
L
So
if
you
go
back
and
kind
of
think
about,
you
know,
whatever
sort
of
top
challenge
comes
to
your
mind
or
top
cause
of
this.
You
really
got
to
think
about
a
chart
like
this.
That
shows
a
very
large
national
trend
line
and
that's
where
we
have
to
start
thinking
about
these
multifaceted
causes.
So,
let's
talk
briefly
about
some
of
these
causes.
What
are
some
of
the
things
that
are
driving
kentucky's
low
rates
of
workforce
participation,
as
well
as
the
united
states,
low
rates
of
workforce
participation?
L
This
first
chart
we
get
into
retirements.
This
is
something
you
cannot
avoid
talking
about
with
low
workforce
participation,
and
this
is
one
of
your
major
drivers
for
the
that
larger
decline
across
the
entire
nation.
So
what
this
chart
shows
is
the
annual
increase
in
retired
us
baby,
the
the
u.s
baby
boomer
population
in
terms
of
how
often
or
how
many
of
these
folks
are
retiring.
Every
year
from
about
2012
to
2019,
we
saw
roughly
2
million
baby
boomers
retire
as
they
kind
of
enter
into
that
age
bracket,
where
they're
likely
to
retire
in
2020.
L
We
saw
a
really
large
spike
in
this
surpassed
3
million,
a
very,
very
large
jump
in
the
amount
of
baby
boomers,
they're
retiring-
that's
not
really
something
that
was
expected
prior
to
kovid.
But
a
lot
of
folks
saw
this
as
an
opportune
time
to
get
out
if
you're,
an
older
person
working
at
this
time.
There's
safety
reasons
for
doing
that.
But
the
stock
market
also
did
really
really
well
the
past
several
years
and
so
financially
it
was
a
pretty
good
time
to
retire.
L
L
Suddenly
that
skill
set
is
no
longer
of
use,
or
maybe
they
just
don't,
have
the
skills
exactly
that
employers
are
looking
for
and
instead
of
upskilling
or
training
or
finding
those
opportunities
to
train.
A
lot
of
these
folks
tend
to
just
give
up
out
of
frustration
and
unable
to
find
a
job
that
fits
their
skills
and
they
become
discouraged
workers
and
they
just
leave
the
workforce
all
together,
and
we
saw
a
very,
very
large
amount
of
that
happening
over
the
past
10
years
or
so,
particularly
ever
since
the
fiscal
crisis
back
in
2008
2009..
L
What
this
this
chart
here
shows
us.
We
talk
about
skills
gaps,
one
of
the
easiest
ways
to
think
about.
It
is
how
many
folks
have
some
sort
of
post-secondary
attainments,
so
that
might
be
a
credential.
It
might
be
a
two-year
degree
four-year
degree,
but
something
after
high
school
is
what
we're
looking
for.
This
compares
kentucky
to
the
nation,
and
you
can
see
we're
you
know
we're
not
too
terribly
far
behind
and
we're
making
progress
in
this
regard,
we're
seeing
an
increase
in
the
folks
that
are
getting
some
level
of
post-secondary
attainment.
L
To
put
this
in
context,
though,
somewhere
between
60
to
75
percent
of
jobs
out,
there
are
going
to
require
some
form
of
post-secondary
attainment.
That's
probably
a
really
low
estimate
to
be
honest
with
you,
60
75.
It's
probably
higher
than
that,
depending
on
where
you
are
geographically
and
we're
hovering
around
less
than
50
percent.
That's
a
big
problem,
so
we
do
need
to
think
about
ways
that
we
can
increase
post-secondary
attainment
in
kentucky
to
make
sure
we're
at
least
keeping
pace
with
the
nation.
But
again,
ideally,
we'd
want
to
be
head
of
national
averages.
L
We
spent
some
time
talking
about
a
lot
of
other
root
causes
as
well
retirements
skills
gaps.
Those
are
big
macro
issues,
some
of
the
other
issues
that
are
contributing,
particularly
to
kentucky.
We
talked
about
lack
of
access
to
child
care.
The
cabinet
was
mentioning
this
a
few
minutes
ago.
This.
This
is
a
really
big
issue.
L
Another
chart
we
could
talk
about
is
the
decline
of
female
workforce
participation
that
took
place
during
covid.
It's
real
interesting.
If
you
look
at
the
history,
female
workforce,
participation
and
male
workforce
participation,
female
workforce
participation
has
been
rising
for
for
many
many
years.
Male
workforce
participation
has
been
a
steady
state
of
decline
ever
since
the
end
of
world
war
ii,
that
that
trend
really
took
a
big
hit
under
coven,
and
we
would
argue
child
care
is
closely
connected
to
that
and
the
lack
of
access
to
child
care.
L
That's
been
highlighted
during
covet,
as
we
saw
multiple
providers
and
centers
close
health
and
substance
disorder
issues.
As
many
of
you
are
well
aware,
kentucky
struggles
significantly
when
it
comes
to
various
health
metrics.
We
have
some
disturbing
new
data
on
the
rise
of
substance
use
disorder
that
took
place
in
2020,
but
these
are
long-term
systemic
issues
in
kentucky
and
the
university
of
kentucky's
done
some
great
work
illustrating
the
connections
between
health
issues,
substances,
substance,
use,
disorder
and
workforce
participation
by
by
uk's
estimates.
L
You
know
upwards
of
50,
000
workers
may
have
been
displaced,
are
removed
out
of
the
workforce
specifically
to
the
opioid
epidemic,
which
is
an
absolutely
staggering
number.
That's
that's
a
well
over
a
percentage
point
of
our
workforce
participation
rate
right
there,
just
just
with
the
opioid
epidemic.
L
We
talk
about
incarceration,
re-entry
the
impact
of
criminal
records
and
how
that
can
impact
an
individual's
ability
to
participate
in
the
workforce.
We
talk
about
social
safety.
Net
programs
benefit
cliffs,
particularly
with
unemployment
insurance,
as
well
as
other
programs
such
as
the
child
care
assistance
program.
L
We'll
talk
more
about
ui
in
a
minute,
but
then,
of
course,
the
other
big
issue
that
you
have
to
think
about
is
population
growth.
Kentucky
grew
at
a
much
slower
rate
than
the
rest
of
the
nation
over
the
past
decade
and
we
need
to
ask
ourselves:
why
is
that
plenty
of
other
states
grew
much
much
much
more
quickly.
Tennessee
grew
more
quickly.
Indiana
had
better
growth
than
we
did
in
when
you
contextualize
population
growth.
L
In
the
context
of
all
these
retirements
that
we've
seen
really
really,
we
need
to
find
more
people
to
move
to
kentucky
and
get
them
here
and
get
them
working.
That's
that's
going
to
be
a
key
part,
so
I'm
going
to
talk
about
some
of
our
recommended
policy
solutions
and
after
that,
I'm
going
to
turn
things
over
to
my
colleague,
lakisha
miller.
Who
can
talk
about
some
of
the
things
the
private
sector
is
already
doing?
So?
I
think
it's
important
to
kind
of
see
how
these
things
work
together.
L
L
The
cabinet
for
economic
development
did
a
study
of
how
much
money
are
we
spending
on
workforce
development
in
kentucky
and
they
didn't
look
at
things
such
as
k-12
education.
They
looked
at
more
specific
workforce
development
program.
They
found
about
1.2
billion
dollars
that
we
were
spending
on
on
workforce
development
activities
that
that
includes
some
federal
dollars
as
well,
but
they
also
created
an
asset
map.
L
One
thing
we
could
do
is
make
the
fafsa
a
high
school
graduation
requirement,
so
completing
fafsa
a
high
school
graduation
requirement.
We
as
a
state
leave
about
30
million
dollars
in
pell
grant
dollars
on
the
table
every
year.
That's
money
that
students
could
be
using
to
go
to
college
to
get
some
sort
of
certification
or
whatever
it
might
be,
and
that's
that's
one
of
the
ways
that
we
can
increase:
post-secondary
attainment
barriers
to
education
and
employment
for
individuals
with
criminal
records.
I'm
going
to
talk
about
two
things
here.
L
For
the
past
two
years,
the
house
has
worked
on
a
really
great
bill
that
would
remove
a
statutory
prohibition
on
individuals
with
criminal
records
from
accessing
keys
dollars.
It's
a
good
bill.
It's
passed
out
of
the
house
by
large
margins
past
two
years
in
a
row.
That's
another
one
of
things
where
we
can
very
easily,
I
think,
remove
a
barrier.
The
individuals
face
post
incarceration
in
terms
of
getting
an
education,
so
I
I'd
really
like
to
see
that
work
its
way
through
the
general
assembly
in
2022.
L
That's
a
good
bill's
kind
of
low
hanging
fruit
that
I
think
we
can
knock
out.
We
also
do
need
to
think
more
about
about
our
expungement
system.
We
have
a
pretty
robust
expungement
system
in
kentucky
that
enables
folks
to
have
felony
or
misdemeanor
records
removed,
and
this
can
help
them
get
into
employment.
There's
a
lot
of
restrictions
around
that
a
lot
of
requirements
that
people
have
to
follow,
but
one
of
the
things
we
might
think
about
is
there's
a
five
year
waiting
period
before
you
are
eligible
to
have
a
felony
record
expunged.
L
The
five-year
waiting
period,
just
to
be
frank,
is
relatively
arbitrary.
There's
nothing
magical
about
that
five
years.
We
could
whittle
that
down
to
three
years,
two
years
one
year,
we
could
have
a
large
conversation
around
that,
but
that
would
increase
the
speed
with
which
someone
is
able
to
get
a
record
expunged
in
turn,
help
them
get
into
work
faster,
going
back
to
population
growth.
L
You
know,
if
you
take
a
look
at
states
that
grew
quickly
in
this
past
census.
One
of
the
things
they
tended
to
have
in
common
is
very
attractive
tax
codes.
Kentucky's
made
some
good
progress
when
it
comes
to
tax
reform,
2018
2019.
That
was
good,
stuff,
good
reforms.
We
need
to
build
on
that
and
that's
something
the
chamber
is
going
to
be
working
very
hard
on
in
2022,
but
we
need
to
have
a
tax
code
that
encourages
people
to
come
work
here.
L
If
you
think
about
states
with
lower
income
taxes,
you
know
if
you're
you're,
taking
a
job
that
pays
the
same
salary
in
tennessee
versus
it
does
here.
Well,
you
come
to
kentucky
you're
technically
getting
up
to
five
to
seven
percent
pay
cut
because
of
that
income,
tax
structure-
and
I
say
five
to
seven
percent,
because
we
also
have
that
local
side.
L
My
colleague,
kate,
shanks
she'll,
be
talking
with
the
ui
reform
task
force
next
week
about
this
in
more
detail,
but
we
have
a
lot
of
room
for
improvement
when
it
comes
to
the
nature
of
our
work
search
system.
I
was
actually
at
an
unemployment
insurance
conference
yesterday.
That's
that
is
a
thing.
Those
exist
and
one
of
the
things
we
talked
about.
L
L
Two
more
things
I
want
to
mention
is
expanding
and
improving
our
child
care
assistance
program.
This
is
a
very
important
subsidy
program
for
working
parents
to
afford
child
care.
We've
done
some
good
improvements
on
this
in
the
past
couple
of
years,
but
we
could
do
more,
such
as
in
increasing
provider
reimbursements
rates
through
ccaps,
but
also
expanding
eligibility,
making
more
people
eligible
for
this
program.
It's
going
to
cost
some
money,
but
it's
a
well
worthwhile
program
and
something
that
again
we
could
do
this
in
2022
and,
finally,
I
want
to
mention
reducing
smoking
rates.
L
A
lot
of
this
stuff
can
be
traced
back
to
very,
very
high
levels
of
smoking
in
kentucky-
and
we
know
there
are
some
good
tools
out
there-
that
we
can
use
to
to
reduce
smoking,
such
as
removing
smokers
as
a
protected
class
raising
the
cigarette
tax,
which
is
again,
it's
usually
a
strong
incentive
to
not
smoke.
Those
are
effective
things
and
this.
This
has
an
impact
on
our
workforce.
Participation,
so
it's
something
that
we
think
is
well
worth
pursuing
with
that.
A
Actually,
before
we
move
on
to
part
two,
I
guess,
since
it's
a
fairly
lengthy
presentation,
I'm
going
to
go
ahead
and
maybe
ask
a
few
questions
about
what
you
just
went
over
and
I'll
go
ahead
and
start
with
something
that
I've
observed
from
reading
your
report.
You
know
one
thing:
I
guess
that
concerned
me.
I
mean
many
of
these
issues
at
least
maybe
not
the
kentucky
chamber,
but
the
national
chamber
has,
in
my
opinion
it
contributed
to
by
pushing
a
lot
of
outsourcing
of
many
of
these
jobs
and
skill.
A
Sets
that
you
say
are
no
longer
useful,
they're
useful,
but
they're
now
in
places
like
china
and
mexico
and
many
other
countries.
A
That
is
a
direct
result
of
a
lot
of
lobbying
by
the
national
chamber
and
other
organizations
to
remove
some
of
these
barriers
that
have
essentially
led
to
the
de-industrialization
of
america
in
a
lot
of
ways,
and
I
think
we're
seeing
that
now
how
really
weak
and
vulnerable
our
country
has
been
made
by
the
the
current
supply
chain
shortage
that
we're
seeing
at
the
port
areas-
and
you
know
I
see
nothing
in
your
plan
to
you-
know
combat
some
of
that.
A
It
seems
like,
if
anything,
we're
just
trying
to
expand
a
lot
of
service
industries
clean
up
a
lot
of
the
problems
that
the
industrialization
has
created,
in
the
sense
that
many
people
who
previously
had
good
jobs
have
been
forced
into
poverty.
They've
been
forced
into
households
where
both
parents
have
to
work.
A
No
social
safety
nets
as
far
as
employer
pensions
or
things
like
that.
Many
of
the
many
of
these
things
that
you
are
talking
about
seems
like
symptoms
of
a
greater
problem
that
in
many
ways
the
national
chamber
has
been
complicit
in
rather
than
you
know,
solutions
to
the
long-term
goal
of
strengthening
our
manufacturing
base
at
home.
So
I
guess,
if
you
could
maybe
address
some
of
those
issues.
I
know
I
kind
of
tossed
a
lot
at
you,
but
what
is
the
kentucky's
chamber
on
the
continued
outsourcing?
L
Yeah,
thank
you.
Senator
wheeler,
big
issue,
big
big
question
there.
I
guess
I'll
come
kind
of
out
of
the
gate.
Pushing
back
a
little
bit.
First
of
all,
outsourcing
is
something
that
has
happened.
I
think
it's
overstated
the
extent
of
outsourcing.
If
you
look
at
macroeconomic
data
because
it's
been
said,
it's
it's
been
offset
by
a
lot
of
insourcing,
which
has
happened.
Ultimately,
what's
happened
over
the
past
20-30
years.
Our
economy
has
changed.
Free
trade
agreements
have
probably
played
a
significant
role
in
that,
but
so
has
automation
and
technology.
L
A
lot
of
that
de-industrialization
that
we're
seeing
regardless
of
whether
or
not
free
trade
agreements
were
in
place
which
those
a
lot
of
these
free
trading
agreements
do
include
a
variety
of
different
worker
protections
as
as
part
of
those
larger
agreements,
but
I
think
automation
and
technology,
I
think,
would
have
driven
a
lot
of
this
into
de-industrialization
that
we're
seeing
in
the
first
place.
So
I
think
it's
important
to
kind
of
keep
those
two
things
in
mind
and
not
isolate
free
trade.
A
See
a
lot
of
these
factories
seem
to
be
full
full
of
foreign
workers
over
there
producing
the
things
that
we
used
to
produce
here.
So
automation
is
the
only
thing
that
we
have
to
you
know
I
mean
that
seems
like
that's
an
easy
answer,
but
you
know,
I
think
that
you
know
show
me.
The
pictures
show
me
the
money.
I
mean
it's
clear
that
many
of
these
businesses
have
chosen.
You
know
foreign
production
facilities
rather
than
utilizing
our
american
workforce.
L
Well,
I
think
essentially,
what's
happened.
Here
is
yes,
we
have
seen
a
shift.
We've
seen
a
shift
to
a
much
stronger
service
sector
economy
that
has
happened
in
terms
of
what
is
the
kentucky
chambers
plan
to
deal
with
that.
I
would
disagree
that
we
don't
have
a
plan
on
that.
This
is
one
of
the
reasons
why
we're
so
insistent
on
post-secondary
attainment,
because
our
service
sector
very
much
requires
high
levels
of
post-secondary
attainment.
That's
going
to
be
a
very,
very
important
thing
for
us
to
do
so.
I
would.
L
J
Oh
yes,
thank
you.
Sorry,
it
took
me
a
sec
to
click
off.
First
of
all,
so
thank
you
for
the
presentation
and
it
actually
kind
of
tied
in
something
that
we
were
presented
last
week
in
the
school
funding
task
force.
J
The
oem
did
a
report
on
school
funding
and
it
gave
us
some
historical
data
on
the
number
of
individuals
with
disabilities.
They
segmented
their
data
into
quintiles
based
upon
districts
with
the
lowest
property
tax
values
so
or
I'm
sorry,
property
values,
so
in
quintile,
one
which
is
the
set
of
districts
with
the
lowest
property
value.
The
number
of
students
with
disabilities
increased
from
1991
to
2020,
from
14.3
to
20.7.
J
And
just
kind
of
thinking,
then,
a
few
years
later,
all
of
these
students
with
disabilities
will
graduate,
and
then
here
we
are
talking
about
why
we
are
struggling
with
workforce
development
and
I
think
we
need
to
take
a
look
back
into
what's
causing
that-
and
you
mentioned
the
impact
of
the
opioid
addiction,
and
I
think
you
know
these
are.
These
are
primarily
rural
districts
and
I
think
that
there's
been
a
very
strong
impact
there.
L
That's
a
great
question
representative:
I
have
not
seen
the
oem
report.
It's
on
my
list
of
things
to
read
so
I'd
like
to
read
that
report
and
learn
a
little
more
about,
for
example,
how
we're
defining
disabilities
and
just
understand
that
a
little
bit
better
before
I
comment
directly
on
specific
proposals
to
deal
with
that
issue.
J
I
I
would
appreciate
that,
may
I
ask
the
chair,
may
I
ask
one
more
question.
Please.
J
Okay,
I
will
try
and-
and
I've
talked
to
gli
about
this
a
little
bit.
So
what
do
you
recommend
to
address
the
brain
drain
of
young
people
who
are
not
only
leaving
the
state
but
who
are
also
leaving
rural
areas
to
go
to
the
golden
triangle
and
just
kind
of
tied
into
that?
I'd
like
you
to
talk
a
little
bit
about
the
impact
of
legislation
on
racism,
racial
equity,
those
sort
of
things
gli
made
a
statement
that
they
that
they're
against
any
curriculum
that
pose
a
threat
to
progress.
J
J
We
oppose
current
and
future
legislation
that
jeopardizes
our
work
to
promote
inclusion
and
attract
talent
and
business
to
our
region,
we're
talking
about
how
we
can
bring
and
keep
a
high
quality
workforce
in
in
our
state.
What
is
the
impact
of
bills
and
publicity
and
just
having
having
legislation
and
having
policies
that
are
essentially
not
advancing
racial
equity.
L
Well,
broadly
speaking,
we
certainly
do
encourage
the
general
assembly
to
keep
a
close
eye
on
legislation
that
is
being
considered,
or
that
is
passed
that
could
hinder
someone's
decision
to
work
here
to
move
here
to
stay
here.
Those
things
matter.
We
do
need
to
pay
really
close
attention
to
the
type
of
legislation
that
we're
working
on
and
the
message
that
that
sends
more
broadly.
So
that's
a
worthwhile
conversation,
that's
something
that
we're.
We
keep
a
really
close
eye
on
going
back
to
the
larger
brain
drain
issue.
L
You
know,
why
are
people
that
you
know
graduate
from
from
uk
or
something
like
that
and
they
they
leave
to
a
different
go
to
a
different
state.
I'm
going
to
give
one
broad
answer
to
that,
and
I
think
this
is
one
of
the
key
reasons
we
need
to
think
about.
Tax
reform
in
this
state.
I'd
be
interested
to
know
to
where
what
states
are
a
lot
of
these
folks
that
are
that
are
graduating
from
a
college
is
where
are
they
going
one
of
the
things
we
can
do
with
that?
L
One
of
the
levers
that
we
can
pool
is
to
have
a
more
attractive
tax
environment
that
would
encourage
them
to
want
to
stay
here.
That
would
be
more
enticing
to
them,
and
also
with
that,
I
think,
with
a
more
attractive
tax
environment,
we
can
attract
even
more
opportunities
here,
which
again
would
discourage
somebody
from
leaving.
L
So
it's
it's.
It's
an
important
lever
that
the
general
assembly
can
pull
that,
I
think,
can
deal
with
issues
such
as
the
brain
drain,
but
it
can
also
deal
with
larger
talent,
attraction
retention
issues
as
well,
and
so
that's
that's.
One
of
the
reasons
why
we
think
tax
reform
is
such
an
important
concept.
J
F
Thank
you,
mr
chair,
and
thank
you
charles
for
being
with
us
again
today.
I
certainly
appreciated
your
presentation
at
the
state
fair
during
august.
That
was
insightful.
So
thank
you
for
being
here
again
today.
I
have
two
quick
questions.
If
I
may,
on
your
workforce
participation
slide,
I
didn't
see
the
impact
of
the
federal
bonus
and
that
having
expired.
Do
you
see
any?
Is
that
weighing
in
on
this
or
when
should
we
be
able
to
see
the
good
aspects
of
of
that
expiring.
L
Easter
300.
great
great
question,
so
that's
that's
an
issue
that
has
gotten
a
tremendous
amount
of
conversation
and
it's
one
of
those
issues
that
the
public
really
wants
to
have
a
conversation
about,
did
ui
benefits,
negatively
impact
employment,
or
did
they
not
impact
on
unemployment?
L
And
the
unfortunate
answer
to
that
is
we're
going
to
have
to
wait
for
a
while
before
we
can
really
dive
into
that
issue.
The
type
of
data
that
we're
working
with
to
measure
these
types
of
things
is
large
macroeconomic
data
that
is
receiving
thousands
of
different
variables
and
inputs,
and
so,
when
you
try
to
isolate
one
specific
policy
change
at
a
time
and
to
try
to
read
that
into
this
data,
it's
not
going
to
cooperate.
L
The
way
that
you
want
it
to,
and
so
folks
have
tried
to
turn
to
other
forms
of
data
to
make
their
case
for
either
why
they
think
those
ui
benefits
or
why
they
think
they
can
prove
these
ui
benefits
had
a
negative
or
a
positive
impact,
and
so,
for
example,
they
turn
to
online
search.
Data.
Indeed.Com
has
been
a
really
big
source
of
research
on
this,
not
everybody
searches
for
jobs
on
indeed.com.
L
So
it's
it's
not
a
a
definitive
source,
but
some
people
have
looked
at
the
early
exit
states,
so
about
26
states
ended
unemployment
earlier
the
other
states
remained
on
that
up
through
september
6th
and
people
try
to
draw
conclusions
on
that.
In
terms
of
you
know,
data
that
we
have
where
all
50
states
have
officially
ended
their
participation
in
the
expanded
unemployment
system,
and
we
only
have
about
one
month
of
data.
L
On
that
you
know
we
we
have
september
data,
bear
in
mind,
while
all
that
was
happening,
we
also
saw
a
rise
in
the
delta
variant.
So
that's
that's
again
going
to
cloud
things
up.
I
will
say
from
just
a
more,
I
think
my
opinion
common
sense
economic
perspective.
If
you
pay
someone
more
than
they
would
make
to
stay
home,
they'll,
probably
they'll,
probably
stay
home.
So
I
think
common
sense
would
tell
us
that
that
program
absolutely
had
a
negative
impact
on
overall
employment,
whether
or
not
we're
going
to
see
that
in
the
data.
L
As
clearly
as
we'd
like
to
see
that's
harder
to
say,
I
will
say,
the
st
louis
fed
released
a
paper.
I
believe
it
was
last
week
and
the
week
before
they
were
pointing
to
a
little
bit
of
evidence
suggesting
that
those
early
26
states
that
did
leave
early,
that
they
did
see
a
larger
surge
in
employment
than
a
lot
of
other
states.
That
did
not
so
there's
kind
of
preliminary
data
backing
around
it
there.
L
A
We're
I'm
gonna
go
ahead.
I
know
we
have
a
few
more
questions,
but
I'm
gonna
go
ahead
and
let
miss
miller
speak
for
a
little
bit
and
then
we'll
try
to
fit
some
of
these
folks
at
the
end,
since
we
still
have
one
more
presentation,
miss
miller.
K
Hi,
yes
hi.
I
appreciate
the
opportunity
to
speak
and
good
morning,
chairman
and
other
members
of
this
committee.
Charles,
has
said
a
lot
today
and
you
guys
have
asked
some
really
great
questions.
Regarding
you
know
just
this
report
and
some
of
the
statistics,
and
as
charles
mentioned,
what
I'd
love
to
do
is
just
take
the
opportunity
to
discuss
some
of
the
some
of
the
programs
that
we've
already
started
in
the
private
sector
through
public-private
partnerships
through
the
kentucky
chamber
workforce
center.
K
K
Charles
did
a
fantastic
job
of
highlighting
a
report
from
university
of
kentucky
that
showed
that
the
opioid
epidemic
was
responsible
for
removing
between
23
and
55
000
kentuckians
from
the
workforce
and,
additionally,
the
office
of
drug
control
policy.
Data
also
tells
us
that
the
opioid
epidemic
is
disproportionately
impacting
prime
working
age
kentuckians
between
the
ages
of
25
and
54..
K
So
we
know
that
this
epidemic
continues
to
impact.
Our
state's
ability
to
be
competitive
and
retain
talent,
but
what
we
do
know
is
that
employment
enhances
the
ability
for
people
to
stay
in
recovery,
so
the
chamber
foundation,
we've
partnered
with
several
state
partners,
namely
kentuckiana
health
collaborative
the
cabinet
for
health
and
family
services,
the
office
of
drug
control
policy
and
kentucky
opioid
response
effort,
and
we
launched
the
kentucky
transformational
employment
pro
program
and
that
grew
out
of
senate
bill
191
and
just
to
go
in
a
little
bit
of
detail
with
this
program.
K
This
initiative
helps
kentucky
employers
to
find
and
retain
their
workforce,
but
grow
their
business
and
grow
their
businesses.
Excuse
me,
while
kentuckians
have
the
opportunity
to
access
treatment
and
achieve
remission
from
from
substance
use
so
really
quick
example.
So
if
an
employer
hired
or
kept
this
individual
on
the
payroll
and
that
individual
followed
the
program
requirements,
the
employer
could
receive
liability
protections
for
negligent
hiring
supervision
or
retention.
K
So
other
states
have
seen
success
with
similar
programs
like
ktep.
So
you
know
the
chamber's
role
with
this
program
is
just
to
continue
to
actively
promote
ktep
in
the
business
community
and
raise
awareness
throughout
the
state,
and
so
far
we've
launched
this
program.
It's
probably
in
about
three
weeks
and
we
have
close
to
13
employers
already
signed
up,
which
that
has
impacted
over
a
thousand
employees
across
the
state.
So
we're
really
excited
about
this
program
and
we'll
continue
again
to
promote
this
across
the
state
and
get
employer
buy-in.
K
Secondly,
this
was
mentioned
earlier,
but
in
partnership
with
our
education
and
workforce
cabinet,
we've
launched
a
workforce
program
called
talent,
pipeline
management
back
in
2017,
and
that
is
specifically
focused
on
addressing
the
skills
gap
that
charles
was
referring
to
earlier,
but
do
it
in
an
employer-driven
way,
so
the
key
with
tpm
tpm
mobilizes,
the
business
community
to
help
employers
become
more
effective
and
efficient
at
determining
their
most
critical
workforce,
needs
they're,
also
going
to
evaluate
the
skills
that
are
needed
for
these
positions.
K
But,
most
importantly,
we
have
to
get
better
at
facilitating
a
process
of
communicating
these
needs.
So
we
can
really
improve
the
performance
of
the
talon
pipeline
and
tpm
helps
employers
to
be
able
to
do
that
in
a
really
really
effective
way.
So
the
way
that
I
look
at
it
tpm
is
critical
because
it
can
help
pre-existing
workforce
development
and
education
programs
really
hone
in
on
what
employers
need
and
we've
actually
seen
that
over
the
past
few
years
across
kentucky.
K
So
we've
been
able
to
engage
about
200
employers
within
various
industries
like
manufacturing,
construction,
distilling,
equine
and
healthcare,
and
a
lot
of
those
employers
have
used
tpm
to
see
a
return
on
investment
on
their
pipeline,
but
start
to
develop
more
meaningful
partnerships
within
their
communities.
K
So
to
date,
we've
seen
about
2,
000,
kentuckians,
connected
to
jobs
and
and
training
opportunities
as
a
result
of
tpm
one
of
the
other
things
that
we
do.
We
also
encourage
the
businesses
that
we
work
with
to
take
advantage
of
you
know:
kctcs
trains,
funds
or
other
programs
like
that
program
which
helped
to
offset
the
cost
of
income
bit.
Worker
training,
new
hire,
training,
pre-employment
training
by
75,
and
we've
really
seen
the
companies
that
take
advantage
of
these
opportunities.
K
It's
proven
to
be
a
powerful
retention
strategy,
so
you
know
anyway,
we
can
encourage
employers
to
save
money
as
they
implement
these
training
opportunities.
We
certainly
encourage
so
all
of
the
programs
that
I
mentioned
today
and
I've
discussed.
You
know
we're
really
focused
on
building
kentucky's
workforce
through
business-led
solutions
and
that's
really
been
effective
at
seeing
the
pipeline
grow
and
create
a
true
roi
for
employers
throughout
the
state.
So
thank
you
for
the
opportunity
to
to
speak
and
happy
to
answer
any
questions,
but
I'll
turn
it
over
to
charles
again.
A
Well,
thank
you
very
much
and
I
I
do
agree.
I
think
the
best
way
out
of
addiction
is
a
job.
I
know
one
of
the
major
employers
in
my
district
addiction
recovery
care
has
a
major
focus
on
a
addiction
to
a
jobs,
type
program
and
apprenticeships,
and
I
think
that
you
know
the
best
way.
The
old
saying
that
an
idol
minds
the
devil's
workshop.
A
I
think
that's
one
of
the
reasons
why
we're
seeing
a
lot
of
the
problems
that
we
are
in
rural
areas
and
and
to
combat
that
the
best
thing
we
can
do
is
get
these
folks
skills.
I'm
sorry,
I
had
a
natural
tendency
to
look
to
my
right
and
I
had
a
couple
questions
over
on
the
left
side.
So
I
do
apologize.
I
represent
a
baker.
E
E
What
role
do
you
see
playing
in
this?
The
high
level
of
welfare
that
we
have
within
the
state
and
do
you
see
different
pockets
in
different
areas
that
may
that
make
have
higher
levels
than
others.
L
Yeah,
it's
it.
It's
undoubtedly
an
important
driver
of
the
issue.
I
think
dr
paul
coombs
talked
with.
It
was
maybe
a
r
a
few
months
ago
that
talked
about
how
states
rank
in
terms
of
income
that
comes
from
government
transfer
payments
so,
broadly
speaking,
various
various
social
subsidy
programs,
so
kentucky
was
fourth
or
fifth
in
the
nation
for
government
transfer
payments
there's
a
lot
of
good
work,
particularly
on
social
security,
disability
insurance
and
it's
it's
interconnections
with
low
rates
of
workforce
participation.
L
So
there
is
undoubtedly
a
clear
connection
between
the
way
those
programs
are
structured,
not
necessarily
the
programs
themselves
oftentimes.
Those
programs
need
to
be
there,
there's
a
variety
of
reasons.
They
exist
in
the
first
place,
but
it
really
comes
down
to
the
structure
of
those
programs
and
how
those
things
might
disincentivize
work.
Great
example
of
that
benefit
cliffs
a
whole
lot
of
social
social
welfare
type
programs
usually
have
some
sort
of
income
threshold.
L
Where,
if
you
pass
that
threshold,
you
suddenly
completely
lose
benefits
and
a
lot
of
folks
that
are
receiving
these
benefits
are
very
cognizant
of
how
that
benefit.
Cliff,
will
impact
them
and
so
oftentimes.
That
might
disincentivize
say
an
individual
from
accepting
a
promotion
or
a
raise.
It
might
also
keep
a
family
that
is
a
single
income
family
from
becoming
a
dual
income
family.
So
one
of
the
things
we
need
to
look
at
with
public
policy
is
making
sure
we're
smoothing
out
a
lot
of
these
benefit.
L
Cliffs
child
care
assistance
program
is
a
perfect
example
of
that
there's
benefit
cliffs.
Within
that
program
we
can
smooth
those
out
and
that
will
remove
a
disincentive
to
you
know,
advance
your
career
become
a
dual
income
household,
whatever
it
might
be.
Unemployment
insurance
is
another
great
place
where
we
can
look
at
where
again
that's
a
really
important
program.
It
needs
to
exist.
It's
an
important
thing.
It's
it's
there
for
a
reason,
but
we
need
to
make
sure
that
it's
structured
in
a
way
towards
not
disincentivizing
work,
kentucky
the
average
benefit.
L
Duration
for
an
unemployment
claimant,
as
of
2019,
was
about
18.2
weeks.
That's
the
highest
in
the
nation.
It's
the
highest
average
benefit
duration
in
the
entire
nation.
Why
is
that?
That's
those
are
things
we
need
to
think
about.
It's,
not
the
mere
existence
of
ui.
It's
just
how
we
structure
that
program
so,
for
example,
our
work
search
requirements
I
talked
about
earlier.
We
need
to
make
those
things
better.
L
A
E
Thank
you,
mr
chairman.
Recently
I've
received
several
more
than
several
phone
calls
from
constituents
in
my
district.
That's
going
to
be
losing
their
jobs
due
to
their
unwillingness
to
take
the
cova
vaccine
and
it's
the
largest
employer
in
my
district
is
going
to
lose
a
significant
number
of
its
workforce,
and
my
question
is
how
much
has
the
mandated
cova
vaccines
by
employers
inflated
the
workforce
and
cri
crisis,
and
I
guess
the
follow-up
to
that
is.
Does
your?
L
Sure
great,
it's
a
great
question.
It's
a
great
topic.
That's
that's
getting
a
lot
of
discussion,
so
let
me
say
a
couple
things.
Looking
at
survey
data
there's
been
some
surveys
that
ask
particularly
unvaccinated
workers.
If
your
employer
wants
to
mandate
a
vaccine,
what
would
you
do?
Would
you
quit?
L
Would
you
not
quit
and
a
lot
of
that
initial
survey,
data
that
came
out
suggested
that
a
lot
of
unvaccinated
workers
might
consider
leaving
the
work,
the
workforce
if
a
vaccine
was
mandated
so
and
that
there
was
a
variety
of
different
ranges
for
for
how
that
would
work,
and
one
of
the
things
that
my
initial
reaction
to
that
was
that
really
underscores
the
importance
of
how
difficult
of
a
decision
this
often
is
for
an
employer
and
why
government
should
stay
out
of
that
decision-making
process.
L
Second
thing
I
would
say,
though,
that's
survey
data,
it's
mixed
use,
I'm
a
big
believer
in
surveys.
I
like
polling
data,
but
I
think
when
it
comes
to
surveying
a
question
like
that,
that's
a
real,
hard
question
to
get
an
accurate
survey
response
to
you
know
people
say
all
the
time,
but
my
employer
does
this.
I'm
going
to
leave
if
I
don't
get
a
better
parking
place,
I'm
going
to
leave.
L
I'll
use
an
example,
iu
health
system,
indiana
university
health
system
again
bearing
in
mind
if
we
were
looking
at
say
that
survey
data
that
was
suggesting
anywhere
20
to
40
might
leave
iu
health
system
about.
I
think
it
was
less
than
one
percent
in
terms
of
folks
that
that
seem
to
have
left
as
a
result
of
that.
Again,
that's
that's!
That's
a
significantly
smaller
number.
L
Instead,
what
a
lot
of
these
workforces
or
a
lot
of
these
workplaces
end
up
seeing
was
increased
vaccination
rates
again,
though,
it's
a
difficult
decision
for
each
individual
employer
to
make,
which
is
again
one
of
those
reasons
why
the
chamber
is
adamant
about
leaving
that
decision-making
capacity
within
the
hands
of
employers,
but
in
terms
of
the
vaccine
mandates
at
an
individual
employer
level
or
the
federal
vaccine
mandates
that
are
coming
down.
I
don't
think
that's
having
a
large-scale
impact
on
workforce
participation,
all.
M
Oh,
thank
you.
One
of
the
things
I
wanted.
I
was
going
to
actually
ask
about
the
vaccine
mandates
as
well,
but
I'm
going
to
mention
the
fafsa
high
school
graduation
requirement
idea.
I
think
that's
going
in
the
opposite
direction,
because,
when
we're
talking
about
high
paying
jobs,
the
only
reason
why
our
jobs
need
to
pay
as
high
as
they
do
is
because
we're
requiring
certifications
for
them
which
costs
money
and
put
people
into
debt.
If
they
didn't
go
into
debt,
they
wouldn't
need
as
high
a
paying
job
because
they
wouldn't
have
those
bills.
M
M
And
so
I
would
encourage
you
to
consider
that,
and
maybe
look
at
the
data
on
how
much
out
of
debt
students
there
are,
how
many
are
able
to
take
a
lower
paying
job
because
they
don't
have
debt
and
therefore
we're
all
is
smoothing
out
those
those
fiscal
cliffs
like
you
mentioned,
but
kind
of
going
in
the
other
direction.
M
L
Well,
I'll
start
with
your
second
question:
just
because
an
individual,
I
wouldn't
say
those
people
are
leaving
the
workforce
they're
just
switching
jobs.
So
I
guess
I
wouldn't
see
that
that
much
of
an
intersection
in
terms
of
the
larger
impact
on
the
workforce,
because
they
might
leave
one
employer,
that's
mandating
it
but
then
go
to
another
employer.
That's
not
mandating,
and
I
presume
that's
exactly
what
that
individual
would
probably
do,
and
I
hope
I
hope
they
can.
They
can
find
another
job
as
quickly
as
they
can.
So.
L
That's
again
why
I
think
the
overall
impact
on
workforce
participation
is
just
it's
not
going
to
be
a
significant
number.
Now
going
back
to
your
original
question
about
fafsa
again,
you
know
one
of
the
the
numbers
I
highlighted
there
was
was
pell
grant
dollars
and
those
those
are
not
going
to
be
federal
loans.
So
there's
no
debt
being
taken
on
when
you're
getting
those
pell
grant
dollars.
That's
another
reason
why
we
need
to
go
after
fafsa
those
primarily
target,
low-income
individuals.
L
L
I
think
it
was
last
month
highlighting
the
exact
thing
you're
talking
about
the
roi
on
these
college
degrees,
as
well
as
certifications
in
any
form
of
post-secondary
attainment,
and
they
incorporate
into
that
debt
loads
student
debt
loads
as
well,
and
those
folks
that
are
getting
those
post-secondary
attainments,
they're
still
coming
out
on
top
they're,
still
doing
really
really
well,
even
when
you
factor
in
debt.
So
I
think
the
evidence
points
very
strongly
towards
the
value
of
post-secondary
attainment
across
the
board.
A
Well,
mr
mr
ms
miller,
thank
you
so
much
for
your
time
today.
I
know
there
was
a
couple
other
people
that
had
questions,
but
we
have
to
move
along
we're
already
running
a
little
bit
behind
schedule.
So,
if
you'd
like
to
submit
those
questions
to
the
committee
in
writing,
we
will
make
sure
that
those
are
delivered
to
the
presenter
so
that
they
can
receive
answers.
Okay,
so
next
up.
A
N
N
Most
of
you
are
aware-
and
I
think
we
all
are-
that
we
in
kentucky
are
very
fortunate,
we're
very
blessed
to
have
some
of
the
most
affordable
power
rates
in
the
country.
Even
the
world,
we
have
a
very
sophisticated.
We
have
a
very
reliable
utility
infrastructure
and
in
particularly
in
our
far
western
portion
of
the
state,
we
are
right
in
the
heart
or
the
center
of
the
miso
grid.
N
The
myso
grid
is
a
network
of
electric
providers
that
runs
all
the
way
from
canada
all
the
way
down
to
the
gulf,
and
there
are
a
lot
of
transmission
lines
that
intersect
right
in
far
western
kentucky.
So
that
is
one
of
the
drivers
of
interest
in
putting
cryptocurrency
and
large
consumers
of
electricity
in
our
area.
N
We've
seen
electricity,
our
crypto
inquiries
from
the
east
coast
of
new
york,
all
the
way
across
to
california
up
into
canada.
I've
talked
to
crypto
interest
in
china
even
into
greece.
So
about
a
year
year
and
a
half
ago,
we
developed
a
relationship
with
jeremy
whitten
to
my
right.
Jeremy
was
with
navier
at
the
time,
which
is
a
a
consultant
that
manages
the
construction
of
the
crypto
sites
and
then
has
an
operating
software
that
manages
the
back
end
once
the
center
is
operational.
So
there
began
our
relationship
with
the
crypto
industry.
N
Since
then,
over
the
past
year,
we've
secured
two
different
crypto
projects,
one
of
them
being
block
ware.
We
have
mike
stoltzner
here
with
us,
he's
the
chief
executive
officer
with
block
ware
upon
completion.
There
are
a
couple
of
phases
to
block
where's
project.
The
first
phase
is
a
30
megawatt
project.
We
certainly
hope
to
be
able
to
entice
them
to
put
an
additional
30
megawatts
there
to
get
them
up
to
the
60
megawatt
project
that
we're
looking
to
secure.
N
We've
had
a
lot
of
significant
interest
from
other
crypto
companies,
ranging
anywhere
from
10
to
100
megawatts,
and
there
continues
to
be
a
lot
of
interest
coming
from
china
and
from
private
equity
monies.
Most.
All
of
you
are
aware
that
china
has
outlawed
or
doesn't
allow
cryptocurrency
bitcoin
mining
in
china.
So
all
of
the
miners
there
they're
looking
for
a
home
they're
looking
for
somewhere
to
place
their
machines
immediately
and
then
we're
all
aware
of
how
private
equity
works,
private
equities
interested
in
getting
an
immediate
return
on
their
investments.
N
So
therein
lies
the
interest
of
placing
these
machines
as
quickly
as
possible,
so
that
process
it
involves
a
matching
process.
We
have
to
identify
existing
locations
or
existing
pockets
of
underutilized
power
where
there's
excess
megawatt
capacity
around
substations,
and
then
we
have
to
acquire
land.
That's
in
close
proximity
to
these
substations,
that's
what
we
were
able
to
do
with
block
ware.
We
have
an
industrial
development
park
called
industrial
park
west.
It's
right
off
I-24.
N
We
were
able
to
work
out
an
arrangement
with
blockwear
mining
with
big
rivers.
Electric
through
jackson,
purchase
energy
being
intricately
involved
to
where
big
rivers
electric
is
investing
almost
13
million
dollars
in
utility
infrastructure
upgrades
to
industrial
park
west
to
increase
the
megawatt
capacity
to
100
megawatts.
N
This
has
also
led
into
additional
opportunities
for
paducah
power.
Big
rivers,
infrastructure
and
investment
is
going
to
take
18
to
24
months,
so
that's
led
into
some
other
opportunities
with
paducah
power
as
well.
So
when
you
sit
back
and
ask
why,
why
is
cryptocurrency
or
data
mining
digital
currency?
Why
is
it?
Is
it
good
for
our
community,
it's
good
for
the
consumer
and
the
power
companies
number
one.
I
think
it's
prudent
for
us
to
realize
that
I
can
speak
for
big
rivers,
electric
and
paducah
power.
N
Our
utility
companies
are
solid,
they're,
they're
funded.
Well.
All
of
these
crypto
deals
that
they're
doing
they're
collateralized
in
all
instances
they're
having
to
put
up
two
to
three
months
worth
of
deposits
for
electric
bills,
crypto's
an
unregulated
currency.
So
you
can't
go
out
and
get
a
a
letter
of
credit
right,
so
they're
actually
having
to
put
up
cash.
So
most
all
of
these
deals
are
cash
collateralized
from
the
exposure
that
could
be
from
the
electric
bills
for
two
to
three
months,
as
well
as
the
infrastructure
that's
being
built
to
accommodate
that.
N
So
as
the
power
companies
are
able
to
sell
more
megawatts,
that
enables
them
to
produce
more
electricity
and
it
allows
them
to
spread
those
costs
out
over
more
megawatts
in
in
theory,
just
like
in
business,
you
have
fixed
costs
to
operate
your
business.
It
costs
a
hundred
dollars
to
operate
your
business,
whether
you
have
one
customer
or
a
hundred,
so
as
you're
able
to
bring
more
customers
on
board,
it
reduces
your
fixed
cost
per
customer.
N
N
It
will
also
generate
additional
cash
flow
for
future
investment
into
our
utility
infrastructure,
and
it
will
enable
our
power
companies
to
service
and
manage
their
debt
appropriately,
so
we're
excited
about
having
blockwear
in
our
community.
We
anticipate
the
recurring
annual
economic
benefit
for
our
community
to
be
around
3
million
a
year
from
these
guys,
they've
been
a
wonderful
partner
with
us
and
I'll
turn
things
over
to
mike
now
mike's
the
ceo
of
blockwear,
and
he
can
share
a
little
bit
more
with
you.
G
I
think
it
am
I
on
here.
You
got
me
now,
okay,
I
need
to
lean
forward.
I
had
back
surgery
a
couple
weeks
ago,
so
I
have
a
tendency
to
lean
back,
but
thank
you
for
inviting
me
to
speak
before
you
and
tell
you
a
little
bit
about
blockwear
I
had
put
together.
My
team
had
put
together
this
little
handout,
which
I
thought
would
be
helpful
to
whomever
would
be
interested
in
looking
through
it.
G
It's
kind
of
a
little
bit
of
block
bitcoin
mining
101,
so
a
good
review,
but
as
far
as
I
think,
what
this
committee
would
like
to
hear
is
really
how
the
economic
development
and
the
the
workforce
investment
that
we're
putting
into
the
community.
G
So
I'd
like
to
cover
that
and
give
you
a
very
brief
background
about
a
year
and
a
half
ago
we
began
our
search
for
a
location
to
build
our
first
mining
facility.
A
mining
facility
is
essentially
a
data
center.
It's
a
structure,
that's
housed
with
thousands
of
servers,
so
we
started
about
looking
about
that.
We
went
through
alabama,
tennessee,
kentucky
illinois,
numerous
states.
G
We
then
were
introduced
to
bruce
and
g
bed
and,
and
they
kind
of
held
our
hands
and
took
us
through
the
process
of
showing
us
some
sites
around
kentucky
and
greater
purdue
area
and
introduced
us
to
the
proper
people
to
start
the
process
of
applying
for
a
kbi
which
we
were.
We
did
do
that
and
we
were
granted
back
in
january
and
also
with
big
river.
G
We
signed
a
ppi
with
them
back
last
april
for
a
10-year
purchase
our
first
phase,
which
is
a
30
megawatt
facility
for
the
servers
that
will
fill
that
which
are
approximately
9
900
servers
and
the
build
out
of
the
building
at
current
cost
is
about
a
100
million
dollar
investment.
For
that
first
phase.
G
So
actually,
senator
wheeler,
hitting
at
a
point
that
you
had
questioned.
I
I
believe
the
gentleman
that
smoke
spoke
last
bitcoin
mining
and
what
we
do
is
actually
bringing
industry
back
to
the
midwest
back
to
areas
of
the
country
that
had
lost
the
steel
mills
and
the
industry
of
the
early
1900s
or
the
1900s.
G
A
lot
of
the
facilities
that
are
being
used
for
mining
facilities
are
old
mills
that
have
been
shut
down
from
kentucky
to
the
east,
chicago
and
so
forth.
So
we've
always
gone
by
a
slogan
that
we're
bringing
hash
rate
to
the
united
states.
G
China.
A
year
ago,
china
controlled
65
of
the
hash
rate
in
the
world.
The
united
states
was
seven
percent.
Today
the
united
states
is
19
and
growing,
so
we
feel
that
we
are
bringing
industry
back
to
the
united
states
now
to
kind
of
concentrate
on
the
the
workforce
investment
we.
Currently
we
started
our
project.
We
broke
ground
on
our
project
in
what
was
it
maybe
july
july
we
broke
ground,
we're
just
in
the
be
pouring
the
slab
for
the
building.
The
building
has
been
delivered.
G
G
G
G
Okay
and
then,
on
the
higher
end
of
that,
we
have
numerous
jobs
that
are
the
other
tax
that
are
in
the
70
000
plus
area
of
income,
with
full
benefits.
G
And
you'll
see
by
going
through
the
handout
I
have
that
kentucky
currently
is
the
second
largest
bitcoin
mining
state
in
the
country
with
texas
making
a
major
move.
So
I
think
that
sums
up
most
of
what
I
wanted
to
say
on
what
we're
doing
in
kentucky
and
the
bright
future
that
we
see
for
our
business
in
kentucky
and
we
are
currently
and
jeremy
will
hit
on
a
couple
of
things
that
we're
working
on
a
handful
of
other
projects
within
the
state.
E
Thank
you,
mr
chair,
and
I
thank
our
best
for
their
attendance
and
testimonials
today.
I
apologize
that
I
can't
be
there
in
person.
E
Part
of
the
reason
I
really
wanted
this
on
the
agenda
is:
we've
heard
how
kentucky
nationally
has
gained
a
good
reputation
for
mining
companies,
but
it
seems
like
when
I
talk
to
people
in
economic
development
across
the
state
and
different
utility
companies,
there's
still
a
bit
of
skepticism
with
the
industry.
So
I
appreciate
hearing
from
our
witnesses,
and
hopefully
we
can
continue
to
show
people
how
beneficial
these
companies
can
be
for
the
commonwealth
head
question
for
bruce
and
then
to
michael
and
jeremy,
but
first
to
bruce.
N
Sure,
when
I
look
at
it
at
any
any
economic
deal,
I've
I've
spent
almost
30
years
in
private
industry,
I'm
a
cpa
by
trade
and
I've
been
the
cfo
and
the
president
of
two
different
companies.
So
I
always
look
at
at
an
economic
deal
of
managing
risk
and
from
both
sides
from
the
economic
development
side
and
excuse
me
the
company's
side,
and
when
I
look
at
these
deals,
I
go
back
again.
These
deals
are
cash
collateralized,
so
from
a
risk
perspective,
there's
very
little
risk
from
the
utility
companies
side
of
things.
N
We've
seen
a
push
towards
green
energy,
particularly
with
solar.
We
all
know
that
the
battery
storage
and
the
battery
capacity
for
solar-
it's
not
there,
but
if,
if
we
keep
moving
that
direction,
that's
going
to
disincentivize
fossil
fuel
facilities
and
you
know
power
plants
that
produce
electricity
with
fossil
fuels.
N
So
the
thing
about
this
is
this:
increases
the
base
load
for
power
plants.
It
gets
it
up
to
x
and
one
of
the
good
things
about
most
every
crypto
company
that
I've
talked
to.
When
you
do
a
power
purchase
agreement,
you
can
do
interruptable
power
agreement
or
a
non-interruptible
power
agreement.
Most
all
of
them
will
choose
the
interruptible
power
rate
because
it's
less
successful.
N
So
if
you
get
into
a
situation
where
you
have,
you
know,
take
big
rivers
for
entrance
entrance,
in
instance,
long
term.
I
think
their
goal
is
to
have
a
third
coal,
a
third
gas
and
a
third
green
energy.
So
if
we
enter
into
a
position
to
where
the
solar
it's
raining
or
it's
dark
or
whatever
or
a
hot
heat
summer,
a
very
cold
streak
like
we
had
down
in
texas
this
past
year,
the
power
company
can
go
back
to
the
kryptos
company
and
say
we
need
to
idle
your
machine
down.
N
They
can
idle
these
machines
down
in
a
matter
of
minutes
and
reduce
their
consumption.
So
back
to
the
power
company,
you
have
a
base
load
of
x.
You
can
power
the
crypto
companies
down,
but
then
you
can
power
it
back
up
to
what
the
consumers
have.
So
we've
seen
it
a
win-win
situation
from
both
sides.
G
If
I
could
add
one
point
on
that,
energy
can't
be
stored,
it's
not
like
oil.
You
can
put
in
a
tank
and
save
it
and
use
it
tomorrow.
Next
week,
next
year,
it's
gone
so
what
crypto
miners
do
is
actually
bring
down
the
cost
and
exposure
to
the
utility
companies,
because
we
even
them
out
when
they
have
excess
load,
we're
taking
it
when
they
need
load
in
a
hot
summer
day,
where
we're
pulling
back
so
we
even
their
load
and
one
other
thing
to
go
with
that.
When
you
will
hear
the
argument.
G
Well,
crypto
mining,
bitcoin
mining,
you
know,
wastes
energy.
G
C
Mills,
thank
you,
gentlemen,
for
being
here
today
a
couple
questions
here:
I'm
I'm
struggling
the
last
six
or
seven
months.
My
son
is
actually
mining
helium.
If
you
know
what
that
is,
he
and
he's
really
big
into
learning
about
blockchain
technology
and
is
invested
in
some
others,
and
he
keeps
on
trying
to
drag
me
along,
and
I
keep
on
asking
for
explanation,
so
your
primer
is
going
to
be
really
good
on
the
way
home.
C
I
can
read
this,
but
just
a
couple
of
things:
how
often
does
your
company
recognize
your
profits
in
u.s
dollars?
You
know
that's
one
of
the
questions
about.
You
know
the
profitability
of
mining
companies,
keeping
their
profits
in
bitcoin,
and
when
does
when
do
they
realize
their
profits
yeah?
How
do
you
do
that?
You.
G
G
We
went
to
ca
to
us
dollars.
Typically
if
it
were
not
daily
within
every
three
days,
because
we
used
the
income
that
we
earned
from
mining
to
buy
more
miners
to
build
up,
for
instance,
the
facility
that
we're
building
in
paducah.
We
are
100
out
of
pocket.
We
went
to
every
single
bank
in
the
greater
paducah
area
to
get
financing
even
to
build
the
building
and
we
couldn't
get
financing.
G
So
we
have
rolled
back
our
mining
rewards
into
that.
Now
we
do
as
we've
grown,
we
carry
a
small
treasury
of
bitcoin
in
time.
You
know
we
will
carry
a
larger
treasury
of
bitcoin,
but
it's
be
it
an
individual,
that's
trading
for
their
own
account
or
be
it
a
business.
You
know
it's,
it's
a
board
type
decision
you
know
and
how
you
want
to
allocate
that.
C
Okay
and
a
couple
other
questions
here,
so
the
legislation
we
passed
last
year,
I
can't
remember
what
the
height
of
the
investment
or
the
dollar
amount
was,
but
it's
basically
targeted
to
larger
mining
companies.
I've
had
a
couple
people
reach
out
to
me
and
you
may
know
who
they
are
in
the
paducah
area
that
have
some
smaller
mining
interests.
I
believe
it's
community
ventures
has
some
smaller
mining
interests
that
are
interested
in
the
abatement
of
the
sales
tax.
C
Do
you
see
that
as
a
positive
economic
development
tool,
if
we
were
to
abate
that
to
smaller
organizations
that
are
just
starting
out
with
say,
you
know,
50-100
machines.
N
Again,
I
think
it's
been
one
of
the
things
that's
put
us
on
the
map
worldwide,
so
I
I
would
add,
there's
when
you
look
at
your
electric
bill,
there's
a
six
percent
sales
tax
on
the
electrical
consumption
and
then
there's
a
three
percent
utility
gross
receipts
tax.
So
it
also
abated
that
as
well.
So
it's
not
uncommon
for
one
of
these
larger
companies
to
have
a
power
bill
of
a
half
a
million
dollars
a
month
or
or
greater.
So
you
you
do
the
math
nine
nine
percent
adds
up
pretty
quickly.
G
And
then
what
we
do
like
we
accommodate
the
smaller
miners.
Where
say
in
our
facility:
that's
30
megawatts,
that's,
not
all
30
megawatts,
that's
mining
for
our
own
account
and
our
own
business.
We
may
have
someone
like
your
son
that
has
five
or
ten
minors
that
he
wants
to
host
with
us,
and
he
you
know
we.
G
He
has
it
in
a
secure
environment
with
24,
7,
security
and
monitoring,
and
he
pays
a
fee
for
electric,
and
I
mean
it's
really
quite
quite
interesting
process.
You
put
your
servers
in
there.
You
have
what's
called
a
wallet,
your
mining
rewards
each
day,
get
deposited
in
that
wallet
and
you
see
them
daily,
but
so
we
provide
that
service
to
smaller
miners.
C
G
A
lot
of
equipment
here
not
as
much
to
the
us,
a
lot
of
the
chinese
equipment
has
been
moved
to
other
parts
of
asia
and
to
eastern
europe
a
to
a
large
degree.
The
china
chinese
miners
that
are
coming
here
are
buying
new
equipment.
Okay,.
F
Yes-
and
please
forgive
my
night-
I'm
kind
of
naive
about
this,
but
I
find
it
interesting.
I
know
hawaii
kind
of
shut
it
down.
I
know
you're,
not
you
haven't
had
the
fed,
you
don't
have
the
federal
regulations.
Yet
what
keeps
me
from
being
a
huge
cartel
drug
dealer
and
laundering.
All
my
money
through
bitcoin.
G
G
So
I
just
don't
see
that
as
an
easy
means
of
laundering
money.
Jeremy.
Maybe
you
can
address
that
more
he's
he's
the
engineer
in
the
group.
O
So,
what's
interesting
is
when
you
think
bitcoin,
you
think
the
wallet
you
think
everything's
anonymous,
whereas
the
wallet
is
actually
pseudo
anonymous.
So
you
can
actually
track
the
it's
a
public
ledger,
so
you
can
actually
see
the
transactions
where
they
go
by
just
accessing
publicly,
whereas
you
know
any
other
process.
You'd
have
to
you
know
access
for
those
documents
you
have
to
apply.
You
have
to
talk
with.
O
You
know
the
banks
in
other
countries,
whereas
the
wallet,
if
you
you
know
from
the
standpoint
the
following,
if
you
do
suspect,
where
you
know
there's
something
going
on,
you
can
track
where
that
wallet
works
and
where
it's
being
either
paid
or
distribute
to
from
there.
So,
with
from
a
network
point
of
view,
it's
actually
more
transparent
than
you
know,
current
systems
from
that
aspect.
G
And
once
recorded
it's
there
forever,
so
once
the
block
which,
in
the
term
blockchain
every
transaction,
is
verified
by
a
block.
So
it's
in
the
history
forever,
so
you
could
go
into
if
you're
talking
about
ethereum,
which
is
another
second
largest
token.
You
could
go
into
ethereum
ledger
and
you
can
pull
up
and
see
the
activity
that
I
could
see
the
activity
that
jeremy
has
done.
G
You
know,
there's
people
that
study
it
pretty
hard
to
figure
out
and
the
reason
they
study
it
pretty
hard
is
because
they
want
to
know
when
the
big,
like
everyone
knows,
who's
the
biggest
holders
of
say
bitcoin
of
ethereum
and
they
watch
to
see
when
they're,
buying
or
they're
selling,
because
if
they're
selling
and
they're,
the
largest
holder
conventional
wisdom,
says
the
market's
probably
going
into
down
cycle.
So,
yes,
people
do
follow
it
quite
closely.
E
Yes,
thank
you,
mr
chairman.
I
first
want
to
say
thank
you
for
your
presentation,
my
dad
actually
retired
from
paducah
power,
and
so
it's
certainly
a
pleasure
to
see
that
that
they
are
working
with
you
as
well.
E
E
I
can't
I
mean
it's
act,
absolutely
forbidden,
I'm
in
the
company
that
I
I
work
for.
As
you
probably
know,
bitcoin
is
considered
very
speculative,
and
so
there
therefore
there
is
not
a
company
that
will
will
sell
it
to
their
their
clients.
Because
of
that
reason,
so
my
question
is:
is
what
would
you
say
to
that?
First
of
all
and
second
of
all,
what
would
you
give
to
a
company
in
terms
of
a
reassurance
that,
yes,
this
is
something
that
you
should
or
could
offer
to
your
clients.
E
So
how
would
you
like,
if
you
were
making
a
presentation
to
say,
edward
jones
yeah?
How
would
you
describe
to
them
and
therefore,
in
terms
of
of
individuals?
How
would
you
you
tell
them
or
describe
to
them
the
process
that
they
could
have
assurance?
And
I
guess
us
here
too,
as
well-
have
assurance
that
bitcoin
is
something
that
one
is
going
to
be
around
for
a
long
time.
But
two
is
something
that
is
is
backed
up
by
something
that
can
hold
it
stable.
G
I
think
that
what
it
has
been
proven
and
there's
two
uses
of
be
it
bitcoin
or
any
other
cryptocurrency,
but
bitcoin
specifically,
you
hear
the
term
digital
gold,
so
bitcoin
in
a
lot
of
ways
is
taking
the
place
of
gold
as
an
inflation
hedge-
and
I
know
within
our
company
when
we
did
a
capital
raise.
We
have
a
number
of
large
investors
that
are
older
people
that
were,
as
you
refer
to
gold
bugs.
G
So
bitcoin
has
two
uses:
the
digital
gold,
which
is
the
inflation
hedge,
the
buy
and
hold
you
also
all
the
different
projects
that
are
being
done
and
in
time
just
like
the
internet
in
1994,
you
know
was
new
to
all
of
us.
The
internet,
as
we
know
it
today,
won't
exist
in
a
handful
of
year.
In
five
to
ten
years.
The
whole
internet
will
be
based
upon
a
decentralized
platform
which
will
be
done
upon
blockchain.
I'm
not
saying
it's
gonna
be
done
in
bitcoin
or
ether.
G
O
I
all
I
can,
as
is
really
from
just
a
more
of
a
personal
story,
because
you
know
a
lot
of
when
I
was
introduced
to
bitcoin.
You
know
four
or
five
years
ago
you
know
I
went
to
the
same
process,
learning
that
where
you
are
asking
now-
and
you
know
coming
out
of
main-
you
know
primary
industry
in
the
alloy
industry.
O
You
know
I
I
would
have
never
dreamed
being
introduced
to
bitcoin
in
the
in
the
process
that
it
does,
but
through
learning
and
seeing
the
application
seeing
how
the
industry
has
evolved
and
how
it
has
a
mutual
benefit
to
the
utility
industry,
the
power
industry,
the
value
you
can
that's
where
I
see
the
value
and
as
the
future
progresses,
the
value
will
continue
to
increase,
based
on
the
the
use,
the
not
just
the
existing
use
cases,
but
the
future
use
cases
and
and
where.
O
Because
from
the
standpoint
of
when
I
look
at
the
value,
I
look
at
kentucky,
you
know
I've
born
and
raised
here.
Kentucky
is
centrally
located.
You
know
in
the
hub
of
all
the
industry,
both
of
the
60
65
corridor,
75
and
24..
O
You
know
we've
it's
it's,
you
know
over
the
years
we've
lost
a
lot
of
heavy
industry
with
it
has
a
lot
of
jobs
that
comes
with
it,
but
we
also
have
an
opportunity
to
harness
this
industry
and
establish
basically
a
technology
hub
for
this
industry,
because
kentucky
and
people
don't
know
kentucky
has
access
to
three
different
independent
system
operators,
so
miso
pjm
and
then
the
southeast,
like
tva,
there's
not
another
state
that
has
three
so
from
from
a
diversity.
O
Kentucky
offers
very
diverse
opportunities
to
go
around
the
state
and
benefit
both
large
and
small
communities,
so
the
value
and
and
back
to
you
know
the
the
investment
part
that
I
see
that
every
every
investment
that
you
have
always
comes
with
a
risk.
It's.
How
can
you
understand
because
most
time
when
people
go
to
a
typical
investor,
do
you
really
know
what
the
you
know?
You
trust
what
they
should
put
in
front
of
you
and
you
look
at
the
history.
This
is
how
it's
performed.
O
So
we
trust
that,
and
so
you
want
to
do
the
same
thing
when
you
look
at
bitcoin
or
cryptocurrencies.
There's
a
history
to
go
off
of,
and
you
want
to
look
at
that,
but
you
also
want
to
understand
how
the
industry
works.
Just
like
the
you
know,
typical
stocks,
how
does
the
company
work?
What
are
they,
what
what
are
they
providing?
O
What
what's
the
problem
that
they're
solving-
and
you
know
in
the
case
of
the
application
of
bitcoin
and
mining
mining
from
the
the
standpoint
of
it,
it
creates
value
by
what
you're
you're,
creating
new,
bitcoin
and
and
also
verifying
the
network
and
you're
getting
block
rewards
based
on
the
transactions
that
are
approved
and
verified.
G
One
quick
thing
to
add
on
on
a
personal
basis,
because
I'm
older
than
most
of
the
miners
out
there,
and
so
I
got
introduced
it
late
in
life,
but
I
spent
34
years
of
being
the
managing
partner
of
one
of
the
largest
proprietary
trading
companies
in
the
world,
which
is
a
very
highly
regulated
business.
We
had
a
file
a
focus
report
with
sec
every
morning
by
nine
o'clock,
same
with
the
nesd
and
so
forth.
G
We
look
forward
to
the
regulation
of
the
industry.
The
regulation
of
the
industry
will
only
help
us
not
hurt
us.
You
know
there
have
been
many
bad
actors
through
the
years,
just
like
there's
bad
actors
in
many
things
and
many
things
that
are
new
and
pop
up,
be
it
on
the
internet
whatever.
But
so
we
embrace.
E
I
think
I
think
I
was
muted
sorry
about
that.
My
comment
and
question
to
michael
and
jeremy.
First
of
all,
thank
you
for
investing
in
kentucky
michael,
you
had
mentioned
texas,
and
that
seems
consistent
with
all
the
you
know,
news
out
there.
It
seems
like
kentucky's
second
to
texas,
and
I
was
wondering
in
your
experience
of
choosing
kentucky
if
there's
anything
that
we
could
do,
that
would
make
it
even
more
attractive
for
other
companies.
G
You
know
if
everything
we
did
and
and
again
thanks
to
bruce
wilcox
and
g
pet,
that
you
know
really
held
our
hand
and
took
it
through
the
land
purchase
the
kbi
process.
Everything
the
hardest
process
we
found
was
dealing
with
the
utility
companies
and.
O
G
Before
going
before
the
public
service
committee,
so
it
was
a
lengthy
process.
If
it
were
possible
to
shorten
that
process,
it
would
be
of
help.