State Assembly for Youth in Government

On Wednesday, March 30, a group of 13 Shorecrest Preparatory School juniors embarked on the 4 and a half hour journey to Tallahassee. The long bus ride was well worth the experience of the State Assembly for Youth in Government, more commonly called YIG. The goal of YIG is to familiarize high school students with the process, organization, and roles involved with our state’s governmental process. Students propose a bill which could potentially get passed by fellow delegates. At YIG some of us partnered up on bills, and some of us worked independently.

      

Thursday afternoon, the fun began. After attending the opening ceremony, presentations of bills began. Each delegate gave a one minute presentation. Then, the delegate was asked a few non-debatable technical questions (NDTQ). Finally, the delegate gave a one minute closing speech. Each delegate’s bill goes through a ranking process, based on: relevance to Florida, feasibility, debatability and speaker’s preparedness. The top ranked bills from each chamber move on to the next round.

In the next round, two chambers join together. There are around 50 people in each chamber in the 2nd round. Fortunately, in the chamber we participated in, Shorecrest had 3 bills in the top 8. The top 8 of each  chamber had the opportunity to present their bill again. Shorecrest junior Danny A’s bill advanced! It was to regulate the mandatory minimum amount of time public defenders are required by law to spend with a client. Shorecrest juniors Courtney C’s and Julia S’s bill also advanced! Their bill stated that every 10 years a person must retake their driver's license road test, as an attempt to make the streets of Florida safer. Also, my bill, which related to providing affordable housing to homeless people, advanced. After a fun-filled day of debate all the delegates retired to their hotel around 10pm.

Friday morning, delegates gathered for the final day of debate. The top bills were presented in the state government building where bill presenters stated an introduction and a conclusion before being voting on a pass/veto scale. In between their two statements were a series of non-debatable, technical questions and a few rounds of pro/con debate argued by enthused delegates. This round was a lengthy one due to the amount of debate in each bill. After a quick lunch break, delegates continued debate over a series of bills. Following the round, delegates went back to their hotel to rest up for a fun night.

Friday night, all delegates gathered together at The Governors Ball for a plethora of exciting activities. Following a welcoming from cabinet members, Delegates took their seats to enjoy a nice dinner. Delegates then had a variety of activities available, including an impressive car-show, a multitude of card games, and of course, getting down on the dance floor. The next day we woke up early to cast our vote for heads of the House and Senate. This concluded our unique, one-of-a-kind experience before heading back to St. Pete.