Maine Model Assembly Session
The Maine Model Assembly program uses the actual chambers of the House and Senate, and Capital facilities. Participants debate the bills that were submitted at the Training Sessions and elected officers serve in the leadership positions to which they were elected.
Legislative Branch ; There are up to 151 members of the Model Maine House of Representatives. The Members of the House are the only people allowed speaking on the floor of the House. They are acting as though they are representing a district in the State of Maine. Each member serves as a member of one of the Joint Standing Committees assigned by the state office. Everyone not elected or selected to a position will be a member of the House of Representatives.
Leadership of the House Consists of: The youth Speaker of the Maine House of Representatives, the Sergent-At-Arms of the House, The Clerk of the House, and the Chaplain of the House.
There are up to 34 members of the Model Maine Senate. The Members of the Senate are the only people allowed to speaking on the floor of the Senate. They are acting as though they have been elected by a district in the State of Maine. Each member serves as a member of 1 of the Joint Standing Committees. The Senate is the Legislative Body with more experienced participants and smaller to allow more deliberative debate on issues. The Model Senate truly is the upper house as only participants with more than 1 year of experience in YIG or are Upperclassmen (Senior and Junior) are allowed to occupy the Senate position. Model senators are elected through this process: 1. Each Regional Training Session will elect either 8 Senators at large or 2. Delegations of 5 or more at a caucus will receive one senator from the 8 to be selected at that caucus, delegations will designate that Senator at the end of the Session. 3. All seats then available will be elected through the following process a) Nominations will be taken from the floor b) Each nominee will have a chance to give information (NAME, SCHOOL, WORD THAT WILL GET THEM ELECTED) c) Groups will vote to select the At large Senators
Leadership of the Senate consists of: the Youth President of the Maine Senate, The Sergent At Arms of the Senate, The Clerk of the Senate, and The Chaplain of the House.
Executive Branch ; The Youth Maine Governor is the Chief Executive of the Program. The Youth Governor is the only officer elected 1 full year in advance, and serves as the student spokesperson for the program for their year as Governor. The Youth Governor will have attended the National Youth Governor’s Conference. They will develop a package of bills that they want to see pass, as well as ideas they would like to see defeated. They must develop this package working within the confines of the budget developed by the cabinet and YMCA Staff. The Youth Governor must: Hold Friday evening press conference with newspaper staff, Interview the candidates to be able to give a bit of back ground as you introduce them on Saturday, and Deliver a closing address on Sunday’s Joint Session. The Governor also signs and vetoes bills passed by the legislature.
The youth Maine Chief of Staff will be a member of the Governor’s Cabinet. They will have the special duty of tracking all of the bills submitted in the program. They will be responsible for keeping updated a chart that will allow all participants to see the results of each bill at all parts of the process. The Chief of Staff will be responsible for giving a final report on the results of all bills at the closing ceremonies on Sunday morning.
The Youth Maine Governor's Cabinet are the Commissioners of the various parts of State Government. They work with the Governor to inform him about the bills that are before the various committees. They assist in gathering information about what he should do when bills reach his desk. There will be six commissioners who will share the responsibilities for the 6 standing committees. Those Cabinet members will be working with specific committees. Cabinet Members include: the Attorney General, the State Treasurer, the Commissioner of Economic Development, the Commissioner of Education, the Commissioner of Human Services, and the Commissioner of Natural Resources.
Media Branch ; The Media Branch of the Maine Model Assembly consists only of a Newspaper program. the Newspaper program does get a Press Conference with the Governor.
Lobbyist Branch ; The Lobbyists are sometimes called the “THIRD HOUSE”, of the Legislature. Their role is to see work for an organization that either support or is opposed to various pieces of legislation. They serve a role of educating the members of legislature about the bill they are discussing. None of the members of the Committees are able to be an expert on all the issues before them, so the lobbyist serve a purpose as a resource and expert in the area the bill is discussing. Our Lobbyist serves an important part of the process by getting the public hearings going, by providing testimony on bills. They testify at the public hearings either for or against bills that have been assigned to them. They must select an organization they are working for as they give their testimony. They then must take time to talk to various members to convince them to support their side of the bill. Lobbyists in our program serve in a 3 roles during the weekend: Lobbyist during Public Hearings, a Member of Committee during Work Sessions on Friday evening, and a Member of the House, on Saturday and Sunday. -PM-
Read more about this topic: YMCA Youth And Government, State Program Overviews, Maine Youth in Government
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