The

FALL DISTRICT IV CONFERENCE SPECIAL EDITION SATURDAY, OCTOBER 20th, 2012

Page Note

E v e r y y e a r , Legislative delegates hope to create a bill

that will pass into law. The Legislative

Agenda serves to ensure that bills are relevant to pressing

issues and receive several advantages at

State Assembly. Delegates struggling for an idea should

take advantage of the Legislative Resource

Guide, which can be found on the Florida

Youth In Government

website. It is full of

reliable resources for impartial

in format ion and thought-provoking questions to inspire

bills. The officers look

through each bill before State Assembly and decide which are

related to their agenda.

“Cabinet members lobby for [agenda-related] bills,” said

Chief Financial Officer, Kylie Werk. These

delegates are guaranteed the assistance of

lobbyist.

Cabinet members meet with government

officials to ensure that the topics on the

Legislative Agenda are relevant to Florida.

According to Governor

Christina Wiley, the purpose of the agenda is

to help delegates “know what the cabinet wants

to see…it makes it much easier for them to

reach the cabinet.”

ALI RENCKENS

Campo-Christina Chapter

Presiding Officers meet with the Governor’s Director of Legislative

Affairs in Tallahasee. Courtesy of Florida Youth In Government.

The judicial branch is not the complex, dark mystery everyone might

think. Though there are only

six judicial delegates present at Fall District IV Conference, th is

industrious branch focused on reviewing

cases, and researching today. “… mainly the basics,”

states Chief Justice Thomas Seidler. Chief

Justice Thomas wants to

make sure each judicial delegate gets a firm

grasp on the Supreme Court procedure, as all four delegates are new to

judicial this year. There are four cases

being covered, two civil, and two criminal. Each case has been

brainstormed and carefully laid out by both

the Senior and the Chief Justices. First year delegates

present as individual attorneys in the District

Court.

Another term used in judicial is “law firm.” A

firm is a group of second or more year judicial delegates who write

briefs to present in the Supreme Court. There

are usually about 20 firms that compete against each other to

win their side of the assigned case.

However, this is only the surface. The judicial branch entails

much more still left to be found out.

ANDRIA BARRIOS

Campo-Christina Chapter

Mystery of Judicial, Solved

Your Bill, From Committee to Cabinet

what’s next Preassembly

Submission Drafts

Due via Deledex

Dec. 5

Legislative

Supporting

Officer

Applications Due

Dec. 5

Last year, con-struct ion paper, markers, and scissors

were scattered over tables for a project

called “Valentines for Vets”. For this pro-ject, delegates get

creative and make paper hearts which

brighten veterans' Valentine’s Day. This project has been at

FDC for years. But where was it this

year?

Un f o r tuna te l y ,

Governor Christina Wiley stated, “There

just wasn’t enough time this FDC.” At District 2, according

to Gov. Wiley, they have 2 days for FDC,

and will definitely be making Valentines for Vets

there. She still loves the

project and wishes it could have been done at FDC, but fortu-

nately there is anoth-er option.

“Chapters will be

encouraged to do it

individually,” she points out. It is a

great opportunity for

community service

hours, and a fun way to serve the commu-

nity.

Some of last year’s Valentines for Veterans. Courtesy of Lillian Tysinger.

Work. Hard work. Hours of research and pe r fec t ing you r

opening statement. But what if that time

spent was wasted? How can you save your bill from dying in

committee? If your bill topic relates to

t h e E x e c u t i v e Agenda, the key to your success is the

new Of f i ce o f Legislative Affairs.

F r o m f i r m s working for Senators

and Representatives to get their bills passed by providing

research, debate talking points, and

finding a co-sponsor in the appropriate

chamber to individual

lobbyists working to accomplish that same

goal, the program area has undergone several changes.

Most commonly known as Lobbyists,

Directors of Legislative Affairs “work for the cabinet officials in

order to advance the legislative agenda

and the focuses of the departments represented [i.e. the

D e p a r t m e n t o f Juvenile Justice].

They will be the bridge between all of

the program areas in o r d e r t o g e t legislation moved

through the process,” s a i d G o v e r n o r ,

Christina Wiley of the revitalized program.

KRISTA REINHARDT

Campo-Christina Chapter

Evolution of a Lobbyist

You have one minute

to establish your point, one speech to win your audience, one chance to

earn a coveted spot on the floor. The pressures

of committees can be o v e r w h e l m i n g , considering the fact that

only about 20 bills are debated in chamber.

Last year, roughly 150 delegates were unable to present their

legislation in Sullivan. Thankfully, there are

methods one can apply to improve your

chances of making the

docket. The state director,

officers, and fellow delegates offer this collection of tips to win

the legislative gold. By writing strong

legislation that meets the committee ranking criteria and networking

with delegates from outside your chapter,

you can expect to see your bill rise to the occasion.

Go to thepagenote.blogspot.com for in depth tips on

how to do just that!

ALI RENCKENS

Campo-Christina Chapter

Be Heard in Chambers

FALL DISTRICT IV CONFERENCE SPECIAL EDITION SATURDAY, OCTOBER 20th, 2012 2

Valentines for Veterans

the social network

KRISTA REINHARDT

Campo-Christina Chapter