West Virginia Youth in Government

Overview
The West Virginia Youth in Government Mock Legislative and Supreme Court Session is an annual three day conference, usually held in mid-April. It is located in Charleston, WV, at the State Capitol building. Students between ninth grade and twelth grade can participate as legislators of the Senate of the House of Delegates, Supreme Court Justices, press, lobbyists, or executive officers. Eighth grade students can participate as pages. Attendance has been increasing every year, and during this past session around 320 students participated.

Officers
All officers are required to attend the Youth in Government Conference, a week long YMCA Leadership-Service Summit, a three-day Fall Conference, and a February Bill/Case Rating and Leadership training session.

Youth Governor - Select Cabinet, develop a legislative agenda, recruit new schools to participate, serve as a member of the Youth in Government Committee, speak at events as requested, run much of the YiG conference

Cabinet Members (Appointed)- Work with the Youth Governor, represent the governor on proposed legislation

President of the Senate/Speaker of the House - Lead their staff of clerk and chaplain, preside over legislative sessions

Clerks - Assist Speaker or President, keep attendance at each session, read the bills, count votes, record and sign all legislation

Chaplain - Present messages before each session, assist Speaker or President

Committee Chairs (Appointed)- Lead each committee session, teach legislative process, encourage participation by all students

Youth Chief Justice - Appoint associate justices, serve on the Youth in Government Committee, lead the judicial program, preside over cases at Youth in Government

Associate Justices (Appointed)- Assist Chief Justice, preside over cases at Youth in Government

Press Editor - Lead the Press Corps, take a lead in creating newletters, and organize any online media

Legislative Procedure
Bills are submitted in January. During the Bill/Case Rating in February, officers score the bills based on quality writing, sources, and a bill supplement. Based on their rating, the bills are arranged in the bill book with the highest rated first. Bill books are mailed to every delegation before YiG. Once at the Mock Session, every bill is presented to a comittee of around 15 students. The authors give opening statements, then the legislators can ask questions, debate, or propose amendments. The authors then give closing statement, then leave to allow the committee members to debate further and vote on the bill as written or as amended. If passed, they then write majority and minority reports to present on the House or Senate floor, and the committee chair signs the bill. Once the bills are on the floor, the process is almost exactly the same, with the exception of the reading of the majority and minority reports, and questions for the authors is limited to three. After a standing vote, if the bill is passed, it is signed by the Speaker of the House or the President of the Senate. From there, it is sent to the Governor's desk, where he/she can meet with the bill authors, be advised by his/her cabinet, and either sign the bill into law or veto the bill. Although technically a veto can be overturned by a two-thirds vote, there is not enough time during the conference for such a vote to occur. A bill signed by the Youth Governor is sent to the actual West Virginia Legislation for consideration as a real bill.