Jon Ralston has famously
dubbed the Nevada Legislature the "Gang of 63."
As a baseball fan, I
prefer to think of the Nevada Legislature as the "big leagues" of
Nevada politics. Our league has produced some Hall of Famers (like Bill Raggio,
the Cal Ripken of the Senate, and Speaker Joe Dini, who acted as the
"Manager of the Year" for 16 years in the Assembly). The Nevada
Legislature has launched the career of many U.S. Congressmen, Senators, and
Governors, as well as eight Justices of the Nevada Supreme Court.
If the Nevada
Legislature is the big leagues, it is my great pleasure to work to cultivate
our minor league farm system. Working with young people is a highlight of my
job. uLegislate, our legislative
simulation, has been very well received thus far. We welcomed nearly 100 high
school students in April and we'll welcome 200 participants to the Nevada
Senate in May. Many of these sessions are available for viewing on the Nevada
Legislature's website. Watch the legislative calendar and you'll get to watch
students and adults alike "learning by doing" in a one-hour
legislative simulation where they debate model legislation.
But the "AAA"
minor league for the Nevada Legislature -- where the prime talent can be found
-- is at the Nevada Youth Legislature. This program, created by the Nevada
Legislature in 2007, has won many prestigious awards and serves as a national
model for involving young people in the legislative process. Senator Valerie
Wiener was the early champion for this program, and last year was elected
Chairman of the Board of Directors for the newly-established Nevada Youth
Legislature Foundation. I was very pleased when she asked me to serve as
Executive Director on a volunteer basis. The Nevada Youth Legislature is a
terrific program that complements my focus on making the legislative process
more accessible, understandable, and open to the public. I truly enjoy working
with Senator Wiener to help build this important organization.
Following a competitive
application process, every Nevada Senator appoints a high school student for a
two-year term. Once appointed, these Youth Legislators serve as emissaries for
their Senate Districts, communicating needs and concerns on behalf of their
constituencies. They receive training on the legislative process, on effective
public speaking, and on negotiation strategies. These training sessions are
well received by the students, who report back that they use their new skills
in myriad ways in their high school careers.
As a body, the Nevada
Youth Legislature is empowered by law to consider and propose
legislation. Every fall in odd-numbered years, the Youth Legislators each
conduct town meetings within their own districts to generate ideas for
legislation. Each Youth Legislator then works with LCB staff to create a bill
summary on an issue of concern. Those 21 bill summaries are debated and
narrowed down to 7, and ultimately, down to 2 finalists. Once the Youth
Legislature identifies the two finalist issues, the full Youth Legislature
considers those two issues, hearing from lobbyists, constituents, and other
concerned parties. The Youth Legislature then votes on one final bill topic,
which is then fleshed out as a full-fledged Bill Draft Request (BDR) by the
LCB's Legal Division. Once approved, this BDR is submitted to the Nevada Legislature
at its next biennial session.
We have had three official sessions of the Nevada
Youth Legislature in the last six months. Senator Wiener and I continually
marvel at the intelligence, compassion, care, and seriousness with which the
Youth Legislators acquit themselves. The level of discourse is high, and the
preparation and consideration of these young people truly impressive. I admit to
being a cynic and a skeptic on some matters -- but time spent with these young
people will wash the cynicism away from even the most jaded of political observers. The
Nevada Youth Legislature will propose legislation in 2013 to amend the Nevada
Constitution to "lock" the Millennium Scholarship Account so funds
for that program cannot be used for any other purpose. The selection of this
topic reflects the value and importance of this program to the young
people represented in this body.
13 of our 21 Youth
Legislators will be graduating from high school this year. This will create new
opportunities for our "AA" players (who are currently honing their
craft in student councils, on debate teams, and by leading student clubs and
organizations) to step up to the "AAA" level. We will be appointing
13 young people to one-year terms this summer to complete the terms of our
graduating seniors. If you know of a young person who may be a good fit for the
program, advise them to watch the Nevada Youth Legislature website for more
information and for application materials, which will be posted soon.
Warming temperatures and
the smell of fresh-cut grass in the air remind us that spring has sprung and a
new baseball season has begun. Having observed our legislative minor leaguers
this spring, I can report that the future is bright. The Nevada Youth
Legislature is one program that instills hope in this political observer, and
I'll be rooting for these young people as they graduate and lay the groundwork
for their ascendance to the "Major Leagues" in the not-too-distant
future.
