2019-20 El Dorado Youth and Government Delegation Bulletin #9

"If more of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold, it would be a merrier world.” – J. R. R. Tolkien

1.) Bill Hearing Night NEXT WEEK (10/24): Our bill hearing night is on Thursday, Oct 24th from 6-9pm. We are splitting our meeting into two halves, 5 families will present between 6-7:30pm and the remaining 5 from 7:30-9pm. You need only to attend the half of the night with your bill, but you are welcome to stay for the whole meeting. I will announce the order of family presentations in next week's bulletin. This event is open to the public, so be sure to bring your friends and family! 

Additionally, all delegates are required to wear Sac Attire (we will cover this in our next couple meetings) to this meeting, even if you are not presenting. For those who do not know what Sac Attire is, it means wear business professional clothing. 

The structure of bill hearing night is each family gets 15 minutes to present their bill to the audience and judges. Below is the breakdown for time each role gets to speak:

• Delegation secretary reads enacting clause of bill (30 seconds) 
• Sponsor speech (3 minutes) - purpose and major provisions of bill
• Legislative Analyst Speech (2 minutes) – fiscal analysis of the bill
• Pro-Lobbyist speech (2 minutes)
• Con-Lobbyist speech (2 minutes)
• Sponsor's summation speech (3 minutes)
• Judges scoring and comments on bill (3 minutes)

If you have a presenting role and have a question, do not hesitate to each out to me. 

2.) Bills, Bills, Bills! The bill develop process is now in full swing. Your family should now have it's their bill worksheet completed and a rough draft of your bill language done by this Thursday. Below are some steps you can take to further develop your bill idea and begin drafting:

• Here's what a finished bill looks like, so you know what you're making. 
• Watch this video about how to start the bill idea and bill research process. 
• Watch this video about the 4 basic kinds of legislation our State Legislature can consider. 
• Should have completed the Family Bill Worksheets - these are the basic questions your family will need to answer about your bill by Bill Hearing Night. (Those questions should sound familiar after last week's presentation!)
• In the same folder, be sure to begin writing your bills language in your family's bill template! 
• Want to know all the current laws? Here they are! (Get to know this site, LegInfo, it's a bill author's best friend!)

This week you'll also be finalizing your bill group role (if you haven't yet). Each bill group needs someone fulfilling one of the following roles:

• Bill Sponsor - introduces the bill and gives the opening and closing speeches on the bill (The Bill Author - the person who writes the bill and is in charge of that draft language, is usually the same person as the Bill Sponsor but not always.)
• Lobbyist For - speaks in favor of the bill
• Lobbyist Against - speaks against the bill
• Legislative Analyst - gives an objective analysis of what the bill does, how much it costs, it's benefits or potential negative consequences.

All bill worksheets and bill template MUST be completed by Oct. 17th. Make sure your family has their roles selected and have strong speeches! I will be making an agenda for bill hearing night in the coming week.  

3.) Upcoming Weekly Meeting Schedule: We have a busy schedule the next couple weeks. Please mark your calendars for these events in the coming weeks:

• Normal weekly meeting (Last chance to ask questions and practice for BHN) - 10/17
• Bill Hearing Night - 10/24
• No Meeting (Happy Halloween) - 10/31
• Mandatory Pre-Conference Meeting - 11/7
• Training and Elections 1 Conference - 11/9-11/11

Parent Corner

- Friendly Payment Reminder - Oct 18th: Our second payment installment of $437.50 is due this week, on Oct. 18th. Please pay here online or have your delegate bring a check made out to the Sacramento Central YMCA to this week's meeting. Please contact Dylan O'Tarrow if you have any questions about payments.  

As always, thank you for reading and I will see you on Thursday!

Derek Dolfie

Lead Advisor/Delegation Dad

El Dorado Delegation

Helpful Links:
Missed a bulletin?
Need to make a payment?
Question about the Sacramento Central YMCA?
Question about CalYMCA?
Question about our delegation?
Want to know how many points you have?
Want to know which family you are in?

Mark your calendars for these key events!

Oct. 18, 2019 -Second Payment Due

Oct. 24, 2019 -Bill Hearing Night - Open to Friends and Family (Oak Ridge)

November 9-11, 2019 -Training and Elections 1 Conference (Fresno)

Nov. 15, 2019 - Third Payment Due

December 13, 2019 - Fourth and Final Payment Due

January 18-20, 2020 -Training and Elections 2 Conference (Fresno)
February 13-17, 2020 -72nd Model Legislature & Court (Sacramento)