How to ParticipateThe process for attending and fully participating in our Model Legislature programs is simple.
Step by Step:
1. Register - Registering for a Model Legislature Conference is easy, whether your an individual or group. Just fill out our online form, submit your payment, and make a hotel reservation. All of these items can be accomplished by visiting our website and making a short phone call to the hotel. At the completion of the registration process you will become a "confirmed participant" 2. Receive Assignments - Once you're a confirmed participant you will be assigned a seat in either the House, Senate, Press Corps or as a Lobbyist. You will be asked during registration to register your seat preference, limited seats are available. 3. Preparation - Once you have been assigned a seat you will need to prepare yourself to represent your constituents, no matter what position your in. Research the pressing state and local issues for your district, possible legislative priorities, demographics, etc. Every minute spent preparing for a model legislature will be invaluable during debate, writing bills or press pieces, proposing amendments, and negotiating with your fellow participants. 4. Bill Writing - Leading up to the conference you will be asked to submit one or more bills to the conference. Your bills will be reviewed by either the Speaker of the House or President of the Senate. The Bills will be assigned a number then published in the either the House Bill Tracker or the Senate Bill Tracker. Once the Bill Trackers are published online, all attendees will want to familiarize themselves with all the bills that have been written. We strongly recommend that the bill's be printed out and put into a binder and brought to the conference. 5. Learn the Rules Procedure - the House and Senate will each use a common rules of procedure. While The Model Legislature emphasizes the importance of content, we do understand the importance of using the rules of procedure to facilitate debate. All delegates should educate themselves on the proper use of the rules of procedure. 6. Attend the Conference - when you arrive at the conference, be prepared to engage the best student leaders in the state, promote your bill, ask others to support your bill, and be prepared to work fast. 7. Be Active About what you Learned! - After the conference, your learning has not stopped. Now that you know the jargon used by the state and local governments, you can actually go out and practice it! You can say you have debated in the House and Senate Chamber and know how the process works. Or that you have written pieces on offshore drilling, or lobbied for or against Drug Testing of State Employees. Your government is created by your vote, whether it be liberal or conservative it is no matter to us, we want you to understand how elected officials do their jobs. |
  2014 Governor Bennett signing Bills into Law |