Legislation Project

New Mexico American Legion Boys State and American Legion Auxiliary Girls State provides practical application of city, county and state government throughout the weeklong session. This fast paced week culminates with activities which are dedicated to county/state government, including Senate and House of Representative Sessions, courts, and other agencies.

Please take time before arriving at NM Boys/Girls State to consider an idea or issue and draft a Bill, Resolution or Memorial for Legislation, whether you plan to run for Senator/Representative or not. All attendees of NM Boys/Girls State are required to submit a piece of legislation. This is one of the required items for completing the NM Boys/Girls State program. Please choose only one idea or issue - something that you can explain, sell to others, and defend against opposition — remember you will be trying to convince the other Senators or Representatives that your Legislation should be passed. Ideas or issues can be related to Education, Environment, Taxes, Welfare Reform, etc, but make sure that it pertains to the State as a whole not just your individual community or the Nation in general. If you do not plan to run for the Senate or House you will still use these bills/resolutions throughout the week writing your campaign speeches, party platform, and can even work with an elected NM Boys/Girls State Senator or Representative to sponsor your work and get your legislation passed.

Don't forget part of the requirement to earn college credits during NM Boys/Girls State and be considered as completing the program is your submission of a Bill/Resolution/Memorial, so please make sure you take the time to complete this task.

All NM Boys/Girls State delegates will be included in the committee review process of all Bills, Resolutions and Memorials. Submitted legislation will be assigned a committee based on the topic. All delegates will be randomly assigned a committee to review the bills, resolutions and memorials. Please note delegates may not be assigned to the committee where their bill/resolution/memorial is assigned. During this committee process you will work as a group to review the bill/resolution/memorial for any grammatical/spelling amendments, other suggested amendments, or vote to table a piece of legislation.

When taking time to consider your topic contacting your State Senator or State Representative in your community would be an excellent resource — you might even get copies of legislation for reference from them. Give them a call and let them know you'll be attending NM Boys/Girls State and ask that they share their experiences on the legislation they worked on during the recent State Legislative Session. Additionally, you can research current State Legislative committees or what Bills/Resolutions/Memorials were considered during the recent legislative session at www.nmlegis.gov/Legislation/Legislation_List. Please only use these Bills/Resolutions/Memorials as a guide as the NM Boys/Girls State uses a streamlined format to accommodate the condensed time frame of the session.

Below are further details about Bill/Resolution/Memorial including a description of each, an instruction sheet and examples. Legislation must be submitted by check-in June 2 but no later than noon Monday, June 3. You can submit your legislation one of two ways:

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• Online: Prior to session you can go online and type up your bill/resolution/memorial.

• Email: You can email your legislation using our blank forms. Please type or write neatly in blue or black ink only and scan the document.

Your Bills/Resolutions/Memorials don’t need to arrive at registration perfect but please take some time to decide on a topic, do some research on the subject, and write down your Bill. Government Counselors will assist with formatting your legislation for review by the committees and further presentation to the Senate/House for review.

Please note all delegates are required to submit a minimum of 250 words in the following sections when submitting legislation to have the submission be considered for completion on college credit requirements.

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• If writing a Bill the MAIN PROVISIONS section must be 250 words minimum.

• If writing a Resolution the SECTIONS section must be 250 words minimum.

• If writing a Memorial the WHEREAS PARAGRAPHS section must be 250 words minimum.

Any delegate submitting legislation with less than the 250 word minimum in the above section will have their legislation returned to them for revision and must be returned back corrected by Monday noon at session.

All submissions must be works of original content. Plagiarizing others works is not allowed. If you are interested in sponsoring a piece of legislation from another group this must be in addition to your original content submission of a bill/resolution/memorial. Any sponsored items will not be considered without the delegate first meeting their required submission.

Bear in mind that each piece of legislation is for serious, effective debate and legislation, for the good of our State or New Mexico Boys/Girls State, so bring your ideas! Come prepared to participate, work seriously and at the same time have fun in this great learning experience!