The purpose of MGA/High-Y


By: Tyler Snipes

                The Model General Assembly, also known as MGA, serves as a vital tool to teach young teenagers the prosses in which a bill is made, debated, passed among the house and senate, and signed. The bill is made by teenagers that want to make an amendment to a current bill or create an original idea that they would like to see implemented in the Virginia state government. It is debated upon by the bill patron, other members of the committee, and finally after the debate session is over the lobbyist speaks and tries to persuade the House or Senate committee to vote a certain way. The bill is passed among the House and Senate with a majority vote.
                Then, the bill is signed by being agreed upon by the House and Senate chambers and committees, going on to be reviewed by the Youth Governor, and, if he/she thinks the bill is beneficial to the state, will be signed. Yet, if the bill is poorly written, unclear, or unconvincing in some form, the Youth Governor can veto it. Brittany Tomlins stated that “a debate has no life to it unless you have a delegate to start the fire of the debate”. A delegate from Graham High School was quoted stating that “when we start a debate we have to have important questions so that we can catch the attention of the others in the room”. A lobbyist within this committee stated that they “must be the voice and head of the bill so that way we can get the bills we want and think will benefit the majority not just the few people in the world”. 

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