Youth Council Enjoys Annual Legislative Day Trip
By: Alisha Vines, Director, Orange County Office on Youth
The Orange County Youth Council traveled to Richmond on Tuesday, January 30 for their annual state Legislative Day. The group began by meeting with Delegate Nick Freitas, one of Orange County ’ s representatives. Next, they toured the Richmond State Capitol and were able to sit in on the House session proceedings, during which they were recognized by Delegate Freitas. The tour of the capitol was very engaging and provided a lot of information and insight regarding the capitol and its history. The tour guide was delightful and very thorough, giving our members an amazing experience.
After a quick lunch break, the members met with Senator Bryce Reeves, Orange County ’ s representative in the Virginia Senate, followed by our district ’ s second House representative, Delegate Phil Scott. During each of their meetings, Youth Council members were able to discuss matters important to them, including the letter they sent in the fall requesting that legislators support stricter laws around selling vaping products to underage buyers. Tobacco use prevention has been a focus of the group in recent years, due to its prevalence among area youth. Each of the representatives listened and asked them questions to gain more insight about their opinions, as well as educating the youth on when to most effectively lobby to have something included in the General Assembly session. Going further, the representatives took the opportunity to discuss bills in consideration this session. Each explained reasons they would, or would not, be supporting those bills. One of the specific bills discussed was the proposed legislation to place more guidance counselors in schools. Members heard each of the representative ’ s position on the bill and why they took, or will take, their stance. This trip is one of the most important activities for the Youth Council each year. It allows the students to see how our government works and engage face - to - face with our representatives. Our annual visits have allowed us to grow amazing relationships with our representatives and their staff.
Thanks to these relationships, we are able to reach out during the rest of the year. In fact, we ’ ve hosted several of our state representatives at past Youth Council monthly meetings to discuss hot topics. Experiences like this are important for our Youth Council members. Being engaged in the legislative process helps them find their voice and understand the role of informed citizens.
Page 6 | February 2024
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