Overview
Pages are the helpers for other participants and staff at Youth and Government. They are critical to the smooth operation of the session.
Pages run errands for committees during hearings, work for the Model Supreme Court, deliver messages to and from legislators, officials, and justices. They may be asked by adults to help out with various tasks from time to time. Pages get to see all parts of the program!
Being a page provides an opportunity to learn how Youth and Government works and helps prepare new participants to take other positions in future years.
Most Pages are freshmen. There are a few sophomores who sometimes choose to be pages. A very limited number of eighth graders can become pages if they have the approval of their school, parents and delegation advisor. Juniors and Seniors are asked not to sign up as pages unless, as determined by their advisor, there are special circumstances involved.
All delegations are asked to bring at least one page; there is no maximum per delegation. (Delegation consisting of entirely Juniors and Seniors are exempt from this requirement.)
Pages do not have to create any written materials in advance to participate in the program, unless required by a local delegation; however, they may choose to write an initiative or co-author a bill. Some local advisors give writing assignments to pages. If a legislator sponsors a bill written by a page, it can be considered during the session.
In addition to their errand running duties, Pages are also allowed to promote any initiative, speak on bills during public hearings of Youth Legislature committees and contribute letters to the editor for the session paper.
General Information for Pages
Pages' Rights:
Pages always have a right to individual dignity and personal integrity. Pages are not slaves! In particular, Pages have the right to refuse tasks including, but not limited to, those which:
Pages' Responsibilities
Pages are critical to the smooth operation of the Youth and Government session. Without quality work, the program is less enjoyable for everyone. Therefore, Pages are asked to:
Who Pages Help
Being a page can be very tiring. For that reason, the following guidelines and rules exist to cut down on activities that waste the time and energy of pages.
Pages ALWAYS can run business-related messages for:
Pages SOMETIMES run messages for lobbyists and attorneys when:
In cases other than the above, lobbyists and attorneys are considered mobile and can deliver their own messages.
Pages NEVER run errands for Reporters. They are always considered mobile and can run their own errands!
Pages do not have to go up the galleries to fetch notes from lobbyists. Lobbyists need to come down and find a page. However, Legislators may send pages up to the galleries to deliver a note.
Pages don't have to run personal notes for anyone. They need to be free to run errands that relate to the official business of the session. (People can manage their social life on their own. They don't need to waste the pages' time!)
Notes for Legislative Pages
Each Committee is assigned two pages to assist them in their duties. One page serves as a runner and the other as a secretary. (A "runner" and a "writer") Pages may trade off these jobs between them as they wish.
One you are assigned to a Committee, you are asked to not switch Committees or hang out in other areas, because that may leave your committee understaffed.
Return promptly to your committee room after each errand. Legislators need to participate in debates and votes, so cannot leave to run errands. They need you to be there.
After each vote, or at the direction of the Committee Chair, take the results to the Chief Clerk of the House/Secretary of the Senate as promptly as possible so that they can do their scheduling. Remember to return to your committee room ASAP.
If you are in a House committee, you will be a page for House floor sessions. If you are a Senate Committee page, you will serve in the Senate.
When you are needed on the floor of the chambers, you will usually be signaled silently, so be alert. In the chambers, legislators will each have a white card or piece of paper that they will hold up to summon you.
In your committee, they may use cards, or you may simply be seated close enough that they will call on you verbally.
Notes for Court Pages
Approximately five pages are assigned full time to the Model Supreme Court. As noted above, they run message for the justices and for other people who are required to be in the Courtroom or Justices' Chambers and therefore aren't free to do their own errands.
Two pages help the Clerks and Justices in the Justices' Chambers. They might help write up opinions, take notes, run errands or track down missing people that are needed for various duties. (Like in Legislative committees, one page is a "runner" and the other a "writer.") There should be one page in the Chambers at all times.
Three pages are assigned to the Courtroom where one page helps the Marshall as needed, the second assists the Clerk and Justices. The third page sits in the back and can assist Attorneys, keep the doors shut, and other duties as needed.
What is it?
The Page's Senate is a one- to one-and-a-half hour legislative floor session held for the Pages after transmittal. Pages take seats in the Senate Chambers and have the opportunity to debate a few bills. In the meantime, Lobbyists and members of the First Year Program take over pages' duties in the Supreme Court, Executive branch and the Committees of the regular House and Senate.
Why is it held?
Not only is bill debate fun, but it is also a chance for pages to learn the ropes of being a legislator. It helps prepare people for being legislators in future years.
Presiding Officers
The Speaker of the House and President of the Senate preside, alternating duties with each bill. One serves as Chair of the Committee of the Whole, and the other is "floor coach" and Parliamentarian, having a full time open microphone, guiding participants and offering suggestions as needed. The Governor or Lieutenant Governor may also serve as floor coaches.
The Assistant Secretary of the Senate serves as "Pages' Senate Secretary." S/he will read the history and title of the bills just like in the regular sessions.
Rules and Procedures