Desiree Nguyen – Palo Verde City
When I entered today’s Zoom meeting, my screen showcased a gallery of the bright, smiling faces of 7 other delegates, yet they were not just ordinary girls sitting in their room. Instead, right before me were the elected Senators of their respective county prepared to discuss, debate, and write future legislation for our mythical State. Already, I knew this would not be any standard meeting but would be a heated assembly brimming with unique ideas.
We first began with the discussion and voting of Senate bills we all had the pleasure of drafting ourselves. President of the Senate Senator Kim called attention to SB003, or the PUBLIC EDUCATION SCHOOL Bill, proposed by the Education Committee. Madam Chairman Bleaks of the Education Committee briefly explained her bill would strive for the eradication of student loans for Arizona teachers as to alleviate the financial burden of our public instructors. Without much dissent, the bill passed unanimously.
President Kim swiftly turned over our focus on SB001, or the JUVENILE JUSTICE Bill, submitted by the Judiciary Committee, which I was a part of. Madame Chairman Rojas outlined restorative and rehabilitative disciplinary action for juvenile delinquents to correct the actions of their past. A bombardment of thought-provoking questions soon followed after, which resulted in the addition of two amendments. With the inclusion of such, the Senate passed the bill unanimously again.
Still on schedule thanks to the efficient guidance of President Kim, Madame Chairman Aloisi of the Appropriations Committee introduced the final Senate bill, SB002, or UNIVERSAL BASIC INCOME, as the gradual replacement of our current welfare system through the slow siphoning of funds from our current system. Such an innovative, yet radical legislature ignited further discussion about its perceived impact on income inequality, which led to the addition of the amendment of the abolishment of our current welfare system dragged out in 5 years. Again, all 8 of us senators voted to pass this bill with a resounding AYE!
However the adventure did not halt there but only accelerated as we began to deliberate on 6 incoming bills from the House of Representatives within our short time constraint. Unfortunately, we were unable to discuss 2 of the bills passed in the House of Representative as despite our fast talking and swift voting, we could not beat the clock. What a stressful, yet exhilarating process!
We made efficient use of the little time we had though. At the end of this session, the Senate passed four of the House Bills, which addressed a range of different, federal issues from sustainability to redistribution of taxation. Bills HB06, which would establish a certain proportion of emotional support counselors, and HB03, which would provide free feminine products to female inmates, sparked discourse about the logistics of both bills’ operation and implementation. Both of these bills were amended and then sent back to the House for further review and voting.
At the end of today’s Senate session, I had my work cut out for me as Secretary of the Senate. I watched the tabs on my computer continue to increase as I bounced from documents of the bill to my emails to documents again. The duties as Secretary of the Senate was much easier said than done as I had to quickly type in amendments proposed by my fellow senators while recording the votes for each bill. Although my fingers ached from ferciously typing by the end of our Senate meeting, I still enjoyed the role I played today.
After being a first eye-witness to our outstanding Senators in such a fast-paced demonstration of politics, I am undoubtedly certain Girls State is in good hands proven by our senators’ quick thinking, cooperation, and most importantly, ambition. Perhaps, you’ll see a familiar face from this year of Girls State in our future as either a Fortune 500 CEO, an award-winning artist, or, just maybe, as a senator on our DC floor. Remember ladies to continue preserving with passion in your heart as we approach the ending of this amazing year of Girls State tomorrow!