Trenton
- Students from the Juvenile Justice Commission’s
(JJC) residential community homes and day
programs attended a mock senate session
today at the New Jersey State House in the
official Senate Chambers. After studying
the governmental process in the classroom,
students debated bills and cast their votes
on several pieces of legislation pertaining
to juveniles.
“Government
impacts everyone’s life – even
young people. There is no better way for
students to understand how bills are drafted,
amended and adopted than by actually doing
it themselves,” said executive director
of the Juvenile Justice Commission Veleria
N. Lawson. “This unique educational
opportunity helps our students understand
that they can influence government and the
laws of this state.”
Students
represented individual legislative districts
and debated several bills, including S-426
which would permit juveniles under 14 years
of age to be tried as adults for certain
homicides; A-1561 which would create diversionary
programs for juveniles who are charged for
sexting; A-1300 which would deny visitation
rights to minor children by family members
if individuals are convicted of certain
crimes; A-1022 which permits evidence of
prior convictions or juvenile adjudications
in certain criminal cases; and A-1003 which
would require non-custodial parents to purchase
health benefits coverage for children.
The
participants from each JJC residential or
day program represented individual voting
districts. After preparing their arguments
ahead of time in the classroom, each discussed
the reasons why they were in favor or against
each bill. Students were also able to amend
legislation prior to casting their votes.
One student acted as the Senate President
and another as the Clerk to the Senate,
helping to orchestrate the voting session.
Secretary
of the Senate Kenneth Hicks spoke to the
students about the role of the Senate and
Barry Turner, Senior Legislative Information
and Bill Room Assistant, Office of Legislative
Services, discussed the legislative process
and helped guide the senate session.
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