Once a Bill is submitted, it begins moving through the YMCA Youth and Government legislative process. Mirroring Maine’s actual legislative process, but without a couple of steps that must be eliminated due to time constraints.

The Program Director will assign submitted Bills to one of the Committees, where it will receive a Public Hearing and a Work Session during the Youth and Government Weekend. (In Maine’s Legislature, House and Senate Leadership assign Bills.)

All Bills are gathered and published as the Bill Book distributed to all delegates prior to the Youth and Government Weekend. Once all delegates are sworn in at the Augusta State House, Bills will move through the following steps.

• Step 1: Public Hearing in Committee (Friday afternoon)
• Step 2: Work Session in Committee (Friday evening)
• Step 3: House and Senate Debate (Saturday and Sunday)
• Step 4: Engrossment (Saturday and Sunday)
• Step 5: Governor's Desk (Saturday and Sunday)

Step 1: Public Hearing

The State of Maine requires that proposed legislation have a public hearing in front of a legislative committee. This gives every citizen of Maine a chance to speak his/her mind on any issue that is before the legislature. It also gives legislators an opportunity to listen to the reasons for and against a particular Bill before they vote. Any citizen may attend a committee hearing a request for the opportunity to speak. 

Youth and Government Weekend follows the same practices as Maine for holding committee hearings. Committees are composed of Senate and House members. All Senators and Representatives are assigned to one standing committee. Members of the Media, Lobbyists, Supreme Court and Governor’s Cabinet are not assigned to a committee.

Public hearings allow Lobbyists and members of the Governor’s cabinet to testify regarding their position on the Bill. As a general rule, persuasive testimony is brief, to the point, easy to understand, and supported by evidence. At the conclusion of a person's testimony, the committee may ask questions. 

Public Hearings will be held on Friday evening. Committee Chairs will post a schedule that lists the times that each Bill's hearings will be held for their committee. 

The Chair will begin each hearing at the designated time by introducing the Bill by number and title, and calling first the Bill’s sponsor and other proponents, then opponents, and finally any others that wish to speak on the Bill. 

During the hearing, all rules of parliamentary procedure will be observed. When the testimony is completed and legislators have no more questions, the Bill’s public comment period is formally ended with a bang of the chair's gavel.

STEP 2: WORK SESSIONS

Work Sessions are not intended to be another public hearing, though they are open to the public. The Work Sessions are more informal, and less emphasis should be placed on parliamentary procedure.

The basic purpose of the work session is to: 

1. allow committee members to discuss the Bill thoroughly, 
2. draft amendments to fix issues with Bill, and
3. vote on a final recommendation of the Bill.

Members of the public, lobbyists and cabinet may be asked to give input.

After the committee has ended its discussion about the Bill a member of the committee must make a motion for a Committee Report.

Options for Committee Reports

1. Ought to Pass (OTP): A majority of the committee want the Bill to be passed into law. For a unanimous vote, see Special Note 1 below.
2. Ought Not to Pass (ONTP): A majority of the committee don’t feel this Bill should become law. For a unanimous vote, see Special Note 2 below.
3. Ought to Pass Amended (OTPAA): A majority of the committee want the Bill to pass with amendments.
4. Divided Report: When any number disagrees on whether or not the Bill should pass. For example, if 8 members feel the Bill report should be Ought to Pass and 5 feel it should be Ought Not to Pass. The report would be a Divided Report, Ought to Pass, 8-5.
5. Leave to Withdrawal: When a Bill sponsor wishes to withdraw the Bill from further consideration.

Committee Clerks will complete the Bill Jacket with the Committee Report and have the committee chair sign the Bills.

At the conclusion of the work session members of the committee should hold a vote to nominate a bill for the Best Bill Award.

Special Note 1: Unanimous Ought To Pass: Bills receiving a unanimous Ought to Pass Committee Report, meaning every member of the committee felt the Bill should become law, will be moved to the Consent Calendar (In past years this was the Rocket Docket). A letter will be read by the Presiding Officers asking if there is any objection on the House/Senate Floor to the Bill being passed by the House/Senate and go directly to the Governor for their signature.

A Sample Consent Calendar Letter

Rep. Name,  House Chair
YMCA Camp of Maine Youth and Government
Committee on: NAME (Transportation, etc)
Date

To: The Honorable NAME of President of the Senate and Honorable NAME of the Speaker of the House

Dear Madame President and Mr. Speaker:

Pursuant to the YMCA Youth and Government rules, the Committee on Name has voted unanimously to report the following Bills "Ought to Pass” and therefore be moved to the Consent Calendar.

BILLS:   LD 2026-802, LD 2026-807, LD 2026-811

The Presiding Officer should follow the script on Consent Calendar for each of these Bills.

Sincerely,

Sen. Name,  Senate Chair
Rep. Name, House Chair

Special Note 2: Unanimous Ought Not To Pass: Bills receiving a unanimous Ought not to Pass Committee Report, meaning every member of the committee felt the Bill should not become law, will not be reported to the floor of the House and the Senate. A letter will be read by the Presiding Officers to tell the members that these bills are not going to be debated and are dead.       

Sample of Ought Not to Pass Letter

YMCA Camp of Maine Youth and Government
Committee on: NAME (Transportation, etc)
Date

To: The Honorable NAME of President of the Senate and Honorable NAME of the Speaker of the House

Dear Madam/Mr. President and Madam/Mr. Speaker:

Pursuant to the YMCA Youth and Government rules, the Name of Committee has voted unanimously to report the following bills out "Ought Not to Pass" and will therefore not be debated on the floor of the Senate or House.

BILLS: LD 2026-802, LD 2026-807, LD 2026-811

Sincerely,

Sen. Name, Senate Chair
Rep. Name, House Chair

Step 3: House And Senate Floor Debate

The Presiding Officers (President and Speaker) will conduct business on all Bills. Each presiding officer will determine the order Bills in their Chamber will be heard. A list of the Bills being discussed and the next Bills to be heard will be posted on the Bill Calendar inside each Chamber.

Each Committee’s Bills will be heard together. Four Committees’ Bills will start in the House, and Five Committees’ Bills will begin in the Senate.

Participants may try to change the order of Bills being heard by “Suspending the Rules" of the Body to move a Bill up or down the Bill Calendar but may not move Bills not currently in their Chamber. 

If you don't understand what is happening on the Bill, stand up and ask for a "Point of Personal Privilege.” The Presiding Officer will then explain what is happening and slow the process down so you, and others, can understand what is going on. Remember, if you don’t understand the chances are others are feeling the same way! This will allow you and others to catch back up.

As each Committee’s Bills are introduced the Presiding Officer will read:

1. Consent Calendar Letter
2. Ought not to pass letter
3. Introduce the first Bill for Debate

The normal course of action on a Bill will be:

1. Accept the Committee Report 
2. Have the Bill Read 
3. House and Senate Amendments 
4. Pass the Bill to be Engrossed  
5. Enactment

1. Accepting the Committee Report

The presiding officer will begin by having the clerk/secretary read the Bill number, title, and Committee Report. 

The presiding officer will then ask if it is the pleasure of the House/Senate to accept that report. 

This is the point at which most debate on issues begins.

Any member, but usually the Committee Chair or Co-Chair, will begin by making the Motion to Accept the Report. The Chair will then go on to explain the Committee’s reasons for their Report. 

If another member wishes NOT to accept the Committee Report he/she may move to accept the minority report on the bill. REMEMBER: You can only move to accept a minority report if there is a divided report.

If no one moves to accept the minority report, the Presiding Officer will bang the gavel and the Committee Report will be accepted.  

With the floor now open to debate, members wishing to speak must rise and be recognized by the Presiding Officer. Members are allowed to speak only twice on each motion and must receive the consent of the Body to speak a third time.  

Debate on a Bill can end in one of three ways:

1. If no member rises to speak after another member finishes the Presiding Officer will move the question by asking, “Is it the pleasure of the house to… (whatever the motion on the floor is)”
2. When the time limit that has been set has expired, the Presiding Officer will say, “Our time limit having expired. Is it now the pleasure of the House/Senate to… (whatever the pending motion is)”
3. When a member who has not debated the issue, "Moves the previous question," they are motioning to end the debate. The motion does not get debated and must be passed by a majority vote because it could be used as a tactic to stop others from voicing their opinions, rather than let the democratic process play out until no new issues are being raised and debated.

Regardless of the way the debate ended, it must now go to vote. (Types of votes listed below.) The Committee Chair must get a vote on the pending motion of the committee report by asking, "Is it the pleasure of the House/Senate to accept the majority or minority report?" The only motion that is accepted here is a call for division.

Types of Votes that Occur on the Floor

All motions must be voted upon. There are several types of votes that we can be used and some that cannot be used during the Youth and Government Weekend.

Under the Gavel – most frequently used

The Presiding Officer will say, "Is it the pleasure of the House/Senate to… (whatever the pending motion is).” If no member wishes to speak to that motion, the Presiding Officer will bang the gavel. 

Once the gavel has fallen, all members have voted YES on that motion. If you do not want to vote yes on that motion you must rise and call for "A Division.” The Presiding Officers will use this method of passing motions to speed up the process, it is your duty to know what your YES vote just passed into law. 

Voice Vote:

If a member of the House/Senate stands and calls for A Division, the Presiding Officer will ask for all those in favor of the motion to say "YEA." 

Then he/she will ask for those opposed to say "NAY.” The Presiding Officer will then make a ruling as to which side prevailed. 

If a member of the Body feels the vote was too close to make a clear decision, they must rise and again call for "A Division.”

Standing Vote:

To make a clear decision on the motion the Presiding Officer will ask that all members in favor of the motion stand and remain standing until they are counted. 

Then they will ask for all opposed to rise and remain standing until counted. 

The clerk/secretary will do the count. The Chair will then announce the results of the count.

Types of votes that are not used at Maine Youth and Government

The Maine Legislature uses other voting methods that will not be used during the Youth and Government Weekend. 

• Roll Call: This would be the Secretary or Clerk reading names of each member of the House/Senate and have them vote by giving a “yea” or “nay” aloud. (This simply takes too long!)
• Voting Machine: On each desk is a voting button, we are not allowed access to this item in the State House.
  

2. Have the Bill Read

In Maine’s State Legislature, every Bill must be read two times in its entirety. During the Youth and Government Weekend, to save time, we only read a Bill once. 

When the vote on the Committee Report is completed, the Bill must be read. 

Reading of the Bill is ceremonial, and it is rarely completed, because members have a printed copy of the Bill in front of them. If they wish to move on, they must move to dispense further reading of the Bill by rising to be recognized.

The Presiding Officer will recognize the member and says “Senator/Rep Last Name moves that further reading of the Bill be dispensed with, is it the pleasure of the House/Senate.” They bang the gavel to affirm the vote.

This can be very confusing because both the Presiding Officer and the Clerk/Secretary are speaking at the same time! The Clerk/Secretary will continue to read the Bill until they hear the gavel bang.

3. House or Senate Amendments

Once the Body has accepted a Committee Report, the Presiding Officer will ask if there are any House/Senate Amendments. If a member wants to make an amendment to the Bill, they must go to the Clerk/Secretary and get an amendment form.

The steps for making an amendment are::

• Get recognized by the Presiding Officer
• Say, "Mr./Madam Speaker/President I would like to amend the bill"
• You will be asked to write your amendment on the amendment form
• Give your amendment to the Clerk/Secretary
• Have a majority vote for the passage of the amendment
• All debate rules and voting procedures are the same on the committee report

All amendments that are accepted will be added to the Bill Tracker, and if passed in the House, they must also be passed in the Senate, and vice versa. 

Step 4. Pass the Bill to be Engrossed

In the Maine Legislature, a passed bill would be printed in its final form (including any amendments) and be Engrossed by the House and Senate. During Youth and Government Weekend, we do not print final passed Bills but still call this stage of the Bill’s journey into law, Engrossed. This means it is ready to be heard by the Other Body. If both Chambers have Engrossed the Bill, it is ready to move to Enactment, or signed into law, or vetoed, by the Governor. 

Non-concurrence: What happens when the House and Senate don’t agree of a final  version of the Bill? 

A bill must be passed in both chambers in the exact same format including amendments. If a Bill isn’t exactly the same, or if the House and Senate disagree on Ought or Ought Not to Pass, the legislature has two choices: do nothing (Bill dies); or move Bill to Non-Concurrent Matters.

1. Let the Bill die. The Bill fails if no further steps are taken and it will not go to the Governor
2. Work to resolve differences through Non-concurrent Matters. The Bill would go back to the House and/or Senate and the members would have 3 options:
3. Adhere: The members or House or Senate stand by their original position and send bills to the Other Body and see if they will change their stance.
4. Recede and Concur: Members of the House or Senate say they agree with the Other Body and are willing to accept their version of the Bill. The bill would then go to the Youth Governor’s office
5. Refer to a Committee Conference: The Bill’s sponsor and 3 members of the House and 3 members of the Senate meet in the State House Rotunda to develop a compromise. The compromised version would be sent back to the House and Senate to agree (or not) on new version of the Bill.

Step 5. Enactment

The final step for Bills that have been Engrossed by both the House and Senate is to go to the Youth Governor's desk to sign into law, or veto.

The Youth Governor, in consultation with their Cabinet, will decide on the final outcome of the Bill.

Sign into Law: The Youth Governor signs the Bill and it becomes a law. The Bill’s sponsor will be invited to come and watch their Bill be Enacted.

Veto: The Youth Governor vetoes the bill, and it has failed. However, the House and Senate may Override the Governor’s Veto.

Override the Governor’s Veto: The House and Senate must move to Override the Governor’s Veto. The House and Senate may invite the Youth Governor speak about the Bill was vetoed. Please note, the Governor does not have to be invited to speak, nor do they have to accept the invitation. 

Overriding the Governor’s Veto requires a 2/3 majority in both House and Senate. If the vote count meets that requirement the Bill will become law over the objections of the Youth Governor.