SL
Speaker, Assembly Excelsior
New York Legislative Branch
Debate in the Capitol.
Five chambers and twenty committees. Write a bill, defend it in committee, and argue it on the floor of the New York State Capitol.
Led by students
2026-27 Presiding Officers
Elected by the delegates in their chamber. Presiding Officers run debate, support Committee Chairs and help build the bill assignments.
OP
Deputy Speaker, Assembly Excelsior
Olivia Pesso
OV
Speaker, Assembly Freedom
Owen Vaughan
CF
Deputy Speaker, Assembly Freedom
Casey Farrell
GV
Speaker, Assembly Liberty
Gabriel Villacis
MN
Deputy Speaker, Assembly Liberty
Mario Novello
MS
President Pro Tempore, Senate Freedom
Madison Spanarelli
KH
Deputy President Pro Tempore, Senate Freedom
Karim Hammami
MS
President Pro Tempore, Senate Liberty
Maira Siddiqi
TP
Deputy President Pro Tempore, Senate Liberty
Teddy Phelps
High School
How a bill moves
- Write your bill with your delegation and submit it by Feb 15, 2027.
- Committee. Each chamber has four committees. Committees hear and rank every bill on purpose, preparation, importance, feasibility and debatability.
- Joint Assembly. The top four bills from each committee move on to consideration for Joint Assembly. The rest move on to Chamber Session.
- Chamber Session at the Capitol. Bills pass with a simple majority and go to the Youth Governor.
- Veto overrides. A vetoed bill can be overridden with a two-thirds vote.
The chambers
Five chambers
- Assembly Excelsior
- Assembly Freedom
- Assembly Liberty
- Senate Freedom
- Senate Liberty
Middle School. The Middle School Conference has its own chambers and committees and runs Nov 22 to 24, 2026, with a day at the Capitol. Debate rules
Rules of debate
On the floor
- The author opens with up to 4 minutes and closes the debate.
- Debate alternates against and for, starting and ending with a speaker against.
- No props, no clapping after a bill fails, and no naming other delegates.
- A topic from a past year can be written on again, with your own research and writing. Bills are judged on quality, not agreement.
- AI is a tool for research. It can't write your bill, brief or speech, and you must understand and defend your positions.
Leadership
Committee Chairs and Presiding Officers
- Committee Chairs lead committee hearings. Applications open after the new year.
- Presiding Officers are elected by their chamber at the conference. Only one student per delegation may run in each chamber.
- Presiding Officers attend Judicial Steering (Dec 12 to 13, 2026) and Legislative Steering (Feb 27 to 28, 2027) in Nanuet.
2027 High School calendar
Key dates
Scroll sideways to see the whole table.
| Due | What |
|---|---|
| Jan 11 | Anticipated Numbers |
| Feb 8 | Registration |
| Feb 15 | Bills, rooming, Presiding Officer nominations |
| Feb 27 to 28 | Legislative Steering, Nanuet |
| Apr 2 to 4 | High School Conference, Albany |
Examples
See past work
Real work from recent years. Use it as a model.
PDF2026 High School Bill BookEvery bill from the 2026 conference, plus the High School debate rules on pages 13 to 18. (opens in a new tab)PDF2025 Middle School Bill BookEvery bill from the 2025 Middle School Conference. (opens in a new tab)PDF2024 Middle School Bill BookBills from the 2024 Middle School Conference. (opens in a new tab)SlidesBill Writing InformationSlides on finding the original law, research and the parts of a bill, with a sample bill.PDFSample Bill BookA shorter sample to share with new delegates. (opens in a new tab)PDFParliamentary Procedure GuideMiddle School debate rules: speaking order, motions and voting. (opens in a new tab)