--- title: "SR 40. Georgia Center for Civic Engagement and ENGAGE: Youth in Government; recognize" collection: bills id: 2025-2026/sr40 cite_as: SR 40, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.) canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sr40 md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sr40.md text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sr40/text source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/69506 date: 2025-01-29 status: passed corpus_version: bills-2026-09-13 license: Public record of the Georgia General Assembly, via LegiScan; see about.md publisher: Georgia Commons, an independent project of Georgia Civic Data. Not the State of Georgia. Not legal advice. up: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026.md previous: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sr39.md next: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sr41.md index: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/index.md omitted: votes and history omitted_chars: 94 omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sr40.md?full=1 bill_number: SR 40 session: 2025-2026 Regular Session session_slug: 2025-2026 chamber: Senate bill_type: resolution status_date: 2025-01-29 last_action: Senate Read and Adopted sponsors: - Chuck Payne - Jason Anavitarte - Carden Summers - Lee Anderson - Ben Watson - Bill Cowsert - Billy Hickman - Mike Hodges - Drew Echols - Sam Watson - Brian Strickland - Timothy Bearden - Brandon Beach - Frank Ginn - Max Burns - Ricky Williams - Ed Setzler - Larry Walker - Kay Kirkpatrick - Marty Harbin text_version: Enrolled has_text: true legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/SR40/2025 upstream_id: 1943322 summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5 topic_tags: - civic education - youth programs - JROTC - Georgia Youth Assembly - legislative recognition --- # SR 40. Georgia Center for Civic Engagement and ENGAGE: Youth in Government; recognize ## Text Senate Resolution 40 By: Senators Payne of the 54th, Anavitarte of the 31st, Summers of the 13th, Anderson of the 24th, Watson of the 1st and others A RESOLUTION Recognizing and commending the Georgia Center for Civic Engagement and ENGAGE: Youth in Government, which sponsors the Georgia Youth Assembly among other programs that cultivate youth civic engagement; and for other purposes. WHEREAS, ENGAGE: Youth in Government is a Career Technical Student Organization that supports high school students in the government and public administration cluster and JROTC in Georgia; and WHEREAS, ENGAGE: Youth in Government has a purpose to equip future civic leaders with the skills, knowledge, and experiences needed to excel in government and serve the public good; and WHEREAS, there are more than 275 JROTC units in Georgia serving thousands of students; and WHEREAS, the Georgia Youth Assembly, which was established in 1946, is a model state legislature for high school students in which students serve as legislators, justices, attorney, members of the media, and lobbyists; and WHEREAS, participants in the Youth Assembly may run for the offices of Youth Governor, Lt. Governor, and Speaker of the House; and WHEREAS, this year, the Youth Assembly celebrates its 81st anniversary and over 105 years of excellence and tradition in serving Georgia's students; and WHEREAS, the 81st Youth Assembly is made up of many bright and eager young leaders, including Youth Governor Laura Caswell, of Cartersville; Lieutenant Governor Savannah Viktora, of Adairsville High School; Speaker of the House Austin Gay, of North Oconee County High School; Speaker Pro Tem Maria Baxter, of Oconee County High School; and others; and WHEREAS, the Youth Assembly allows students to experience firsthand the excitement and importance behind the legislative process and better understand the complexity of the lawmaking process in this state. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE that the members of this body commend the Georgia Center for Civic Engagement and ENGAGE: Youth in Government for its work in promoting civic engagement and for sponsoring the Georgia Youth Assembly for 81 years of teaching Georgia's future leaders the legislative and state government process. BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Secretary of the Senate is authorized and directed to make an appropriate copy of this resolution available for distribution to the Georgia Center for Civic Engagement. ## Summaries written by Georgia Commons The following was written by claude-sonnet-5 from the text above and is not part of the resolution. Quote the text, not the summary. A Senate resolution honors the Georgia Center for Civic Engagement and ENGAGE: Youth in Government for sponsoring the Georgia Youth Assembly, a decades-old student mock legislature program. ### Plain-language summary This resolution does not change any Georgia law. Instead, it is a formal statement from the Georgia Senate recognizing the Georgia Center for Civic Engagement and its ENGAGE: Youth in Government program, which supports high school students interested in government and public administration as well as JROTC units across the state. The resolution highlights the Georgia Youth Assembly, a model state legislature for high school students founded in 1946, now marking its 81st year. Students in the program take on roles such as legislators, judges, attorneys, media members, and lobbyists, and can run for offices like Youth Governor. The resolution commends the organization's work and directs the Secretary of the Senate to send a copy of the resolution to the Georgia Center for Civic Engagement. ### What it does - Formally commends the Georgia Center for Civic Engagement and ENGAGE: Youth in Government for their civic education work in Georgia. - Recognizes the Georgia Youth Assembly's 81st anniversary as a model state legislature for high school students. - Directs the Secretary of the Senate to prepare and distribute a copy of the resolution to the Georgia Center for Civic Engagement. - Does not create, amend, or repeal any Georgia statute or allocate any state funding. ### Who it affects The resolution directly names the Georgia Center for Civic Engagement, the ENGAGE: Youth in Government student organization, JROTC units in Georgia, and the high school students who participate in the Georgia Youth Assembly, including several named student officers. ### Why it matters While the resolution carries no legal or financial effect, it publicly acknowledges a long-running program that introduces Georgia high school students to legislative and government processes, potentially raising the program's visibility and recognition among students and educators statewide. ### Key provisions - The resolution states ENGAGE: Youth in Government is a Career Technical Student Organization supporting students in the government and public administration field and JROTC units in Georgia. - It notes the Georgia Youth Assembly was established in 1946 and is celebrating its 81st anniversary as a model state legislature for high school students. - It names specific 2025 student officers, including the Youth Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Speaker of the House, and Speaker Pro Tem. - The final resolved clause directs the Secretary of the Senate to make a copy available for distribution to the Georgia Center for Civic Engagement. ## Status - Status: Passed (2025-01-29) - Last action: Senate Read and Adopted (2025-01-29) - Sponsors: Chuck Payne, Jason Anavitarte, Carden Summers, Lee Anderson, Ben Watson, Bill Cowsert, Billy Hickman, Mike Hodges, Drew Echols, Sam Watson, Brian Strickland, Timothy Bearden, Brandon Beach, Frank Ginn, Max Burns, Ricky Williams, Ed Setzler, Larry Walker, Kay Kirkpatrick, Marty Harbin - Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/69506 > The history, votes, and amendments (94 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sr40.md?full=1