State Affairs Forum

State Affairs Forum is designed to broaden participants’ knowledge of pre-selected current events topics. State Affairs Forum uses the structure of committee hearings with parliamentary procedure where students propose solutions to important current issues.  It encourages debate on these solutions and thereby fosters an in-depth understanding of the topics at hand. Delegates are encouraged to be vocal, listen intently, and participate as much as possible.

Our goal for our State Affairs Forum participants is for them to understand well-formulated solutions (not legislation) for major problems facing Texas and the national/international community, furthering their holistic understanding of news events and empowering them to speak intelligently about feasible ways to address such problems.

State Affairs Forum Resources

State Affairs Forum 2023-2024 Updates and Memo

State Affairs Proposal Debate Timeline

State Affairs Forum Section Manual

Writing your Proposal

Select a topics, proposal that are successful are topics that the author(s) is passionate about. Proposal topics that deal with one specific issue are the best to address and debate. When considering a topics they must cover state issues and not federal issues. Once you select a topic it should be check and approved by a club’s student leaders and the adult advisor. A template for your proposal is available below. This proposal template will already include the parts of the proposal that are required. Remember your proposal should not be longer than one page. A breakdown of what is need in each page is also below.

Education

  1. Teacher Shortages
  2. Standardized Testing 
  3. School Safety
  4. Student Disability Access

Civil Liberties

  1. LGBTQ Rights  
  2. Prisoner Rights 
  3. Free Speech and Expression

Health

  1. Access to Contraceptives 
  2. Menstrual Rights 
  3. Mental Healthcare Access 
  4. Food Deserts 

Environment

  1. Energy Production
  2. Resource Depletion 
  3. Climate Change
  4. Biodiversity Loss

Economy

  1. Paid Leave
  2. Minimum Wage 
  3. Redlining of Texas Districts and Neighborhoods 
  4. Regulating Social Media Companies

Technology

  1. Cyber Security 
  2. Connecting Rural Areas
  3. Deepfake Regulation 
  4. AI Implementation 

Texas

  1. Border Crisis
  2. Immigrant Rights
  3. Top 10% Rule 
  4. Discrimination in the Workplace

National Issues

  1. War on Drugs
  2. Arms Control 
  3. Foreign Trade Policies 
  4. Human Trafficking 
  5. Humanitarian/Refugee Crisis

Download and Print a copy of this years State Affairs Forum Topic List.

Proposal Number:
This will be assigned by conference staff.

Author:
Participant Name, School/Delegation Name

Title:
Briefly state the basic action of the proposal.

Major Areas to be Affected:
List the key entities that would be impacted by this proposal.

Justification:
In paragraph form, tell why there is a need for your proposal. Include any supportive information, include statistics, quotes, et., you feel necessary. Don’t include all of your facts.

Proposal for action:
State your proposal. You may use outline form or paragraph form. This is the main part of your proposal and should be substantial enough to explain fully what you intend to do. You are not writing legislation, rather, a broad proposal.

Results to be Expected:
Simply state the result you expect to see after your proposal is put into action.

Open the template below that best works for you.

Word Document  Template

Google Doc Template

Need an example of proposal click here to read the proposal that was awarded Outstanding Proposal at the 2023 YMCA Texas Youth and Government State Conference. Click here for more examples. These proposals that passed in General Assembly at the 2023 YMCA Texas Youth and Government State Conference. When writing your proposal please reminder that your proposal is require to be no longer than a page long.

Chairperson and Clerks

Another opportunity for State Affairs Forum leadership is the committee team composed of a Chairperson and Clerk. These teams will be evaluated at the District Conferences. The highest ranked teams will be assigned to serve at the State Conference. Each delegation is require to send 1 chair clerk team for every 15 delegates coming to the state conference. If delegations are smaller than 15, the club are required to provide a chairperson or clerk .

Each member of the Chair/Clerk team must still prepare a proposal to be presented at the District Conference and at State Conference.

State Affairs Forum forms to familiarize yourself with

Hearing Committee Forms

Evaluation Forms