Cabinet & Lobbyists Overview
1 Lobbyist per Commonwealth Bill
8th Graders (MS) and 10th-12th Graders (HS) with at least 1 year of KYA experience.
If you have a student who you believe would be a good fit for the program, but does not have experience, please email vontella@kyymca.org.
Program Area Coordinator
Vontella Thomas | vontella@kyymca.org
The Cabinet and Lobbyist Program allows experienced delegates to serve as Lobbyists who support and oppose Commonwealth Bills at KYA, or as Cabinet Secretaries who evaluate legislation impacting their respective Cabinets and meet with Lobbyists on bills that pass the Commonwealth House and Senate.
Delegations can register 1 Lobbyist per Commonwealth Bill they sponsor at KYA. Delegations can have a max of 5 Commonwealth bills, and therefore a max of 5 Lobbyists. Each lobbyist will support and oppose Commonwealth Bills on behalf of a client of their choice.
If you are at all interested in the Cabinet and Lobbyist program, please carefully read the entirety of this page. It has important information regarding due dates, pre-conference work, and other pertinent information.
Program Area Roles
A comprehensive Role Guide is available for each of the following delegate roles and officer positions on the KYA Resources page
Delegate Roles
- Lobbyists | 1 per Commonwealth Bill from your delegation
Supporting Officers
- Cabinet Secretaries (5 per KYA) | to apply, you must log in through our new (yet temporary) log in portal. If you haven't done this before you will need to fill out an info form before can apply for a Supporting Officer role. After you finish the info form, log back in and select, "STUDENT: Register for a program" Then "KYA Supporting Officer Application". For a step by step to the login portal, click here.
- Chiefs of Staff (2 per KYA) | Appointed by Governor & Lt. Governor
Presiding Officers
Delegations must intent and register for the conference of which their Presiding Officer is elected/appointed.
- Governor | Elected from Candidates
- Lt. Governor | Elected from Candidates
- Secretary of the Exec. Cabinet | Chosen by Cabinet & Lobbyists
- Secretary of State | Elected from Candidates
Program Description
The Cabinet and Lobbyist program focuses on two areas: Advocacy and Access.
Participants in this program advocate on behalf of their firm for or against bills, and gain access to the Secretary of the Executive Cabinet by advancing through meetings with the Cabinet Secretaries. Lobbyists are boots on the ground advocates hoping to build a coalition of delegates to support specific bills. Lobbyists are considered experts in their field, meaning they receive reserved time to provide expert testimony during committees. The overarching goal of this program is to help turn bills into law. Lobbyists do this by persuading legislators to rank bills highly and pass the bill(s) their firms represent, as well as gain support from the Cabinet and the Governor to ensure those bills are then signed into law.
So, what does that look like at KYA?
Each Cabinet Member will represent a specific Cabinet. The state of Kentucky has several Cabinet Secretaries. After reviewing the bills, the Secretary of Executive Cabinet will determine which 5 Cabinets will best serve the Governer.
The options are:
- Cabinet for Economic Development
- Cabinet for Health and Family Services
- Education and Workforce Development Cabinet
- Energy and Environment Cabinet
- Finance and Administration Cabinet
- Justice and Public Safety Cabinet
- Labor Cabinet
- Kentucky Tourism, Arts, and Heritage Cabinet
- Kentucky Transportation Cabinet
- Personnel Cabinet
- Public Protection Cabinet
Each Cabinet member will be assigned 10-15 bills (this figure fluctuates based on the number of bills and topics at any given conference) that fall under their jurisdiction. Cabinet members and lobbyists will work closely together throughout KYA to help promote or defeat bills.
Lobbyists will advocate on behalf of their chosen firm by providing supporting or opposing testimony during debate, building a coalition of supporters, and gaining access to the Governor by advancing through meetings with the Cabinet.
Students participating in this program can expect to:
- Complete and turn in required pre-conference work
- Network with students and build relationships with peers
- Challenge their everyday viewpoints
- Learn time management and communication skills
- Gain a better understanding of how our State Govt. functions
- Have a fast paced, but fun and rewarding three day experience
Lobbyist Pre-Conference work:
- Students must select a firm. The firms may be different each year at KYA. The Secretary of the Executive Cabinet will look at the top 10-12 industries that spent money lobbying the previous year to determine which firms we see at KYA.
- Once the welcome email goes out, students have 24 hours to sign up for a firm before one is randomly selected for them.
- Students will be assigned bills that their selected firm has a vested interest in.
- Each student must submit testimony and talking points through a google form for each bill assigned to them.
Should you have any questions about the work to be turned in after reading the pre-conference email, please review the Lobbyist Pre-Conference Prep Overview.
Cabinet member’s Pre-Conference work:
- Submit a supporting officer application by the specified due date listed here.
- If selected, you must register for and attend the supporting officer training listed in your acceptance email.
- Cabinet Members will communicate with the Lobbyist assigned to their cabinet leading up to KYA. This process will be explained by the Secretary of the Executive Cabinet prior to KYA.
- Cabinet members will submit their State of the Office.
- Cabinet Members must submit an Opinion of the Office through a google form for each bill assigned to them
Should you have any questions about the work to be turned in after attending Supporting Officer training, please review the Cabinet Secretary Pre-Conference Prep Overview.
Students that do not submit necessary pre-conference work will not be able to participate within the Cabinet and Lobbyist program and will become a delegate with an assigned committee upon arrival at KYA.
Assembly Agenda
The agenda below provides a brief overview of the program area at High School KYA conferences. For a full description of roles and responsibilities, please review the Role Guides and Program Area Resources on the KYA Resources page.
Please note that Middle School Lobbyists will follow a different agenda. For more information, please email Vontella Thomas at vontella@kyymca.org.
Day 1 | Program Area Meeting
All Cabinet & Lobbyist delegates and officers will participate in this mandatory meeting on Day 1 to receive program materials, review agenda/logistics, and answer any questions.
Day 1 | Legislative Coalitions
Lobbyists will recruit Senators/Representatives from the committees and chambers to which your bills are assigned who will join coalitions to support or oppose your bills.
Day 1 | Committee Testimony by Lobbyists
Lobbyists and Cabinet Secretaries present 1-min. testimony on bills they are supporting/opposing. Testimony can be presented either immediately before or after pro/con debate (see Debate Guide on KYA Resources page). This way, if you have bills presenting simultaneously, you can finish testimony on one and then head to the other.
Day 1 | Cabinet Meetings
While Lobbyists are providing their testimony in ranking committees, Cabinet Members are in meetings, and working with members of Media Corps to advocate for the biggest issues facing Kentuckians. As a Cabinet member, they have direct access to the Secretary of the Executive Cabinet and the Governor. They will meet with both, on the bills assigned to them.
Day 2 | Talking Points in House & Senate Debate
Lobbyists are allowed on the floor during House/Senate debate to distribute Talking Points, but only before/after debate, during caucus time, or between speakers. Lobbyists do NOT have speaking privileges during debate. When they are not passing out talking points, they should be in meetings with Cabinet Secretaries. Depending on their performance in this meeting, they may advance on to a meeting with the Governor.
Day 2 | Meetings with Cabinet & Sec. of Cabinet
Both Lobbyists assigned to a bill meet with their assigned Cabinet Secretary, who chooses one Lobbyist to advance and meet with the Secretary of the Executive Cabinet. This meeting is not a repeat of their committee testimony, it is a conversation. Lobbyists should be prepared to discuss with one another, and for the Cabinet Secretary or Secretary of the Executive Cabinet to ask them questions.
Day 2 | Lobbyists meet with Governor
After completing all Lobbyist meetings, the Secretary of the Executive Cabinet, in consultation with all Cabinet Secretaries, will select 2 Lobbyists to meet with the Governor before the Budget Committee meeting. This is a crucial meeting time, as they will be the last people to talk with the Governor before the meeting where it is decided which bills will be signed into law, and which will be vetoed.
Day 2 | Cabinet Secretaries present in Budget Committee
After completing all Cabinet Secretary meetings, the Secretary of the Executive Cabinet, in consultation with the Governor, will select 1 Cabinet Secretary to join the Governor in the Budget Committee meeting.
Day 3 | Veto Override Session
During their Veto Override presentation, Bill Sponsors get 1 min. to speak. They can choose to yield some or all of that time to their Lobbyist. Whether they choose to yield any of that time or not, Lobbyists should meet with the Bill Sponsors the night before, to make sure they feel good about what they are going to say.