Stella Thornton, surrounded by other youth legislators, gathered around Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo’s desk on Thursday as he signed SB80, a bill Thornton said has been her life for the past two years. 

The bill — which was officially signed on June 6, but had its ceremonial bill signing nine days later — updates existing law to incorporate procedures for students returning to school after a traumatic brain injury. It’s the product of her own lived experience resuming classes after suffering two concussions. 

Thornton represents Senate District 16 in Carson City as a member of the Nevada Youth Legislature (NYL), a program created in 2007 with the passage of SB247 to immerse young people in the legislative process and give them a voice in Carson City. The 21 youth legislators are appointed by their district’s state senator to represent the youth of their area, with the number of minors in each district ranging from 27,000 to 42,000 people. 

Youth legislators engage their constituents through town hall meetings and other outreach opportunities during their two-year terms, receiving training throughout that time to become educated on the lawmaking process. 

Each youth legislator gets to propose one idea to bring to the Legislature. Over the course of three meetings, the teens narrow down the 21 bill proposals to decide what the final bill will be brought to the session. The group’s final decision is made at a mock committee hearing when the final two proposals are heard, and Thornton’s bill won out in the end.

The consensus among the youth legislators: lawmaking is difficult, but worth it.

“The process was long, it was hard, and it was the most rewarding thing I've done in my life,” Thornton said.

Her fellow youth legislators agreed that a large amount of hard work went into ensuring the bill passed, but that’s what the Nevada Youth Legislature is built to do.

“[The bill] had an uphill battle in the Legislature. There was a lot of amending going on,” said  Dillon Moss, 18, who represents Senate District 14 in Sparks. “Stella and the program took it in stride, and we worked with legislators day in, day out to make sure that we had a passable version.”

Thornton met with legislators to create an amendment that specified the Nevada Interscholastic Activities Association (NIAA) will be adopting policies relating to Return to Play, which pertains to student athletes, in consultation with the school district superintendents and their Chief Medical Officer. Policies on Return to Learn, which deals with getting students back in the classroom, will be adopted by the superintendent in consultation with the NIAA and chief medical officer.

When the Legislature is in session, the NYL gets the opportunity to present a bill to lawmakers. During this time, the duties of these high schoolers are almost indistinguishable from the lobbyists and legislators who roam the halls of the Assembly and Senate. They meet with legislators and present their bill to committees with the hopes of turning it into law.

“Without NYL I don't think this process would have gone smoothly and it was so incredible seeing all of the work [Stella] put in,” said Madeline Krieger, who represents Senate District 13 in Sparks.

“The NYL is kind of built to do exactly what she did. And so it's cool to watch her take advantage of that,” added Joseph Seddon, who represents Senate District 17 that spreads from Carson City to Tonopah.

Since NYL’s creation, students in the program have introduced a total of six bills, dealing with issues ranging from defensive driving courses for minors to internships. SB80 is the fifth bill presented by the NYL to become law.

“I’m grateful for the work of the Nevada Youth Legislators who helped get this legislation to my desk,” Lombardo said in a statement to The Nevada Independent. “SB80 implements policies that are critical for the prevention and treatment of head injuries in youth sports, and I’m confident the implementation of this bill will help keep our youth safer.”

As Thornton’s bill is handed over to the state to implement and she finishes her time as a youth legislator, she says she hopes to be able to decompress this summer but still be involved in the next steps of bringing the new law into a reality.

“It's really hard because this has been the past two years of my life. It doesn't feel real that it's been signed. It doesn't feel real that it's out of my hands. But it is and I'm so grateful for that,” Thornton said.