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Youth Legislature advances bills on ethics, ICE firearms, kratom, AI in schools and youth mental-health care
Summary
Delegates debated and approved multiple measures including a ban on certain trades by lawmakers, a proposal to bar ICE agents from carrying firearms on duty, scheduling kratom as a controlled substance, a ban on generative AI in classrooms, and measures to expand mental-health training and continuity of care for juveniles on probation.
The YMCA Youth Legislature convened and passed a slate of bills addressing government ethics, immigration enforcement practices, controlled substances, classroom technology, and juvenile mental-health care.
House Bill 0806, introduced by Lucas Havenin, aims to restrict elected officials from buying and selling individual stocks when those trades could be materially influenced by their official actions; proponents told delegates the bill allows blind trusts and relies on state ethics boards to enforce forfeiture of illicit profits. The chamber debated scope and enforcement before approving the measure by placard vote.
Delegates also debated a memorial-style measure, O9.21, that would prohibit ICE agents from carrying firearms on duty. Proponent Guadalupe Gomez Trejo argued the measure was needed because ICE agents receive less firearms training than local police and that removing routine carriage of firearms reduces risk to civilians; opponents urged targeted training and clarified high‑risk operations as potential exceptions. The memorial passed by majority vote.
On public-health policy, delegates approved a bill to classify kratom as a Schedule I controlled substance. Phoebe Gant, the bill’s proponent, cited increasing poison-center reports and a published clinical case of a suspected kratom overdose; questions during debate focused on overdose counts and available FDA‑approved addiction treatments.
The House approved a classroom‑technology bill banning generative AI on district or classroom learning devices beginning in the 2026–27 school year. Proponents said the ban protects student learning and reduces academic dishonesty; opponents and several lobbyists pressed for AI literacy and local discretion.
Two education and juvenile-justice measures also passed: a bill requiring mandatory behavioral intervention and de‑escalation training for school staff, and an amendment requiring continuity of community-based mental-health care for juveniles on probation.
Votes were taken by placard or by voice; in each recorded instance the chair declared an “obvious majority” and ordered applause. The House recessed for lunch and planned to reconvene in the afternoon.
Votes at a glance
- HB 0806 (ethics/trading restrictions): Passed (placard vote). - O9.21 (prohibit ICE firearms on duty — memorial/proposal): Passed (placard/voice vote). - HB 1001 (classification of kratom as Schedule I): Passed (placard vote). - HB 2.06 (increase mandatory minimum for first-degree sexual offense): Passed (placard vote). - HB 5.05 (ban generative AI on classroom learning devices): Passed (placard vote). - HB 0701 (mandatory behavioral intervention training): Passed (placard vote). - HB 0701 (continuity of mental-health care for juveniles on probation): Passed (voice vote). - HB 10.02 (memorial calling for federal data-privacy law): Passed (placard vote).
What’s next: most bills include an effective date in their text (for example some bills say they take effect 90 days after passage or at the start of the 2026–27 school year); further committee or executive processes were not recorded in the transcript.
