NORTH CAROLINA GENERAL ASSEMBLY

1969 SESSION

CHAPTER 404

SENATE BILL 2

AN ACT TO ESTABLISH A SYSTEM OF YOUTH COUNCILS THAT WILL PROVIDE THE YOUTH OF NORTH CAROLINA AN OPPORTUNITY TO DEVELOP LEADERSHIP SKILLS AND BECOME RESPONSIBLE CITIZENS.

The General Assembly of North Carolina Do enact:

Section 1.  SHORT TITLE. This Act shall be known as the Youth Council Act of 1969.

Sec. 2.  DECLARATION OF PURPOSE. The purpose of this Act is to create youth councils at the state and local levels that will provide opportunities for youth to develop leadership skills and become responsible citizens.

Sec. 3.  DEFINITIONS. The terms or phrases used in this Act shall be defined as follows, unless the context or subject matter otherwise requires:

"(1)      'Youth Advisory Board' is the state-level, advisory body for the State Youth Council and local youth councils of North Carolina, composed of adult and youth members.

"(2)      'State Youth Council' is the state-level organization composed of youth members elected on a representative basis from local councils in the manner prescribed by the Youth Advisory Board.

"(3)      'Local Council' is a youth council that is organized to cooperate with one or more units of local governments or community agencies."

"(4)      Local youth councils shall be composed of students enrolled in public and non-public high schools, and all other youth between the ages of 16 through 18 years residing within a council district. This does not preclude involving younger age groups in projects and activities."

Sec. 4.  THE ADVISORY BOARD. (a) There shall be a Youth Advisory Board consisting of sixteen members. Eight members shall be adults and eight members shall be youth. The Governor shall appoint the eight adult members. Their terms shall be for four years, except that the Governor shall designate one-half of the initial appointees to serve two-year terms in order to provide for staggered terms. The initial eight youth members shall be elected by but not necessarily from the membership of the Youth Councils of North Carolina, Inc., with attention given to geographical distribution of members. No more than four of the initial eight members shall come from the Cities of Greensboro, High Point, Asheville, Raleigh, Fayetteville and Wilmington, which are the present affiliate cities of the Youth Councils of North Carolina, Inc. The Youth Advisory Board will then devise election procedures for election of future youth members of the Youth Advisory Board.

(b)        The Youth Advisory Board shall be the advisory body for the youth councils of North Carolina. It is authorized and empowered to do the following:

(1)        to encourage State and local councils to take an active part in governmental and civic affairs, promote and participate in leadership and citizenship pro- grams, and cooperate with other youth oriented groups;

(2)        to employ an executive secretary and his staff; and

(3)        to accept and use for the purposes of this Act any property, funds, service or facilities from any source, subject to limitations of expenditures and audit as prescribed by State law.

(4)        the Youth Advisory Board shall elect its own Chairman annually from the adult members and a Vice Chairman annually from the youth members. A majority of the Board members shall constitute a quorum.

(5)        the Board shall meet quarterly on dates to be fixed by the chairman. The Board may be convoked at such other times as the chairman may deem necessary.

Sec. 5.  THE STATE YOUTH COUNCIL. There shall be a State Youth Council. It shall be established within one year of the ratification date of this Act in accordance with the methods and procedures established by the Youth Advisory Board. The State Youth Council is authorized and empowered to do the following:

(1)        to consider problems affecting youth and recommend solutions or approaches to these problems to State and local governments and their officials;

(2)        to promote state-wide activities for the benefit of youth; and

(3)        to elect the youth representatives to the Youth Advisory Board as provided in Section 4 of this Act.

Sec. 6.  LOCAL YOUTH COUNCILS. The primary purpose of local youth councils is to promote participation by youth in programs affecting civic and governmental affairs.

Sec. 7.  THE EXECUTIVE SECRETARY. The executive secretary shall be appointed by the Youth Advisory Board subject to the approval of the Governor to serve at the pleasure of the Governor. He shall coordinate the activities of local youth councils and serve as advisor to the State Youth Council under the internal policies of the Youth Advisory Board. The personnel employed under the provisions of this Act shall not be subject to the provisions of the State Personnel Act.

Sec. 8.   There shall be no State funds appropriated or expended for use of the State Youth Council or the Youth Advisory Board or the Executive Secretary.

Sec. 9.   REPORTS. The executive secretary shall make an annual report on activities covering the twelve months' period prior to June 30th each year.

Sec. 10.   EFFECTIVE DATE. This Act shall be in full force or effect from and after its ratification.

In the General Assembly read three times and ratified, this the 5th day of May, 1969.