In the News: Session Assistant Raises Awareness of Water Quality Issues on Skaneateles Lake

In session: Skaneateles native Mitchell Lucas writes mock legislation as state Senate intern

ALBANY | Mitchell Lucas is preparing to introduce a bill in the New York State Senate that he hopes will work toward keeping invasive species out of Skaneateles Lake and maintaining the pristine quality of the water.

No, the Skaneateles native is not a state senator himself. Instead, the Le Moyne College senior is spending his final semester of school interning in the Albany legislative office of Sen. Martin Golden, a Brooklyn Republican.

And, as part of that program, Lucas and his fellow interns spent Friday introducing and debating legislation that they wrote themselves based on issues they gained interest and knowledge in through their work.

"I really like my job here," Lucas said. "It's a really great experience. The people are very nice. I've learned a lot being here."

In the senator's office, Lucas said "the basic requirement" is for him to answer the phone, but he also helps the legal counsel write bills and research the issues.

He said Le Moyne runs a program through the Senate that allows students to work in a senator's office for four months. While each legislator's office is different, each intern participates in the mock legislative session and writes their own bills for that session.

"A lot of people write bills on things that they think should be actual legislation," Lucas said.

Among the topics for the session, he said, two bills concern police body cameras, one pertains to grand jury reform and another include several items that made into this year's state budget.

Read more at Skaneateles Journal