With the 2021 legislative session in full swing, hundreds of bills have been introduced into the General Assembly. Some have passed and some haven't -- and some are yet to be debated. A lot of these bills are written and promoted by big-money industries and lobbying groups who have the time and money to spare.

But this week on Bold Dominion, we dig into two examples of citizen activists who are making a difference in the legislature. In the first half of the episode, Brennan Gilmore of Clean Virginia explains how his organization fights corruption in Virginia's government, especially as it deals with energy policy and Dominion. In the second half, we chat with Ashton Willcox, Matthew Savage, and Adrian Klaits, a group of bipartisan teenage political leaders who successfully introduced a bill that would Virginia students one excused absence every year to participate in civic engagement.