Convention Rules of Order

RULES OF ORDER GOVERNING THE CONDUCT OF BUSINESS AT MEETINGS OF
THE CONVENTION OF THE DIOCESE OF WEST MISSOURI
AS AMENDED BY THE 128th
DIOCESAN CONVENTION

Attendance to Business of Convention

  1. When the President takes the chair no member shall continue standing, or shall afterwards stand up, unless to address the chair.
  2. No member shall be absent from the session of the House unless he or she has leave or shall be unable to attend.
  3. Except for the first business day of the Convention, when the President shall have taken the chair, the minutes of the preceding day shall be read.
  4. The Secretary may employ pages to act as messengers during the sessions of the Convention.
  5. The President shall appoint such committees as are, in his or her opinion, necessary, and the committee members shall be notified as early as possible before Convention opens.
  6. All committees shall be appointed by the President, unless otherwise ordered. The reports of all committees shall be in writing (including electronic submission in a manner approved by the President and Secretary), and shall be received without motion for acceptance, unless recommended by vote of the House. All reports recommending or requiring any action by the House shall be accompanied by a resolution for action or for an expression of opinion by the House.
  7. The names of movers of resolutions shall appear upon the minutes of the convention.

Business before the Convention

  1. No resolution shall be considered as before the House unless it has been submitted in writing (including electronic submission in a manner approved by the Bishop and the Secretary) and been received by the Bishop and Secretary four weeks before the opening of Convention to allow distribution to all delegates and introduction by title at Convention.
  2. Any resolution which has not been presented to the Bishop and to the Secretary four weeks prior to the convention date will not be considered as before the House unless copies of such resolution are made available to every delegate and, at Convention, two-thirds of said delegates agree to consider such resolution.

Debate

  1. When any member is about to speak, or deliver any matter to the House, the member shall state his or her name and the congregation he or she attends, and then, with due respect, address the President, confining his or her remarks strictly to the point in the debate.
  2. A member, other than the chair of a committee whose report is under consideration, shall not speak more than twice in the same debate, nor longer than ten minutes at a time, without leave of the House.
  3. When a question is under consideration, a motion shall not be received, except to lay it on the table, to postpone it until a certain time, to postpone it indefinitely, to commit it, to divide it, or to amend it; motions for any of these purposes shall have precedence in the order herein named.
  4. If a motion to lay an amendment on the table be carried, the matter before the House shall be proceeded with as if no such amendment had been offered.
  5. Motions to lay on the table and to adjourn shall be decided without debate. The motion to adjourn shall always be in order.
  6. Debate shall not be allowed upon a resolution to refer any motion to a committee, or a motion to recommit any subject which has been before a committee, but the member who offers such resolution or motion may speak for five minutes for the purpose of explaining its object.
  7. All amendments shall be considered in the reverse order in which they are moved. When a proposed amendment is under consideration a motion to amend the same day may be made. An after amendment to such second amendment shall not be in order, but when an amendment to an amendment is under consideration, a substitute for the whole may be received. A proposition, different from the one under consideration, shall not be received under color of an amendment or substitute.
  8. All questions of order shall be decided in the first instance by the President, without debate; an appeal, however, may be made from his or her decision to the Convention by any member of the same.

Voting methods:

  1. Elections to diocesan offices shall be by ballot.
  2. All other voting shall be by visual show of Voting Cards: a green card indicating an affirmative vote, a red card indicating a negative vote. When the President calls for the vote, voters will raise one colored card to indicate their respective votes.
  3. All motions pertaining to voting shall remain available.
  4. Every member who may be in the House when any question is put, shall, on a division, be counted, unless he or she is excused by the convention.
  5. After the first ballot has been announced, the nominee (clergy and/or lay) with the least number of votes shall be dropped from the list of nominees. This process shall continue after each balloting until there is one more nominee than the number of persons to be elected. This shall not apply to votes by orders.

Procedures following Decisions of Convention

  1. When a question has once been determined, it shall stand as the judgment of the Convention, and shall not again be drawn into debate, except on motion for reconsideration, which must be made by a member who had previously voted in the majority.

Rules of Order in Force

  1. In all matters of parliamentary procedure, Robert’s Rules of Order shall be the standard book of reference, excepting that these Rules of Order for the Convention shall supersede in cases of disagreement.
  2. The Rules of Order shall not be suspended except by a two-thirds vote of the members present.

ORDER OF BUSINESS

  1. Report of the Credentials Committee as to seating of delegations.
  2. Announcement by Secretary as to whether a quorum is present.
  3. Appointment of Parliamentarian.
  4. Adoption of Rules of Order.
  5. Elections of Secretary of the Diocese, Treasurer of the Diocese, Assistant Treasurer of the Diocese (if any), and Chancellor of the Diocese.
  6. Announcements.
  7. Report of Committee on Dispatch of Business.
  8. Introduction of all resolutions for reference.
  9. Nominations and first ballot for Diocesan Council, Standing Committee, and General Convention deputies. Additional ballots will be taken and related motions will be considered at times determined by the chair.
  10. Consideration of the budget and any resolutions related to financial matters.
  11. Reports of all officers and committees.
  12. Report of all resolutions previously referred.
  13. Elections and other appointments and nominations.
  14. Fixing time and place of next Convention.

REGARDING RESOLUTIONS

Please see the Rules of Order section entitled “Business before the Convention” for information regarding proposing resolutions to the Convention, including deadlines for consideration without the leave of the Convention.

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