3.2. Rules of the Assembly

*The Rules of the Assembly (Convention Standing Rules) were amended by insertion on the floor prior to adoption. The amendment is indicated by underlining.

Rules of the Assembly

The following were adopted as the convention standing rules for the 38th Annual Synod Assembly of the WV-WMD Synod.

1. Each voting member, or those persons accorded the privilege of seat and voice, when recognized by the chair, shall state his/her name and his/her congregation/institution/office. Persons speaking from the floor shall use the floor microphones (if they are provided) and shall address and speak to the chair.
2. In debate, a speaker shall be limited to five (5) minutes for each question the first time he or she speaks to it. A speaker may speak to the same question a second time on the same day with a time limit of three (3) minutes provided no one who has not yet spoken wishes to do so. (Cf. RONR [12th ed.] 43:12 and 43:8)
3. When three speakers have spoken in a row on one side of a question and no speaker rises on the other side, debate shall be closed.
4. The chair may, at the chair’s discretion, employ and manage a speaker’s list.
5. When balloting for elections:
   a) Registration shall be temporarily closed ten minutes before the appointed time for the election and reopened when the balloting is completed;
   b) The assembly chamber shall be sealed during balloting unless a ballot box has been ordered with a window for balloting.
6. All amendments to the governing documents of the synod (i.e., constitution, bylaws, and continuing resolutions) shall take effect at the end of this session unless specified otherwise.
7. For all committees appointed under B7.03, the bishop of the synod may declare the seat vacant for reason of resignation, absenteeism, or refusal to serve and make vacancy appoints at his/her discretion.
8. During new business, an original main motion shall be considered germane if offered in connection to any report published in the Bulletin of Reports that has not already come before the assembly as a matter of business in the course of the session.
9. An oral report, unless given time in the agenda, shall be received only by permission of the Synod Assembly.
10. Oral reports shall be no longer than 10 minutes; the reading of a report submitted in writing shall result in immediate forfeiture of the time remaining.
11. The Elections Committee, Reference & Counsel Committee, and the Committee on Resolutions may seek to report, in addition to their assigned time on the agenda, at any time there is no pending question.

For the information of the Synod Assembly

The following rules for the Synod Assembly have been established in the Constitution, Bylaws, and Continuing Resolutions of this synod. They do not need to be adopted. Note well the following:

• The assembly cannot suspend a constitutional provision. It may amend or rescind constitutional provisions through the processes outlined in †S18.12 and †S18.13.
• Bylaws provisions cannot normally be suspended, but they can be rescinded or amended, following the procedure outlined in †S18.21. A bylaw, however, in the nature of rule of order may be suspended per RONR (12th ed.) 2:21.
• Continuing Resolutions may be rescinded or amended, following the procedure outlined in †S18.31. A continuing resolution may also be suspended, following the provision for suspension of rules found in RONR (12th ed.) 25:14 or 25:15, depending upon its nature.
  

1. Robert’s Rules of Order, latest edition, shall govern parliamentary procedure of the Synod Assembly, unless otherwise ordered by the assembly. (S7.32)
2. There shall be a division between the voting members and the others on the assembly floor, which shall be indicated by a marker(s). Voting members and those persons accorded privilege of seat and voice shall seat themselves in the section in front of the marker(s). All others shall be seated behind the marker(s). (B7.06)
3. A majority of those members registered as attending shall constitute a quorum. (S7.14)
4. When a voting member is unable to serve, the alternate voting member shall be seated when the Committee on Registration and Attendance has been provided with the necessary information and the alternate has been given a voting member’s card. (B7.07)
5. Duly elected voting members of the Synod Council who are not otherwise voting members of the Synod Assembly under †S7.21 shall be granted the privilege of both voice and vote as members of the assembly. (S7.28)
6. All retired clergy on the roster of the synod in attendance at the Synod Assembly shall be voting members provided that the voting membership of the Assembly is still 60% laypersons. (B7.08)
7. An ordained minister on leave from call on the roster of this synod shall be granted voting membership in the Synod Assembly upon consent of the Synod Council; such consent shall be applicable to the Synod Assembly in question; such consent may be renewed. (CR2.01)
8. Prior to each Synod Assembly, the Synod Council shall consider and, at its discretion, seat with voice and vote in the immediate Synod Assembly those Ministers of Word & Sacrament (or the equivalent) who are serving synod congregations and who also belong to church bodies with which the ELCA has full-communion. (CR2.02)
9. Prior to each Synod Assembly, the Synod Council shall consider and, at its discretion, seat with voice but without vote in the immediate Synod Assembly those Ministers of Word & Sacrament (or the equivalent) who are serving a synod congregation but have not been otherwise enfranchised. (CR2.03)
10. Chairs of committees, commissions, and task forces who are not otherwise voting members of the assembly shall be seated with voice but without vote. (CR2.04)
11. Proxy and absentee voting shall not be permitted in the transaction of any business of the Synod Assembly. (S7.31)
12. When a nomination is made from the floor, the nominator may provide copies of the completed nomination form (as defined by the nominating committee) to the secretary of the synod for distribution. (B9.07)
13. The Committee on Elections shall have power to appoint and dismiss tellers for those elections under its oversight. (CR7.01)
14. All motions, resolutions, amendments and nominations shall be submitted in writing and on proper forms available from the secretary of synod or the assembly pages. This provision may be waived by the secretary. (B7.10)
15. A resolution of a general character which is not germane to the pending question or report shall be given by the sponsor a Committee on Reference and Counsel, which shall report thereon to the assembly with its recommendations. Other duties of the committee shall be: a) to recommend special orders for the hearing of representatives, b) to grant or deny permission to distribute printed matter not issuing from the office of the secretary, and c) to give such assistance to the bishop as may be desired in the course of the assembly. (B7.16)
16. Every congregation shall have the right to memorialize the assembly of this synod. (B7.05)
17. Memorials and Resolutions not germane to assembly business shall be submitted to the Committee on Reference and Counsel twenty (20) days prior to the assembly. (CR7.02)
18. Resolutions submitted to Reference & Counsel shall be sponsored by at least two voting members of the Synod Assembly, a voting member being limited to sponsoring a maximum of five resolutions. For the purposes of this rule, when submission is in anticipation of the annual meeting of the Synod Assembly, verified registration as a voting member shall delineate standing. (CR7.03)
19. For both resolutions and memorials reviewed by Reference & Counsel under B7.16 or CR7.02,
    a) When Reference & Counsel has recommended the adoption of the resolution/memorial, the committee’s recommendation and text of the resolution/memorial shall be the main motion before the assembly;
    b) When Reference & Counsel has recommended the adoption of a substitute for the resolution/memorial, the committee’s recommendation, including the committee’s text, shall be the main motion before the assembly;
    c) When Reference & Counsel has recommended referral of the resolution/memorial, the committee’s recommendation shall be the main motion before the assembly.
    d) When Reference & Counsel has recommended that the assembly decline to consider a proposed resolution, the voting member’s resolution, if then moved by that voting member and seconded, shall be the main motion and the committee’s recommendation shall be received as information.
    e) When Reference & Counsel has recommended that the assembly decline to consider a proposed memorial, the memorial, if then moved by a voting member who is also a voting member of the memorializing body and seconded, shall be the main motion and the committee’s recommendation shall be received as information. (CR7.04)
20. The Committee on Resolutions, except in cases where a report has been assigned to another committee or the committee is ordered otherwise by the assembly or the Synod Council, shall review all published reports and oral reports submitted to this Assembly. The committee may offer at its discretion such resolutions in response as seem appropriate. (CR7.05)
21. All reports published in the bulletin of reports shall be received by the assembly by virtue of that fact without vote. (B7.17)
22. Any proposal to appropriate funds, whether by amendment to the budget or otherwise, which is presented to a meeting of the Synod Assembly without the approval of the Synod Council, shall require a two-thirds vote for adoption. (S10.04)
23. The bishop of the synod shall appoint the following convention committees:
    ▪ Committee on Elections
    ▪ Committee on Minutes
    ▪ Committee on Reference and Counsel
    ▪ Committee on Registration and Attendance
    ▪ Committee on Resolutions (B7.03)