THE RULES OF ORDER

1. When the President takes the chair, no member shall continue standing, or shall afterwards stand up, except to address the Chair.

2. When the President shall have taken the chair, the Roll of Members shall be called, and the minutes of the preceding day read; but the same may be dispensed with, by majority vote of the Convention to be decided without debate.

3 a. All resolutions shall be reduced to writing at the request of the President, presented to the Secretary; and no motion shall be considered to be before the Convention unless seconded.

b. A Committee on Dispatch of Business shall be appointed to which any report or resolution may be referred for consideration and action.

4. If the question under debate contains several distinct propositions, the same shall be divided, at the request of any member, and a vote taken separately except that a motion to strike out and insert shall be indivisible.

5. When a question is under consideration, no motion shall be received unless to lay it upon the table, to take a vote thereon at a time certain, to postpone to a time certain, to postpone it indefinitely, or commit it or amend it; and motion for any of these purposes shall have precedence in the order herein named. Any motion to lay a resolution upon the table shall require a two-thirds majority vote. If a motion to lay on the table an amendment be carried, the matter before the Convention shall be proceeded with as if no amendment had been offered. The motion to lay upon the table, to take vote at a time certain and to adjourn shall be decided without debate. The motion to adjourn shall always be in order.

6. There shall be no debate upon a motion to refer to any Standing Committee a resolution then first offered to the Convention and properly referable to such Committee; but the member offering such resolution may speak five (5) minutes in explanation of its purpose. Any motion to refer a resolution to a committee not directly answerable to the Convention, shall require a two-thirds majority vote. Also there shall be no debate on a motion to recommit to a Committee, but without instructions, any report of such Committee than before the Convention. Every resolution offered for the immediate action of the Convention shall be considered at once, unless reference be requested. If reference be requested by any member, such resolution shall be referred to the appropriate Standing Committee or if in the opinion of the President, there be no such Standing Committee, then a Special Committee of such members as the President shall designate.

7. When a motion or proposition is under consideration, a motion to amend and a motion to amend the amendment, shall be in order, and it shall also be in order to offer a further amendment by way of substitute to which the amendment may be offered, but which shall not be voted on until the original matter is perfected; but either may be withdrawn by the mover with the consent of the second before amendment or decision is had thereon. No proposition not germane to the subject under consideration shall be received under color of an amendment or substitute.

8. In all questions decided numerically, the motion to reconsider must be made by a member and seconded by another, who voted in the majority; or, in case of equal division by those who voted in the negative; and, in case of vote by Orders, where there is a concurrence of both Orders, a motion to reconsider shall be made by the concurrence of three (3) members of either Order, or both Orders, voting in the majority; and in case of non-concurrence of Orders, the motion to reconsider shall come from two (2) members of that Order which gave the majority in the negative, and in either case, a motion to reconsider shall be seconded by two (2) members of either or both Orders without regard to their previous vote. And all motions to reconsider shall be made and seconded on the day the vote is taken.

9. Nominations for the Standing Committee of the Diocese, for Deputies to the General Convention, for Deputies to the Synod of the Sixth Province, for Treasurer of the Diocese, for Directors of the Episcopal Corporation, for members of the Diocesan Council, for members of such other Boards and Commissions as the Bishop may specify, shall be made on the first day of the session of the Convention and before the recess. Such nominations may be made from the floor of the Convention, or handed in writing to the Secretary. In case of there being no more nominations to fill offices than necessary to fill such office, a ballot cast, after proper motion, by the Secretary of the Convention shall be considered a ballot required by the Canon.

10. The Secretary of the Convention shall instruct the Convention in preparation of ballots for the various elections, which ballots shall contain the names of all persons nominated in each election and each elector shall vote for the nominees they choose in accordance with the procedures under the Hare Transferable Vote System.

There shall be an elections committee appointed by the President, consisting of not less than two (2) and not more than five (5) Clerics and the same number of Lay members, members of the Convention, who shall appoint the necessary clerical and lay members of said committee to receive the ballots of the Clerical Order, the remaining Clergy and Lay members to receive the ballots of the Lay Order. The Secretary of the Convention shall deliver to this Committee two (2) lists, one containing the names of those entitled to vote in the Clerical Order, the other containing the names of those entitled to vote in the Lay Order. No ballots shall be received in either Order unless the names of those nominated appear upon the proper list. All elections in the Convention shall be by ballot as above provided unless the Rule be suspended in accordance with Rule 19.

When the elections committee is ready to report, its report shall be presented to the Chair. When there is a vote by Orders the votes of the Clerical Order shall be presented first then the votes of the Lay Order.

11. The reports of all Committees shall be in writing, and shall be received in course, and without motion for acceptance, unless recommitted by a vote of the Convention. All reports recommending or requiring an action or expression of opinion by the Convention shall be accomplished by resolution of the action of the Convention thereon.

12. All questions of order shall be decided by the Chair, without debate; but any member may appeal from such decision, and on such appeal no member shall speak more than once, without express leave of the Convention.

13. The names of the movers to resolutions shall appear upon the minutes of the Convention.

14. Every member who shall be in the Convention when any question is put, shall, on a division, be counted, unless an apparent conflict of interest be present in the question under consideration.

15. While the Chair is putting any question, the members shall continue in their seats, and shall not hold any private discourse.

16. When any member is about to speak or deliver any matter to the Convention, each member shall, with due respect, be addressed to the Chair, and confined strictly to the point in debate.

17. All Committees shall be appointed by the President, unless otherwise ordered.

18. Resolutions must be presented to the Secretary of the Convention at least forty (40) days prior to the Convention. The Secretary shall cause same to be duplicated and distributed to each parish and mission of this Diocese prior to the Convention. The Committee on Resolutions shall then separate submitted resolutions into Consent and Debate Calendars. Resolutions on the Consent Calendar shall receive no debate and simply be voted on as presented. Resolutions may be moved from the Consent Calendar to the Debate Calendar by vote of twenty-five (25) members of the Convention. Late resolutions may be brought to the floor for discussion and vote provided that:  a) They shall have been received on the Friday of the week preceding the week of Convention. (8 days ahead of time). b) A majority vote in favor of consideration is achieved during the first presentation of the Resolutions Committee.  With the exception of procedural and courtesy resolutions, late resolutions made during the convention itself may only be considered on a vote of 2/3 majority. 

19. No motion is in order which imposes financial responsibilities on this diocese, whether by motion to amend the proposed annual budget or change the proposed program of the Diocese, unless that motion includes provision and plans for funding same. The President shall rule on any such motion with advice from the Chancellor, the Treasurer, the Diocesan Finance Committee, the Committee on Ways and Means, or any other committee or persons s/he thinks prudent. The President may recess the Convention for a time for such consultation if s/he thinks it appropriate. The ruling of the President may be appealed and overturned by a 2/3 vote of both Orders.

20. All materials to be submitted to the Secretary for duplication and distribution to both the clerical and lay delegates of the Convention must be received in the Diocesan Office no later than forty (40) days prior to Convention. This would include, but not be limited to, agendas, budget reports, committee/commission reports, nominations, resolutions, instructions regarding parking, etc.

21. No rule shall be suspended unless with the assent of a majority of the members present.

22. The Rules of Order of the Convention shall be in force in the ensuing Convention until the organization thereof, and until they are amended or repealed by said Convention.