1 2 RULES: Governing the Conduct of the Fiftieth Quadrennial Session of the General Conference of the African Methodist Episcopal Church 3 4 Preface 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 The current Rules Committee is charged with the responsibility of preparing the proposed rules for the governance of the 2016, Fiftieth Quadrennial Session of the General Conference of the African Methodist Episcopal Church. These proposed rules were developed pursuant to the generally accepted interpretation and construction of long established policies, customs, tenets, and traditions of the African Methodist Episcopal Church. Further, primary attention was directed to The Doctrine and Discipline of African Methodist Episcopal Church (2012 Edition) in support of the recommended rules. 13 14 15 16 Finally, considerable attention was given to the parliamentary authority: the Perseus Publishing Company s Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised, 11th edition, as set forth in Rule #36- Parliamentary Authority. 17 18 19 20 21 22 Although it is impossible to develop a set of rules which will compel a meeting of this magnitude to function smoothly or without some difficulty, the cooperation of each participant in the process, respecting the rights and privileges of every other individual involved will be essential in this goal. This is partially expressed in our Rule #6 - Debate. 23 24
25 Compilation of Rules 26 27 28 The following are proposed as the Rules governing the Fiftieth Quadrennial Session of the General Conference of the African Methodist Episcopal Church. 29 30 31 32 33 Rule #1 - Session Term The Fiftieth Quadrennial Session of the General Conference of the African Methodist Episcopal Church shall last no more than eight (8) days beginning July 6, 2016 and ending July 13, 2016. 34 35 36 37 Rule #2 - Official Program The Program Outline, as adopted by the General Conference, shall be the Official Program for the Fiftieth Quadrennial Session. 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 Rule #3 Order The order of the first day business session of the General Conference shall be as follows: A. Roll Call B. Credentials Committee Report C. Rules Committee Report D. Election of the Episcopal Committee Chairperson E. General Conference Commission F. Announcements G. Adjournment After the adoption of the Rules Committee report the next order of business will be the election of the Chair of the Episcopal Committee. 50 51 52 Rule #4- Quorum and Majority Vote (a) Fifty percent plus one (50%+ 1) of the delegates to the Fiftieth Quadrennial Session of the
53 54 55 General Conference shall constitute a quorum for each business session and once a quorum is established the Conference may continue to conduct its business at that session. (b) In every instance, the term "Majority Vote" shall mean more than half of the votes counted. 56 57 58 59 Rule #5- Business Sessions (a)the business day of the Conference shall consist of not more than ten and one-half (10 1/2) hours unless adjusted in accordance with the needs of the General Conference. 60 61 62 63 64 (b) No committee of the Conference, except for the Episcopal Committee and the Revisions Committee, shall meet during the business hours of the General Conference unless it secures permission of the Conference. The time allotted for other committee meetings shall be from adjournment of the evening session until the next scheduled session of the General Conference. 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 Rule #6- Debate (a) No delegate shall be permitted to speak more than once, and may speak no more than two (2) minutes on the same subject, nor may more than two (2) delegates from the same Episcopal District (either for or against), be permitted to speak until an opportunity to speak has been given to representatives from other Episcopal Districts. No more than thirty (30) minutes, unless extended by the General Conference, shall be allotted for all debate on a single proposition on the floor except on the Connectional Budget. 73 74 75 76 77 78 (b) In order to insure orderly procedures, no delegate or member shall speak without recognition by the Chair. In debate all members of the General Conference will afford each other the same courtesies and respect they expect to receive. No one may approach the Chair unless granted permission. All microphones shall be operative during all business sessions as explained by Option Technology. 79 80 (c) A clock on the screen shall be used by the presiding officer at the beginning of the session to
81 enforce this rule. 82 83 84 (d) Only certified delegates of the General Conference shall be allowed to deliberate on matters before the assembly. 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 Rule #7- Marshals There shall be appointed two marshals from each Episcopal District whose duty it shall be to protect the bars of the conference from encroachment of persons not entitled to seats, and assist the Presiding Officer in keeping order when requested. Further, the General Conference shall not proceed on the particular matter being discussed where materials requiring action have not been distributed to the delegation by electronic and /or by marshals. 92 93 94 95 Rule #8 - Badge Identification Delegates, Alternates and Observers shall be required to wear badges at all times while within the hall during business sessions. Chaplains in uniform will carry their badge. 96 97 98 99 100 101 Rule #9- Attendance No delegate shall be absent from the Regular Sessions of the General Conference without the permission of the chairperson(s) or his/her designee of the respective Episcopal District delegation. The Chairperson(s) of each delegation shall use his/her authority to maximize the participation of the delegates and alternates. 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 Rule #10- Minutes a. The office of the General Secretary shall be required to upload an electronic version of the minutes of the previous day s business session to the AME Event APP by 9:00 a.m. the following morning. Corrections to the minutes should be submitted electronically or in writing to the General Secretary by noon and the minutes may be approved at the afternoon business session.
109 110 111 112 113 b. When a request for documents (copies) is registered with the chair, the General Secretary shall first make the document available electronically via the AME Event APP. Paper copies will only be made if an electronic version is unavailable and there will be a 24 hour delay in making printed copies available. 114 115 116 117 118 Rule #11 -Departmental Reports (a) Reports from the departments of the Church shall be turned over to the General Secretary on or before the first day of the General Conference. No department whose report is in question shall receive allocations until the report is received and approved by the General Conference. 119 120 121 122 123 (b) The General Secretary shall assemble a "Delegate's Kit" containing the report of each department, which reflects the financial status and affairs of the department for four years, on the first day of the General Conference. The General Secretary shall distribute kits to each delegate on or before the second Business Day. 124 125 126 127 128 129 130 131 Rule #12- Legislation (a) The Revisions Committee shall receive, review and consider all legislation (bills) submitted to the General Secretary and after review and consideration shall, on or before the second day, present the legislation (bills) to be considered by the General Conference. Resolutions may be referred pursuant to these Rules or action of the General Conference, but subject to directions of the General Conference to the contrary, Resolutions shall not be considered by the Revisions Committee. 132 133 134 (b) The Revisions Committee shall present legislation to the General Conference for its consideration, and all legislation (bills) shall receive three readings prior to passage, as follows: 135 136 (1) The Revision Committee must be allowed at least 24 hours to respond to bills
137 requested from the floor of the General Conference. 138 139 140 141 (2) On the first presentation of bills the Revision Committee must be allowed to read the title and bill number of all bills without interruptions from members of the General Conference. This shall constitute the first reading. 142 143 144 145 146 (3) On the second presentation, except for amendments to the Constitution and Bylaws approved by components in regular session, the entire text of a bill shall be read, and the bill shall be subject to amendment(s), or other action; this will constitute the second reading; and 147 148 149 150 (4) On the third presentation, the title of a bill shall be read, and then action may be taken on passage of, or other disposition regarding the bill; this will constitute the third reading. If passed, a bill shall be prepared for Bill Signing. 151 152 153 154 (c) Legislation that has a budgetary impact shall be reviewed by the Commission on Statistics and Finance to determine the cost of implementation prior to being presented to the General Conference for Second Reading. 155 156 157 158 159 (d) Legislation, including adopted amendments that change or otherwise affect the Judicial Administration section of The Doctrine and Discipline of the African Methodist Episcopal Church shall be reviewed by the General Counsel of the African Methodist Episcopal Church prior to third reading. 160 161 162 (e) Consideration of the report of The Revisions Committee shall be a highly placed item on the daily agenda of the General Conference. 163 164 (f) No new legislation shall be called up from the Revisions Committee for consideration by the
165 General Conference after Saturday, July 9, 2016. 166 167 168 169 (g) All legislation shall be voted on using the electronic voting apparatus provided by the voting commission, unless the voting apparatus cannot be used due to mass malfunction. In that case the voting can be done by voice vote. 170 171 172 173 174 Rule #13- Resolutions (a) All resolutions must be in writing and signed by the individual(s) offering them, becoming the property of the General Conference. After twenty-four hours the resolution may be called up. 175 176 177 178 179 180 (b) Subject to a direction by the General Conference to the contrary, all resolutions relating to any of the Departments, Divisions, and/or operational procedures of the Connectional African Methodist Episcopal Church shall be referred to the appropriate committee for study and recommendation. Resolutions affecting Annual Conference Boundaries and the names of Annual Conferences shall be referred to the Committee on Conference Boundaries. 181 182 183 184 185 Rule #14- Lay on the Table A "Motion to Lay an Amendment on the Table" carries the amendment, the main question, and any other pending questions to the table, but it does not destroy the right of further consideration of the question at any future time if the matter is taken from the table. 186 187 188 189 Rule #15 - Questions of Privilege Privileged questions are as follows: (1) Motions relating to the rights and privileges of the Conference, and (2) Motions relating to members individually (personal). 190 191 192 Rule #16- Point of Order When a "Point of Order" is raised, all other business must be suspended until the point is settled.
193 194 195 196 The Presiding Officer may decide the point without debate, subject to any appeal to the Conference; but nothing is a "Point of Order" that does not involve a supposed breach of these Rules or a Special Order of The Doctrine and Discipline of the African Methodist Episcopal Church. 197 198 199 200 201 202 Rule #17- Committee of the Whole Should the General Conference at any time decide to go into a "Committee of the Whole" the Presiding Officer shall relinquish the Chair to the next Bishop in order, so that by being disengaged from any difficulties that may arise in the "Committee of the Whole," he/she may be in a better position to preside effectively during the final consideration by the Conference. 203 204 205 206 207 208 Rule #18- Minority Report Any member or members of a committee can make a minority report. The report must be signed by the person(s) making the report, presented to the Presiding Officer prior to being submitted to the General Conference, and must be reported so that it may be considered prior to the vote to accept or approve the committee majority report. 209 210 211 212 213 214 215 Rule #19- Bill Signing On the passage of a bill, it shall be signed by the Presiding Officer, the General Secretary, and the Secretary of the Revisions Committee. One copy is to be deposited with the General Secretary, and one copy with the Chairperson of the Revisions Committee for printing in The Doctrine and Discipline of the African Methodist Episcopal Church, as it was passed by the General Conference. 216 217 218 219 220 Rule #20- Budget The proposed budget for the 2016-2020 Quadrennial shall be the Order of the Day on the Fourth Day, Business Session VIII. The General Board Commission on Statistics and Finance shall upload or distribute copies of the Budget to all delegates on the Second Day of the General
221 222 Conference. The Budget will be reviewed on the Fourth Day of the General Conference, Business Session VIII to accommodate any legislation that has financial implications. 223 224 225 226 227 Rule #21- Judicial Council Nominations All nominations for the Judicial Council, which were certified to the General Secretary pursuant to The Doctrine and Discipline of the African Methodist Episcopal Church, shall be reported to the General Conference by noon on the Fourth Day. 228 229 230 231 232 Rule #22- Episcopal District Nominations Each Episcopal District shall report to the General Conference nominees for the General Board, the General Conference Commission, the Election Commission, Preliminary Inquiry Committee, and the Compilation Committee on or before 5:00 p.m. Tuesday, July 12, 2016. 233 234 235 236 237 Rule #23- Council of Bishops Nominations The Council of Bishops shall report its nominees to The African Methodist Episcopal Church, Incorporated, at large and/or ex-officio nominees for the General Board, the General Conference Commission, and the Compilation Committee on or before 5:00 p.m. Tuesday, July 12, 2016. 238 239 240 241 Rule #24- Elections (a) The election of Bishops, General Officers and the Judicial Council shall be the Order of the Day on Monday, July 11, 2016 at 3 :00 p.m. during Business Session XI 242 243 244 245 246 247 (b) All candidates for the Office of Bishop, Chair of the Episcopal Committee, General Officers, and Judicial Council members shall be elected by individual secret balloting. This shall be done using the electronic voting apparatus provided by the Voting Commission unless the voting apparatus cannot be used due to mass malfunctioning. Then voting by delegates will proceed, based upon specific instructions of the Election Commission. 248
249 250 251 (c) When a candidate is unopposed for any office, the General Conference may empower the General Secretary to cast a unanimous ballot for his/her election. Further, election may be made "by motion" when there are no contests. 252 253 254 255 256 257 258 259 Rule #25 - Limits on Campaigning (a) There shall be no demonstrations, electioneering, speeches, or any form of campaigning allowed by candidates or their supporters within 50 feet or 15 meters of entrance of the assembly hall, which will be enforced by guard rails. Additionally, there shall be no demonstration including the entirety of the assembly hall. Candidates and their supporters cannot demonstrate in hallway around sleeping rooms after 10:00 p.m., nor can they demonstrate on the outside grounds. Assemblies in the meeting area are not subject to this time restrictions. 260 261 262 263 (b) Each election campaign, delegates, and alternates shall refrain from distributing, disbursing, selling, flashing, projecting, posting and wearing any campaign materials or information in the restricted areas. 264 265 266 267 Rule #26- Unreadiness Each Presiding Officer shall recognize and entertain any unreadiness, amendments, and/or questions, when properly presented from the floor. 268 269 270 271 Rule #27- Episcopal Committee When the Episcopal Committee enters the bounds of the conference, all work shall be suspended until the Episcopal Committee exits. 272 273 274 275 Rule #28- Episcopal Matters Matters related to the Episcopacy in the form of a motion or resolution must be referred to the Episcopal Committee without debate. 276
277 278 Rule #29- Consecration of Bishops The Consecration of Bishops shall be on Wednesday, July 13, 2016. 279 280 281 282 283 Rule #30 - Assignment of Bishops The Assignment of Bishops shall be the last order of business on the last day of the Conference. Immediately following the Assignment of Bishops and the approval of the report of the Episcopal Committee by the General Conference, the Conference shall stand adjourned sine die. 284 285 286 287 Rule #31- Personal Electronic Devices Cell phone s, computers and all other electronic devices must be placed on silent or vibrate while in business sessions. During voting, electronic devices must be in the "off' position. 288 289 290 291 292 293 294 Rule #32- Unauthorized Reproduction Prohibited All rights reserved. No part of these General Conference proceedings may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or any means: electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, to include all live social media video, or otherwise without the prior consent of the Council of Bishops of The African Methodist Episcopal Church. 295 296 297 298 Rule #33- Boundaries of the Fiftieth Session of the General Conference The boundaries of the Fiftieth Session of the General Conference shall include the dais and the section in which the certified delegates are seated. 299 300 301 302 303 304 Rule #34- Amendment of Rules The existing rules may not be changed, or modified by addition or deletion, except by written resolution reviewed by and reported from the Rules Committee, and the same approved by majority vote of the assembly, provided that the General Conference by majority vote may change, amend, or otherwise modify these rules.
305 306 307 308 309 310 311 312 313 314 315 Rule #35 Public Safety The Fiftieth Quadrennial Session of the General Conference of the African Methodist Episcopal Church holds with great care the safety and welfare of the delegated body and observers of its sessions. As such we iterate the rule of law (policy) that governs this facility and encourage all to abide by the same. That rule (policy), to wit, states: The Pennsylvania Convention Center Authority maintains 24-hour security and internal patrols of the public area and perimeter of the center. Exterior doors are controlled by the Authority and must not be propped open by anyone for any reason. All weapons are prohibited on the premises of the Pennsylvania Convention Center, inside the building and the surrounding grounds, except for use by law enforcement personnel authorized by the Philadelphia Police Department. 316 317 318 319 320 Rule #36 - Parliamentary Authority The Perseus Publishing Company s Robert s Rules of Order Newly Revised, 11th Edition (2011) shall be the parliamentary authority in all situations which are not provided for in these rules. 321