Chapter 9. Rules of Order for a Meeting of Synod

After the organization of Synod, the moderator shall call for the report of the Business of Synod Committee regarding papers addressed to the court (chap. 8, par. 11), together with recommendations to the Synod for action. Recommendations of the Business of Synod Committee may include the following: (1) return of the paper with reasons for the return stated, (2) immediate action by the Synod, (3) referral to a standing or special committee, commission or board for study and recommendations, or (4) consideration by the Synod at another time.

Reports from boards, commissions, permanent committees, committees appointed by the moderator, and committees appointed by the Synod come properly before the Synod as they are scheduled in the docket. For reports that are printed in the Digest it is normal procedure to read only the recommendations. These reports and recommendations are before the court for immediate discussion and adoption unless some special disposition of the matter is proposed. No motion is necessary for Synod to take action on the recommendations or the report as a whole. No substantive changes are to be made in the body of the report on the floor of Synod; if a report is to be changed substantively it is to be resubmitted to the board or committee.

It shall be out of order to call for persons to be heard following a report, unless for a definite and special reason which shall be stated to the court; provided, however, that a single short speech, when needed to stress the value or importance of an item of the work of the church, shall be in order without special permission of the court. The time allowed for such a speech shall not exceed five minutes, except by special permission of the court; and the assistant clerk shall give a signal one minute before the expiration of the allotted time. When the court decides that persons shall be heard following a report, the time limit for any one speech shall not exceed ten minutes, and the total time for all speeches following a single report shall not exceed thirty minutes. The speakers shall be informed by the assistant clerk as to the amount of time at their disposal before they address the court. The assistant clerk shall be provided with a signal system, which he shall ring one minute before the expiration of the time for any such speech and again at the expiration of the time. If the speaker continues after the second ringing of the bell, the moderator shall require him to desist. Courtesy to a particular speaker must not be allowed to interfere with the business of the entire Synod.

All other matters to be considered by the Court must be brought before the Synod by motion of a member of the court and seconded by a member of the court. Motions are to be in written form and handed to the clerk before being debated and voted upon. Special resolutions fall into this category and if signed by two or more members of the Court do not need a second. A two-thirds vote of Synod is necessary to receive a special resolution following the deadline for the introduction of papers.

The moderator shall at all times enforce the rule that there be no discussion of any matter until there is a motion before the house. Main motions are used to introduce business, require a second and are debatable. Motions dealing with expenditures of money should designate the recommended source for such expenditures. Motions calling for reports should indicate whether the report is to be brought to the current meeting of Synod or to a future meeting of Synod.

Subsidiary motions are applied to main motions in order to dispose of them most appropriately. All require a second. They are as follows: a. To commit. The object is to place the business in the hands of a smaller body for study and recommendations. A motion may be committed (or referred) to a board or existing committee or special committee. The motion to commit should designate the board or committee to whom the item is to be committed. Items involving the expenditure of money are automatically referred to the Committee on Finance. Items involving appointment or election of board or committee members are automatically committed to the Nominating Committee. b. To amend. The object is to change or modify. Debate should be confined to the amendment. An amendment germane to the motion may be proposed. An amendment to an amendment may be moved, but no further complication shall be permitted. The vote shall be first on the amendment of the second degree, then on the amendment to the motion, and finally on the motion as amended. c. To substitute. A motion not germane to the one being considered may be moved as a substitute. This is done by moving to lay the original motion on the table “to entertain the following substitute: ‘ ______________________________ _______’.” If the motion to entertain the substitute carries, the substitute becomes the question before the house, and, if it passes, the original motion is lost. If the substitute is voted down, the motion comes automatically before the Court. d. To divide. If a motion contains two or more parts which involve separate principles or statements of fact, a division of the question may be called for and must be granted. Each part shall be considered and voted on as an independent motion. e. To lay on the table. The object is to postpone action until a later time. Discussion is limited to the propriety of postponing. It can be amended as to time. It requires a two-thirds vote. The item can be taken up again in the same session by a majority vote. f. To postpone indefinitely. The object is to kill the motion without bringing it to a vote. It is debatable and requires a two-thirds vote. g. To cut off debate (to call for the “previous question”). The object is to cut off debate on the motion immediately before the court. It requires a two-thirds vote. If passed, the only qualifying motion allowable is for a record of the aye’s and nay’s. The vote should be taken immediately. (To call “Question” from the floor is not appropriate, and has no formal validity.) h. To withdraw. A motion may be withdrawn by the maker with the consent of the second if it has not been debated. Otherwise consent to withdraw must be obtained from the court. i. To reconsider. The object is to bring back to the floor action already decided by the current meeting of Synod. A motion to reconsider can be made and seconded only by the members of Synod who voted with the majority on the previous action. The motion is debatable and requires a simple majority. If passed, the original motion is again open for discussion and vote. j. To appeal the action of the Committee on Finance. Where the Committee on Finance recommends no action or modified action on recommendations or resolutions calling for the appropriation of money, boards and committees making the recommendations or those signing the resolution, or any two of them, shall have the right to appeal from this decision by moving and seconding the original recommendation or resolution on the floor of Synod immediately after the report of the Committee on Finance is disposed of.

Incidental motions which may be raised at any time are as follows: a. Point of Order. A member of the Court may at any time break into the debate, by gaining the moderator’s attention, and saying, “I rise to a point of order.” The moderator will ask, “What is your point of order?” Points of order may be: debate without a motion, debate not relevant to the motion, or a serious breach of decorum on the part of the speaker. The moderator shall decide whether the speaker or his debate is out of order. b. Appeal. Any member of the court with a second may appeal from any decision of the moderator. The moderator may stand on his decision or submit it to the parliamentarians. If the decision of the parliamentarians or of the moderator is still appealed, it shall be put before the Court in this way, “Do you sustain the decision of the moderator?”

Privileged motions are motions which take precedence over all other motions and are undebatable. They are as follows: a. Order of the Day. The object is to determine the time when specific business will come before the Court. The clerk shall be alert to determine that there has not already been an order of the day established at that time. b. Adjourn. The object is to stop business immediately. It requires a second. c. To extend the time. The object is to continue business beyond the established time of adjournment. It requires a second. It may be amended and may be reconsidered.

The following motions must be decided without debate. a. To adjourn. b. To take up particular items of business or motions relating to the priority of business (Order of the day). c. To cut off debate (for the previous question).

The following motions require a two-thirds vote: a. To postpone indefinitely. b. To lay on the table. c. For the previous question. d. To suspend the rules of order. e. To submit an overture. All other motions require a simple majority.

A member of the court may speak only once on the following: a. A question of order. b. Postponement for the present. c. Commitment.

On all other questions a member may speak not more than twice except by permission of the court. He may speak only on the privilege. Each speech shall be no longer than ten minutes, except by permission of the court.

During debate the following motions only may be entertained with precedence in the order named: a. To fix the time to which to adjourn. This may be amended as to time. b. To adjourn. This is always in order, except when a vote is being taken or when a member is speaking. c. To lay on the table or to postpone. d. To postpone to a certain time. This may be amended as to time. e. For the previous question. f. To commit. This may be amended as to the committee and the accompanying instructions. g. To substitute. h. To amend.

A member who desires to speak must rise and address the moderator, and may not proceed until the moderator announces his name. The moderator shall give the floor to the one who first addresses him. If two or more address him at the same time, the one farthest from the chair shall be recognized.

Every member when speaking shall address himself first to the moderator, and then speak to the house in general, but he shall not address any member individually except through the moderator. He shall treat all members with decorum and respect and shall attend closely in his speech to the business in hand under consideration. Members of the Court shall attend closely to the business in hand and shall not engage in private conversation or in anything that may cause confusion or disorder. If a speaker acts in a disorderly manner, indulges in personal reflection, uses improper language, or deviates from the subject in hand, it is the privilege of any member and the duty of the moderator to call him to order. No speaker shall be interrupted unless out of order, or that mistakes may be corrected, or because the hour has arrived for the order of the day, or for recess, or adjournment. If interrupted for the latter reason he shall be entitled to continue when consideration of the subject is resumed.

Before putting any debatable question to vote, the moderator shall give opportunity for debate. The moderator shall require all speakers to limit their remarks strictly to matters germane to the motion before the house at the time. Synod may set a time limit on all speakers and speeches during the debate of a specific item of business. When opinion is sharply divided, the moderator shall see that time is shared as equitably as possible between representatives of both sides of the question. When the moderator has begun taking the vote, no further debate or remarks shall be admitted, unless evidently there has been a mistake.

The moderator shall not engage in the discussions of the court. If he desires to exercise his rights as a member temporarily, he may ask the clerk to preside. If he leaves the chair, he shall call upon a former moderator to preside until he returns.

The moderator shall decide all points of order. Any member may appeal from a decision and state his reasons. The moderator may reply without leaving the chair. There shall be no further debate, and without a motion a vote shall be taken on sustaining the decision.

In placing a motion before the court for a vote, the moderator shall repeat the motion or have it repeated. Following the vote, the moderator shall announce whether the motion carried or not. Special provisions are as follows: a. Division. If the moderator is unable to decide which way the vote went, or if any member of the court calls for a division, the vote shall be taken by a standing vote. The clerks shall count the votes, and the moderator shall announce the decision. b. Roll Call or Ballot Vote. One-fourth of the members present may request a recording of the aye’s and nay’s or may request a vote by ballot on any question. By common consent this record may be omitted from the published minutes. c. Vote of the Moderator. When the vote is by roll call or by ballot, the moderator shall vote with the other members. In no other cases shall he vote unless the court be equally divided. If he declines to vote, the motion is lost.

Members ought always to vote except for valid reasons. Unless excused by the court, non-voters must be considered as acquiescing with the majority. A member has no vote in the trial of a case in which he is involved.

The sessions of Synod shall ordinarily be open to the public, but the court may sit with closed doors on matters which, in its judgment, should not become common knowledge. It may be expedient to refer judicial cases to commissions, which shall try them according to the procedure laid down for Synod. To gain greater freedom of debate, Synod may resolve itself into a committee of the whole. When the committee rises, its chairman shall report its conclusion to Synod, but any action of the committee to be of force must be passed by Synod.

The glory of God, the welfare of the church, and the best interests of all its members shall be the ruling motives in all the actions of the courts of the church.