Book of Church Order

Rules of Assembly Operations

With revisions adopted through the 51st General Assembly (2024)

Revisions to the following section were adopted in 2024:

RAO 4-21.d.5; 11-5; 16-3.e.5 and 6; 16-6.c.1

Published by

The Office of the Stated Clerk

of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in America

Distributed with The Book of Church Order by

Committee on Discipleship Ministries

1700 North Brown Road, Suite 102

Lawrenceville, Georgia  30043-8143

1-800-283-1357

PREFATORY STATEMENT

In keeping with the concept that the Bylaws are designed for the conduct of Presbyterian Church in America (A Corporation) in regard to civil matters, the Rules of Assembly Operations (RAO) is designed to serve the General Assembly itself as an ecclesiastical organization. Therefore, care should be taken that these Rules contain only that which is essential for the biblical and efficient operation of the General Assembly ecclesiastically.

Copyright © 2024 by the Office of the Stated Clerk of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in America All rights reserved

CONTENTS

RULES OF ASSEMBLY OPERATIONS

ARTICLE I.  

Organization of a General Assembly’s Meeting

1-1. The General Assembly shall be called to order at the designated time by the Moderator, and shall begin with a worship service, including a season of prayer, a sermon or exhortation by the retiring Moderator, and the celebration of the Lord’s Supper.

1-2. The Stated Clerk shall present a report on the enrollment of commissioners, and declare if a quorum is present.  If it is present, then the Assembly shall be declared to be properly constituted for the transaction of business.

1-3. The first order of business shall be the election of a Moderator.  There shall be only one nominating speech not to exceed five minutes for each nominee. No seconding speeches shall be permitted.

1-4. If more than one commissioner is nominated, election shall be by ballot, on ballots provided by the Stated Clerk.  Tellers appointed by the Stated Clerk shall gather and count the ballots, and report the tabulation to the Stated Clerk.  If no nominee receives a majority of the votes cast, a second ballot shall be called on the two nominees who received the highest number of votes on the first ballot.  The Moderator shall declare an election when a nominee receives a majority of the votes cast by the commissioners present and voting.

1-5. As soon as a Moderator shall have been declared elected he shall assume his constitutional duties as Moderator

ARTICLE II.  

The Moderator

2-1. The Moderator shall preside at all sessions of the Assembly except when he may invite another commissioner to act temporarily as the presiding officer.

2-2. The Moderator shall call the succeeding Assembly to order and preside over its sessions until a successor has been elected.  Ordinarily he shall present a retiring Moderator’s sermon or exhortation.  If the Moderator is unable to act, the Stated Clerk shall call the Assembly to order and preside over its sessions until a Moderator has been elected.

2-3. Any former moderator attending a General Assembly shall have the privilege of the floor.

ARTICLE III.  

The Stated Clerk

3-1. The Stated Clerk shall perform the duties assigned by the Book of Church Order, the Rules of Assembly Operations, and the Bylaws of the Presbyterian Church in America, (A Corporation).   The Stated Clerk shall serve as chief administrative officer of the Administrative Committee of General Assembly. As such, he shall be responsible, under the supervision and subject to the direction of the Administrative Committee of General Assembly, for carrying out and executing the appropriate duties and responsibilities of said Committee.  The Stated Clerk shall be authorized to employ, with the approval of the Administrative Committee of General Assembly, a Business Administrator.  All other staff personnel for said Committee shall then be employed by the Business Administrator with the approval and consent of the Stated Clerk.

3-2. The Stated Clerk shall have the following responsibilities to the General Assembly:

a. In his office as an elder he may, as appropriate, advise and counsel, and upon invitation, preach and teach.

b. His duties are clerical, and as an ordained elder in the denomination he has no special role as spiritual leader or teacher to the denomination.

c. He shall be responsible for the recording of the transactions of each General Assembly.

d. He shall carefully preserve all of the records of each General Assembly.

e. He shall obtain and grant abstracts from the Assembly records whenever properly required or requested.

f. He shall prepare and distribute a Commissioner Handbook so as to reach commissioners one month prior to the convening of each General Assembly.

g. He shall gather and assemble the items of business that come before each Assembly and refer such items of business to the proper committee or committees.

h. He shall be responsible for publishing both digitally and in print the General Assembly minutes and church statistical reports of the Presbyterian Church in America and periodically updating the digest of the minutes.

i. He shall be the parliamentarian of the General Assembly but may fulfill this function through the use of assistant parliamentarians whom he recommends to the Moderator for his appointment.

j. He shall be an ex officio member of the Committee on Interchurch Relations.

k. He shall be available to give advice to the Boards and Agencies of the Presbyterian Church in America if, as, and when so requested.

l. He shall be responsible for the oversight of the PCA Historical Center for the preservation of the archives of the Presbyterian Church in America.

m. Under the supervision of the Administrative Committee of General Assembly, he shall propose the docket of the General Assembly and shall be available to advise the General Assembly on means to expedite and complete the business of the General Assembly.

n. He shall be responsible for notifying all appropriate persons of the decisions of the General Assembly.

o. He shall serve as the secretary and treasurer of the Presbyterian Church in America (A Corporation).

p. He shall receive progress reports and/or minutes from the committees appointed by the General Assembly, including special committees.

q. He shall have the privilege of the floor in all matters pertaining to his office at the General Assembly, to present necessary information on business before the meeting concerning the work and report of any committee on which he serves, and at such times when the Moderator, the coordinators, the executive directors, chairmen of Assembly Committees and Agencies (or their designated representative), or any commissioner may request that he clarify matters before the court.

r. He shall serve as custodian of the rolls of each General Assembly.

s. He shall be the correspondent with the lower courts of the church.

t. He shall be authorized to make public statements for and on behalf of the denomination only insofar as such statements are warranted on the basis of specific actions of the General Assembly.

3-3. The Stated Clerk shall have responsibility to the Administrative Committee of General Assembly as follows:

a. He shall work under the supervision of the Administrative Committee of General Assembly between the meetings of General Assembly.

b. He shall perform such duties as the Administrative Committee of General Assembly shall direct.

c. He shall recommend a person to fill the office of business administrator, such recommendation to be made to the Administrative Committee of General Assembly.  He shall employ such business administrator, with the prior approval of this Administrative Committee.  The person filling the office of business administrator shall be responsible directly to the Stated Clerk, and through the business administrator the necessary personnel and equipment shall be obtained and utilized — all under the overall oversight of the Administrative Committee of General Assembly.

d. He shall make a full report to the Administrative Committee of General Assembly each year pertaining to his assessment of and evaluation of the performance by himself and those under his supervision and control during the year, which full report shall be submitted by this Administrative Committee to the General Assembly.  This Administrative Committee shall have the responsibility of adding its comments, recommendations and suggestions to such report which shall include an evaluation of the performance of the person filling the office of the Stated Clerk.

3-4. The Administrative Committee of General Assembly has the responsibility of nominating to the General Assembly the person to fill the office of the Stated Clerk.  Additional nominations may be made from the floor of the Assembly through the regular process for additional nominations.

3-5. The qualifications for the person to fill the office of the Stated Clerk shall be as follows:

a. He must be either a teaching or ruling elder in the Presbyterian Church in America.

b. He must be conversant with the history and distinctives of the Presbyterian and Reformed tradition and in particular of the history and distinctives of the Presbyterian Church in America.

c. He must possess a competent knowledge of the Book of Church Order of the Presbyterian Church in America.

d. He must have demonstrated managerial and organizational skills.

e. He must be loyal to the standards of the Presbyterian Church in America and be able to fairly represent the actions of each General Assembly.  He must be conversant with the breadth of Reformed thinking in the Presbyterian Church in America and be able to communicate with the members of the Presbyterian Church in America and with representatives of other Reformed denominations.

f. He must be able to work in a capable, sensitive manner with persons who are in positions of responsibility in the Presbyterian Church in America organization structure.

g. He must understand and be committed to the proposition set out in BCO 14-1, 3:  “The work of the Church as set forth in the Great Commission is one work. . .”  Therefore, such person must recognize and be committed to implementing the important principle of the interdependency of each court, Committee, and Agency of the PCA.

h. He must have an appreciation of the whole church of the Lord Jesus Christ as defined in BCO 1-3 and thus be able to work with the leaders of all branches of this true Church.

ARTICLE IV.  

COMMITTEES AND AGENCIES

4-1. The affairs and programs of the General Assembly shall be conducted primarily through its permanent Committees and Agencies.

4-2. The permanent Committees are those specifically created by the Book of Church Order:

Administrative Committee (AC)

Committee on Discipleship Ministries (CDM)

Mission to the World (MTW)

Mission to North America (MNA)

Reformed University Fellowship (RUF)

The Administrative Committee shall function as a service committee to the General Assembly and the denomination.  The Committees on Discipleship Ministries, Mission to North America, Mission to the World, and Reformed University Fellowship shall be known as program Committees.

4-3. The Agencies are:

Covenant College (CC)

Covenant Theological Seminary (CTS)

PCA Foundation (PCAF)

Geneva Benefits Group (Geneva)

Ridge Haven Conference Center (RH)

The relationship of the Agencies to the Assembly remains as a Committee, although they may be incorporated separately for civil purposes.  The composition and responsibilities of the Agencies are set forth in the Bylaws.

4-4. The Special Committees are:

Constitutional Business, Committee on (CCB)

Cooperative Ministries Committee (CMC)

Interchurch Relations Committee (IRC)

Nominating Committee (NC)

Review of Presbytery Records, Committee on (RPR)

Theological Examining Committee (TEC)

4-5. The membership of Committees or Agencies shall be limited to the constitutional provisions for the permanent Committees or Agencies (BCO 14-1.12): namely, that those who have served for at least a full term, or at least two years of a partial term on one of the Assembly’s permanent Committees or Agencies shall not be eligible for re-election to an Assembly Committee or Agency until one year has elapsed, unless provision has been approved by the Agency bylaws.  Nominations shall be handled according to the BCO 14-1.11.  These provisions shall not apply to ad interim committees, study committees or other committees appointed.

4-6. No individual shall serve on more than one Assembly committee or agency at one time, except those who serve as permanent Committee or Agency representatives on the Administrative Committee of General Assembly and those who serve on ad interim committees.

4-7. Employees of the Assembly’s Committees and Agencies are not eligible for office on an Assembly’s Committee or Agency which administers matters directly related to their area of employment.

4-8. The chief administrative officer of the Administrative Committee of General Assembly shall be the Stated Clerk.  The chief administrative officer of the four program Committees shall be the coordinators and of the Agencies shall be the executive directors or presidents.

4-9. The four program Committees shall nominate annually a coordinator for election by the General Assembly.  The Administrative Committee shall nominate annually a Stated Clerk for election by the General Assembly.  If the nominee has not been examined by the Theological Examining Committee, such an examination must take place prior to the election when it is a first time employment.  A new coordinator shall assume office at the end of the Assembly meeting, or at such time thereafter as designated by the General Assembly.

4-10. Permanent Committees and Agencies may appoint subcommittees for specific tasks or areas of responsibility assigned by the General Assembly, according to the following guidelines:

a. Membership of subcommittees may include persons not elected to the permanent Committee or Agency, provided the subcommittee chairman is a permanent Committee or Agency member.

b. All policies and procedures of a subcommittee must be approved by the permanent Committee or Agency prior to implementation.

c. The staff of a subcommittee is controlled by the permanent Committee or Agency through its chief administrative officer.

4-11. The budget for each permanent Committee and Agency shall be submitted to the Administrative Committee of General Assembly, which shall independently evaluate the proposed budget of each permanent Committee and Agency and report to the Assembly its considered opinion on the adoption.  To protect the ministry and fiduciary responsibilities of the Committees and Agency Boards, the financial coordination and independent evaluation of the budgets by the Administrative Committee shall be for review, discussion, and recommendation to the Assembly.

Should modifications in budgets be deemed necessary by the Assembly, special care shall be taken that changes not be made in such a way as to threaten the continuity or effectiveness of the Committee’s or Agency’s ministry.  Budgets of permanent Committees and Agencies that are agreed upon by the Administrative Committee may be changed only by a two-thirds vote of the Assembly commissioners present and voting at the time the budget is submitted for adoption.  In the event the Administrative Committee disagrees with the budget submitted by one of the Committees or Boards, in whole or any item thereof, the General Assembly may adopt either the Committee’s or Board’s budget or the Administrative Committee’s recommended budget by simple majority.  The requirement of a two-thirds vote of the General Assembly applies only to changes not recommended by the Administrative Committee, initiated on the floor of the Assembly.  With respect to the Committees and Agencies, financial coordination is through the Administrative Committee to the Assembly and from the General Assembly to the Committees and Agencies.  The Administrative Committee is a “filter upward” and has no downward authority.

The Administrative Committee shall annually provide and publish guidelines for the Partnership Share Giving Program of the PCA, including the Ministry Ask.  These guidelines shall include statistical information expressed both in per capita giving terms and in proportional (percentage) giving terms to demonstrate the giving necessary to attain full funding for budgets of the General Assembly Committees and Agencies.

The Committees and Agencies receiving support through the PCA Partnership Share Giving Program shall present their financial needs and their Ministry Ask to the Administrative Committee for review and recommendation in the course of the regular budgeting process.  Each Committee and Agency shall then be free to request from the PCA churches and constituency the contributions necessary to fund its approved budget.

While all churches remain free to give their contributions as they by God’s guidance determine, all churches are encouraged to give, as they are able, at least ten percent (10%) of their tithes and offerings to the PCA causes of presbyteries and General Assembly.

The Administrative Committee shall maintain a manual containing the Affirmation of Core Financial Standards. This information, by which each PCA General Assembly ministry (Committee or Agency) shall function and by which the budget process is governed for each Committee and Agency, shall be available to all constituencies.

4-12. All funds received by the Corporation that are designated for the benefit of any particular permanent Committee or Agency shall be disbursed by the treasurer to the proper Committee or Agency.  There shall be no equalization of funds so designated.  Any funds received by the Corporation not designated as being for the benefit of a particular permanent Committee or Agency shall be distributed by the treasurer as directed by the General Assembly.

4-13. Each permanent Committee or Agency, by resolution adopted by a majority of its Committee or Board members, may designate the place, date, and time for its regular meetings, which should be held as needed, but no less than twice a year.  Written or printed notice of such resolution should be given to all Committee or Board members within a reasonable time after the adoption thereof.  Notice of the time, place or purpose of such regular meetings of the permanent Committee or Board shall not be required to be given.

4-14. Special meetings of the permanent Committees and Agencies may be called at any time or place by the chairman of the Committee or Board, or by a majority of the Committee or Board members.  Written notice stating the place, date, and hour of such special meeting shall be delivered by the chairman of the Committee or Board to each Committee or Board member at least ten days prior to the date of such meetings, and such notice should specify the purpose of such special meetings.  Attendance of a Committee or Board member at such a meeting will constitute a waiver of notice of such meeting.  The act of the majority of the Committee or Board members present at a meeting at which a quorum is present shall be the act of the Committee or Board.

4-15. A majority of a permanent Committee or Board shall constitute a quorum.

4-16. The chairman, vice-chairman, secretary, and any other officers of each permanent Committee or Agency shall be elected annually at the last regular meeting of the Committee or Board prior to the meeting of the General Assembly.  Notice of this meeting shall include notice to the effect that these elections shall take place.

4-17. In the event any administrative personnel employed by a Committee or Agency and approved by the General Assembly resigns, dies, or is unable to act, such Committee or Agency may employ a provisional replacement, who has been examined and approved by the Assembly’s Theological Examining Committee, and who shall serve until the next General Assembly.

4-18. Chairmen of special committees (4-4), subcommittees, commissions including the SJC, ad interim committees, and study committees (9-1 – 9-4 ) that are funded through the Administrative Committee or whose funds are administered by the Administrative Committee, have the authority to call, postpone, or cancel meetings.  The Stated Clerk has the authority and responsibility to notify the chairman that a meeting(s) to be held between Assemblies will not be funded if the resources are not sufficient to meet the General Assembly defined spending requirements.  These requirements dictate that Committee and Agency expenses not exceed income and reserve levels.

4-19. Copies of all permanent Committee and Agency meeting agendas and minutes shall be sent, in a timely manner, to all chairmen and chief administrative officers of the General Assembly permanent Committees and Agencies.

4-20. All chairmen and chief administrative officers of the General Assembly permanent Committees and Agencies (or their designees) shall be given the opportunity to attend (at the expense of their respective permanent Committee or Agency) any meeting of any permanent Committee or Agency.

4-21. Guidelines for Keeping Minutes of Permanent Committees and Agencies of the General Assembly

a. The minutes of Assembly Committees and Agencies should be kept either in a lock-type record book, with numbered pages, or be printed, mimeographed, or otherwise reproduced.

b. The minutes should be typewritten or printed, or reproduced from typewritten masters, and should be neat and legible.

c. The opening paragraphs of the minutes should contain the following information (which need not, however, be divided into numbered or separate items):

1) The kind of meeting: regular, called, adjourned regular, or adjourned called;

2) The name of the Committee or Agency;

3) The date and time of the meeting, and the place;

4) The name of the chairman, and if someone other than the regular secretary served as a clerk pro-tem, his name should be indicated;

5) If the minutes of the previous meeting were not approved at that meeting, a record of their having been read and approved by this session should be indicated, including the date of the minutes being so approved.

6) The names of those present at the meeting should be recorded, indicating whether they were teaching elders or ruling elders, and the presbytery represented in each case.  The names of alternate elders and their respective churches should also be included, and the names of visitors should be included.

d. The contents of the minutes should include the following items:

1) The names of persons leading in opening and closing prayers at all sessions;

2) In the event of a called meeting, the portion of the call stating the purpose of the meeting should be recorded verbatim in the minutes;

3) A recording of the actions of the Committee or Board, including all motions adopted and business transacted, together with such additional information as the Committee or Board deems desirable for historical purposes.  Ordinarily in church courts, motions that are lost are not included in the record unless an affirmative vote for the lost motion is recorded, in which case the lost motion must be shown.  Each main motion should normally be recorded in a separate paragraph.  Subsidiary and procedural motions may be recorded in the same paragraph with the main motion to which they pertain.  Main motions may be recorded in the same paragraph if they are closely related and pertain to the same item of business.

4) A recording of information sufficient to demonstrate the Committee’s or Board’s implementation of instructions received from General Assembly and of material policies and material policy changes adopted by the Committee or Board in that year.

5) If a Committee or Agency is a higher education institution, the minutes shall include the following data, updated annually and delineated by degree program: total student enrollment, number of students by full-time or part-time status, number of students by gender, and number of students by learning modality (whether in-person, online, or hybrid). The minutes should indicate that the data have been reviewed by the respective Committee or Board.

e. It may be desirable to number these paragraphs consecutively, and to give a title over each paragraph indicating succinctly the content of business included.  This is not mandatory, but is desirable for the later reading of the minutes.  For historical purposes, some notes as to the extent and kind of debate may be included, but minutes should never reflect the secretary’s opinion, favorable or otherwise, on anything said or done.

f. The minutes of the Committees and Boards should appear in the minute book in the order in which the meetings occur.  When a previous action of the Committee or Board is cited, the date should be given, and the volume and page and paragraph number.

g. The minutes of each meeting should be signed by the secretary.

h. The chief administrative officer, if there be one, and if not, the chairman, shall be responsible for the custody of the minutes of the Committee or Agency.  He is responsible for the presentation to the General Assembly for approval of all minutes of the Committee or Agency which have been approved by the Committee or Agency not previously approved by the General Assembly.  All other minutes of the Committee or Agency to which specific reference is made in the minutes submitted to the General Assembly for approval shall be submitted for purposes of information.

i. A copy of the Guidelines for Keeping Committee or Agency Minutes should be kept with the minutes of the Committee or Agency.

j. An up-to-date copy of the bylaws and manual of the Committee or Agency, if such exist, should be kept with the minutes.

ARTICLE V.  

ADMINISTRATIVE COMMITTEE OF GENERAL ASSEMBLY

5-1. The Administrative Committee of General Assembly (AC) shall consist of twenty (20) members:

a. Eleven members in classes elected through the standard nomination and election procedure;

b. One member each from the following program Committees or Agencies:

1) Committee on Discipleship Ministries (CDM);

2) Covenant College (CC);

3) Covenant Theological Seminary (CTS);

4) Mission to North America (MNA);

5) Mission to the World (MTW);

6) PCA Foundation (PCAF);

7) Geneva Benefits Group (Geneva);

8) Reformed University Fellowship (RUF);

9) Ridge Haven Conference Center (RH).

5-2. The eleven members at large shall serve a term of four years.  The chairman of the Administrative Committee shall be one of its members at large.

5-3. Each program Committee and each Agency shall designate its member each year at the last meeting of the Committee or Board before the meeting of General Assembly.  The chief administrative officers of the program Committees and Agencies may attend any meeting of the Administrative Committee.  They shall be entitled to the privilege of the floor but shall not have a vote and must be excluded when an executive session is called.

5-4. In order to support the ministry of the Administrative Committee in its unique role as a service committee to the to the General Assembly and to the entire denomination, and in order to express financially a mutual commitment to the theology of a spiritually connectional Church, Committees and Agencies are directed, and particular churches and Teaching Elders are encouraged, to contribute to the support of the Administrative Committee in the following manner:

a. Each Committee and Agency of the General Assembly shall annually contribute at an equal share to the operating budget of the Administrative Committee. The General Assembly shall annually determine the specific contribution to be given by each Committee or Agency based on a recommendation from the Administrative Committee, not to exceed (in total) 5% of the budget of the Administrative Committee.  In a given year, should a Committee or Agency have difficulty contributing its share, the Administrative Committee may recommend to the Assembly a reduction for that Committee or Agency, and so reduce the total contribution for that year.

b. Particular churches are encouraged to contribute to the Administrative Committee on an annual basis a percentage of their operating budget. The General Assembly shall annually determine the percentage of congregational operating budgets requested, based on a recommendation from the Administrative Committee. For the purpose of this provision, the operating budget shall be defined as all funds received excepting those for capital campaign expenditures.

c. All Teaching Elders are encouraged to pay an annual “Administration Fee for Ministers.” The General Assembly shall annually determine the Administration Fee for Ministers, based on a recommendation from the Administrative Committee.

ARTICLE VI. 

PROGRAM COMMITTEES

6-1. The Committee on Discipleship Ministries.  The affairs of the church in the areas of Christian education and publications are assigned to the Committee on Discipleship Ministries, whose duties and authority shall be designated by the General Assembly.

6-2. The Committee on Mission to North America.  The affairs of the church involved in its extension in the United States and Canada are assigned to the Committee on Mission to North America, whose duties and authority shall be designated by the General Assembly.

6-3. The Committee on Mission to the World.  The affairs of the church in the area of world missions outside of the United States and Canada are assigned to the Committee on Mission to the World, whose duties and authority shall be designated by the General Assembly.

6-4. The Committee on Reformed University Fellowship.  The affairs of the church in the area of campus ministry are assigned to the Committee on Reformed University Fellowship, whose duties and authority shall be designated by the General Assembly.

ARTICLE VII.  

THE COOPERATIVE MINISTRIES COMMITTEE

7-1. Membership

a. The members of the Cooperative Ministries Committee shall be the chairmen and chief administrative officers of the General Assembly permanent Committees and Agencies.

b. The current Moderator and immediate past five moderators of the General Assembly shall be advisory members, having six-year terms.

7-2. Terms of office

a. The chairmen of the General Assembly permanent Committees and Agencies shall serve as elected by their respective Committees or Boards.

b. The chief administrative officers of the General Assembly permanent Committees shall serve as elected by the General Assembly and the chief administrative officers of Agencies shall serve as elected by their respective Boards.

c. The Moderator shall begin service during the year he is elected by the Assembly as Moderator.

d. Past moderators shall serve during six years following their election by the Assembly as Moderator.

7-3. Responsibilities

a. Consider only such matters as enumerated below or such matters as referred to it by the Committees and Agencies of the General Assembly.

b. Meet together to foster cooperative ministry among Committees and Agencies in accordance with the PCA purpose statement adopted by the 10^th Assembly in 1982, upon recommendation of the Committee on Mission to the United States:

It is the purpose of the PCA to bring glory to God as a worshipping and serving community until the nations in which we live are filled with churches that make Jesus Christ and His Word their chief joy, and the nations of the world, hearing the Word are discipled in obedience to the Great Commission.

c. Facilitate integrated long-range planning that supports progress toward the overall mission and ministry of the PCA. Such planning shall be with respect to matters that fall within the ordinary scope of the respective responsibilities of the PCA’s Committees and Agencies, particularly with a view toward the mission of the PCA as a whole. Any matters requiring General Assembly action shall come to the General Assembly through overtures from the lower courts.

d. Keep minutes of the meetings and distribute them to all chief administrative officers and chairmen.

e. Establish appropriate subcommittees to deal with specific issues as they are identified.

f. Send recommendations to chief administrative officers and their respective Committees or Boards. Encourage them to deal with the issues presented to them, and if necessary, for them to meet together to resolve issues.

g. Monitor and evaluate the standards of effectiveness and efficiency of permanent Committees and Agencies in light of the unique ministry of each Committee or Agency, with particular attention to inter-Committee-and-Agency communication, collaboration, and cooperation.

h. Serve as a forum for resolving issues of inter-agency cooperation, collaboration or conflict.

7-4. Meetings

a. Frequency – The committee shall have an annual meeting in January, and other called meetings as necessary. The moderator of the Cooperative Ministries Committee shall call a special meeting of the committee when requested by the chief administrative officers or chairmen of two Committees or Agencies. There shall be thirty days advance notice of called meetings. The moderator of the Cooperative Ministries Committee shall call an emergency meeting of the committee when requested by the chief administrative officers or chairmen of three Committees or Agencies. There shall be seven days advance notice of emergency meetings.

b. Moderator – The current Moderator of the General Assembly or his designee shall moderate the meetings of the Cooperative Ministries Committee.

c. Docket – The Stated Clerk shall be the secretary of the
committee for the purposes of maintaining the committee’s records, receiving matters for the agenda from all committee members, working with the moderator of the committee to
propose the agenda at each meeting of the committee, and to prepare the annual informational report to the General Assembly.

7-5. Appeal to the Administrative Committee for Unresolved Matters

In the event any matter considered by the Cooperative Ministries Committee has not been satisfactorily resolved within the committee, the matter may be referred to the Administrative Committee.

a. Any member of the Cooperative Ministries Committee may request the advisory members to refer a matter arising from the committee to the Administrative Committee.

b. A request shall be referred to the Administrative Committee only if a majority of the advisory members of the Cooperative Ministries Committee agree to make the reference to the Administrative Committee by:

1) Giving notice of an intent to make the reference to the chairman within three (3) business days after adjournment and;

2) Submitting the reference signed and in writing to the Office of the Stated Clerk at least thirty-five (35) business days prior to the spring meeting of the Administrative Committee.

c. The committee by its own action may bring a matter arising from the committee to the Administrative Committee.

d. Matters referred from the committee or the majority of advisory members shall be considered by the Administrative Committee only at its stated spring meeting.

e. The six advisory members of the Cooperative Ministries Committee may attend the Administrative Committee meeting or Administrative Committee subcommittee meetings when issues referred to the Administrative Committee from the Cooperative Ministries Committee are being addressed.

f. The chairmen, chief administrative officers, and immediate past chairmen of the General Assembly permanent Committees and Agencies or their designees may attend the Administrative Committee meeting or Administrative Committee subcommittee meetings when issues referred to the Administrative Committee from the Cooperative Ministries Committee are being addressed.

g. The Administrative Committee may not act upon matters that are solely within the specified areas of responsibility of the Cooperative Ministries Committee until such matters are properly referred to the Administrative Committee in order for the Administrative Committee to facilitate discussion and resolution of such matters.

7-6. Reporting Process – The Cooperative Ministries Committee shall submit an annual report to the General Assembly, but any recommendations to the Assembly must come as set forth in 7-3.c.

7-7. Funding – The funding of the committee shall be as follows:

a. All travel and other expenses for each chief administrative officer and chairman shall be borne by the respective Committee or Agency.

b. All travel and other expenses of the advisory members shall be shared equally by the Committees and Agencies.

ARTICLE VIII.  

SPECIAL COMMITTEES

8-1. Interchurch Relations Committee

There shall be an Interchurch Relations Committee composed of three teaching elders and three ruling elders who may serve two consecutive, three-year terms of office. There shall be a ruling elder and a teaching elder to serve as alternates.

The committee shall serve as liaison between the Presbyterian Church in America and other denominations and church councils as approved by the Assembly.

8-2. The Committee on Constitutional Business

a. There shall be a Committee on Constitutional Business composed of eight members divided into four classes of two members each serving four-year terms. Each class shall be composed of one teaching elder and one ruling elder. There shall be one teaching elder and one ruling elder to serve as alternates.

b. The Committee on Constitutional Business shall:

1) Function as advisor to the Stated Clerk when requested by him. Such advice shall be for information only and without binding authority.

2) Receive from the Stated Clerk all non-judicial references submitted by presbyteries under BCO 41-1 and 41-4, and, if it accedes to the request, give its advice to the presbytery sending the non-judicial reference. Such advice shall be for information only and without binding authority or precedent but shall be included as a part of the annual report of the Stated Clerk to the General Assembly.

3) Provide advice concerning the effect of any proposed amendment to the Constitution or to the Rules of Assembly Operations.  Such advice shall be included in the report of the committee as printed in the Commissioner Handbook, and shall be presented orally to the Overtures Committee at the time the proposed amendment is considered by the Overtures Committee. Upon so advising the Overtures Committee, the Committee on Constitutional Business’s responsibility with respect to such proposed amendment shall cease.

4) Advise the Overtures Committee on any constitutional inquiry submitted to it by the Overtures Committee.

5) Report directly to the General Assembly on all constitutional inquiries submitted to it by the General Assembly.

c. The Committee on Constitutional Business shall not be separately funded but administratively shall operate as a subcommittee of the Administrative Committee of General Assembly.

8-3. Theological Examining Committee

In accordance with BCO 14-1.14 there shall be a Theological Examining Committee composed of three teaching elders and three ruling elders of three classes of two men each.  There shall also be one teaching elder and one ruling elder as alternates to fill any vacancy that may occur during the year.

This committee shall conduct its work as specified in BCO 14-1.14. Furthermore this committee shall record all nominees’ differences to our denominational standards in their own words, as set forth in RAO 16-3.e.5. Those differences shall be included in this committee’s annual report which is submitted to the General Assembly for approval.

8-4. Nominating Committee

The Assembly’s Nominating Committee shall operate under the following guidelines:

a. Every member of the Nominating Committee should make a reasonable effort to attend the next General Assembly.

b. The Nominating Committee should be reminded of paragraph BCO 14-1.9 regarding proportionate representation wherever possible.

c. No presbytery shall ordinarily be represented by more than one person nominated for any given Committee or Agency.  This includes alternates.

d. A typed biographical form must accompany each name submitted to the Nominating Committee.  All nominees should be contacted by their presbyteries to ascertain their availability and willingness to serve prior to submission of names to General Assembly’s Nominating Committee.

e. Presbyteries should send names of nominees on forms to the Stated Clerk’s office no later than four months prior to the General Assembly.  The Stated Clerk will then make the forms available to the convener of the Nominating Committee.

f. A list of members, by presbytery, currently serving on the permanent Committees and Agencies should be furnished to the convener of the Nominating Committee by the Stated Clerk.  The Directory of the current Assembly Committees should indicate the presbytery of each Committee or Agency member.

g. “In addition to the new nominees from presbyteries, alternates not assuming any vacancies during a year will be automatically considered by the Nominating Committee as candidates for nomination to that same committee” (BCO 14-1.11).

h. The committee shall present its nominations to the Assembly through the Commissioner Handbook or Supplement.  This presentation shall include a brief statement regarding each nominee.

i. Additional nominations may be submitted either (1) in writing or (2) electronically, in either case on forms supplied by the Stated Clerk, which shall include consent of the nominee to serve, if elected, and a brief statement regarding the nominee.  In the event that a nomination is submitted electronically, the nominator should be aware that responsibility for such nomination rests with the nominator and that non-delivery is the sole responsibility of the nominator. Because the nominator has sole responsibility for delivery of a nomination, the nominator should obtain a receipt verifying successful electronic delivery of the nomination. The nominee is to give consent to only one nomination. In the event that the nominee is nominated for more than one position, the nominee may indicate to which nomination the nominee consents. The deadline for these nominations is the close of the afternoon session of the first full day of the Assembly. The Clerk’s office shall issue a supplement to the Assembly’s Nominating Committee report during the second day’s business sessions.

j. The time for the election shall be docketed as a special order.  Only those commissioners present or on the floor of the Assembly shall be eligible to vote.  The voting procedures may be conducted either by voice vote or by standing vote, or by use of ballots as determined by the General Assembly.

k. In the event of the resignation of any member of an Assembly elected Committee or Agency, such resignation should be presented to the Office of the Stated Clerk of the General Assembly.  The Stated Clerk, shall, after consultation with the chairman of the respective Committee or Board, be authorized to accept such resignation on behalf of the Assembly.  He is to report such actions to the next General Assembly, and arrange for the nomination of a replacement by the Assembly’s Nominating Committee, where such replacement is appropriate.

8-5. Committee on Review of Presbytery Records

a. The Committee on Review of Presbytery Records shall be comprised of one representative from each presbytery elected by the presbytery in the manner set forth in BCO 14-1.11 for the election of the Nominating Committee.  A person who is serving as a member of or on the staff of one of the permanent or special committees, or boards of the General Assembly shall be eligible to serve on this committee.

b. The committee shall be scheduled to meet prior to the opening session of the Assembly.

c. A chairman and vice-chairman for the following year shall be elected by the committee from members who shall be serving in at least the second year of their term.

ARTICLE IX. 

AD INTERIM COMMITTEES

9-1. The Assembly may elect or appoint ad interim or study committees of a temporary character to handle particular matters of business as designated by the Assembly.

9-2. Recommendations for the appointment of ad-interim or study committees shall arise only by way of overtures from Presbyteries, which shall be submitted to the Overtures Committee for recommendations to the General Assembly.

9-3. Only two (2) ad interim committees may be appointed or continued in any given year, unless additional ones are approved by a two-thirds (2/3) vote of the Assembly.

Funds for ad interim committees will ordinarily be administered by the Administrative Committee, with contributions to the AC being designated for a particular ad interim committee. Any motion to task the Administrative Committee with the funding of an ad interim committee through undesignated giving would require the approval of a two-thirds (2/3) vote of the Assembly as an amendment to the AC budget (per RAO 4-11).

Any overture proposing an ad interim committee should ordinarily include a plan for how sufficient, designated funds for the ad interim committee will be raised. Funding should not be the burden primarily of the members of the ad interim committee or the AC, but of those requesting the ad interim committee. Permanent Committees and Agencies of the PCA may grant monies toward the funding of an ad interim committee.

9-4. The total number of committee members per committee is not to exceed seven (7) members.  Each committee’s appointment and/or extension must be ratified by a majority vote of the commissioners.

9-5. All ad interim and study committees shall be considered by the General Assembly for appointment or extension at the time during the General Assembly docket of the Administrative Committee’s report so that due consideration be given as to their priority and their effect on the budgets.

ARTICLE X. 

The Assembly Arrangements

10-1. There shall be a General Assembly Local Arrangements Committee, which shall function under the Administrative Committee.  Final approval of all decisions regarding the Assembly shall rest in the Administrative Committee.  The Assembly’s Administrative Committee and the Local Arrangements Committee shall operate under a Manual approved by the Administrative Committee.

10-2. The Local Arrangements Committee shall be composed of the following:

a. The chairman of the Local Arrangements Committee, who is appointed by the host presbytery.

b. The treasurer of the local committee

c. Other members of the local committee as set forth in the General Assembly Arrangements Manual.

d. The Stated Clerk of the General Assembly.

e. The business administrator of the Administrative Committee.

10-3. Worship services shall be included as approved by the Assembly.  The Administrative Committee must approve any non-PCA speaker.

10-4. The Administrative Committee shall set a suitable registration fee, subject to the approval of the General Assembly.

10-5. The Administrative Committee must approve any non-PCA exhibitors in accordance with the following:

Guidelines for Displays at the Assembly.

Subject to space available, priorities for exhibitors will be as follows:

a. Committees and Agencies of the Presbyterian Church in America, including agencies or institutions with which they have formally, through their minutes, established a working relationship;

b. Agencies or institutions with which the General Assembly, through its minutes has established a working relationship;

c. Agencies and institutions which in the opinion of the Committee have objectives, policies, or programs in general conformity with those of the Presbyterian Church in America;

A disclaimer statement should be printed in the Commissioner Handbook distributed to all commissioners, stating in effect that permission granted to place an exhibit does not mean the Presbyterian Church in America necessarily fully endorses the exhibitor’s product, services, or objectives.  These guidelines are to serve as the ordinary guidelines.  If the Administrative Committee feels that an exception must be made, it has the authority to do so, and is to report such actions and the reasons to the next Assembly.

10-6. In case of extraordinary events occurring or unusual circumstances arising that make it impractical for the General Assembly to hold its annual stated meeting on the dates or at the site previously approved by the Assembly, the Moderator with the Administrative Committee shall be authorized, upon the recommendation of the Stated Clerk and Moderator, to make alternative arrangements.

10-7. The Administrative Committee shall be authorized to take the initiative to investigate and recommend to the General Assembly sites for the annual meeting of the General Assembly, and to that end, the Administrative Committee shall be authorized to suggest to presbyteries their hosting the annual meeting of the General Assembly.

10-8. Ordinarily the Administrative Committee will bring General Assembly sites before the Assembly for approval before any contracts are finalized.  However, the Administrative Committee shall be authorized to finalize contracts with hotels and convention centers before obtaining General Assembly approval when circumstances arise wherein the Administrative Committee approves the site, the presbytery (or presbyteries) has/have agreed to host the Assembly, good facilities at favorable rates are available, and the opportunity may be lost if a delay in finalizing the contract must await approval at the next General Assembly.”

10-9. In order to assist more Presbyteries to host the annual meeting of the General Assembly, each Presbytery is encouraged to contribute to the Administrative Committee annually an amount determined by the General Assembly.  The Administrative Committee shall annually recommend to the Assembly the amount of the requested Presbytery contribution.  The Administrative Committee will make such designated gifts available to the Local Arrangements Committee of host Presbyteries.

ARTICLE XI. 

Communications and Overtures

11-1. A communication to the General Assembly is formal correspondence received by the Stated Clerk from other churches, from interchurch agencies to which this church may be related, from committees of this church on matters which can not be included in regular reports, from presbyteries, and from organized bodies outside the Church proper having business with the General Assembly.

11-2. Communications from individuals shall not be received by the General Assembly, unless they originate with persons who have no other access to the Assembly.  If the Assembly desires to receive and consider any such communications, other than as information, the Stated Clerk shall recommend reference to the proper Assembly committee.  Letters, telegrams, emails, or telephone calls from communicants or congregations of the Presbyterian Church in America are not proper communications, and are not to be received by the Assembly.

11-3. The Stated Clerk shall recommend to the Assembly reference for all proper communications.

11-4. An overture ordinarily is the request of a presbytery for action by the General Assembly upon a specific matter.

11-5. All overtures shall be published in the Commissioner Handbook with reference for consideration indicated. The Stated Clerk shall refer overtures as follows. The Stated Clerk’s referral shall be final unless redirected by a vote of the General Assembly.

a. All overtures requesting amendment of the Book of Church Order or the Rules of Assembly Operations shall be referred to the Committee on Constitutional Business for its advice to the relevant Committee(s) as listed below.

b. All overtures proposing amendment to the Constitution shall be referred to the Overtures Committee. The Stated Clerk may also refer such overtures to other Committees of Commissioners, other permanent Committees or Agencies, or other ad interim or special committees for advice only to the Overtures Committee.

c. All overtures proposing amendment to the Rules of Assembly Operations having to do with the nature or responsibilities of a permanent Committee or Agency shall be referred to the Overtures Committee and to the permanent Committee(s) or

d. Any other overture having to do with the nature or responsibilities of a permanent Committee or Agency shall be referred by the Stated Clerk to the appropriate permanent Committee or Agency, ad interim committee, or special committee.

e. All overtures concerning presbytery boundaries or the formation of a new presbytery shall be referred by the Stated Clerk to the permanent Committee on Mission to North America.

f. All other overtures shall be referred by the Stated Clerk to the Overtures Committee.

11-6. All overtures requiring references to the Committee on Constitutional Business shall be delivered by at least sixty (60) days prior to the opening of the General Assembly to the Stated Clerk in order to be referred to the committee.  No overture requiring reference to the permanent Committee on Constitutional Business received later than sixty (60) days prior to the opening of the General Assembly by the Stated Clerk shall be referred or considered by the General Assembly convening in that year.

11-7. All other overtures shall be delivered to the Stated Clerk at least ninety (90) days prior to the opening of the General Assembly in order to be included in the Commissioner Handbook for the next meeting of the General Assembly.

11-8. Overtures received after the Commissioner Handbook is published, and at least one (1) month (31 days) prior to the opening of the General Assembly shall be reported to the Assembly by the Stated Clerk, together with reference.

11-9. No overtures received by the Stated Clerk less than one month prior to the opening of the meeting of the General Assembly shall be referred to or considered by the General Assembly convening in that year. An overture proposed by a commissioner to the General Assembly during its proceedings shall be treated as new business (cf. 13-1, 13-2).

11-10. No overture will be considered by the General Assembly until it first has been presented to a presbytery.  If approved by the presbytery, it will come before the Assembly as the overture of that court.  An overture requested by a ruling elder commissioner to presbytery, a teaching elder, or a session, but rejected by the presbytery, may be presented to the Assembly, provided the overture includes as an attachment a copy of the relevant extract from the minutes of the meeting at which presbytery rejected the overture or correspondence from presbytery’s Stated Clerk confirming presbytery’s rejection of the overture. Such an overture must be the same overture as that presented to and rejected by the presbytery.

11-11. All communications or overtures which propose or request that General Assembly appoint a study committee for any purpose shall contain as a part of the request or proposal a statement of the maximum amount to be budgeted for the study committee (see 9-2).

11-12. No communication or overture shall be received that seeks to memorialize someone.

ARTICLE XII.  

Reports to the General Assembly

12-1. The permanent Committees and Agencies, special committees, and ad interim committees of the Assembly shall make annual reports, which shall be transmitted to the Stated Clerk by at least ninety (90) days prior to the opening of the General Assembly. The Stated Clerk shall refer these reports to the relevant committee of commissioners for their review and recommendation to the General Assembly (cf. 14-6; 14-7). The Nominating Committee, the Committee on Review of Presbytery Records, the Standing Judicial Commission, the Committee on Constitutional Business, and ad interim committees shall report directly to the General Assembly without reference to a committee of commissioners.  However, all recommendations proposing amendment to the Constitution shall be referred to the Overtures Committee for their review and recommendation to the General Assembly under the rules governing a committee of commissioners as applicable (RAO 14-6.d.-k.; 14-7.c.-d.; 14-9.d.-h.).

12-2. Presentations informing the Assembly of the work reported by the permanent Committees and Agencies shall be limited to fifteen (15) minutes.

12-3. All other business brought to the General Assembly shall be referred to a committee of commissioners.

ARTICLE XIII.  

New Business

13-1. Any matter presented in any form which has not been received by the Stated Clerk prior to the opening of the General Assembly shall be treated as new business.

13-2. New business must be presented to the General Assembly before the recess of the afternoon session on the first full day of business, and if it was not first presented as an overture to a Presbytery, the proposal must include an explanation for why it was not.  If received by a two-thirds (2/3) vote of the commissioners present and voting, it shall be referred by the Stated Clerk to the appropriate committee of commissioners. No proposed amendment to the Constitution shall be received as new business.

13-3. The appropriate committee shall receive and consider all such references, deliberate, and report to the Assembly in compliance with the directions of these Rules.

13-4. All matters introduced as new business, if received, and touching on constitutional matters, including requested rulings by the Moderator on questions of order involving constitutional questions, shall be referred in writing to the Committee on Constitutional Business for consideration.

13-5. The Committee on Constitutional Business shall consider each such constitutional matter referred to it, and make recommendation directly to the Assembly.

ARTICLE XIV. 

Committees of Commissioners for permanent committees and agencies

14-1. Committees of commissioners shall review the report and recommendations of their assigned permanent Committees or Agencies or special committee:

Title                                                                         Committee/Agency                         Review Matters Touching

1. Administration Committee                                Permanent Committee                     Administration

2. Committee on Discipleship Ministries           Permanent Committee                     Christian education and publications 

3. Covenant College                                                 Agency                                                  Covenant College

4. Covenant Seminary                                             Agency                                                  Covenant Seminary

5. Interchurch Relations                                         Special Committee                             Comity, cooperation, relations to other churches

6. Mission to North America                                  Permanent Committee                     Home missions

7. Mission to the World                                            Permanent Committee                    World missions

8. PCA Foundation                                                   Agency                                                   PCA Foundation

9. Geneva Benefits Group                                       Agency                                                   Retirement, insurance, & ministerial relief

10. Reformed University Fellowship                     Permanent Committee                      Reformed University Fellowship

11. Ridge Haven                                                          Agency                                                   Ridge Haven

14-2. Each presbytery shall, prior to the meeting of the Assembly, elect one of its commissioners to each of these committees of commissioners (cf. 14-1), dividing them as to ruling and teaching elders by a formula established by the Stated Clerk.  In the event that presbytery does not have sufficient teaching elders to supply the committees thus assigned, the presbytery may, at its own discretion, elect ruling elders to these committees (or vice versa, may elect teaching elders for insufficient ruling elders).  In the event that presbytery is not able to supply members for all the committees, the presbytery may select the committees to which they wish to appoint representatives.  Commissioners serving on permanent Committees or Agencies or sub-committees of the Assembly or the staffs thereof are not eligible to serve on any of these committees of commissioners.  For the purpose of defining those ineligible for service in committees of commissioners, permanent Committee or Agency “staff” is to be understood as persons required to be examined by the Theological Examining Committee (BCO 14-1.12.) and all permanent Committee and Agency support personnel.  All commissioners should bear in mind Robert’s Rules of Order regarding abstaining from voting on a question of direct personal interest (RRO § 45).

14-3. Minutes of the permanent Committee or Agency shall be submitted to the committee of commissioners for review.  Copies of the minutes shall be sent by the Stated Clerk to the members of committees of commissioners one month prior to the opening of the General Assembly.

14-4. The conveners of the committees shall be designated by the Moderator.

14-5. Committees may be scheduled to meet prior to the opening session of the Assembly to handle the business referred by the Stated Clerk, as published in the Commissioner Handbook.

14-6. The committees of commissioners shall proceed as follows:

a. At the proper time each committee shall assemble in its assigned room, elect a chairman and a secretary, review material in hand, appoint sub-committees as may be necessary, and begin its work. Before the work of the committee begins, the committee of commissioners chairman shall call on the Coordinator or Chairman of the permanent Committee or Agency or his designee to report on the work of that body and field questions or discussion from the committee of commissioners.

b. Each committee shall be available to reconvene to consider additional references that may come from the floor of the Assembly.

c. Meetings of a committee of commissioners shall ordinarily be open to the public as non-participating visitors, to the extent made possible by the physical facilities of the available meeting room.  If such visitors desire the committee to consider a proposal on some item of business that is before the committee, this must be presented in writing.

d. Only business referred to a committee of commissioners by the Stated Clerk may be considered. Proposed amendments to recommendations must be germane according to Robert’s Rules. [Editor’s Note:  This rule defines germane according to the definition stated in Robert’s Rules of Order Newly Revised, 10th ed., §12 (pp. 129-30).]

e. The chairman and representatives of the permanent Committees and Agencies, and the coordinator and appropriate staff members shall be available for consultation with the committee of commissioners reviewing their work.  If a substitute recom- mendation is made by the committee of commissioners during its work of review, the permanent Committee or Agency staff members should be consulted before the committee’s report is adopted and shall remain available for consultation throughout the committee of commissioners meeting, including when the committee goes into executive session.

f. After a committee of commissioners has received input from the permanent Committee, coordinator, staff members, and visitors, it should then go into executive session as it frames and adopts its report to the General Assembly.  It must be in executive session when it actually adopts the report.

g. When necessary for the performance of its duties, a committee of commissioners may, by a majority of those present and voting, invite other persons to address the committee.

h. A committee of commissioners may, by a majority of those present and voting, adopt a recommendation to be offered to the Assembly as a substitute (cf. Robert’s Rules of Order, §12, pp. 149-54) for a recommendation of a permanent Committee or Agency (cf. RAO 14-9.h). Should a recommendation of a permanent Committee or Agency be properly liable to division, a committee of commissioners may, by a two thirds (2/3) vote of those present and voting, divide the recommendation.  A minority report from a committee of commissioners shall not be permitted.

i. Upon the adoption of a proposed substitute recommendation, the chairman of a committee of commissioners shall provide written notice to the Office of the Stated Clerk within one hour of any recess or adjournment of the committee following the adoption of said recommendation. The Office of the Stated Clerk shall inform the chairman of the permanent Committee or Agency of such notice as soon as practicable. The printed substitute recommendation must be presented to the chairman of the permanent Committee or Agency as soon as practicable, but in no case less than fifteen (15) minutes before the recommendation in question is brought to the floor.

j. Any recommendation affecting the budgets of the Assembly or the Assembly’s Committees and Agencies shall be referred to the committee of commissioners on Administrative Committee.

k. By majority vote the committee of commissioners may adopt recommendations commending coordinators, staff, Committees and/or Agencies for their efforts.

14-7. The report of a committee of commissioners shall be brief and concise.  It shall include the following:

a. A list of all items referred to and considered by the committee.

b. A statement of the issues discussed.

c. A report of all recommendations contained in a Committee or Agency report under consideration, and any recommendation to be offered as a substitute for the permanent Committee or Agency’s recommendation, with any rationale approved by the committee of commissioners.

d. A statement of the division of the vote on every recommendation made by the committee.

e. Reference to overtures by number with brief statement of content and recommended answer.  Amendments to the original overture shall be reported and explained.  Deference should be shown to the intent of the body presenting the overture.

f. Reference to communications by number with brief statement of content and recommended answer.

g. Only such portions of narrative sections of the printed reports as are necessary to make the report of the committee of commissioners intelligible.

h. A note that the audit of the reporting Committee or Agency has been received and that the Committee or Agency is taking any necessary action on any recommendation of its audits.

i. Where a study committee is proposed in any communication or overture, a statement of the maximum amount that is to be budgeted for the study committee.

j. The findings of the committee with respect to the minutes of the relevant permanent Committee or Agency (cf. 14-11).

14-8. The completed report of a committee of commissioners shall contain the full text of the report and shall be handled as follows:

a. Committee of commissioners sends report to Stated Clerk’s Office in the manner prescribed by the Clerk.

b. Stated Clerk’s Office staff processes report for publication.

c. Committee of commissioners’ chairman or his designee presents report to the Assembly, the text having been made available in sufficient time that commissioners may read the entire report before acting upon it. Any change ordered by the Assembly shall be noted in the permanent records of the Assembly.

d. The full report, as adopted by the Assembly, shall be included in the permanent records of the Assembly.

14-9. Presentation of the Report of Permanent Committees and Agencies through Their Respective Committees of Commissioners, to the General Assembly

a. The informational report or portions of that report of a permanent Committee or Agency shall be presented to the General Assembly by the permanent Committee or Agency chairman or his designee.

b. No report printed in the Commissioner Handbook shall be read in full to the Assembly.

c. After whatever informational presentation there may be (cf. 12-2), the chairman of the committee of commissioners shall be called upon to present the committee of commissioners’ report.

d. The chairman of the committee of commissioners or his designee shall move each recommendation in turn, offering an explanation of the motion and the committee’s rationale. The Moderator may put to the Assembly in gross all recommendations passed by the committee, unless there is objection from the floor to the inclusion of specific recommendation(s), in which case such recommendation(s) shall be voted upon separately.

e. A recommendation shall be considered under the standard rules governing debate, but Subsidiary Motions (RRO VI) to Postpone Indefinitely, to Amend, to Commit, and to Limit Debate; and Incidental Motions (RRO VIII) to Divide a Question, to Consider Seriatim, and Constitutional Inquiries, shall not be permitted.  A motion to Recommit shall be permitted, but a motion to Recommit With Instructions shall not be permitted.

f. Recommendations recommitted may be considered and reported by the committee of commissioners to that General Assembly, or may be referred to the permanent Committee or Agency for report to the following General Assembly (cf. 12-1).

g. Should a recommendation proposing an answer to an overture in the affirmative fail to be adopted, the overture shall be considered to have been answered in the negative.  Should a recommendation proposing an answer to an overture in the negative fail to be adopted, the overture by that action shall be recommitted to the committee of commissioners.

h. If a committee of commissioners offers a substitute for a recommendation of a permanent Committee or Agency, the substitute shall be presented to the Assembly as follows:

1) The chairman of the permanent Committee or Agency or his designee shall have ten (10) minutes to move the recommendation and present the argument of the Committee; the chairman of the committee of commissioners or his designee shall have fifteen (15) minutes to move the substitute and present the argument of the committee; the same representative of the permanent Committee or Agency shall have five (5) minutes to reply to the committee of commissioners;

2) Consideration of the substitute and the main motion shall be as above (d-e).

3) Debate on the main motion and the substitute shall be limited to a total of sixty (60) minutes unless extended. When the allotted time has elapsed the Moderator shall put the question to the Assembly: “Will the Assembly extend the time on the question ten (10) minutes?” A simple majority shall extend the time; otherwise the Moderator shall put the question or questions as the case may be. If time is extended, the question of extension shall again be put every succeeding ten (10) minutes until the matter is concluded. Each Commissioner shall be limited to five (5) minutes on the same question unless the Court by a simple majority grants additional time.

14-10. No partial report of a committee of commissioners shall be presented without the consent of the Assembly.

14-11. Guidelines for Examining Committee and Agency Minutes

a. Minutes of Assembly Committees and Agencies shall be examined for conformity to:

1) The primary and secondary standards of the church, as to substance of the actions recorded;

2) The Assembly’s Guidelines for Keeping Minutes of Permanent Committees of the General Assembly, as to form, structure, and minimum content (4-21); and

3) Appropriate standards as to the use of the English language.

b. Each set of Committee or Agency minutes should be read by at least two members of the committee of commissioners;

c. The committee may divide its work so that two or more members examine them primarily as to form, and two or more members may examine them primarily as to substance.

d. The findings of the committee with respect to the minutes of each permanent Committee or Agency shall be reported under the following categories as appropriate:

1) Notations: Typographical errors, misspellings, improper punctuation, non-prejudicial misstatements of fact, etc., may be reported under this category.  Also failures to provide proper or sufficient information or identification, etc., may be reported under this category.

2) Exceptions: Violations of the Assembly’s Guidelines for Keeping Minutes of Permanent Committees of the General Assembly, prejudicial misstatements of fact, and actions which in substance appear not to conform to the Standards of the Presbyterian Church in America, or to be out of accord with the deliverances of the General Assembly, should be reported under this category.

e. The committee shall prepare a report concerning the minutes of the permanent Committee or Agency.  The filling out of a form, designed for the purpose for each committee, shall meet the requirement for this section. After action by the Assembly, one copy of the report shall be sent by the Stated Clerk to the permanent Committee or Agency.  A second copy shall be retained by the Stated Clerk in a permanent file.  A third copy shall be kept in the records of the committee of commissioners, which shall be maintained in a suitable binder.  The custody of the records of the committee shall be the responsibility of the Stated Clerk in the period between the General Assemblies.

f. Notations and exceptions in a Committee’s or Agency’s report shall be disposed of as follows:

1) Notations shall normally be sent to the Committee or Agency by the Stated Clerk without being read before the General Assembly or recorded in its Minutes.

2) Exceptions shall be read before the Assembly, recorded in its Minutes, and disposed of as the Assembly determines.

3) The Assembly shall adopt an appropriate motion with respect to the minutes of each permanent Committee or Agency, the following being examples:

a) That the minutes of the Committee of ________ be approved without exception (show dates of minutes being approved);

b) That the minutes of the Committee of ________  be approved with the exceptions noted (show dates of minutes being approved).

g. The permanent Committee or Agency shall take note in its minutes of exceptions taken by the Assembly, together with the corrections or explanations adopted by the committee to rectify them.  Committees or Agencies shall advise the next General Assembly of the disposition they have made of the exceptions.

h. Reports to the Assembly from the permanent Committees and Agencies concerning disposition of exceptions taken by the past Assembly shall normally be referred to the relevant committee of commissioners.

ARTICLE XV.  

THE OVERTURES COMMITTEE

15-1. The Overtures Committee shall consider and make recommendation upon all overtures or recommendations (cf. RAO 12-1.) proposing amendment to the Constitution, and all other overtures referred by the Stated Clerk.

15-2. Each presbytery shall, prior to the meeting of each General Assembly, elect to the Overtures Committee one teaching elder and one ruling elder from among its registered commissioners to the General Assembly. Unless approved by a two thirds (2/3) vote of his presbytery, no commissioner shall serve on the Overtures Committee for more than two (2) consecutive Assemblies. It is recommended that, where necessary, the presbytery underwrite the expenses of its representatives to the Overtures Committee.

15-3. The Overtures Committee shall meet immediately preceding the General Assembly in sufficient time, as determined by the Stated Clerk, for the committee to complete its work before the convening of the Assembly. Should the committee fail to finish before the convening of the Assembly, or should the committee be called into session during the meeting of the Assembly, the committee’s sessions shall be held during non-business sessions of the Assembly, unless by majority vote the Assembly directs otherwise.

15-4. The Moderator shall designate a convener for the Overtures Committee, and the Stated Clerk shall provide a meeting room large enough for committee members, interested commissioners to the General Assembly, and others to observe the proceedings of the committee.

15-5. The committee shall elect from among its number a chairman and vice-chairman. The Stated Clerk shall be an advisory member of the committee, and he, or his designee, shall serve as secretary and parliamentarian. The chairman of the committee may appoint assistant parliamentarians.

15-6. Special Rules of Procedure for the Overtures Committee.

a. The rules contained in the current edition of Robert’s Rules of Order Newly Revised, § 50 and other relevant sections, shall govern the Overture Committee in all cases to which they are applicable, except as provided below.

b. A quorum shall consist of fifteen (15) teaching elder members of the committee and fifteen (15) ruling elder members of the committee.

c. Only business referred to the committee by the Stated Clerk may be considered.

d. The chairman may not enter debate or make motions without leaving the chair, and ordinarily should not vote on a question.

e. Members of the committee must obtain the floor before making motions or speaking.

f. Motions must be seconded.

g. A motion to Limit or Extend Limits of Debate shall not be permitted, but there shall be permitted a motion to order the Previous Question, which motion shall be adopted upon three-quarters (3/4) of the members present and voting.

h. Informal discussion of a subject shall not be permitted.

i. Proposed amendments to overtures must be germane according to Robert’s Rules.  [Editor’s Note:  This rule defines germane according to the definition stated in Robert’s Rules of Order Newly Revised, 10th ed., §12 (pp. 129-30).]

j. Commissioners to the General Assembly shall have the right to be present throughout the committee’s proceedings.

k. Commissioners to the General Assembly from a presbytery sending an overture shall be permitted to appear before the committee in order to present their views and respond to questions but may not enter into debate.

l. The chairman of the Committee on Constitutional Business or his designee shall be permitted to appear before the Overtures Committee to present the Committee on Constitutional Business’s advice on any proposed amendment to the Constitution and respond to questions but may not enter into debate.

m. When necessary for the performance of its duties, the committee may, by a majority of those present and voting, invite other persons to address the committee.

n. Amendments adopted by the committee to proposed amendments to the Constitution may be recommended to the General Assembly without further consideration by the Committee on Constitutional Business unless one-fifth (1/5) of the members of the Overtures Committee request further consultation.

o. Upon majority vote a constitutional inquiry may be submitted to the Committee on Constitutional Business.

p. The committee may go into executive session only upon three-quarters (3/4) vote of the members present and voting, and such executive session shall not exclude visiting General Assembly commissioners.

q. Each recommendation by the committee to the General Assembly must be approved by a majority of members of the committee present and voting.

r. Any recommendation affecting the budget of the Assembly shall be referred to the Committee of Commissioners on Administrative Committee.

s. Minority Reports.

1) With respect to any recommendation, prior to a recess or adjournment of the Overtures Committee following the adoption of said recommendation, any member of the committee may indicate an intention to file a minority report by giving notice to the chairman.

2) Written notice of intent to file a minority report, signed by at least ten percent (10%) of the total number of votes cast on the applicable item by members of the committee of whom at least 4% of such total votes cast must be teaching elders and at least 4% of such total votes cast must be ruling elders, must be delivered to the Office of the Stated Clerk within one hour of any recess or adjournment following the adoption of said recommendation. The Office of the Stated Clerk shall inform the chairman of the Overtures Committee of such notice as soon as practicable.

3) The printed minority report, signed by at least ten percent  (10%) of the total number of votes cast on the applicable item by members of the committee of whom at least 4% of such total votes cast must be teaching elders and at least 4% of such total votes cast must be ruling elders, must be presented to the chairman of the committee as soon as practicable, but in no case less than fifteen (15) minutes before the recommendation in question is brought to the floor.

15-7. The written report of the Overtures Committee shall include the following:

a. A list of all items referred to and considered by the committee.

b. A statement of the division of the vote on every recommendation made by the committee.

c. Reference to overtures by number with brief statement of content and recommended answer.

d. In the case of overtures requesting amendment of the Book of Church Order, explicit indication of any language that would be added or deleted from the Book of Church Order through adoption of the overture.  Such overture shall be sent to the presbyteries, if approved by the General Assembly, in this particular form.

e. Reference to communications by number with brief statement of content and recommended answer.

f. Where a study committee is recommended, a statement of the maximum amount to be budgeted for the study committee.

15-8. Presentation of the Report of the Overtures Committee to the General Assembly.

a. The report or portions of the report shall be presented to the General Assembly by the chairman of the committee or his designee.

b. The chairman or his designee shall move each recommendation in turn, offering an explanation of the motion and the committee’s rationale. The Moderator may put to the Assembly in gross all recommendations passed by the committee, unless there is objection from the floor to the inclusion of specific recommendation(s), in which case such recommendation(s) shall be voted upon separately.

c. A recommendation shall be considered under the standard rules governing debate, but Subsidiary Motions (RRO VI) to Postpone Indefinitely, to Amend, to Commit, and to Limit Debate; and Incidental Motions (RRO VIII) to Divide a Question, to Consider Seriatim, and Constitutional Inquiries, shall not be permitted.  A motion to Recommit shall be permitted, but a motion to Recommit With Instructions shall not be permitted.

d. Recommendations recommitted may be considered and reported by the Overtures Committee to that General Assembly, or may be referred to a subsequent Overtures Committee for report to the following General Assembly.

e. Should a recommendation proposing an answer to an overture in the affirmative fail to be adopted, the overture shall be considered to have been answered in the negative.  Should a recommendation proposing an answer to an overture in the negative fail to be adopted, the overture by that action shall be recommitted to the Overtures Committee.

f. A member of the Overtures Committee may not participate in debate unless he is the designee of the chairman with respect to the presentation of a particular recommendation, or presenting a minority report. With respect to any recommendation, this restriction may be removed for a particular member of the Overtures Committee upon the adoption of a non-debatable motion to that effect by majority vote.

g. If there is a minority report (cf. 15-6.s), that report shall be presented to the Assembly as follows:

1) The chairman or his designee shall have ten (10) minutes to move the recommendation and present the argument of the committee; the minority shall have fifteen (15) minutes to move the substitute and present the argument of the minority; the same representative of the committee shall have five (5) minutes to reply to the minority;

2) Consideration of the substitute and the main motion shall be as above (c-d).

3) Debate on the main motion and the substitute shall be limited to a total of sixty (60) minutes unless extended. When the allotted time has elapsed the Moderator shall put the question to the Assembly: “Will the Assembly extend the time on the question ten (10) minutes?” A simple majority shall extend the time; otherwise the Moderator shall put the question or questions as the case may be. If time is extended, the question of extension shall again be put every succeeding ten (10) minutes until the matter is concluded. Each Commissioner shall be limited to five (5) minutes on the same question unless the Court by a simple majority grants additional time.

15-9. The completed report of the Overtures Committee, and any duly filed minority report, in which case the provisions below shall be understood to apply to a minority representative, shall contain the full text of the report and shall be handled as follows:

a. Typed original by Assembly stenographers or committee secretary.

b. Proofread and signed by the chairman of the committee; and then delivered to the Stated Clerk when duplicated copies are available for the commissioners.

c. Docketed as agreed by the Moderator and Stated Clerk for consideration by the Assembly.

d. Presented to the Assembly by the chairman or his designee, the text having been made available by electronic means, or by copies distributed, such that commissioners may read the entire report
prior to acting upon it. Any change ordered by the Assembly shall be noted and included by the chairman with the assistance of the Stated Clerk on the original copy.

e. The report, as adopted by the Assembly, shall be filed with the Recording Clerk for the permanent record.

ARTICLE XVI. 

Review of Presbytery Records

16-1. It is the right and duty of the General Assembly to review, at least once a year, the records of the presbyteries of the Presbyterian Church in America (BCO 40-1 and 2).

16-2. General Assembly carries out this review through its Committee on Review of Presbytery Records.  The operation of this committee shall be considered a General Assembly expense.

16-3. Guidelines for Keeping Presbytery Minutes

a. The stated clerk of each presbytery is responsible for the custody of the minutes of presbytery.

b. The minutes should be neat and legible.  Minutes should be dated, and the pages numbered.  An official copy of the minutes should be printed and either bound or kept in a good binder.

c. The minutes should contain the following information:

1) The kind of meeting: stated, called, adjourned stated, or adjourned called.  In the case of a called meeting the portion of the call stating the purpose of the meeting should be recorded verbatim in the minutes.

2) The name of the presbytery.

3) The date, time and place of the meeting.

4) The name of the moderator, and if someone other than the regular stated clerk served as a clerk pro-tem, his name should be indicated.

5) That sessions were opened and closed with prayer (BCO 10-5).

6) The names of those present at the meeting, indicating whether they were teaching elders, or ruling elders and the church they represented.  The names of alternate ruling elders and their respective churches should also be included, and the names of visitors may be included.

7) Teaching elders not attending and churches not represented should be listed as excused or unexcused.

8) Approval of current or previous minutes.

d. The minutes should be signed by the clerk.

e. Additional guidelines:

1) Points of order ruled against by the chair and appeals from the decision of the chair, whether sustained or lost, together with the reason given by the chair for his ruling, should be included for the sake of any case that may be carried to a higher court and for the protection of a minority.  The record of the presbytery’s actions should be recorded.

2) When a count has been ordered, or the vote is by ballot, the number of votes on each side should be entered.

3) The proceedings of a committee of the whole should not be entered in the minutes, but the fact that the assembly went into the committee as a whole.  The committee report should be recorded.

4) When a commission is charged with carrying out a task prescribed in the Constitution (such as organizing a church or ordaining or installing a teaching elder), the minutes of presbytery should reflect the completion of each action prescribed in the respective constitutional provision.  This may be accomplished by reporting the work of the commission using a form provided by the Stated Clerk of the General Assembly, which should be included in or appended to the minutes.

5) Minutes of presbytery relating to examinations must list all specific requirements and trials for licensure, ordination, and/or transfer which have been accomplished. This does not mean that a separate vote on each item must be recorded.

6) Minutes of presbytery shall record that each candidate being examined for licensure, ordination, or transfer from another denomination was required to “state the specific instances in which he may differ with the Confession of Faith and Catechisms in any of their statements and/or propositions” (BCO 13-6; 19-2; 21-4). Presbytery minutes shall record ministers’ and ministerial candidates’ stated differences with our Standards in their own words. Each presbytery shall also record whether:

a)the candidate stated that he had no differences; or

b)the court judged the stated difference(s) to be merely semantic; or

c)the court judged the stated difference(s) to be more than semantic, but “not out of accord with any fundamental of our system of doctrine” (BCO 19-2; 21-4); or

d) the court judged the stated difference(s) to be “out of accord,” that is, “hostile to the system” or “strik[ing] at the vitals of religion” (BCO 19-2; 21-4).

7) Minutes of presbytery relating to ministerial calls shall record that the specific arrangements (BCO 20-1, and BCO 8-7 as applicable) of the call were found to be in order. The call document need not be attached to the minutes.

8) Minutes of executive sessions are not exempt from the general requirement that presbytery’s actions shall be recorded in the presbytery’s minutes and that these minutes (even if kept in a separate section on executive sessions) shall be submitted to the General Assembly for review (BCO 13-11; 14-6.c; 40-1). Presbytery may ask that the Committee on Review of Presbytery Records deal with these minutes confidentially. However, any exceptions to these minutes must be submitted to the General Assembly through the normal procedures.

9) Minutes of presbytery dealing with judicial cases shall not be dealt with by Committee on Review of Presbytery Records when notice of appeal or complaint has been given the lower court (BCO 40-3). Nevertheless, minutes of judicial cases must always be submitted as part of the record of presbytery.

f. The following suggestions are made to clerks and presbyteries for the keeping of minutes:

1) The minutes should record the actions of the presbytery, including all motions adopted and business transacted, together with such additional information as the presbytery deems desirable for historical purposes.

2) Ordinarily in church courts, motions that are lost are not included in the record, unless an affirmative vote for the lost motion is recorded, in which case the lost motion must be shown.

3) Each main motion should normally be recorded in a separate paragraph.  Subsidiary and procedural motions may be recorded in the same paragraph with the main motion to which it pertains.

16-4. Guidelines for Submitting of Presbytery Records:

a. The stated clerk of each presbytery is to provide the Stated Clerk of the General Assembly with copies of all minutes to be reviewed, in one of two formats: (1) four bound, paginated hard-copies or (2) two bound, paginated hard-copies and one paginated digital copy (preferably as a single document).

b. The minutes to be reviewed shall include the unreviewed minutes of all presbytery meetings that have been held through the end of the previous calendar year (BCO 40-1).

c. In addition to the minutes themselves, the presbytery shall submit a corresponding number of copies, in accordance with 16-4.a, of the following items:

1) A current Directory of Presbytery, including (1) a list of all teaching elders, with their addresses and their status; and of all churches and missions with the address of the church, and the name and address of the Clerk of Session, (2) a listing of all officers and committee members of the regular committees of presbytery, and (3) a list identifying all candidates under care, interns, and licentiates of the presbytery with their addresses and their status.

2) An up-to-date copy of the Standing Rules of the presbytery.

3) A letter stating presbytery’s response to the Assembly concerning disposition of any exceptions of substance taken by the past Assembly.

d. The minutes are to be reviewed and the items listed under 16-4.c shall be mailed to the office of the Stated Clerk of the General Assembly by March 15 each year.

e. If a presbytery repeatedly fails to submit its minutes, or its responses to exceptions of substance, the Committee on Review of Presbytery Records may recommend to the General Assembly that the provisions of BCO 40-1, 4, & 5 be applied.

16-5. The stated clerk of each presbytery, or his representative, should be prepared to meet with the committee to answer questions and to clarify any possible discrepancy.  The committee should make every reasonable effort to consult with the clerk of the presbytery (or his designee) on any questions before finalizing the report to the General Assembly.

16-6. Guidelines for Examining Presbytery Records:

a. Presbytery minutes shall be examined for conformity to:

1) The Scriptures and the Constitution of the Presbyterian Church in America as to the substance of the actions recorded (BCO 40-2), and

2) The Assembly Guidelines for Keeping Presbytery Minutes, as to form, structure, and minimum content (RAO 16-3).

b. Each set of presbytery minutes and other materials submitted under RAO 16-4c should be read by at least two members of the Committee on Review of Presbytery Records.

c. The findings of the committee with respect to the minutes of each presbytery shall be noted under the following categories as appropriate:

1) Exceptions of substance:  Apparent violations of the Scripture or serious irregularities from the Constitution of the Presbyterian Church in America, actions out of accord with the deliverances of the General Assembly, and matters of impropriety and important delinquencies, and any non-compliance with RAO 16-3.e.5-6 should be reported under this category.

2) Exceptions of form:  Violations of the Assembly’s Guidelines for Keeping Presbytery Minutes (RAO 16-3), rules of order, etc. should normally be reported under this category.  When a minor irregularity from a BCO provision or requirement is noted, it may be treated as an exception of form (BCO 40-3).  If subsequent minutes continue to reflect the same particular exception of form, it may become an exception of substance.

3) Notations:  The committee may report to the clerk of presbytery any typographical errors, misspellings, improper punctuation and other minor variations in form and clarity.  These are to be given as advice for the respective clerks.

16-7. Guidelines for Reporting on Presbytery Records:  The report of the committee shall be concise.  It shall include the following:

a. A list of the minutes, by presbyteries, received by the committee.

b. A list of the presbyteries which have not submitted minutes, if any.

c. A recommendation concerning the minutes of each presbytery, which shall include:

1) Minutes approved without exception;

2) Minutes approved with exceptions of form, which shall be reported directly to the presbytery;

3) Minutes approved with exceptions of substance which shall be presented to the General Assembly, which presentation shall include citation of any relevant scriptural and/or constitutional references, and provide the committee’s rationale for finding the exception of substance;

4) Responses to exceptions of previous Assemblies, if any;

5) Recommendations concerning all responses to exceptions taken by previous Assemblies that have not been disposed of suitably.

d. Any other recommendation to the Assembly.

e. A statement of the division of the vote on each recommendation.

f. Any recommendation which may affect the budget of the Assembly shall be referred to the Committee of Commissioners on Administrative Committee.

g. A list of members present.

h. Minority Reports

1) With respect to any recommendation, prior to a recess or adjournment of the Review of Presbytery Records Committee following the adoption of said recom-mendation, any member of the committee may indicate an intention to file a minority report by giving notice to the chairman.

2) The minority report, from at least six (6) members of the committee, must be filed with the chairman of the committee and the office of the Stated Clerk of General Assembly not more than seven (7) days after the adjournment of the RPR Committee meeting.

16-8. The report of the committee shall be prepared and handled in the same manner as reports of committees of commissioners as set forth in RAO 14-8.  Neither the report of the committee nor the General Assembly’s approval or disapproval of this report establishes doctrinal precedent.

16-9. No partial report of the committee shall be presented without the consent of the Assembly.

16-10. Guidelines for Responding to General Assembly

a. Presbyteries shall be advised of exceptions of form; however, they shall take note in their minutes of exceptions of substance taken by the Assembly, together with their responses adopted by the presbytery to these exceptions.  These responses should normally be adopted by Presbytery in the same calendar year as the exceptions were taken by the Assembly. Regardless, responses must be filed in accordance with RAO 16-4.d.

b. Presbyteries shall correspond with the next General Assembly the disposition they have made of the exceptions of substance (including general), with specific reference to presbytery’s action as recorded in its minutes.  Responses shall be in one of the following forms:

1) Presbytery agrees with the exceptions and corrects its record (if possible), corrects its actions (if possible) and promises to be more careful in the future.  Or,

2) Presbytery respectfully disagrees with the exception, states its grounds and refers the exception back to the Assembly.

c. If, in responding to an exception of substance, a presbytery reports that it disagrees with the conclusion of the Assembly and/or has not corrected or redressed the identified problem; and, the committee (after reviewing the presbytery’s response and rationale, and, if a majority so desires, consulting with the Committee on Constitutional Business) continues to believe that the presbytery has persisted in an error that is significant enough to require an Assembly response; then, the committee shall notify the Assembly of the continuing exception, and shall make recommendation as to whether the Assembly should again seek a more acceptable response from the presbytery, or should appoint a representative to present its case and refer the matter to the Standing Judicial Commission to cite the presbytery to appear for proceedings according to BCO 40-5.

ARTICLE XVII.

STANDING JUDICIAL COMMISSION

17-1. There shall be a Standing Judicial Commission composed of twenty-four members in accordance with BCO 15-4.  Upon election, each new member of the Standing Judicial Commission, before entering upon the duties of this office, shall sign a printed copy of the following vows; further, if the newly elected member is present, he shall affirm these vows in the presence of the Assembly electing him:

“I do solemnly vow, by the assistance of the grace of God, in my service as a judge in this branch of the church of our lord Jesus Christ, that

1. I will act as before God, my Judge and the Searcher of hearts;

2. I will judge without respect to persons, and if so tempted, will recuse myself from judgment;

3. I will judge not according to appearances, but judge righteous judgment;

4. I will judge according to the Constitution of the Presbyterian Church in America, through my best efforts applied to nothing other than the record of the case and other documents properly before me; and

5. If in a given case I find my view on a particular issue to be in conflict with the Constitution of the Presbyterian Church in America, I will recuse myself from such case, if I cannot conscientiously apply the Constitution.”

The Standing Judicial Commission shall have oversight of appeals, complaints and judicial references from lower courts.  The Standing Judicial Commission will report directly to the General Assembly.

The Standing Judicial Commission shall not be separately funded but administratively will operate as a subcommittee of the Administrative Committee of General Assembly.

The minutes, but not the judicial cases, decisions, or reports, of the Standing Judicial Commission shall be reviewed annually by the Committee on Constitutional Business.  The minutes shall be examined for conformity to the “Operating Manual for Standing Judicial Commission” and RAO 17, violations of which shall be reported as “exceptions” as defined in RAO 14-11.d.(2).  With respect to this examination, the Committee on Constitutional Business shall report directly to the General Assembly.  If exceptions are taken with respect to a case, the Assembly may find this a ground to direct the Standing Judicial Commission to retry the case.

17-2. With respect to the Rules of Discipline, any reference (BCO 41), appeal (BCO 42), complaint (BCO 43), BCO 40-5 proceeding, or request to assume original jurisdiction (BCO 34-1) made to the General Assembly shall be assigned to the Standing Judicial Commission for adjudication.

17-3. The Standing Judicial Commission may appoint a judicial panel of not less than three of its members to hear the case in accordance with the provisions of the Rules of Discipline in the BCO and these Rules of Assembly Operations.  Such panels shall be chosen as follows:

a. A pool with the names of teaching elder members shall be established, and another pool with the names of ruling elder members shall be established.  The chairman of the Standing Judicial Commission shall draw by lot names of panel members and alternates from each pool and notify the Stated Clerk of the General Assembly, who shall notify, immediately, those so chosen.

b. If a panel member so selected shall be disqualified under Section 2 of the Operating Manual for Standing Judicial Commission, he shall be replaced by the alternate drawn from the pool.

c. The names of those panel members selected and qualified shall not be returned to the pool until all names therein have been exhausted.  The name of an alternate, who does not serve as a panel member, shall be returned to the pool.  The names of those members whose terms expire at the next General Assembly shall be withdrawn from the pool on March 1 of that year.  Immediately after each General Assembly the name of each new member selected at such General Assembly shall be added to his respective pool.

d. If a case is pending and a judicial panel has been appointed as set out above, and another case is filed from the same presbytery, the officers of the commission may elect to assign the second case to the same panel without resort to the pools.  The officers of the commission may assign the additional case or cases to the same panel without resort to the pools only if:  (1) the facts of the cases are so interconnected that assignment to different panels reasonably appears to require repetitious consideration of the same factual circumstances; or (2) assignment of unrelated cases to the same panel is agreed to by all parties to all of the cases.

17-4. Proposed decision(s) of any judicial panel shall be circulated to the entire Standing Judicial Commission.  It shall act upon the recommended decision(s) without further hearings unless a party to the case, or a commission member, requests a rehearing of the case by the Standing Judicial Commission as a whole.  The commission may or may not grant such a rehearing; except such rehearing must be granted when requested by a voting member of the panel or by at least seven qualified members of the commission.  If granted, such rehearing shall be only on the record of the case; but the commission may allow oral arguments by the parties.

17-5. The Standing Judicial Commission shall be governed by the provisions of the Constitution of the Presbyterian Church in America and the Rules of Assembly Operations.  Specific directions governing the implementation of these provisions shall be set forth in an Operating Manual for Standing Judicial Commission, as adopted by the General Assembly.  Amendments to this Manual may be proposed to the General Assembly by overture from a presbytery (cf. Article XI), or by recommendation from the Standing Judicial Commission.  Proposed amendments from either source shall be reported to the Assembly by the Standing Judicial Commission, and shall be adopted upon a two-thirds vote of those voting, which must be a majority of the total enrollment of commissioners.  This Manual shall be printed as an appendix to the Rules of Assembly Operations.

ARTICLE XVIII.  

Assembly Expenses

18-1. Each congregation of the denomination shall be encouraged each year to make a specific subscription donation to assist in defraying the expenses of the General Assembly, whether a commissioner is sent to the Assembly or not.  Such subscription donation shall cover the registration for one representative from the congregation.  All other commissioners shall be encouraged to make a similar donation.  A copy of the Minutes and the Commissioner Handbook will be sent to the donors and those paying the subscription donation/registration fee without additional charge.

Churches are encouraged to make this annual donation, whether or not they send a commissioner to the Assembly.  The General Assembly shall set the amount of the subscription donation/registration for the next General Assembly.

18-2. The expenses of the recording clerks of the General Assembly will be borne by the Assembly.

18-3. All other expenses of the General Assembly shall be divided among the five major permanent Committees on the percentage basis of distributing undesignated gifts.

ARTICLE XIX.  

Parliamentary Procedure

19-1. Except as otherwise specifically provided in these Rules, Robert’s Rules of Order, Newly Revised, shall be the standard in parliamentary procedure.

19-2. Each chairman shall lead the Assembly in a brief prayer before making his report.

When a minority of a committee wishes to present a minority report, the member reporting for the minority shall have the privilege of presenting the minority report and moving it as a substitute for the portion of the majority report affected.

19-3. Each recommendation in each report must be read, considered, and acted upon separately.

a. The chairman moves the adoption; no second is necessary for a committee recommendation.

b. The Moderator asks: “Is there objection or question?”

c. Hearing no objection or question, the Moderator states: “It is adopted.”  (The above procedure is known as the “Short Form of Voting.”)

d. When it is necessary to postpone action on the completion of a report for some subsequent action of the Assembly, such as the approval of the budgets, or other special items, the report shall be approved as a whole pending the completion of these other items.  At the time that the other items come to the floor, only these matters may be considered by the Assembly, since the report as a whole will have already been adopted.

19-4. Procedure in debating a question:

a. The chairman or his designate may answer questions concerning the report addressed to him through the Moderator.

b. With respect to any recommendation, the representative of any Committee or Agency shall have the right to make the final speech in support of the Committee’s motion before the question is put on a substitute, or on the Committee or Agency’s main motion, as the case may be, even upon the expiration of time on the question, the failure of a motion to extend the time, or the adoption of a motion to order the Previous Question.

c. No commissioner may speak on the same question more than once until all desiring to speak have done so.

d. Unless otherwise provided, debate on the main motion shall be limited to ten (10) minutes unless extended.  When a main motion has been debated for ten (10) minutes, the Moderator shall put the question to the Assembly: “Does the Assembly desire to extend the time an additional five (5) minutes?”  A simple majority will decide the question.  If the majority decides not to extend debate, the Moderator will call the question.  If an amendment of a substitution is on the floor, the question of extending time on the main motion shall be repeated after the vote on the amendment or substitute.  If time is extended, the question of extension will again be put every succeeding five (5) minutes until the motion is concluded.  Unless otherwise provided, each commissioner shall be limited to three (3) minutes on the same question unless the court by a simple majority grants additional time.

e. Debate shall be free and open, with equal time being given to proponents and opponents insofar as possible.

19-5. Special Provisions

a. The assistants to the Stated Clerk shall have the privilege of the floor when requested by the Moderator to render some specific service to the court.

b. All motions shall be presented in writing and read before being voted upon.

ARTICLE XX.  

Amendment or Suspension of Rules

The Rules of Assembly Operations may be amended or suspended only by a two-thirds vote of those voting, which must also be a majority of the total enrollment of commissioners.  A motion to amend is debatable.  A motion to suspend is not debatable.