2007 World Conference Legislation

C-3 Conference Organization and Procedures Committee Report

To the First Presidency and the World Conference:

The Conference Organization and Procedures Committee met eight times during the inter-Conference period. As recommended in the committee’s Scope and Foci, three of these meetings were held prior to or immediately following other World Church events such as Finance Board meetings and field officers meetings to allow for greater face-to-face interaction by committee members. Participants included 24 individuals from six countries on four continents and were a mix of men, women, adults, young adults, and youth.

The committee utilized electronic technology including e-mail, teleconferencing, and video conferencing over the Internet in conducting its business in an effort to facilitate maximum participation by those not able to physically attend the meetings. Results of an extensive survey conducted with participants in the 2004 World Conference were scrutinized and those areas that fell within the scope of the committee’s mandate were given specific consideration. In addition, input was also gathered from individuals in informal field interviews and e-mail. In an effort to increase communication regarding the work of the COPC, its Web page on the church’s Web site was expanded to include French and Spanish translations and a method to contact the chairperson via e-mail.

The committee addressed several specific issues as outlined by the First Presidency as well as others raised by committee members. Subcommittees were formed to explore in depth the following specific areas of interest and concern: legislative communication, the deliberative process, Conference program, standing rules, multilingual needs, and legislative structure. Each subcommittee was encouraged to consider in all their discussions how youth and young adults might be impacted. This report attempts to summarize the deliberations of the subcommittees and the committee, and to convey specific recommendations growing out of those efforts.

Legislative Communication
A number of topics were discussed including the possibility of using voting kiosks for elections in an effort to reduce the amount of time spent during legislative sessions. Another was the possibility of replacing the existing lectern equipment. Although there was considerable discussion and evaluation of the current system, the committee felt it was not necessary to make any specific recommendations at this time. However, future COPC’s are encouraged to revisit these issues.

The Deliberative Process
This issue was of particular concern to the committee. There was general agreement among the members that it is important to strive for a more consensual approach to decision making, but there was less agreement on the methods for achieving that goal. Therefore, the committee recommends that the Committee on Common Consent, authorized by the First Presidency in 2002, should continue to explore this issue and make specific recommendations in the future.

In the meantime, the committee recommended that the procedure known as Committee of the Whole be utilized more frequently. This method allows the assembly to discuss issues with more relaxed rules and, hence, provides for some additional flexibility and freedom of deliberation while at the same time maintaining order.

In an effort to facilitate more input from non-English speaking delegates, the committee recommended that the First Presidency issue a statement explaining how they utilize the computerized queue to identify such individuals and how they strive to intentionally pause at appropriate times to ensure that all delegates have been given an opportunity to speak. This statement would be in lieu of a formal standing rule requiring the presider to pause at specific times.

The committee also recommended further examination of a practice that provides for one or more individuals to specifically focus on the attitude and mood of the Conference and suggest a recess or time of prayer as needed. This practice is utilized by at least one other denomination and the person assigned to this task is known as the discernamentarian. The committee felt that youth and young adults should be included in this process if it is adopted in the future.

The need for an additional caucus to accommodate individuals who do not speak Spanish, French, or Tahitian, the languages for which caucuses have been functioning in the past, was discussed by the COPC members. There are many places where people speak English, but differences of accent and vocabulary require speakers to slow down and take more time in their communication to facilitate understanding. Consequently, the Elders and Aaronic Mass Meetings are difficult to understand, so these individuals often do not attend. As a result of the COPC’s subsequent recommendation, a Basic-English Caucus will be convened during the 2007 Conference to help meet this identified need.

Program
The committee discussed the possibility of compressing World Conference business into fewer days. No formal recommendation was made by the committee because a variation of the suggested approach was adopted by the Conference planning committee for the 2007 World Conference. Similarly, the COPC recommended that online registration be available. This feature was already being planned and, indeed, was available for the current Conference.
The committee recommended that the daily Bulletin be made available in PDF format for those who prefer to receive materials in electronic format. The details of how these files would be made available would need to be arranged.

Standing Rules
The COPC recommends the following standing rules for the 2007 World Conference:

1. The Credentials Committee shall report the names of certified delegates and alternates at the opening of the Conference. The Credentials Committee shall be authorized to proceed with the certification of alternates as delegates according to predetermined guidelines, without further reference to the Conference. (Guidelines: The alternate delegates certified to the Credentials Committee shall be listed in the order of votes cast for them at their election, and shall be seated by the committee in place of regular delegates who cannot attend, in the order of such listing, it being understood that the action of the Credentials Committee in this regard shall be based on a written statement signed by the administrative officer and secretary of the Conference concerned, indicating which properly selected delegates cannot be present. This statement must in the hands of the Credentials Committee not less than 10 days prior to the opening of World Conference. If a permanent vacancy occurs, due to emergency during the 10 days prior to Conference or while the Conference is in session, the Credentials Committee may seat the next listed alternate, if requested in writing by the administrative officer of the Conference concerned or the officer’s designee.)
2. Delegates in identified delegations without full representation will cast proportional* votes equal to the number of delegate votes provided in the rules of representation. This procedure will provide full voting strength to identified jurisdictions that are unable to send a full slate of delegates to the Conference. Because this procedure may make it difficult for the Chair to determine the outcome of a vote under some circumstances, the Chair will provide for a counted vote on substantive issues if there is any possibility that the outcome is in doubt.
   *For each delegation using proportional voting, a ratio will be established by dividing the total number of delegates the jurisdiction is entitled to by the number of delegates registered and certified, carried out to the second decimal place. Within each delegation, the number of votes for and against a particular proposition will be multiplied by the ratio and rounded up or down to the nearest whole vote. The rounded totals will be reported.
3. Conference registration badges are to be worn during any delegate caucus or mass meeting and during Conference business sessions.
4. During the Conference, resolutions may be initiated by World Church councils, quorums, orders, and the Presiding Bishopric or committees of the World Conference; by delegates in the mass meeting of the elders; by delegates in the mass meeting of the Aaronic priesthood; and by the delegate caucus (WCR 1125,1214) and the Children’s and Youth Delegate Caucus (WCR 1254) and French, Spanish, and Tahitian language caucuses. Resolutions shall be presented to the church secretary. Any of the above bodies may consult with the Resolutions Committee regarding wording and form before submitting resolutions to the church secretary.
5. The time limit for the introduction of new business from all bodies will be 5:00 p.m. Tuesday, March 27, 2007.
6. No delegate shall speak in debate more than once on the same question on the same day or longer than three minutes without permission of the Conference, granted by a majority vote without debate. In the case of mover and first speaker in opposition, five minutes shall be allowed. These time limits shall be doubled for non-English speaking delegates whose remarks require translation. Individuals called on to provide information are not governed by this rule.
7. The chairperson may allow up to five minutes for non-English speaking delegations to discuss a question among themselves prior to taking the vote. Such a pause may be at the initiative of the chairperson or the translation chief.
8. The First Presidency shall formulate and adjust the agenda each day as required. Therefore, the printed agenda is for guidance only and shall not be considered as either general or special orders.
9. During the proceedings of the Conference, the “request for information” will not be considered a privileged motion. Therefore, delegates seeking the floor to make a “request for information” will not be given any special preference in recognition, but may obtain the floor in the same manner as those wishing to speak in debate.
10. As provided in the Bylaws, rules contained in the Tenth Edition (2000) of Robert’s Rules of Order Newly Revised shall govern the Conference in all cases to which they are applicable and in which they are not inconsistent with the current Rules of Order of the church and these standing rules.
11. Any of these standing rules may be suspended by a majority vote of the body without debate. A two-thirds vote will be required to amend or repeal these standing rules.

Multilingual Needs
The need for additional translators and the replacement and expansion of the translation equipment received considerable attention. The committee recommended that these be priority issues in the immediate future. Specifically, (1.) approximately 100 new receivers and headsets should be purchased or rented, as many of the existing units do not work properly; (2.) the broadcast system should be expanded to at least 16 channels so that the emerging languages of the church can be accommodated; (3.) additional space should be allocated for translators; and (4.) at least six additional microphone sets should be purchased for the translations booth .

In the course of the committee’s deliberations, it was learned that the broadcast system can be increased from 6 to 10 channels for the 2007 World Conference. While this will be an improvement, it is still not adequate to handle the growing needs for multilanguage translations.

Legislative Structure
The committee examined a number of ideas about how the legislative process for World Conference is structured. Out of those discussions came three specific recommendations.

First was a resolution recommending adjustment of the deadline to submit legislation, from 60 days to 120 days. In response to the request of the First Presidency, and with the support of the World Church Leadership Council, that resolution was substituted with one that restricted legislation from the caucuses to what would be urgent or reactive to action of the current Conference.

Second was a proposal that alternative methods be explored for presenting reports from the various committees enabled by Conference action. One suggestion was to present the reports in a setting other than the legislative session, but print the reports in the Conference bulletin as usual. Another suggestion was that the time allowed for the report presentations during the legislative sessions be reduced to an executive summary of no more than one minute. To model this approach, the verbal report of the COPC will use this model at the 2007 Conference.

Third was that a document detailing how a resolution should be prepared for submission to World Conference be prepared and distributed to the church at large. It was felt that such a document might streamline the legislative process by providing guidelines for individuals and jurisdictions to use in crafting potential legislation. The COPC briefly examined one example of such guidelines titled “Writing a Resolution” from the Central States Synod, ELCA, and recommended that something similar should be developed by an appropriate individual or body for the Community of Christ. Additionally, the committee recommended that the next COPC continue to review other denominations’ methods of dealing with legislation such as that used by the Mennonites.

On behalf of the committee, the Chair would like to thank the First Presidency for the opportunity to assist in this task by having direct input into the organization and operation of World Conference. He would also like to express personal appreciation to all the participants for their thoughtful and active participation in the committee’s work. Although the members held a variety of opinions, the manner in which they shared and discussed those divergent views was exemplary of what it means to be the Community of Christ.

Conference Organization and Procedures Committee
John S. Wight, chair
Kenneth D. Bell Jr.
Mary Campbell
Bunda C. Chibwe
Angie Elliott-Koéné
Sandee Gamet
Greg Goheen
Trish Heath
Cheryl A. Hipp
Michael A. Hoffman
Derek J. Judd
A. Bruce Lindgren
Diane Martin
Andrew Nadzam
Jeffrey A. Naylor
John Pinkerton
Andrew Shields
Susan D. Sloan
Johnny Stabno
Malcolm Stephenson
Lawrence W. Tyree
Wim van Klinken
Rachel van Rossum
Jane Watkins