LCMS Convention Proceedings St. Louis, Missouri — 2004, Page 49

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SPECIAL STANDING RULES
12. An electronic response system shall ordinarily be used to
register votes. When not in use for motions before the
convention, the Chair shall call for a voice vote and the
raising of the right hand.
13. Whenever possible, amendments to proposed resolutions and
substitute resolutions shall be submitted to Today’s Business
for publication prior to convention consideration of the
resolutions to which they pertain. When this is not possible, as
in the course of a discussion, a written copy of proposed
amendments shall be provided to the Secretary prior to its
being offered from the floor.
14. If a substitute motion is offered and seconded, the presenter
shall be offered two minutes to provide the rationale for
offering it, after which the convention shall decide by
majority vote without debate whether or not to consider the
substitute. If the decision is in the affirmative and if the
substitute motion is subsequently adopted, the original motion
fails. If the substitute motion does not receive favorable action
either to consider or to adopt, the original motion is again
considered. (This is the so-called “Behnken Rule” for
addressing substitute motions.)
15. While any voting delegate may call the question at any time,
the question shall be called by the Chair after every 20
minutes of debate on any motion (except those to which
Standing Rule 6 pertains). The Chair may also call for a vote
on the close of debate (2/3 majority required) when in his
judgment the assembly has heard sufficient speaking from
both sides of the issue.
16. The use of sound-producing and voice-communication
electronic devices shall not be permitted in the advisory
delegate, Council of Presidents, and press sections of the
convention. The use of sound-producing and electronic wire
or wireless communication devices, including voice and data
(e.g., laptops, messaging communication devices), shall not
be permitted in the voting delegate section of the convention.
17. To preserve convention time, questions of privilege shall be
addressed in writing to the Chair.
18. Unless covered by these Special Standing Rules, parliamentary procedure shall be governed by the most recent
edition of Robert’s Rules of Order.
*Standing Rule 6 was introduced at the 1995 convention and has
been retained at subsequent conventions. The following note was
included with the 1995 convention Special Standing Rules and
seemed appropriate to include as a reminder of its purpose.
This rule was implemented (sic. proposed) to assist the convention in carrying out its important legislative function. Its intention
is not to control but to free the delegates to give sufficient
attention to issues which are considered to be of special importance. It does the following:
1. Provides time for the discussion of an issue without interruption.
2. Prevents the temptation to spend time on amendments at the
expense of consideration of the main motion.
3. Prevents the closure of debate by calling for the question on the
amendment and the main motion.
4. Allows for calling of the motion by the Chair if it is clear from
lack of discussion that delegates are ready to vote.
5. Brings closure to the consideration of an issue within a specific
time.

1. The Chair shall see that the agenda is followed as closely as
possible.
2. During the last two days of the convention, the President shall
have the privilege of calling up for action those resolutions
that in his judgment must be acted upon before adjournment.
3. Resolutions that are not acted upon by the convention before
adjournment die. The subject matter may be reintroduced to
the next convention by an overture.
4. Minutes shall be distributed every next morning in Today’s
Business. The first item of business of the afternoon session
shall be the formal approval of these minutes, with the
exception of the final day’s minutes, which shall be approved
by the Board of Directors at its first meeting following the
convention. Only corrections to the minutes involving
convention actions shall be offered from the floor for
consideration. Editorial corrections addressing misspellings of
names or faulty references or titles should be provided in
writing to the Secretary for incorporation into the minutes.
5. Resolutions shall be prioritized by floor committees and
normally shall be presented to the convention in numerical
sequence. However, resolutions that impact nominations or
elections may be given earlier consideration at the discretion
of the Chair, in consultation with the floor committee chairman and the chairmen of the floor committees on nominations
and elections.
6. The convention chairman, in consultation with floor
committee chairmen, may identify resolutions to which up to
11⁄2 hours of continuous consideration should be allotted, as
follows:
15 minutes (if needed)
30 minutes (if needed)
45 minutes (if needed)

Floor committee presentation
Debate on the main motion
Presentation of and debate on
amendments, substitute motions,
main motion, or main motion as
amended

No motion to amend or to table or cease debate may be made
during the first two segments of floor committee presentation
and debate on the main motion. Alternate pro and con
speaking will be followed during debate. Time not used in any
one segment of the above schedule may be added to the next
succeeding segment.
The Chair shall have the right to inquire of the assembly at any
point of its readiness to vote. If not concluded earlier, debate
shall cease at the end of 90 minutes and all motions shall be
called.*
7. The preface, preamble, rationale, and whereas sections shall
be regarded as integral parts of resolutions and therefore
subject to the same consideration and adoption as the main
motion.
8. Delegates wishing to address the convention, when
recognized by the Chair, shall state their names and the name
of the District or other entity of the Synod that they represent.
9. During debate, the two-minute rule for speaking to the motion
shall apply to the floor committee and to all who speak from
the floor.
10. Delegates may not speak twice on a matter under consideration until all other delegates desiring to speak have been
heard once, with exceptions only at the discretion of the
Chair.
11. A delegate who speaks on an issue may not move to call the
question at the close of his or her speech.
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2004 Convention Proceedings