LCMS Convention Proceedings St. Louis, Missouri — 2007, Page 151

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PLANNING AND ADMINISTRATION
WHEREAS, These program boards and commissions are
responsible to the Synod and its members as to the conduct
of their duties; and
WHEREAS, Openness and transparency of operation by
these program boards and commissions builds trust and
confidence in the members of the Synod that the Synod is
being governed correctly and competently; and
WHEREAS, Minutes of these program boards and commissions provide a historic record of proceedings; and
WHEREAS, There exists no secular legal requirement to
publish such minutes; and
WHEREAS, The Board of Directors and various program
boards and commissions currently publish minutes or proceedings; and
WHEREAS, Allowing members of the Synod the ability to
obtain copies of official minutes of program boards or commissions promotes transparency; therefore be it
Resolved, That agencies of the Synod announce their upcoming meetings; and be it further
Resolved, That any member of the Synod may request a
copy of any official minutes of program boards or commissions by submitting a written or electronic via e-mail request to the Secretary of the Synod; and be it further
Resolved, That the Secretary of the Synod provide such
minutes according to the policy of the Board of Directors;
and be it further
Resolved, That the Commission on Constitutional Matters incorporate this resolution into the appropriate place
in the Bylaws; and be it finally
Resolved, That agencies of the Synod develop policies
and procedures for making available official minutes of
their meetings.
Action: Adopted (5)
(Upon its introduction by the committee, the parliamentarian
advised that the adoption of this resolution would require a twothirds vote. During discussion, an amendment was introduced to
add a new second resolve: Resolved, That all bylaws and procedures of our boards and commissions allow for a one-fifth minority of any board or commission to call for a roll call vote of its
members at any time; and be it further. By common consent, bylaws in the proposed resolve was changed to policies before the
amendment failed to be adopted. When the parliamentarian advised that accurate registration information would be necessary
before voting on the resolution, the convention went on to other
business until voting delegate registration information could be
obtained. Upon the report of the chairman of Committee 9 that
the voting delegate registration totaled 1,239, discussion continued and the addition of or electronic via e-mail after written in
the second resolve was agreed to by the committee. The resolution was adopted as changed [Yes: 1,053; No: 109].)

To Amend Bylaws 3.9.2.2.4 and 3.3.5.3
RESOLUTION 7-06A
Overture 7-55 (CW, p. 255)
WHEREAS, There is confusion regarding the respective
roles of the Commission on Constitutional Matters (CCM)
and the Board of Directors regarding the review of program
boards’ and commissions’ policy manuals; and
WHEREAS, Both groups have responsibility for certain
different aspects of these policies related to their spheres
of responsibility; and

151

WHEREAS, The CCM is given the responsibility in the
Handbook to examine the documents of these agencies of
Synod “to ascertain whether they are in harmony with the
Constitution, Bylaws, and resolutions of the Synod” (Bylaw
3.9.2.2.4); and
WHEREAS, The Board of Directors is given the responsibility in the Handbook for the “coordination of the policies
and directives of the Synod” (Bylaw 3.3.5.3); therefore be it
Resolved, That Bylaws 3.9.2.2.4 and 3.3.5.3 be amended
to read as follows:
PRESENT/PROPOSED WORDING
3.9.2.2.4 The Commission on Constitutional Matters shall examine in advance the articles of incorporation and
the bylaws or regulations governing instruments of
every agency of the Synod and all proposed amendments of such documents to ascertain whether they
are in harmony with the Constitution, Bylaws, and
resolutions of the Synod.
(a) An agency of the Synod shall make such amendments to or changes in these documents as may
be necessary to conform.
(b) The commission shall maintain a file of the articles of incorporation, and bylaws, and regulations
governing instruments of all agencies of the
Synod.
3.3.5.3

The Board of Directors shall provide for the review
and coordination of the policies and directives of the
Synod authorized by the Constitution, Bylaws, and
resolutions of the Synod, evaluating plans and policies and communicating to the appropriate boards
and commissions suggestions for improvement and,
in the case of program boards and commissions, require changes for compliance with Board of Directors’
policies within the sphere of its responsibility.

Action: Adopted (5)
(The resolution was adopted as presented by the committee
without discussion [Yes: 1,044; No: 80].)

To Revise Bylaw Section 1.5 and to Add
Definitions to Handbook
RESOLUTION 7-07A
Overtures 7-01–02 (CW, pp. 233–237)
Rationale
After the 2004 convention, the Commission on Constitutional Matters (CCM) was requested to give an opinion regarding the term “agency” in Bylaw 1.5.9, specifically,
whether every agency of the Synod is required to follow the
human resources policies of the Synod. Prior to the 2004 revision of the Handbook, the term “agency” was not used in
the comparable bylaw but was substituted for the phrase
“every board, commission, and synodwide corporate entity”
(2001 Handbook Bylaw 3.69 [e]). With the introduction of
the broader term “agency” into Bylaw 1.5.9, the application
of the bylaw appeared to have been expanded to include all
agencies as defined in Bylaw 1.2.1 (a), i.e., not only boards,
commissions, and synodwide corporate entities, but also
districts, colleges, and seminaries, which had never before
been required to follow the human resource policies of the
national office of the Synod. In its Opinion 05-2426 (CW, p.
2007 Convention Proceedings