LCMS Convention Proceedings St. Louis, Missouri — 2007, Page 162

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162

RESOLUTIONS
missions, and councils of the Synod. It and shall be authorized to take on behalf of the Synod any action related to such business and legal affairs which has not
been expressly delegated by the Constitution, Bylaws,
and resolutions of the Synod to other officers or agencies of the Synod, and as to those shall have general
oversight responsibility.

(a) A request for an opinion may be accompanied by a
request for an appearance before the commission.

PRESENT/PROPOSED WORDING
3.3.5.5 The Board of Directors shall allocate available funds
to the program boards, commissions, councils, and departments of corporate Synod and hold them responsible therefor.

(c) An opinion rendered by the commission shall be
binding on the question decided unless and until it
is overruled by a convention of the Synod. Overtures to a convention that seek to overrule an
opinion of the commission shall support the proposed action with substantive rationale from the
Constitu- tion, Bylaws, and resolutions of the
Synod. All such overtures shall be considered by the
floor committee to which they have been assigned
and shall be included in a specific report to the convention with recommendations for appropriate
action.

(a) To the extent of its responsibilities relative to the
general management and supervision of the business and legal affairs of the Synod:
(1) It shall receive such reports as it requests on the
operations and policies of the program boards,
commissions, and councils.
(2) It shall have the right to call up for request review and criticism, and request modification or
revocation of, of any action or policy of a program board, commission, or council which primarily relates to business, property, and/or legal
matters and, after consultation with the agency
involved and when deemed necessary, require
modification or revocation thereof, except opinions of the Commission on Constitutional Matters.
PRESENT/PROPOSED WORDING
3.9.2.1 The Commission on Constitutional Matters shall consist of
1. five voting members appointed by the President of
the Synod, whose terms shall be for six years renewable once, three of whom shall be ordained ministers and two shall be lawyers;
2. the Secretary of the Synod, who shall serve as a nonvoting member of the commission and its secretary.
PRESENT/PROPOSED WORDING
3.9.2.1.1 The Commission on Constitutional Matters shall be
appointed in the following manner:
(a) Candidates shall be nominated only by the district boards of directors and shall be presented to
the Council of Presidents through the office of the
Secretary.
(b) The Council of Presidents shall select five candidates for each vacant position and present them
through the office of the Secretary of the Synod to
the President of the Synod.
(c) The President of the Synod, in consultation with
the vice-presidents of the Synod, shall appoint the
members of the commission from the list presented by the Council of Presidents.
(d) Thereafter the appointments shall become effective upon ratification by a majority vote of the
members of the Council of Presidents.
(e) Vacancies in appointed positions shall be filled by
following the procedure set forth above.
PRESENT/PROPOSED WORDING
3.9.2.2 The Commission on Constitutional Matters shall interpret the Synod’s Constitution, Bylaws, and resolutions upon the written request of a member (congregation, ordained or commissioned minister), official,
board, commission, or agency of the Synod.

2007 Convention Proceedings

(b) The commission shall notify an officer or agency of
the Synod if a request for an opinion involves an activity of that officer or agency and shall allow that
officer or agency to submit in writing information
regarding the matter(s) at issue.

(d) When an opinions pertains primarily to business,
legal, finance, civil rights, contracts, or property
matters, and the Board of Directors of the Synod
concludes that such opinion of the commission is
contrary to the laws of the State of Missouri, the
board and the commission, or their respective representatives, shall meet jointly to discuss the
issue(s) and seek resolution thereof first consult
with the Board of Directors of the Synod and/or the
Synod’s legal counsel. If agreement cannot be
reached on whether the matter is governed by the
laws of the State of Missouri, that question shall be
presented to a five-member panel consisting of
three hearing facilitators (Bylaw 1.10.12) chosen by
blind draw by the Executive Director of Internal
Audit of the Synod from the pool of hearing facilitators; one person appointed by the Commission on
Constitutional Matters; and one person appointed
by the Board of Directors. At least one of the hearing facilitators shall be an attorney, and the appointees of the commission and board shall not be
members of the groups that appointed them. The
decision of the panel in support of the position of
the Commission on Constitutional Matters or the
Board of Directors shall be binding on the issue(s)
unless and until it is overruled by a convention of
the Synod.

Action: Adopted (3)
(Special Standing Rule 7 was used to attend to this resolution,
allowing up to 15 minutes for the committee’s introduction and
30 minutes of uninterrupted discussion of the proposed resolution. During the final 45-minute period of debate, a motion was
introduced to delete the proposed wording for Bylaw 3.9.2.1.1 and
to insert two new paragraphs: (a) The Commission on Constitutional Matters shall be elected by the Synod in convention. (b) In
the event of a vacancy, the President shall nominate a replacement
with the consent of three vice-presidents, that nomination to be effective upon ratification by a majority vote of the Council of Presidents. Because the proposed amendment included a bylaw
change that had not been reviewed by the Commission on Constitutional Matters, the commission was asked to look into the
matter. Because the amendment had not been presented to the
floor committee prior to its introduction to the convention, the
maker of the amendment was asked first to consult with the floor
committee prior to further consideration by the convention. When
the convention voted to end debate, the resolution was adopted
as presented by the committee [Yes: 905; No: 292].)