I. PREAMBLE: The Standing Rules are intended to guide and govern the mission and business of the Illinois Great Rivers Annual Conference. They provide order and structure for the Annual Conference.
II. ILLINOIS GREAT RIVERS ANNUAL CONFERENCE CORPORATE GOVERNANCE
A. Standing Rules
B. Policy and Procedure Statements
C. Amendments to Standing Rules
D. Suspension of Standing Rules
III. ANNUAL CONFERENCE SESSION
A. Purpose: The members of the Annual Conference shall convene in session, as called by the bishop, to decide the matters brought before them ( ¶s 601, 603.2, 604, and 605.2, 2016 Book of Discipline).
B. Agenda: The bishop, in consultation with the Committee on Annual Conference Sessions and/or other persons/groups so delegated, shall develop the agenda for the session of the Annual Conference. (¶605.2, 2016 Book of Discipline)
C. Members of the Annual Conference
d. Lay members of the annual conference elected for the purpose of lay/clergy equalization shall serve to the end of the quadrennium as long as the congregation continues to pay 100% of their apportionments.
e. The annual conference secretary will determine if any local churches have failed to pay 100% of their apportionments in the prior year and adjust the equalization members so that all of them represent local churches that have paid 100% of their prior year apportionments.
5. Expenses shall be paid in the following manner:
a. Each charge shall reimburse appropriate expenses of lay and clergy members from that charge as identified in sections 4 (a) and 4 (c)(ii)
b. The annual conference sessions committee shall annually consider the reimbursement of expenses for equalization members as identified in section 4(c)(i) above and propose the appropriate budget for the same.
D. Legislative Duties
1. An early matter of business for the convened Annual Conference session shall be to take action on the proposed agenda from the Annual Conference Committee on Sessions for the business of the annual conference session.
2. The proposed agenda shall be published each year in the Pre-Conference Workbook.
3. Any group or individual presenting an item for action by the Annual Conference that has fiscal implications, either on a continuing basis or a one-time basis, shall submit the material two weeks prior to the normal deadline for submission (see Conference Secretary’s Policies: Reports and Resolutions, Journal-Yearbook) to the Pre-Conference Workbook. The Annual Conference Secretary shall forward the item to the Council on Finance and Administration (CCFA), which will review the resolution at a scheduled meeting and submit a statement of fiscal impact to the annual conference secretary to be published with the resolution in the Pre-Conference Workbook or the Supplemental Packet.
4. Motions from the floor of annual conference that have implications for the proposed budget, once approved by vote of the annual conference, shall be considered as referrals to CCFA, whose comment to the annual conference shall be required prior to the final vote on the budget.
5. Any group or individual presenting an item for action by the Annual Conference that has implications for pensions and health benefits, either on a continuing basis or a one-time basis, shall submit the material two weeks prior to the normal deadline for submission to the Pre-Conference Workbook. The Annual Conference Secretary shall forward the item to the Conference Board of Pensions (CBOP), which will review the resolution at a scheduled meeting and will submit a statement of impact to the annual conference secretary to be published with the resolution in the Pre-Conference Workbook
or the Supplemental Packet.
a. Any proposal or amendment impacting Annual Conference health benefits must be accompanied by a formal evaluation of the costs involved, certified by an independent insurance underwriter, actuary or other recognized expert.
b. If the healthcare and/or health insurance environment necessitates a change in conference policy, the Conference Board of Pensions is empowered to establish policies, plans and programs to respond to the current reality, or to amend policies, plans and programs currently in place in-between sessions of the annual conference, subject to annual conference approval at the next regularly scheduled session.
E. Election of Members to Serve on Agencies, Boards, Committees, Councils, Commissions and Ministry Teams
1. The Annual Conference Committee on Nominations shall prepare a recommended slate of candidates to fill the positions on various agencies, committees, boards, councils, ministry teams, and commissions of the annual conference.
2. In the nomination and election of membership for all Annual Conference structures, special attention shall be given to inclusiveness as outlined in ¶610.5, 2016 Book of Discipline.
3. The members of the Annual Conference shall elect persons to its various agencies, committees, boards, councils, ministry teams, and commissions.
F. Election of Delegates to General and Jurisdictional Conferences:
Election of delegates to General and Jurisdictional Conferences shall be conducted in the following manner:
1. All clergy members in full connection will be assigned a number for the purpose of electronic balloting by the annual conference secretary prior to the Annual Conference Session. Clergy who submit their picture and a biography of not more than two hundred (200) words will be included in the material published and distributed by the annual conference secretary, provided the materials have been received prior to a deadline established by the annual conference secretary.
2. Lay persons eligible to serve as delegates may submit a biography of not more than two hundred (200) words and a picture that will be published and distributed by the annual conference secretary, provided that the materials are received prior to a deadline established by the annual conference secretary.
All lay persons who submit materials shall be assigned a number by the annual conference secretary for the purpose of electronic balloting. The names of lay persons willing to serve may also be received from the floor of the Annual Conference session.
3. In the case of both laity and clergy, election shall be by a majority of the votes cast in each ballot.
G. Annual Conference Displays and Sessions Information Material: Displays and distributed materials at Annual Conference shall be governed by policies developed by the Committee on Annual Conference Sessions and adopted by the Annual Conference.
H. Records (¶ 606, 2016 Book of Discipline)
1. The Annual Conference shall maintain records of its proceedings.
2. The Annual Conference shall publish a Journal-Yearbook and distribute copies to all members.
3. The Standing Rules shall be printed in the Annual Conference Journal-Yearbook each year.
4. The Annual Conference Journal-Yearbook shall contain all new or revised policy statements approved by the Annual Conference and a reference index to previously-published policy statements.
5. The annual conference secretary or historian, if one is elected or appointed, shall archive the Annual Conference’s records and materials consistent with prudent business practices.