9th Assembly proposals 59-64

59. PROPOSALS INVOLVING FINANCIAL COMMITMENT (Business Committee)

The Business Committee replaces proposal 9 with the following:

That the Assembly determine that any proposal submitted at this Assembly which may involve a financial commitment not currently provided for in Assembly budgets or which seeks to establish a priority on the use of resources of the Assembly and/or its agencies or which may involve a financial commitment for synods, be subject to comment before determination by the Assembly as follows:
· by the Finance Committee and the Management Advisory Group in the case of a financial commitment not currently provided for in Assembly budgets;
· by the Management Advisory Group in the case of seeking to establish a priority on the use of Assembly resources;
· by the Finance Committee in the case of financial commitment for synods.

Rationale:
The revised wording provides greater clarity as to which is the appropriate Assembly body is to provide comment to the Assembly. See also the rationale provided with proposal 9.

60. AMENDMENT OF A DEFINITION IN THE CONSTITUTION (Legal Reference Committee)

That the Assembly:

60.1 amend the definition of "Member" in clause 3 of the Constitution by replacing the words "Council of Elders" with the words "Church Council";

60.2 request synods and presbyteries to notify the General Secretary by 2 March 2001 of their response to this amendment of the Constitution, in accordance with clauses 72 and 73 of the Constitution.

Rationale:
Amendment of the definition of "Member" was overlooked by the Assembly in 1997. Following the decisions of the 1997 Assembly to move to the one local "Church Council" all other occurrences of "Council of Elders" in the Constitution were amended. This proposal thus corrects an oversight .

2The Assembly Secretariat will ensure that all synods and presbyteries receive notification of this amendment, if the proposal is approved, by mid-September. The deadline of Friday 2 March 2001 should give sufficient time for synod and presbytery response, as per clauses 72 and 73 of the Constitution.

61. REGULATION 3.1.10 RE ELDERS WITH LIFETIME TENURE (Legal Reference Committee)

That the Assembly request the Standing Committee, on the advice of the Legal Reference Committee, to amend Regulation 3.1.10 as follows:

"ELDERS
3.1.10 (a) [as is]

(b) Members who held life tenure as Elders at the inauguration of the Church and have not relinquished their life tenure shall continue to be recognised as Elders.

(c) Elders holding life tenure who have not relinquished their life tenure and who have maintained continuous membership of the Congregation in which they held membership at the inauguration of the Church shall be entitled to be members of the Church Council of that Congregation.

(d) Elders holding life tenure and whose membership has been transferred to another Congregation since the inauguration of the Church may stand for election as Elders and members of Church Council under the provisions of Regulations 3.1.12, 3.1.4 and 3.1.16, but shall not automatically be entitled to be members of Church Council.

(e) A Congregation may choose to use the term "Leader" instead of "Elder" for those fulfilling the ministry of Elder."

Rationale:
This amendment corrects an unintended consequence of the current wording of Regulation 3.1.10. The present wording failed to preserve the intent of the previous Regulations, the Constitution and the Basis of Union, in ensuring the ongoing recognition of Elders with lifetime tenure, even where such Elders have moved to another Congregation since 1977. The proposed wording of paragraph (b), (c) and (d) spells out clearly the entitlements of Elders with lifetime tenure, and is consistent with church practice since union.
The Standing Committee in July 1999 addressed this issue (ASC minute 99.72.02) and requested the Legal Reference Committee to bring amendments to the Regulations to the Ninth Assembly.

62. AMENDMENT OF REGULATION 3.6.27(c) (Standing Committee)

That the Assembly request the Standing Committee, on the advice of the Legal Reference Committee, to amend Regulation 3.6.27(c) to read:

"Secretaries of Synods, the Associate General Secretary and the National Director, Theology and Discipleship, and such Assembly staff as the President and General Secretary, after consultation, may invite, having regard to the agenda of the meeting, may attend the meetings of the Standing Committee as observers with the right to speak but not to vote."

Rationale:
Two changes are proposed to this Regulation:
· the two staff positions named in the present Regulation no longer exist within the Assembly structure; instead, the Standing Committee has welcomed the contribution of the Associate General Secretary and the National Director, Theology and Discipleship, as ongoing participants in Standing Committee meetings;
· the second change simply clarifies the need for the President and General Secretary to determine together which other staff persons should attend a Standing Committee meeting, in light of the agenda.

63. AMENDMENT OF REGULATION 3.5.13(a) (Legal Reference Committee)

That the Assembly request the Standing Committee, on the advice of the Legal Reference Committee, to amend Regulation 3.5.13(a)(i) to read:

"(i) a Moderator shall be elected and designated Moderator-elect by a meeting of the Synod prior to the one at which the person will take office;".

Rationale:
The current wording of this Regulation provides that the Moderator-elect shall be elected at the "ordinary meeting of the Synod prior to the one at which the person will take office". Before 1990 it read "the annual meeting of the Synod prior to the one at which the person will take office".

The frequency and nature of Synod meetings continues to change. There is no reason why the election of the Moderator-elect must happen at an "ordinary" meeting of a Synod. If the Synod is holding a special meeting [see Regulation 3.5.6(b)] it should be able to determine that the election will take place then. Accordingly the proposal frees Synods from the restriction of having to hold elections for Moderator-elect only at ordinary meetings.

64. AMENDMENT OF REGULATION 4.11.1(a) (Legal Reference Committee)

That the Assembly request the Standing Committee, on the advice of the Legal Reference Committee, to amend Regulation 4.11.1(a) by amending the heading and by adding the words "and who is not an independent contractor" so that the Regulation reads:

"INDEMNITY
4.11.1 (a) Any person acting under the express or implied authority of the Church and who is not an independent contractor shall be indemnified out of trust property against all liability for any matter or thing done or liability incurred except in the case of fraud, criminal act, gross negligence or wilful misconduct."

Rationale:
Concern has been raised with the Legal Reference Committee that the current wording of Regulation 4.11.1(a) is so wide that it could be taken to provide an indemnity for those contracted professionally to undertake work on behalf of the church, even extending to professional auditors. The Legal Reference Committee accepts that there could be grounds for concern in the breadth of the current wording and so brings this proposal to clarify that the indemnity provision does not cover independent contractors. The change to the heading is also for reasons of clarity.