Committees
1.
The Moderator, if so directed by the Body, nominates
committees, and the nominations are confirmed by a vote of the Body; or nominations may be
taken from members present and then confirmed by a vote of the Body.
2.
Any matter of business or subject under debate may be
referred to a committee, with or without instructions. The committee makes their report,
which is the result of their deliberations. The body then takes action on the report and
on any recommendations it may contain.
3.
The report of a committee is received when it is listened
to, having been called for or permitted by the Moderator, with or without a vote of the
body. The report is accepted by a vote, which acknowledges their services and places the
report before the body for its action. Any distinct recommendation contained in the report
is acted on and may be adopted or rejected by vote of the body.
4.
A report may be recommitted to the committee with or
without instructions, or that committee may be discharged and the matter referred to a new
committee for further consideration so as to present it in a form more likely to meet the
general concurrence of the body.
5.
A committee may be appointed with power for a specific
purpose. This gives them power to dispose conclusively of the matter without further
reference to the body.
6.
The first named in the appointment of a committee is by
courtesy considered to be the chairperson, but the committee has the right to name its own
chairperson.
7.
Committees of arrangement, or for other protracted service,
report progress from time to time and are continued until their final report or until
their appointment expires by limitation.
8.
A committee is discharged by a vote when its business is
done and its report accepted. Usually, in routine business a committee is considered
discharged by the acceptance of its report.
A committee appointed to act for a given
period or during the recess of the body is called a Standing Committee. It has charge of a
given department of business assigned by the body and acts either with power, under
instructions, or at discretion, as may be ordered. A Standing Committee is substantially a
minor board and has its own chairperson, secretary, records, and times of meetings.
The Moderator announces all votes and
decides all questions as to rules of proceeding and order of debate. Any member who is
dissatisfied with his decisions may appeal to the body. The Moderator puts the question,
"Shall the decision of the chair be sustained?" The vote of the body, whether
negative or affirmative, is final. The right to appeal is undeniable but should not be
resorted to on trivial occasions.
