Resolved, the House of _______ concurring, That the 76h General Convention of The Episcopal Church mandate and provide funds in an amount not to exceed $50,000 for The Standing Commission on the Structure of the Church in conjunction with the Standing Commission on Constitution and Canons to conduct a professional comprehensive analysis of the budgeting process and budget of The Episcopal Church during the Triennium 2010-2012, paying particular attention to the relationship between the General Convention (and its officers and committees), the Executive Council (and its officers and committees), the Presiding Bishop and the staff of The Episcopal Church; and be it further

Resolved, That the study address any conflicts and ambiguities among the Canons, Joint Rules of Order, Executive Council and Domestic and Foreign Missionary Society Bylaws and actual practice with the goal of eliminating these conflicts and ambiguities so that the roles and functions of various bodies and offices regarding the creation, adoption, revision, oversight and all other aspects of the budgeting process and budget are clear; and be it further

Resolved, That the Standing Commission on Structure offer a report on the analysis with appropriate recommendations and any proposed changes to the Constitution and Canons of The Episcopal Church, the Joint Rules of Order and the Bylaws of Executive Council and the Domestic and Foreign Missionary Society to the 77th General Convention for its consideration and action.

EXPLANATION

In the course of its recent work, the Joint Standing Committee on Program, Budget and Finance (PB&F) has identified ambiguities, inconsistencies and an occasional lack of information that create conflicting interpretations between the Constitution and Canons of The Episcopal Church and the Rules of Order, which pertain to the creation, adoption, revision and oversight of the budget for The Episcopal Church.

PB&F seeks clarity concerning (a) its own advisory role in overseeing and/or approving changes in the budget between General Conventions and (b) concerning the specific roles of the various officers of the church who are charged with budget responsibilities, especially the several named financial officers of the General Convention, the Executive Council and the Domestic and Foreign Missionary Society.

The lack of definition concerning these leadership roles is the end product of Resolutions amending the procedures and practices of the church, designed at different General Conventions to address a variety of budget oversight issues where concomitant amendments to the Rules were absent. The result is that the responsibilities of the General Convention, the Executive Council, the various officers of the church named in the Constitution and Canons and the Church Center's staff and their interrelationships are unclear, especially with regard to the purpose and intention of the budget, who, if any, have the authority to override budget expense limitations and budgetary Resolutions, make changes to the budget during the triennium and which committee or office within The Episcopal Church is responsible for authorizing and approving such changes.

The Resolution asks that the system of the church's governance-actual and written-be analyzed by an experienced and competent independent firm, under the auspices of the Standing Commission on Structure, and that recommendations for amendments to the Constitution, Canons and Rules to achieve appropriate procedural changes be brought to the 77th General Convention.