Joint Standing Committee on Nominations

Mandate

2022 - Joint Rules of Order V

1. There shall be a Joint Standing Committee on Nominations, which shall submit nominations for the election of:

a. Trustees of The Church Pension Fund, serving as the Joint Committee referred to in Canon I.8.2.

b. Members of the Executive Council under Canon I.4.1.d.

c. The Secretary of the House of Deputies and the Treasurer of the General Convention under Canons I.1.1.j and I.1.7.a.

d. Trustees of the General Theological Seminary.

e. General Board of Examining Chaplains.

f. Disciplinary Board for Bishops.

g. Court of Review.

h. The Joint Nominating Committee for the election of the Presiding Bishop.

2. The Joint Standing Committee on Nominations is composed of three Bishops, two Priests, one Deacon, and six Lay Persons. Members who are Priests, Deacons or Lay Persons must have served as Deputies to the most recent General Convention; once appointed, they will continue to serve as members of the Joint Standing Committee on Nominations through the next succeeding General Convention, regardless of whether they are elected as a Deputy to such General Convention, and until their successors are appointed.

3. The said Committee is instructed to solicit recommendations from interested organizations and individuals, to be considered by them for inclusion among their nominees.

a. For the elections of the Secretary of the General Convention, the Treasurer of the General Convention, and the members of the Court of Review, the Joint Standing Committee on Nominations will nominate a minimum of one nominee for each vacancy.

b. For the election of the members of Executive Council and the Trustees of The Church Pension Fund, the Joint Standing Committee on Nominations will nominate a minimum of two persons for each vacancy.

c. For all other elections other than those described in parts a. and b. of this Joint Rule, for which the Joint Standing Committee on Nominations will present nominees, it will nominate a minimum number of nominees equal to one and one-half times the number of vacancies.

d. In all elections for which it will present nominees, the Joint Standing Committee on Nominations is charged with: (i) ensuring that the nominees for each position, and as a group, as nearly as possible, represent the diverse constituencies of The Episcopal Church; (ii) obtaining biographical sketches with a facial image of all nominees, and (iii) reporting such nominations and sketches in the Reports to the next General Convention, otherwise known as the Blue Book.

e. This Joint Rule does not preclude further nominations from the floor made pursuant to separate rules adopted by either House of the General Convention.

a. The Joint Standing Committee on Nominations, through the Office of the Secretary of General Convention, will secure background checks on its and any other nominees for Secretary of the General Convention, Treasurer of the General Convention, President of the House of Deputies, Vice President of the House of Deputies, Executive Council, and Trustee of The Church Pension Fund. These background checks will cover criminal records checks and sexual offender registry checks in any state where a proposed nominee has resided during the prior seven years, any appropriate professional licensing bodies with jurisdiction over a nominee’s professional status and any violations of state or federal securities or banking laws. The records checks of proposed nominees from outside the United States will cover the same information from comparable authorities in the place of principal residence of the proposed nominee.

b. The required background check will be done prior to accepting a proposed nomination.

c. Background check results will be reviewed by the Office of the Secretary of General Convention. If that Office, after consultation with the Chief Legal Officer, determines that the results should preclude a person from holding the office sought, the Office shall share the determination with the proposed nominee and remit that determination, but not the background check results, to the nominating authority. Background check information shall not be shared beyond the Office of the Secretary of General Convention, the Chief Legal Officer, and proposed nominees who request their own information. The cost of background checks under this rule shall be covered by The Episcopal Church budget.

6. Any person desiring to be nominated from the floor of either House for any of the offices listed in Joint Rule V.5.a shall, at a time determined by the Office of the Secretary of General Convention, but no later than sixty days prior to the first legislative day of General Convention, submit the person’s name and other necessary information to the Office of the Secretary of General Convention for the purpose of submitting to a background check in accordance with Joint Rule V.5.