1. Membership. a) The membership of the General Board shall be composed of two bishops, elected by the Council of Bishops; three members from each jurisdiction, elected by the respective Jurisdictional Conferences; six members, with not more than two from the same jurisdiction, elected by the General Conference on nomination of the Council of Bishops; and eight additional members for the purpose of bringing to the General Board special knowledge or background, not more than two from the same jurisdiction, nominated and elected by the General Board in such manner as it shall provide in its bylaws.
b) The aforementioned electing bodies shall give consideration during the nominating process to equitable representation consistent with Paragraph 815 herein.
c) The general secretary of the General Board shall be an ex officio member thereof, without vote.
d) The terms of all members so elected shall be four years, to take effect at the first meeting of the General Board following the General Conference, hereinafter referred to as the Organizational Meeting.
(1) Members shall serve during the terms for which they are elected and until their successors shall have been elected and qualified.
(2) Other paragraphs of the Discipline notwithstanding, members of the General Board may serve a maximum of three consecutive terms.
(3) In case a vacancy occurs between regular sessions of the Jurisdictional Conferences for any cause, the General Board shall fill the vacancy for the unexpired term from that jurisdiction in the representation of which the vacancy occurs, except in the case of members elected by the General Conference or the General Board where such vacancies would be filled by the General Board in the manner prescribed by its bylaws without regard to geographic or jurisdictional representation.
2. Officers. a) The General Board shall elect from its membership at its Organizational Meeting a chairperson, a vice-chairperson, and a recording secretary whose duties shall be prescribed in its bylaws.
b) The General Board shall elect quadrennially at its Organizational Meeting a general secretary, who shall be the chief executive officer of the General Board.
c) Other offices that are deemed desirable and in the best interest of the General Board for carrying out its purposes may be created by the General Board, and persons may be elected or appointed to fill such offices.
d) A vacancy in any of these offices shall be filled by the General Board for the remainder of the unexpired term in a manner prescribed in its by-laws.
3. Meetings. The General Board shall hold at least one meeting in each calendar year.
a) The place and time of all meetings shall be designated by the General Board, but if it fails to do so, then the time and place shall be designated by the chairperson.
b) It shall convene at such other times on call of the chairperson, on written request by one-fifth of its members, or on written request by a majority of its executive committee.
c) A majority of the members of the General Board shall constitute a quorum.
4. Committees. The General Board shall establish the following committees:
a) Executive Committee. An executive committee shall be elected by the General Board from its membership. During the periods between the meetings of the General Board, its business and affairs shall be managed by the executive committee.
b) Committee on Audit and Review. A committee on audit and review shall be elected by the General Board. At least one-half of the members of this committee shall not be members of the General Board. The committee on audit and review shall be responsible for reviewing the financial audits and related policies of the General Board and its constituent legal entities.
c) Committee on Appeals. A committee on appeals shall be elected by the General Board. The committee on appeals shall hear appeals from participants in the funds, plans, and programs administered by the General Board. Decisions of the committee on appeals shall be final and not reviewed by the full General Board.
d) Other Committees. The General Board shall have the authority to establish from time to time such other standing committees or special committees as provided by its bylaws.
e) Committee Membership. The General Board shall elect the membership of its standing committees in accordance with its bylaws. The membership of any special committees shall be selected in accordance with the resolution establishing such special committee.
f) Committee Members-at-Large. The General Board shall have the authority to elect additional members to its committees, not to exceed a majority of the committee membership, for the purpose of bringing to those committees special knowledge or background. These committee members-at-large shall have full voice and vote on the committee, but shall have voice, but not voting privileges, on the General Board.
5. The effective date of this paragraph will be at the close of the 1996 General Conference.
General Conference Webmaster: Susan Brumbaugh
PETS Creator: John Brawn
Petition Text: 21482-FA-1602-D
1996 United Methodist General Conference