You have been waiting for this moment! This afternoon, the first of a number of massive consent calendars will hit the floors of each house of General Convention. [Explanatory comma: A consent calendar is a package of resolutions with attendant actions designed to be voted upon in one up-down vote.] Between the House of Deputies and the House of Bishops, over two hundred resolutions will fly by on these consent calendars today.
Is there anything special about a consent calendar?
Yes! Consent calendar resolutions are not really up for debate, unlike the resolutions in the legislative calendar.
But what happens if something on the consent calendar merits debate?
That’s where the fun starts! An resolution may be removed from the consent calendar any time before the final vote, but there are specific ways of doing it (don’t we love rules?). A resolution may only be removed from the Consent Calendar by a vote of the House, the Committee on Dispatch of Business or by the President.
A motion to remove an item from the Consent Calendar is not debatable and requires a vote of one-third plus one.
When voting on the consent calendar, the House will vote on all items at once. A majority vote is required to adopt the calendar.
Affirmative Vote: A vote to adopt the Consent Calendar is a vote to take the action recommended by the respective Legislative Committees for all items on the Consent Calendar.
Negative Vote: If the House rejects the Consent Calendar, all items on the Consent Calendar will be placed on the Calendar by the Committee on Dispatch. Ruh-roh!
There you go, now you are a pro at following the consent calendar! Good luck!
The Episcopal Herald 