A025 Amending Canon IV.13.4
Resolved, the House of ________________ concurring,
That the 81st General Convention amend Canon IV. 13. 4 as follows:
<Amended text as it would appear if adopted and concurred. Scroll below the line of asterisks (******) to see the version showing all deleted and added text.>
Sec. 4. If at any time after a matter has been referred to a Hearing Panel an Accord is reached that ends the proceedings before the Hearing Panel issues an Order, the Accord must be consented to by the Hearing Panel, and if approved, the Bishop Diocesan shall make the Notice of Accord available to the Church and Church media as provided in Sec. 3 as well as to the Hearing Panel.
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<Proposed amended resolution text showing exact changes being made:>
Sec. 4. If at any time after a matter has been referred to a Hearing Panel an Accord is reached that ends the proceedings before the Hearing Panel issues an Order, the Accord must be consented to by the Hearing Panel, and if approved, the Bishop Diocesan shall make the Notice of Accord available to the Church and Church media as provided in Sec. 3 as well as to the Hearing Panel.
Explanation
Currently the Church Attorney has the ability to enter into an Accord, which could conclude a clergy discipline matter, without consultation from the Disciplinary Board. This gives the Church Attorney the power to effectively decide how the matter should end, without input from the Reference Panel or the Disciplinary Board. A matter before a Hearing Panel has been reviewed by the Reference Panel and the Disciplinary Board, yet one person can then choose what the outcome should be. This power should be checked. As the matter has already been referred to the Hearing Panel, it would make sense for the Hearing Panel to have the ability to approve the Accord, as a check on the power of the Church Attorney.