Masonic Life Network

HOW TO SUBMIT RESOLUTIONS TO GRAND LODGE

Now that you know who composes the Grand Lodge, who composes the largest voting block at Grand Lodge, how Grand Lodge Officers are elected and appointed, and how Grand Lodge is funded, it now is time to learn how legislation is presented to Grand Lodge in order to change administrative or ritual regulations.

California Masonic Code (CMC) Sections 40.000 and 50.000 discuss how Ordinances and Amendments are adopted at Grand Lodge.  Additional applicable CMC sections are 403.050, 403.090, and 406.050.

In summary, any legislation which does not amend the California Masonic Code or the Ritual requires a simple majority only for adoption. Any amendment to the California Masonic Code or the Ritual must be adopted by a five-sixths affirmative vote. If the amendment receives a simple majority but less than a five-sixths affirmative vote, it carries over to the next Annual Communication when only a two-thirds affirmative vote is required for adoption.

According to CMC Section 403.040, transaction of business in Grand Lodge shall be by:

1. Written resolutions,
2. Grand Master recommendations,
3. Grand Lodge officer reports, or
4. Committee reports,

all presented in writing to the Grand Secretary.  All such resolutions, recommendations and reports to be considered at an Annual Communication must be presented to the Grand Secretary at least 180 days prior to the commencement date of the next Annual Communication.

This 180 day requirement shall not apply to:

1. Decisions and recommendations of the Grand Master which are included in his written message presented at the Annual Communication;
2. Emergent matters which may be presented and considered at any time upon consent of a five-sixths vote of the members present; and
3. Grand Lodge officer reports and committee reports, including resolutions which form a part of any such report, which do not purport to amend this Code or the Ritual of Grand Lodge.

Written resolutions, in order to be considered for action at an Annual or Special Communication, must bear the signatures, as proponents, of at least three members of this Grand Lodge, each a member of a different Constituent Lodge. Each resolution must state the names of not more than two of the proponents either of whom is authorized to represent and act for the proponents with respect to the resolution before committees and Grand Lodge.

The form of a written resolution is not specified in the CMC, however, general format guidelines provided by the American Library Association provides some insight into how to write a “resolution”.  In summary, the shorter a resolution is the better.  If it’s too long, few people will read it. Also every issue brought up in the “whereas” clauses should be dealt with in the “resolved” clause(s).

Traditionally, resolutions prepared for submission to the Grand Lodge have eight parts:  (1) Title, (2) Intent, (3) Address, (4) Supporting Points (the “Whereas”), (5) Formal Request (the “Resolved”), (6) the Proponent’s names, (7) Who is authorized to represent the proponents, and (8) Whether the proponent wishes to speak first or last at Grand Lodge.  The following provides examples of how to prepare a resolution.

1. The TITLE (e.g.,      “Resolution No. (year)- (leave blank)”

   "Creates Rules Governing Cemetery Property");

    

2. The INTENT (e.g., "The proponents of this Resolution seek to establish procedures on how Lodges may purchase, acquire, own and sell cemetery property.");

    

3. The ADDRESS (in italics – e.g., "To the Most Worshipful Grand Lodge, F. & A. M. of California:");

    

4. SUPPORTING POINTS:
   1. The initial SUPPORTING POINTS – each point starts with the bolded word, "WHEREAS," and ends with a semicolon (e.g., "WHEREAS, a Lodge should not be able to speculate in the buying and selling of cemetery property;");
   2. The second to the last SUPPORTING POINT – starts with "WHEREAS," and ends with a semicolon followed by the work, "and," (e.g., “WHEREAS, there are no established guidelines for how a Lodge might sell or dispose of cemetery property that it owns; and”);
   3. The final SUPPORTING POINT – starts with "WHEREAS," and ends with a period at the end of the sentence (e.g., "WHEREAS, it would be desirable for the Grand Lodge to act as a clearing house to keep a record of cemetery property available for use by Masons of this Jurisdiction or Masons who may reside in this Jurisdiction.");

1. The FORMAL REQUEST sentence – starts with, "NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED," (e.g., "NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that Section 406.060 of the California Masonic Code be amended as marked:");

    

   1. Include the PERTINENT PORTIONS OF THE CMC (or other document) with the new data UNDERLINED and the data to be removed LINED THROUGH (e.g., (see below) –

       

§406.060. MASONIC PROPERTIES.

The Committee on Masonic Properties shall consist of not less than ve nor more than twenty members. It shall examine and approve all details regarding any contract involving a Lodge, Masonic Hall Association, committee, partnership or corporation or other entity representing itself to be Masonic in character, or operating for the bene t of a Constituent Lodge or Constituent Lodges for:

1. Any option or contract for the purchase of real property, except a contract or contracts for the purchase of individual cemetery plots, crypts or niches located in a cemetery, cemetery parcel, columbarium or mausoleum, if the expected cost is not in excess of $15,000 during any calendar year;
2. The encumbrance of real property;
3. The lease of real property, as lessor or lessee, for more than three years;

    

1. If there are ADDITIONAL FORMAL REQUESTS, they are added starting with "BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED," (e.g., "BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that Section 809.130 of the California Masonic Code be amended as marked:" followed by The pertinent portions of the CMC (or other document) with the new data UNDERLINED and the data to be removed LINED THROUGH as in the above example;

    

1. The NAMES, titles, and lodge numbers of three proponents from separate lodges with accompanying signatures as in the following example:

Im A. Mason, Past Master, Great Lodge No. 10.

Im A. Nothermason, Past Master, Greater Lodge No. 100.

Im A. Shrinermason, Past Master, Greatest Lodge No. 1000

1. The identification of not more than TWO of the proponents who are AUTHORIZED TO REPRESENT AND ACT for the proponents with respect to the resolution before committees and Grand Lodge (e.g., "Brothers Mason and Nothermason are authorized to act on behalf of all proponents").

1. Whether or not the proponent wishes to be the FIRST OR LAST brother to speak to the resolution at Grand Lodge (e.g., "The proponent wishes to speak last at Grand Lodge.")

Once the resolution has been received by the Grand Secretary, it is reviewed by the Jurisprudence Committee who works with the proponent to ensure the resolution verbiage carries out the intent of the proponents.

When the resolution is brought before the Grand Lodge for discussion, the Grand Master will first call on relevant Grand Lodge Committees to provide their insight.  He will then open the discussion to the members of Grand Lodge (Masters, Wardens, Past Masters, Past elected Grand Lodge Officers, Past Grand Masters and current Grand Lodge Officers), usually three speakers who wish to speak in favor and three who wish to speak against the resolution.  Those speakers will provide their opinions for a specific amount of time (usually three minutes each, with the proponent allowed five minutes).

When all have spoken, the Grand Master calls for the ballot (which has been done by punch cards and may be done electronically in the future).

As was mentioned at the start of this message, any legislation which does not amend the California Masonic Code or the Ritual requires a simple majority only for adoption.  Any amendment to the California Masonic Code or the Ritual must be adopted by a five-sixths affirmative vote.  If the amendment receives a simple majority but less than a five-sixths affirmative vote, it carries over to the next Annual Communication when only a two-thirds affirmative vote is required for adoption.

Hopefully you will find this information useful in your continuing effort to perfect your personal ashlar.