The Laws of the Knights of Columbus permit State Councils to submit to the Supreme Council resolutions that pertain to issues affecting the entire Order. All such resolutions should be submitted in good faith and in a spirit of charity, unity, and fraternity. As you prepare for your conventions, please bear in mind the principles and procedures set forth below.
The Supreme Council established the resolutions process to enable subordinate councils to:
Express gratitude or support for a person, a fraternal program, or a policy of the Order;
Amend the Constitution or Laws of the Order;
Express an official position of the Knights of Columbus on matters relevant to the mission and identity of the Order;
Submit nominations for Supreme Director; and
Offer proposals to enhance the Order’s fraternal mission.
State Councils should not submit resolutions that: (1) concern monetary expenditures by the Supreme Council, such as financial grants to organizations; (2) deal exclusively with matters of local significance that are relevant only to that particular jurisdiction; (3) recognize, commend, denounce, or criticize individual persons or other organizations; (4) propose changes to administrative policies, functions, or procedures of Home Office Departments; or (5) have been rejected by delegates to the Supreme Council in recent years.
Resolutions that do not conform to these expectations and purposes may be deemed out of order, in which case they would not be published to the Supreme Council and would not be considered by the delegates.
Under the Order’s procedures, delegates to the Supreme Convention may consider only those resolutions that have been officially adopted by a State Council or submitted to the Supreme Council by the Board of Directors. Resolutions that have not been adopted by the State Council should not be submitted to the Supreme Council. A State Council must affirmatively adopt a resolution for the Supreme Council to consider it. “Adoption” of a resolution by a State Council means that the program, policy, or sentiment expressed in the resolution has the support of a majority of the delegates to the State Council meeting. By adopting a resolution and submitting it to the Supreme Council, the State Council is effectively stating that it supports the resolution and recommends adoption by the Supreme Council.
A State Council may also use the resolutions process to amend its own by-laws. Upon adoption of a resolution proposing any changes to its by-laws, the State Council shall submit the proposed amendments to the Supreme Secretary, who will forward them to the Supreme Advocate for review and recommendation by a committee of the Board of Directors. The committee will then present the proposed amendments to the full Board of Directors. The Board will consider and vote upon these amendments at its meeting in August. The proposed amendments will not be effective unless and until the Board of Directors has approved them.
Pursuant to Section 22 of the Laws of the Knights of Columbus, resolutions adopted by a State Council for consideration by the Supreme Council or the Board of Directors, including proposed amendments to State Council by-laws, must be submitted to the Office of the Supreme Secretary no later than June 15. Please submit these resolutions by email using the following email address: .
Resolutions received by the Supreme Secretary will be acknowledged in writing and sent to the Office of the Supreme Advocate for purposes of inventory and preliminary review. Once the resolutions are categorized, organized, and published in a booklet, they will be referred to the Committee on Laws and Resolutions. Any resolutions received after June 15 will not be published to the Supreme Convention and will not be considered by the delegates.
Please follow the guidance set forth above. As leaders of your jurisdiction or local council, you should be familiar with the procedure for drafting, reviewing, submitting, and adopting resolutions. For a detailed explanation of the resolutions process and amending State Council by-laws, please review the relevant sections of the Officers’ Desk Reference, which are found under the “Council and Assembly Issues” tab.
