On September 22nd, 2022, the Board of the SCA (Australia) Ltd and the Committee of SCA NZ Inc wrote to the Board of Directors of the SCA US, via the Ombudsman for Lochac. The following is the full text of their submission:

Dear Rusty,

The Board of Directors of the SCA Ltd (Australia), and the Committee of the SCA New Zealand Incorporated wish to propose the following amendment to the affiliation agreements between the SCA US, and the SCAA and SCANZ.

The two Lochac corporate entities each has a separate affiliation agreement, needed because they are two separate legal bodies operating in two countries, but they are largely identical.  We propose amending the following section in each.  Where the existing agreements state:

 

10. Delegation of Authority
11. Delegation of Authority. The SCA, Inc. Board of Directors hereby delegates to the Governing Body of Affiliate, the following authority with respect to groups within the borders of the Kingdoms in the Territory:

10.1.1. To revise the boundaries of any principalities which lie wholly within the boundaries of an Affiliate or within the boundaries of a group of Affiliates all acting in agreement.

10.1.2. To deny recognition to any group, regardless of other criteria met, for just cause, stated in writing to the affected people.

10.1.3. To change the status of any branch to reflect its current qualifications.

10.1.4. To dissolve a branch should it fail to continue to meet the qualifications for a branch of any level, or for other just cause, stated in writing to the affected people.

10.1.5.  To authorize a branch or group of branches to experiment with a non-standard class of organization. Any such authorization is specific to the branch obtaining it.

…we propose adding the following item:

10.1.6.  To authorize changes to the procedure and criteria for selecting Royal Heirs within Kingdoms in the territory.

 

Because Lochac is a single kingdom ruled at any given time by a Crown and Consort who may come from either country, it is necessary for the change to be made to both affiliation agreements before any change to Crown selection processes can be considered.

 

Neither the Board nor the Committee has any current agenda item before them proposing any actual change to the selection processes for Crown.  A change could only happen after extensive polling of the populace of Lochac, and subsequent amendments to the Laws of Lochac.  However, discussions about alternatives to the current model have continued in Lochac for many years, and – should any proposal ever reach the point of gaining popular support across the Kingdom – we want to be in a position to manage its implementation efficiently.  It would be unfortunate if we ever reached the point where there was an overwhelming call for change, and we only then began the process of discussions with the US.  Hence this precautionary proposal for a change.

 

We are writing to you in the first instance as Ombudsman for Lochac, and trust that you will assist us in bringing the matter to the Board of Director’s attention.  Please let me know if you have any questions or suggestions about this proposal.  Assuming the BoD have no objections, we will be submitting revised affiliation agreements in time for the annual renewal on January 1^st.

The US Board of Directors discussed the issue at their October Board meeting.  The response received via the Ombudsman was:

While we can see the merit in having alternate forms of crown list, we do not feel the society is ready for it today. We hope that someday, the society will be able to accept alternate forms of royal succession.