On July 6, 2025, at the 62nd General Conference (GC) Session in St. Louis, delegates voted to amend the GC Constitution and Bylaws, Constitution Article V — General Conference Session, to give divisions and their delegates more time to prepare for future sessions.

The change was prompted by the fact that in some countries, obtaining a US travel visa can take more than a year to obtain, presenting logistical challenges for session planning.

“It was a big challenge for my office to prepare for this year’s GC session because of this problem,” said Hensley Moorooven, undersecretary of the GC and presenter of the motion.

Using earlier membership numbers allows more time to allocate delegates fairly and consistently. For example, the next GC Session will take place in 2030, so delegate calculations will now be based on membership as of Dec. 31, 2027, instead of Dec. 31, 2028.

The motion read:

“To amend the General Conference Constitution and Bylaws, Constitution Article V – General Conference Sessions, as found in the Session agenda (Item 201).

Some delegates questioned the rationale for holding GC Sessions in the US if the country’s challenging travel requirements necessitate constitutional changes.

However, the vote passed using voting cards.

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