Commissioners, advisory delegates and other official participants are receiving an email with a link to use to create your MyGA account. Please complete that step at your earliest convenience to access all the tools, contents and updated information about the General Assembly.
Most commissioners and advisory delegates have already completed phase 1 of the registration process, which involves creating your MyGA account. If you have not received an email from ga.helpme@pcusa.org with the instructions and the link for that, please contact gameetingservice@pcusa.org now.
Phase 2 of the registration process will launch around March 17, and include more information on booking travel and lodging, how to indicate dietary restrictions and other special needs, and the opportunity to select one of the online interactive PC-Biz training sessions. When this registration phase opens you will receive an email from ga.helpme@pcusa.org with instructions and a link to use to re-confirm your plans to attend, the dates you will need lodging in Louisville, and other key arrangements.
There is no need for others who plan to watch the live stream to register; there will be no “public” registration option. Information on how to access the public live stream will be widely available in advance.
Commissioners and advisory delegates must participate in their assigned committee in-person in Louisville. The Office of the General Assembly does not have the capacity to provide for hybrid participation in multiple simultaneous committee meetings.
The expectation is that each individual commissioner and advisory delegate will be present for both in-person committees and on-line plenary. Attendance in live on-line training is required before participating in the assembly.
All assembly participants, even those who will not be present in person in Louisville, are expected to register. This includes commissioners, advisory delegates, corresponding members, and other official participants. All others will have access to a live-stream of the assembly and be able to follow the business on PC-Biz.
Please read this information carefully before you make your travel and housing arrangements. These procedures and policies have been developed in the interest of good stewardship, and to provide fairly for the comfort and convenience of assembly commissioners and advisory delegates. Contact the G.A. Meeting Service of the Office of the General Assembly (OGA) at gameetingservice@pcusa.org with any questions or concerns. Please see https://ga-pcusa.org for additional information and resources.
Where and When
The assembly convenes on June 18 and will adjourn on July 9. The docket includes some in-person sessions (to be held at the Presbyterian Center in Louisville, Kentucky) and others conducted online. The June 18 plenary sessions will be hybrid, with some participating in person, and some online.
These policies and procedures mainly cover the in-person meetings in Louisville for commissioners and advisory delegates while participating in their committee meetings.
Air Travel
Around March 17, commissioners and advisory delegates will receive an email with a link to an on-line booking tool that enables airfare to be charged directly to the assembly through Balboa Travel, the designated assembly travel agency. Travelers may also call an agent to book their travel. Tickets must be booked through Balboa Travel. Tickets booked through another travel agent or directly with an airline are not reimbursable.
For the best fares and choice of flights please make your travel arrangements as soon as practical after you receive the travel instructions and link (around March 17). To avoid the highest fares, the OGA limits payment for airfares to the 30-day advance-purchase amount.
The OGA pays for travel between your home and Louisville at the lowest logical main cabin round trip fare. If you request a more expensive itinerary (a direct flight with a higher fare, a stopover in another city, etc.) you are responsible for paying the additional amount, as calculated by the GA travel agent. Please contact the GA Meeting Service in advance if you have special travel needs.
Be sure of your schedule and the accuracy of the reservation when you book your ticket. The OGA will pay for or reimburse change fees or new tickets only when the assembly requires the travel change.
By Car
Those who choose to drive to Louisville are reimbursed for:
- mileage (at the IRS rate in effect over the assembly dates)
- meals enroute (up to $40 per day)
- lodging enroute (up to $119 per night)
- parking charges in Louisville (up to $15 per day)
Receipts are required for meals, lodging and parking expenses. If this total exceeds the airfare that you and commissioners/advisory delegates who are your passengers would incur, reimbursement is limited to the equivalent of the lowest logical air/train fare(s), as determined by the assembly travel agency.
Drivers who live near enough to Louisville that commercial travel is unavailable or not logical are reimbursed for mileage at the IRS rate in effect for the assembly dates (currently 58.5 cents), and parking charges in Louisville (up to $15/day – receipts required). For those staying in an assembly hotel, mileage reimbursement is limited to one round–trip between your home and downtown Louisville.
Ground Transportation
The assembly will provide shuttle service between the airport and the assembly hotels and/or the Presbyterian Center on the peak arrival and departure days. For non-peak travel, taxi fare is about $20 one-way between the airport and downtown.
More information about these arrangements and options will be sent to all registered attendees well in advance.
Car rental and other ground transportation expenses in Louisville are generally not reimbursable.
Assembly Lodging
Rooms are blocked at the Galt House hotel in downtown Louisville, within walking distance of the Presbyterian Center. Complete your assembly registration as soon as possible to specify your arrival and departure dates and reserve lodging there. Your allowable room and tax charges at the Galt House are paid directly by GA budget.
In the interest of health and safety, for the 225th GA the assembly budget is covering the full cost of single/double occupancy rooms for commissioners and advisory delegates during the in-person committee meetings in Louisville. This means that those who are accompanied by a spouse, partner, etc. sharing their room will not be required to cover their guest’s share of the room cost.
If you make your own arrangements at another hotel, Airbnb or other alternative lodgings, reimbursement is limited to $119/night for the allowable length of stay. Those who stay at home, with family or friends, etc. and commute will be reimbursed for mileage and parking (not to exceed $15/day). Receipts are required and reimbursements will be processed following the assembly.
Length of Stay: For most commissioners and advisory delegates, lodging costs in Louisville are covered for up to four nights, with additional nights for those assigned to one of the Group 1 committees who are asked to travel on Friday, June 17, in order to participate in-person in the plenaries on June 18.
Charges for additional nights are at your expense, and the G.A. Meeting Service cannot guarantee the availability for those additional nights.
If you drive to Louisville, additional night hotel charges are considered a driving expense. Include these with related costs on your expense voucher. These are reimbursable provided the total (mileage, parking, lodging and meal costs en route) is still less than the lowest logical airfare, as determined by the assembly travel agency.
Payment and deposit: While the assembly budget covers your allowable hotel room charges, you will need a major credit card or a cash deposit upon arrival at your hotel to cover any room charges for which you are responsible, and potential incidental charges such as meals and phone calls. If you use a debit card for this purpose, the hotel will put a hold on the deposit amount so it will be unavailable until after you depart.
Meals in Louisville
Lunch and dinner on Saturday, June 18, and lunch on all days that committees in session will be catered at the Presbyterian Center.
Other meals are covered with the assembly per diem of $57 ($18-breakfast, $14-lunch, $25-dinner). You will receive a credit card with a pre-set limit equivalent to the per diem amount for the length of your stay in Louisville.
Families at GA
The GA committee meetings in Louisville will not be “family friendly.” There will be very limited space for observers in the meetings and no planned activities for those who are not official participants. Family members who accompany a commissioner or advisory delegate and share their hotel room will not be responsible for a share of the hotel cost. Travel and meal costs for such other attendees will be the responsibility of the participant.
Reimbursement is available for dependent care expenses (including for some non-traditional arrangements) for those who need such assistance in order to carry out their assembly responsibilities during the in-person committee meetings and/or the online plenaries. Please review the Dependent Care Reimbursement Policy and contact the GA Meeting Service with questions and to initiate the pre-approval process.
Expense Reimbursement
As travel and hotel charges are paid directly by the assembly, and G.A. issued credit cards are used for meals on-site, most commissioners and advisory delegates will have no other expenses to claim. Those who do (for mileage, etc.) will obtain an expense reimbursement form from the treasurer on-site. Receipts are required. Reimbursement checks will be mailed following the assembly.
Changes and Cancellations
If at any time prior to the assembly you find that you are unable to serve as a commissioner or young adult advisory delegate, immediately contact your presbytery so that plans for an alternate can be made.
