Council on Legislation 2025

The Council on Legislation is where Rotary members meet every three years to discuss and vote on proposals to move the organisation forward. Representatives from Rotary districts around the world gathered for the 2025 Council on Legislation (COL) held April 13–17 in Chicago, Illinois, USA, voting after much debate to approve a dues increase, and also deciding to allow clubs to be chartered with fewer members.

By far the most-debated issues in this session were the dues increase, designed to keep up with rising costs, and a proposal to make annual district conferences optional.

RI President Stephanie Urchick set the tone for the Council on the opening day, stressing the cross-­cultural and cooperative nature of Rotary. “This Council represents the heart of ­Rotary’s democratic process and the best of our international spirit. The gathering is one of Rotary’s most powerful expressions of multiculturalism. Here, voices from every corner of the globe come together — not to compete, but to collaborate,” she said to about 480 representatives and the COL observers.

Representatives approved a $3.5 increase in the dues that every Rotary member pays to RI, which means that dues will increase from $82 for 2025–26 to $85.5 for 2026–27, and by another $3.75 in each of the following two years.

A five-year financial forecast, presented to representatives at the beginning of each Council, projected that without any increase, RI would have a $42 million deficit by 2029–30. The organisation’s policies require it to have a balanced budget.

“Dues are the primary funding source for everything we do. It provides essential services to your clubs, members and districts. As inflation continues to drive costs up, we must make sure dues keep pace. The world needs Rotary more than ever. It’s in your hands to protect the future of our organisation,” said RI Director Raju Subramanian to the Council.

Supporters of the dues increase also insisted that RI has and will continue to cut costs as the organisation finds new ways to be efficient. The dues increase, which amounts to about four per cent each year, is below the 2024 global rate of inflation.

But opponents said that dues increases discourage membership, which itself is the lifeblood of Rotary. Several members also argued that the information RI has provided to representatives has not been detailed enough and said they want greater transparency.

“For the past 10 years, membership has been decreasing,” said ­Shobee Tone, representing District 2650 (Japan), who noted that a loss of members resulting from dues increases hurts smaller clubs the most. He said RI needs better efficiency, with fewer people on the staff. The dues increase prevailed after 45 minutes of debate and a failed attempt to postpone the decision for up to three months.

The Council also approved a measure that will allow clubs to be chartered with 15 members, instead of 20. Supporters said the change will remove barriers to starting new clubs and help Rotary grow and expand its reach by trying innovative club models.

Ken Schuppert, the Council chair, thanked the representatives for their hard work, saying the approved measures will make Rotary stronger. “They reviewed and voted on legislation that will change and lead Rotary into the future,” he said.

In other action, the Council

• Voted, after extensive debate, to make holding an annual district conference optional.
• Defeated a pair of measures to set an age limit for Rotaractors. Opponents cited the low number of current Rotaractors over the age of 40 in arguing that limits were unnecessary and said such restrictions could force members out of Rotary.
• Rejected limiting the number of honorary members a club can have to five per cent of the club’s active membership. Opponents noted that many clubs use honorary membership to stay in contact with former members, such as longtime Rotarians with valuable expertise to offer.
• Approved a measure allowing the Board to test additional new governance models beyond those that were approved three years ago. Those are currently in progress in Great Britain and Ireland, New Zealand and Australia. Supporters noted that the system of governors overseeing districts dates back to the early days of Rotary. They say that trying new governance models can help Rotary adapt to future needs and train and develop new leaders.
• Agreed to allow the Board to consider culture and language in addition to the number of Rotarians in deciding zone boundaries.
• Voted to require that the five-year financial forecast presented at the beginning of each Council includes updates on specific process improvements and cost-­reduction measures made by RI. In a similar measure, the Council approved commissioning a regular professional analysis of processes and cost structures in RI’s administration.
• Approved renaming the presidents-elect training seminar as the ­presidents-elect learning seminar and the district training assembly as the club leadership learning seminar. The measure is part of a shift in culture from training to learning to engage and empower people.

A Report of Action summarising the legislation will be sent to clubs, which will have at least two months to submit any opposition to the ­Council action. The Council’s adoption of legislation is suspended if there is opposition from clubs representing at least five per cent of the possible club votes.

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