Submitting private members’ bill (amendments Nos. 19, 43, 53 & 71)

134.

(a)

Any Member of the Knesset, except a Minister or Deputy Minister, is entitled to propose a bill (hereunder - private members' bill).

(a1)

Should several Members of the Knesset propose a single bill, they are entitled to determine the order in which their names shall appear on the bill; Should they not determine the order in which the names appear - their names shall appear in alphabetical order.

(a2)

A Member of the Knesset who has submitted a bill, knowing that an identical or basically similar bill has already been presented on the same subject, whether in the same Knesset or in a previous Knesset, shall indicate this fact in his words of explanation to his bill.

(b)

A Member of the Knesset proposing a bill, shall submit it to the Speaker, and the Speaker and Deputy Speakers, after approving the bill, shall lay it on the Knesset’s table.²

(c)

The Speaker and the Deputy Speakers shall not approve a bill which is, in their opinion, racist in its essence, or rejects the existence of the State of Israel as the State of the Jewish People.³

Preliminary debate (amendments Nos. 24, 28, 71 & 84)

135.

(a)

Within the time limit allotted for the debate of motions for the agenda, or at some other time, that shall be determined by the Speaker and the Deputy Speakers in coordination with the Government, a preliminary debate shall take place on the bill,⁴ provided that this debate is not held before forty-five days have elapsed from the laying of the bill on the Knesset table, unless the Government has agreed that the debate take place at an earlier date.⁵

(b)

Once a private members' bill has been lain on the Knesset table, the House Committee is entitled, upon the request of one of the bill's proposers, to approve its presentation for preliminary reading before the termination of the forty five days, as stated in paragraph (a), should all the following take place -

(1)

(2)

(c)

Despite what is said in clauses (a) and (b), should a preliminary debate on a private members’ bill be scheduled (hereinafter – the original bill), and an identical or basically similar private members’ bill (hereinafter – the similar bill) was lying on the Knesset table for at least two weeks before the date of the debate, or the same length of time as the original bill was lying, depending on the shorter period, the similar bill shall also be brought for preliminary debate at the same time, should one of its proposers so request, even if this involves a divergence from the weekly quota, as stated in article 81(a1);The request of the Knesset Member shall be submitted to the Knesset secretariat by the termination of the plenum debates, on the day in which the Speaker and his deputies approved the agenda for that week, or on the day in which the House Committee approved the bringing of the original bill for preliminary debate, as stated in clause (b).

Bringing to debate

136.

The order of presenting private members' bills for preliminary debate shall be determined by the Speaker and the Deputy Speakers, taking into account the size of the parliamentary groups of which the proposers are members.

Procedure for preliminary debate

137.

(a)

The proposing Knesset Member, shall explain the bill in the preliminary debate, within a timeframe that will not exceed 10 minutes.⁶

(amendment No. 51 & 84)

(b)

Should the Government support the bill being referred to a committee,⁷ or should it fail to take a stand, one of the Knesset Members is entitled to propose, that the bill be removed from the agenda, and explain his proposal within a time framework of 10 minutes.⁸

(b1)

Should one of the Knesset Members be given the floor, in order to explain his proposal to remove the bill from the agenda, but in fact this Member supported in his words the bill’s referral to a committee, the Chairman of the sitting shall stop him, and give the floor to another Member, who wishes to propose the removal of the bill from the agenda.

(c)

Should the Government, or one of the Knesset Members, propose that the bill be removed from the agenda, the proposing Knesset Member is entitled to return and reply within a time framework of five minutes.

(d)

Upon conclusion of the debate, the Knesset shall decide whether to refer the bill to a committee. or remove it from the agenda.⁹

Deferral of vote (amendment No. 22)

137a.

Should the Government requested to defer the vote, and the proposing Knesset Member agrees to this, the Chairman of the sitting shall ask whether there is any objection to the deferral, and any of the Knesset Members is entitled to object to the deferral, without explanation; In the event of such an objection the Chairman shall put the matter of the deferral to a vote; Should the Knesset decide in favour of deferral, the Speaker and the Deputy Speakers shall set the time for the vote, and notify the Members in advance thereof; There shall be no further debate on this subject in the Knesset before this vote.

Referral to committee

138.

(a)

Should the Knesset decide to refer a bill to a committee, the decision of the Committee shall be in accordance with article 117.

(b)

The Committee shall prepare the bill for debate in the Knesset on first reading, or shall propose to the Knesset to remove it from the agenda.¹⁰

(amendment No. 54)

(c)

The Committee shall not prepare for first reading, a bill submitted by the Chairman of the Committee, as long as there is another bill on its agenda, on which the deliberation has not been completed, and six or more months have gone by since the day it was referred to it, except on the basis of written consent by the Government or by the Knesset Member who presented it, as the case may be; This provision shall not apply at the end of six months from the day on which the bill submitted by the Chairman of the Committee was referred to the Committee.

Legislation requiring budget (amendment No. 36 & 77)

138a.

(a)

When preparing a bill for first reading, the Committee shall invite the Minister of Finance, or his representative, to its deliberations (in this article – the Minister), in order to investigate his estimate of the budgetary cost of the bill, so that the Committee can determine it in accordance with the provisions of article 3c of Basic Law: Economy of the State (in this article – the Basic Law), and in order to determine whether the provisions of article 39a of the Budget Foundations Law, 5745-1985 (in this article – the Budget Foundations Law) , apply to the bill.

(b)

The estimate of the Minister regarding the budgetary cost of the bill, the implementation of which involves, in his opinion, a budgetary cost of NIS 5 million or more in any particular budgetary year, shall be submitted in writing, with explanations, and the data and assessments that constituted the basis for the estimate shall be attached.

(c)

The Knesset Member is entitled to submit to the Committee an estimate of the budgetary cost of the bill (in this article – the other estimate); The other estimate shall be submitted, unless the Committee has decided otherwise, by the Knesset Research and Information Center; The other estimate shall be reasoned, and include data and assessments that constituted the basis for the estimate, and the source of the data shall be mentioned; The Committee shall invite the presenter of the other estimate to investigate his estimate, and is entitled to invite whoever gave him the data for the said estimate, unless the invitation is not required, or is not possible, as the case may be; Should another estimate be submitted, the Committee shall enable the Minister to react to it.

(d)

Paragraphs (a) to (c) shall also apply, with the necessary changes, to the preparation of a bill for Second Reading and Third Reading, and to the debate regarding the reservations to a bill.

(e)

The estimate of the Minister and the other estimate shall be submitted to the Committee –

(1)

(2)

(f)

In the words of explanation to a bill, the budgetary cost shall be mentioned; Should the Committee decide that the Bill is a budgetary bill as defined in article 13 of the Basic Law, it shall mention this in the words of explanation to the Law; The Committee shall also mention, in the draft bill tabled in the Knesset for Second Reading and Third Reading, its decision that the Bill or reservation is budgetary, as defined in article 3c of the Basic Law; In the text of the Law or in the words of explanation to it, the manner of financing, as stated in article 39a of the Budget Foundations Law, shall be mentioned.

(g)

The consent of the Government to the budgetary cost, as stated in article 3c(d)(3) of the Basic Law, shall be submitted in writing or in a notice to the Knesset.

Referral for publication (amendments Nos. 36, 53 & 77)

138b.

(a)

Having prepared a bill for first reading, the Committee shall refer it to the Secretary General of the Knesset for publication in the Official Gazette - Bills; The bill shall bear the names of the proposers, except those of them who have been appointed Ministers or Deputy Ministers.

(b)

In its approach to the Secretary General of the Knesset as stated in clause (a), the Committee shall mention whether the proposal involves a budgetary cost, and whether it is a budgetary bill as defined in article 13 of the Basis Law: the State Economy.

Examination (amendment No. 36 & 77)

138c.

The Secretary General of the Knesset shall examine, with regards to every bill, whether the provisions of article 138a(b) and (c), or article 138a(f), have been applied to it, and if they have not - he shall return it to the Committee for completion.

First reading

139.

(a)

Once the Committee has prepared the bill for the first reading in the Knesset, the first reading on the bill, as reported from the Committee, shall take place.¹¹

(b)

Should the Committee recommend to the Knesset that it remove the bill from its agenda, and the Knesset has rejected this recommendation, the first reading shall be held on the bill as submitted by the proposing Knesset Member.

(c)

In the first reading the debate shall be opened and summed up by the proposing Knesset Member, or by another Member, if the proposer has so requested.

Bills on a single subject (amendments Nos. 42 & 53)

140.

(a)¹²

Should the Knesset decide to refer several bills on a single subject to a committee, and the Committee has prepared a single bill for the first reading, it shall be deemed to be the bill of all proposers of the bills, that were referred to the Committee; The names of the proposers, except for those who have been appointed (in the meantime - the translator) Ministers or Deputy Ministers, shall appear on the bill, as follows:

(1)

In the case of bills that were debated in preliminary debate at different times - in accordance with the dates of the debates;

(2)

In the case of bills that were debated on the same day in preliminary debate - in accordance with the order in which the bills were submitted to the Speaker;

And the order of the names shall be in accordance with the order in which they appeared on the bills.

(b)

The debate on the first reading shall be opened and summed up by one of the proposers, agreed upon by the proposers, and in the absence of such agreement - by the Chairman of the Committee that prepared the bill for first reading. After the debate has been opened by the Chairman of the Committee, the proposers are entitled to take the floor at the beginning of the debate, in the order in which they submitted their bills.

Continuation of deliberation (amendment

141.

(a)

The continuation of the deliberation of the bill shall be as provided in articles 116, and 118 to 130, mutatis mutandis.¹³

No. 27)

(b)

Should the Knesset decide to refer the bill to a committee, the bill shall be referred to the Committee that prepared it for first reading; A Knesset Member is entitled to approach the House Committee, either before or after the decision of the Knesset to refer the bill to a committee, requesting that it propose to the Knesset to refer treatment of the bill to another committee; His request shall come up for discussion at the next meeting of the House Committee, and should it be accepted - the bill shall be sent for approval of the Knesset during the first reading, or afterwards, as the case may be.

Right of Member to withdraw bill (amendment

142.

(a)

Until the termination of the Committee's deliberation after the first reading, the proposing Knesset Member is entitled to withdraw his bill.

No. 53)

(b)

Should the proposer withdraw the bill, and he is a sole proposer, the Chairman of the Committee shall so inform the Knesset, and upon the announcement being made, the bill shall be removed from the Knesset’s agenda;¹⁴ Should there be several proposers, the name of the proposer who has changed his mind, shall be erased from the list of those proposing the bill.

Fate of bill by someone who has ceased being a Member

142a.

(a)

The provisions of article 142 shall apply to a bill tabled by a Member of the Knesset who has passed away or who has resigned, or whose membership in the Knesset has expired or has ceased, as if the Member has withdrawn his bill.

(amendment No. 53)

(b)

Should a Member of the Knesset be suspended from office, the instructions of article 142, as stated, shall apply during the period of the suspension.

Fate of bill by someone appointed Minister or Deputy Minister (amendment No. 53 & 85)

142b.

The provisions of article 142 shall apply to the bill of a Knesset Member who has been appointed as Minister or Deputy Minister,, as if he has withdrawn it. Nevertheless, should the Knesset Member find out that he is about to be appointed as stated, and that the Bill will consequently be removed from the Knesset’s agenda, he is entitled to inform the Speaker, before the appointment, that the Knesset Members, who gave their consent in writing, shall be considered as those who proposed the Bill in his place; The announcement shall enter into force upon the appointment of the Knesset Member as Minister or Deputy Minister, and the Speaker shall inform the Knesset thereof.

Identical bill (amendment No 50)

143

(a)

Should the Knesset decide to remove a bill from the agenda - whether under article 137 or under article 139 - or should the Member withdraw his bill on the basis of article 142,¹⁵ a preliminary debate shall not take place on an identical bill or one basically similar, before a period of six months has elapsed from the day on which the previous bill was removed from the agenda, or the proposers withdrew it, unless the Speaker feels that a real change of circumstances has occurred in the meantime; Recess days shall not be taken into the reckoning in the said period of six months.

(b)

Should the Speaker determine that the bill is identical or basically similar to a previous bill, as stated in paragraph (a), and he does not feel that a real change of circumstances has occurred in the meantime, the Knesset Member who proposed the bill is entitled to appeal within two weeks to the House Committee.

(c)

Should the Speaker permit a preliminary debate on a bill, as long as the debate has not yet taken place, any one of the Knesset Members is entitled to approach the House Committee and request that it should determine that the bill is identical or basically similar to a previous bill, and that no real change in the circumstances has taken place; Should the House Committee decide, as aforesaid, a preliminary debate shall not take place on the bill, before a period of six months has elapsed, as stated in paragraph (a).

Parallel bills

144.

Should the Committee refer for first reading a private members’ bill, and a parallel bill has been submitted by the Government, the debate on the first reading shall be opened by the two proposers in the order agreed between them, and in the absence of agreement - as determined by the Speaker.

Members’ bill and government bill

145.

During the debate in the first reading of a government bill, a Member of the Knesset cannot submit a bill of his own instead of that proposed by the Government; This provision does not affect the right to submit reservations in the Committee, should the Government's bill have been referred to a committee.

Publication

146.

(a)

A private members’ bill shall be published in the Knesset Record as an appendix to the sitting in which the bill was placed on the Knesset’s agenda.

(b)

A private members’ bill, which has been prepared by the Committee for first reading, shall be published in the “Official Gazette - Bills”, mentioning the proposer's name.

¹ A bill on behalf of one of the Knesset Committees:

(1) Any of the Knesset Committees is entitled to initiate bills on the following topics: basic laws and laws concerning the Knesset, elections to the Knesset, Members of the Knesset, or the State Comptroller; Such bills shall be presented to the Knesset for first reading. (HCR - 24.11.1980)

(2) The decision of the House Committee regarding a legislative initiative by a committee is “a binding precedent” under article 147 of the Rules of Procedure. (HCJ 410/91, attorney Lisa Blum and others v. the Speaker and others, Verdicts Vol. 46(2), p. 201).

² (a) According to this article there is no limit to the content of a bill submitted by a Member of the Knesset as a private members’

bill; There is also in Israel no provision in the written law, which prohibits the initiation of a law, which imposes a financial burden, by Members of Knesset as a private members’ bill.. (HCJ 98/69, Aharon A. Bergman v. the Minister of Finance and the State Comptroller, Verdicts, Vol. 23(1), pp. 692, 696)

(b) The authority of the Speaker and Deputy Speakers is an authority of discretion. The goal of the consideration by the Speaker and the Deputy Speakers is to be an apparatus for supervision and filtering, that will approve for laying on the Knesset’s table those bills by Members of the Knesset, that correspond to the framework of the law. This examination covers, first and foremost, matters of form. Whether the bill is constructed on the basis of articles, and whether its wording corresponds to the framework of the law. The Speaker and the Deputy Speakers are also authorized to examine the content of the bill. They must examine, whether it includes the laying down of a norm, that embraces a normative message, and not factual story-telling. They are also entitled to examine the style of the bill, to see whether it corresponds to legislative language, and it does not include words of abuse, slander and insults. That which is described above is only an example of the authority for supervision and filtering of the Speaker and the Deputy Speakers. The authority does not include the power not to approve a bill due to a reservations, even of the strongest kind, to the political-social content of the bill. [That which is said in this addendum should be read subject to the instructions paragraph (c) instituted following this verdict]. (HCJ 742/84, Kahane v. the Speaker of the Knesset, Verdicts Vol. 40 (4), 9)

(c) The HCJ does not sit as an instance of appeal regarding the decisions of the Speaker and the Deputy Speakers, and as is its custom, it acts with restraint in everything touching on the entry into the sphere of applying the intra-parliamentary authority that is within the boundaries of the Rules of Procedure. (HCJ 669/85, Kahane v. the Speaker of the Knesset, Verdicts Vol. 40 (4) 393)

³ (1) It is only the Rules of Procedure that create in essence the right of the Knesset Member to be the initiator of a bill, and they

determine its limits. (HCJ 669/85, Kahane v. the Speaker of the Knesset, Verdicts Vol. 40 (4), 393)

(2) On 4.2.1997 the Speaker and the Deputy Speakers did not approve a bill, according to which only a Jew could be elected to the post of Prime Minister.

⁴ In several cases a combined debate was held on several bills.

⁵ (1) A Member of the Knesset is entitled to raise his bill for preliminary debate even after the two month period (today - forty-five

days). (HCR - 18.2.1985)

(2) In the event of the initiators of a bill requesting postponement of its being raised, after it has already been included on the agenda of the Knesset - the Speaker is entitled, unless he considers that the request for postponement is unjustified, put off debate of the bill for a period of sixty days. Recess days shall not be taken into the reckoning of the said period. (HCRs - 13.1.1986 & 25.11.1997)

⁶ (a) When there is a reasonable reason for the absence of the Knesset Member from the chamber - the right of the Member to

explain his bill at some other time shall be upheld.

(b) The Knesset Member who has proposed a bill, shall explain it himself, and he is entitled to hand over the right of explanation to another Member of the Knesset. (HCR - 8.6.1971)

(c) (1) Should the Knesset Member propose a bill for preliminary debate, and the Government has announced that it agrees to have

the bill referred to a committee, or that the Government does not intend to take a stand on this bill, and the bill was proposed by the proposer from his seat, within a time limit not exceeding one minute, it shall not be counted among the bills as stated in article 81; Should the explanation time exceed one minute, the bill shall be counted among the bills as aforesaid. (HCR - 16.2.1993)

(2) The Knesset Member , who proposes to remove the bill from the agenda, can explain his proposal within a time framework of three minutes; The Member who proposed the bill, is entitled to return and reply within a time framework of three minutes. (HCR - 10.2.1997)

⁷ (1) The support of the Government of a private members’ bill, or its objection, shall be explained within a time framework of ten

minutes; Should the bill be explained from the (Member’s) seat within a time framework of one minute - the Government’s reaction shall be explained from the (Minister’s or Deputy Minister’s) seat within a time framework of two minutes. (HCR 11.1.1994)

(2) In several cases a combined debate took place on several bills, and the Government representative answered all the proposers. (11.3.1992; 8.3.1995; and others)

⁸ The Knesset Member shall be entitled to explain his proposal within a time framework of five minutes. (HCR - 11.1.1994)

⁹ (a) The Rules of Procedure do not allow a parliamentary group or a Member of Knesset to explain an abstention at the end

of a preliminary debate of a private members’ bill. (HCR - 18.12.1978)

(b) Once a resolution has been adopted by the Knesset to refer a bill to a committee - the Chairman of the sitting shall state - after announcing the results of the vote: this or that bill has been referred to this or that committee (or just to a committee, should two proposals have been heard as to which committee it should be referred to). (HCR - 21.1.1975)

¹⁰ (1) Should the views in the Committee be balanced on the question whether to prepare the bill for first reading, or to propose to

the Knesset to remove it from the agenda, the Committee shall bring the bill for first reading in the Knesset, in the wording submitted by the proposing Knesset Member. (HCR - 19.2.1980)

(2) The Committee is also entitled to combine the bill with a Government bill, which the Committee is preparing for second and third reading; During the debate on second reading, right after the lecture by the Committee’s Chairman , or of a member of the Committee appointed for this purpose by it, the floor shall be given, for three minutes, to the Knesset Member who proposed the bill, that was approved in preliminary debate, and was combined with the Government bill, and if there were several proposers, the floor, as stated, shall be given to a Member agreed upon by the proposers. (HCR - 26.12.1995)

¹¹ (a) The House Committee discussed the question whether any of the Knesset committees, which is deliberating a private

members’ bill in preliminary debate, can divide it into two separate bills, and bring them for a reading in the Knesset. The House Committee is of the opinion, that even if from the legal and technical point of view a committee, which is deliberating a bill, feels that it is advisable that it be split into two separate bills at the stage of preliminary debate, then in the event that it is ready to submit the bill to the Knesset for first reading, it must present the complete bill, and the question of the bill being split into two separate bills can be resolved when the time comes, after the bill has been approved by the Knesset in first reading, in accordance with what is said in article 122a(2) of the Knesset Rules of Procedure.

(b) A private members’ bill that has been laid on the Knesset’s table according to the rules, 48 hours before the preliminary debate, does not need to be laid again 48 hours before the debate on first reading. (Decision of the Speaker and the Deputy Speakers on 12.1.1960)

(c) In accordance with its authority under articles 147 and 148, the House Committee enabled the Economics Committee to prepare anew for first reading The National Struggle Against Road Accidents Law 5755 -1995. (HCR - 21.6.1995)

¹² When a committee returns to the Knesset bills on a single subject, without united them into a joint bill, a Knesset Member is

entitled to propose to the Knesset in advance to return these bills to the Committee, so that they shall be submitted in a single version, and this proposal of his shall be included on the Knesset’s agenda, and shall be voted upon, before the debate and the votes on the bills. (ICR - 25.7.1990).

¹³ (1) At the time of the debate in second reading of the bill of the Knesset Member, right after the lecture by the Chairman of the

Committee, or a member of the Committee appointed by him for this purpose, the floor shall be given, for three minutes, to the Knesset Member who proposed the bill, and if there were several proposers - a Member agreed upon by the proposers. (HCR - 15.11.1993)

(2) During the debate on second reading of a Government bill, right after the lecture by the Chairman of the Committee or a member of the Committee appointed by him for this purpose, the floor shall be given, for three minutes, to the Knesset Member who proposed a bill on the same subject, that was approved in preliminary debate, and was merged by the Committee with the Government bill; And if there were several proposers - a Member agreed upon by the proposers. (HCR - 26.1.1995)

¹⁴ A private members’ bill tabled by a Knesset Member who has passed away, shall be considered null and void from the day on

which the proposer passed away. (HCR - 27.6.1972)

¹⁵ Should a Member of the Knesset agree that his bill turn into a motion for the agenda, he is considered to have withdrawn his bill

under article 142. (HCR - 15.12.1998)