Government bill · 20th Knesset · published as law 15 June 2017
חוק שמירת הניקיון (הוראת שעה) (תיקון), התשע"ז-2017Law on Sanitation (temporary provision) (Amendment), 2017 · automatic translation · suggest a correction
Status: התקבלה בקריאה שלישית
Topics: Environment and energy* · * from the Knesset's official law classification
Official summary of the law (Knesset)
The Cleanliness Maintenance Law (Temporary Provision) (Amendment), 2017 was passed by the Knesset on 12 June 2017. The Law establishes that the temporary provision in the Cleanliness Maintenance Law, dealing with the allocation of landfill levy funds received by the Cleanliness Maintenance Fund for purposes of handling waste hazards and establishing waste treatment infrastructure in local authorities, will be extended by an additional three years - until 31 December 2020. It is also established that, starting from 1 January 2018, assistance through funds designated for the aforementioned purposes will be expanded and provided also to local authorities belonging to cluster 5 in the socio-economic ranking, instead of the current situation in which the funds were provided only to authorities belonging to clusters 1-4.
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Hebrew original
חוק שמירת הניקיון (הוראת שעה)(תיקון), התשע"ז–2017 התקבל בכנסת ביום י"ח בסיון התשע"ז (12 ביוני 2017). החוק קובע כי הוראת השעה בחוק שמירת הניקיון, העוסקת בייעוד כספי היטל הטמנה שהתקבלו בקרן שמירת הניקיון, למטרות של טיפול במפגעי פסולת והקמת תשתיות לטיפול בפסולת ברשויות המקומיות, תוארך בשלוש שנים נוספות - עד לתאריך 31 בדצמבר 2020. כמו כן, נקבע כי החל מה-1 בינואר 2018, הסיוע באמצעות הכספים המיועדים למטרות האמורות יורחב ויינתן גם לרשויות המקומיות המשויכות לאשכול 5 בדירוג החברתי – כלכלי, וזאת במקום המצב הקיים היום בו ניתנו הכספים לרשויות המשויכות לאשכול 1-4 בלבד.
Readings
- 21 November 2016 · First reading · להעביר את הצעת החוק לוועדההצעת חוק שמירת הניקיון (תיקון מס' 22) (מטרות כספי היטל הטמנה), התשע"ז-2016Bill Sanitation (Amendment No. 22) (purposes of burial levy funds), 2016autoBill passed first reading43 for · 13 against
- 12 June 2017 · Third reading · אישור החוקהצעת חוק שמירת הניקיון (הוראת שעה) (תיקון), התשע"ז-2017Bill on Sanitation (temporary provision) (Amendment), 2017autoLaw passed40 for · 17 against
What was said in the plenum
The bill deals with extending the temporary provision that allows up to 35% of the funds from the landfill levy in the Cleanliness Maintenance Fund to be allocated for additional purposes, mainly assistance to weak local authorities (socio-economic clusters 1-5) in waste treatment, instead of only for the fund's main purposes such as establishing end-treatment facilities. In the first reading it was proposed to make the arrangement permanent, but the committee decided to extend the temporary provision for only three additional years, while expanding the distribution from clusters 1-4 to clusters 1-5. The debate focused mainly on the question of whether using the fund's money for these purposes harms its main objectives and serves as an excuse for the Treasury to avoid increasing the budget of the Ministry of Environmental Protection.
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Hebrew original
הצעת החוק עוסקת בהארכת הוראת השעה המאפשרת להקצות עד 35% מכספי היטל ההטמנה שבקרן לשמירת הניקיון למטרות נוספות, בעיקר סיוע לרשויות מקומיות חלשות (אשכולות סוציו-אקונומיים 1-5) בטיפול בפסולת, במקום רק למטרות העיקריות של הקרן כמו הקמת מתקני קצה. בקריאה ראשונה הוצע לקבע את ההסדר כהוראת קבע, אך בוועדה הוחלט להאריך את הוראת השעה בשלוש שנים נוספות בלבד, תוך הרחבת החלוקה מאשכולות 1-4 לאשכולות 1-5. הדיון נסב בעיקר סביב השאלה האם שימוש בכספי הקרן למטרות אלה פוגע ביעדיה העיקריים ומשמש את האוצר כתירוץ להימנע מהגדלת תקציב המשרד להגנת הסביבה.
Arguments for
- The law helps weak local authorities, mainly in the minority sector, which lack basic infrastructure for waste collection and treatment, thereby narrowing the gap with stronger authorities.Zeev Elkin (Likud), Abd Al Hakeem Haj Yahya (Joint List), Abdullah Abu Maaruf (Joint List), Jamal Zahalka (Joint List), Akram Hasson (Kulanu), David Amsalem (Likud)
- This is a residual, after-the-fact mechanism that operates only on cash surpluses that would not be used that year for the fund's main purposes anyway, and therefore does not harm major projects such as the construction of end-treatment facilities.Zeev Elkin (Likud), David Amsalem (Likud)
- The arrangement is not an innovation but a continuation and expansion of a mechanism already introduced in 2013 at the initiative of a previous minister, and there is no precedent being set.Zeev Elkin (Likud)
- If the temporary provision is not extended, the money will remain invested in the fund unused, and no one will benefit from this, while weak authorities will be immediately harmed by the loss of assistance.Zeev Elkin (Likud), David Amsalem (Likud)
- The bill as it passed in the committee is a reasonable compromise: a temporary provision limited to three additional years rather than a permanent provision, preserving two-thirds of the funds for end-treatment facilities and only a third for assistance to local authorities.David Amsalem (Likud)
Arguments against
- The law turns the Cleanliness Maintenance Fund into a convenient 'petty cash fund' that allows the Treasury to continue avoiding increasing the Ministry of Environmental Protection's budget for its real purposes, thereby harming long-term handling of environmental problems.
- This is a case of the Ministry of Finance shirking its duty to properly budget important projects such as environmental education, asbestos treatment, and ongoing waste treatment in local authorities, which should come from the regular state budget and not from a dedicated fund.
- The funds accumulated in the fund (about 2.5 billion shekels) have not been used so far for their original purposes due to planning and execution failures by the ministry, and therefore the problem of non-utilization should be solved first rather than diverting the money to other purposes.Yael Cohen Paran (Zionist Union), Zouheir Bahloul (Zionist Union)
- The fund is financed by levy payments made by local authorities from residents' municipal taxes, and it is not appropriate for it to also be used to fund the salaries of Ministry of Environmental Protection employees.Yael German (Yesh Atid)
- The socio-economic preference (clusters 1-5) appears only in the explanatory notes and not in the body of the law itself, so there is no guarantee that the goal of assisting weak authorities will actually be realized in practice.Jamal Zahalka (Joint List)
Who spoke (14)
| Member | Faction | Readings | Speeches | In the final vote |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zeev Elkin | Likud coalition | First reading | 15 | no record |
| Erel Margalit | Zionist Union opposition | First reading | 4 | no record |
| Abd Al Hakeem Haj Yahya | Joint List opposition | First reading | 1 | against |
| Yehuda Joshua Glick | Likud coalition | First reading | 2 | for |
| Abdullah Abu Maaruf | Joint List opposition | First reading | 3 | no record |
| Jamal Zahalka | Joint List opposition | First reading | 1 | no record |
| Yael German | Yesh Atid opposition | First reading | 1 | for |
| Revital Swid | Zionist Union opposition | First reading | 3 | no record |
| Yael Cohen Paran | Zionist Union opposition | First reading, Third reading | 2 | against |
| Akram Hasson | Kulanu coalition | First reading | 2 | for |
| Dov Khenin | Joint List opposition | First reading | 2 | against |
| David Amsalem | Likud coalition | Third reading | 7 | no record |
| Zouheir Bahloul | Zionist Union opposition | Third reading | 1 | against |
| Esawi Frej | Meretz opposition | Third reading | 4 | against |
An automatic summary of the plenum transcripts: the debate on the bill at every reading it was voted on. Arguments are given as the speakers made them; this is not an assessment. The list of speakers comes from the transcript, without a model. Transcripts of the sittings: 1, 2 · write to the author
Reservations to the second reading
2 reservations were filed: proposed changes to the text the committee brought to the second and third reading.
The reservations filed to the law seek to bring forward the effective date of the provision concerning the landfill levy and to add a provision stipulating that funds allocated for additional purposes will be reallocated in the following year from the state budget.
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Hebrew original
ההסתייגויות שהוגשו לחוק מבקשות להקדים את מועד תחולת ההוראה הנוגעת להיטל ההטמנה ולהוסיף הוראה שלפיה כספים שהוקצו למטרות נוספות יוקצו שוב בשנה העוקבת מתקציב המדינה.
By faction
- Zionist Union opposition · 2 reservations · 24 members
- Meretz opposition · 2 reservations · 5 members
A joint reservation counts for every faction whose members filed it.
Who proposed what
- יצחק הרצוג, ציפי לבני, שלי יחימוביץ', סתיו שפיר, איציק שמולי, עמר בר-לב, יחיאל חיליק בר, עמיר פרץ, מרב מיכאלי, איתן כבל, מנואל טרכטנברג, אראל מרגלית, מיקי רוזנטל, רויטל סויד, יואל חסון, זוהיר בהלול, איתן ברושי, מיכל בירן, נחמן שי, קסניה סבטלובה, איילת נחמיאס ורבין, יוסי יונה, איל בן ראובן, יעל כהן-פארן, זהבה גלאון, אילן גילאון, עיסאווי פריג', מיכל רוזין, תמר זנדברג · 2The reservations seek to bring forward the effective date of the relief in payment of the landfill levy and to stipulate that funds allocated for the additional purposes will be reallocated from the state budget to the fund in the following fiscal year.Sections: לסעיף 1Isaac Herzog, Tzipi Livni, Shelly Yachimovich, Stav Shaffir, Itzik Shmuli, Omer Barlev, Yehiel Hilik Bar, Amir Peretz, Merav Michaeli, Eitan Cabel, Manuel Trajtenberg, Erel Margalit, Micky Rosenthal, Revital Swid, Yoel Hasson, Zouheir Bahloul, Eytan Broshi, Michal Biran, Nachman Shai, Ksenia Svetlova, Ayelet Nahmias-Verbin, Yoseph Yonah, Eyal Ben Reuven, Yael Cohen Paran, Zehava Galon, Ilan Gilon, Esawi Frej, Michal Rozin, Tamar Zandberg
Proposers and reservation numbers are extracted automatically from the committee version, and the count is checked against the numbers printed in it. The descriptions are an automatic summary. Committee version for the second and third reading (PDF) · write to the author
Reservations, sections and other votes (3)
In order. Votes on reservations and individual sections are shown separately from the vote on the bill as a whole.
- 12 June 2017 · Second reading · הסתייגותהצעת חוק שמירת הניקיון (הוראת שעה) (תיקון), התשע"ז-2017Bill on Sanitation (temporary provision) (Amendment), 2017auto21 for · 34 againstVote on a reservation (amendment)
- 12 June 2017 · Second reading · הסתייגותהצעת חוק שמירת הניקיון (הוראת שעה) (תיקון), התשע"ז-2017Bill on Sanitation (temporary provision) (Amendment), 2017auto22 for · 34 againstVote on a reservation (amendment)
- 12 June 2017 · Second reading · קריאה שנייההצעת חוק שמירת הניקיון (הוראת שעה) (תיקון), התשע"ז-2017Bill on Sanitation (temporary provision) (Amendment), 2017auto38 for · 19 againstVote on sections of the bill