חוק תאגידי מים וביוב (תיקון מס' 12), התשע"ט-2018Law on Water and Sewerage Corporations (Amendment No. 12), 2018 · automatic translation · suggest a correction

Official summary of the law (Knesset)

Amendment No. 12 to the Water and Sewage Corporations Law, 2001 (hereinafter – the Law) is intended to promote efficiency in the management of the water sector by reducing the number of water and sewage corporations, and to improve the level of service provided by the corporations to water consumers. The main purpose of the amendment is to promote the implementation of Amendment No. 6 to the Law, enacted in 2013, which established a framework for reducing the number of water and sewage corporations by establishing regional corporations that would provide water and sewage services to several local authorities. Amendment No. 6 established an obligation to transfer the operation of the water and sewage sector to regional corporations, while setting binding deadlines for implementing this obligation. However, implementation of the framework was repeatedly postponed, and under the Law as currently worded, the binding deadlines for establishing regional corporations will apply during 2019 and 2020. Under Amendment No. 6, the council of the Government Water and Sewage Authority (hereinafter – the Authority's council) is authorized to group local authorities on a geographic basis, so that each group will have one regional corporation. Amendment No. 12 provides that the number of groups, and accordingly the number of regional corporations, shall not exceed 30, and that a regional corporation must incorporate into itself any water and sewage corporation or any local authority that has not yet established a corporation, if they belong to the same group as described. In addition, Amendment No. 12 promotes the reduction of the number of water and sewage corporations by tightening the conditions for granting a water and sewage corporation an exemption from the obligation to transfer operation of the water and sewage sector to a regional corporation. Under the amendment, the Commissioner for Corporation Affairs at the Water Authority will be authorized to determine, with the approval of the Authority's council, whether a corporation requesting an exemption indeed meets all the conditions – ensuring financial stability, full execution of the annual development plan, and meeting the standards and instructions regarding the level, quality and standard of service the corporation provides to consumers. A water and sewage corporation meeting these conditions will apply to the Minister of Energy for approval to grant the exemption, which also requires the agreement of the Ministers of Finance and Interior. Such an exemption may be granted for a period of three years, and its validity may be extended for one additional period of three years. In any case, such an exemption will not be granted to a water and sewage corporation, even if it meets all the conditions, if as a result of granting the exemption the total number of regional corporations and water and sewage corporations that received an exemption would exceed 30. Amendment No. 12 also promotes the establishment of regional corporations through a new arrangement regarding the appointment of directors in the regional corporation, ensuring appropriate representation for all local authorities that are shareholders in the corporation and increasing the maximum number of directors permitted to be appointed in such a corporation. In cases where there is no agreement among the local authorities holding shares in the corporation regarding the appointment of directors, the amendment establishes an appointment mechanism, according to which the number of directors a local authority may appoint will be calculated according to the ratio between the number of its residents and the total number of residents of the local authorities belonging to the regional corporation. If, according to this calculation, a local authority that is a shareholder in the regional corporation remains without representation on the board of directors, it will be entitled to appoint a director on its behalf, even if as a result the number of board members exceeds the maximum number permitted under the Law. Amendment No. 12 also includes amendments intended to improve the level of service to water consumers, as detailed below: A. Authorizing the Authority's council to establish rules regarding the obligation of a water and sewage corporation to install and operate a remote reading system that enables regular transmission of water consumption data from water meters to the corporation. The purpose of these rules is to enable rapid detection of water leaks, including hidden leaks. Under the amendment, the rules will also establish provisions enabling the installation and operation of a mechanism within the remote reading system that disables the system's electrical activity on Sabbaths and holidays, to enable consumers who wish to do so to avoid desecrating the Sabbath and holidays. The amendment further provides that the cost of installing the remote reading system, including a system containing a mechanism enabling its deactivation on Sabbaths and holidays, shall not be imposed directly on consumers. Initial rules regarding the remote reading system will be established within 105 days from the date of publication of Amendment No. 12. B. Authorizing the Authority's council to set reduced rates for water consumption recognized as a leak, taking into account, among other things, the scope of the leak. Amendment No. 12 will take effect on the date of its publication in the Official Gazette, except for the provisions regarding the appointment of directors, which will take effect at the end of six months from the date of publication.

automatic translation · suggest a correction

Sponsors

Itzik Shmuli, Oren Asaf Hazan, Yoav Kisch, Anat Berko, Amir Ohana, Avraham Neguise