הצעת חוק תאגידי מים וביוב (תיקון מס' 15), התשפ"ג–2023Bill Water and Sewage Corporations (Amendment No. 15), 2023 · automatic translation · suggest a correction

What was put to the vote

«לקבל את הצעת החוק בקריאה שלישית»

Third reading: The final vote. A bill that passes its third reading becomes law. Glossary →

Bill: חוק תאגידי מים וביוב (תיקון מס' 15), התשפ"ג–2023Law Water and Sewage Corporations (Amendment No. 15), 2023auto

About the law and the debate

Official summary of the law (Knesset)

Water and Sewage Corporations Law (Amendment No. 15) (hereinafter – the Amendment) includes several amendments to the Water and Sewage Corporations Law, 2001 (hereinafter – the Law). The Amendment postpones the mandatory date for establishing regional water and sewage corporations to 1 January 2025. Accordingly, the Amendment also postpones the mandatory date regarding the corporatization obligation, namely the authority of the Water Authority Council to instruct a local authority to join a water and sewage corporation or establish such a corporation, so that it will apply from 1 May 2024. Such an instruction requires consultation with the Director of Local Government Administration at the Ministry of Interior. It is further determined that the amount of the financial sanction for violating an instruction of the Water Authority Council as described above will be increased, and will be imposed gradually, according to the socio-economic cluster to which the local authority belongs. However, the Water Authority Council will not instruct a local authority to join a water and sewage corporation, and will not impose a financial sanction on it for failing to comply with the instruction, if it is satisfied that the local authority has done everything in its power to join an existing water and sewage corporation, and that due to circumstances beyond the local authority's control, and as long as such circumstances persist, this is not possible. In addition, the Amendment cancels the existing limitation in the Law whereby the number of regional water and sewage corporations may not exceed 30, meaning the number of regional corporations will be determined by a decision of the Water Authority Council without a numerical limit in the Law. In addition, the authority to review appointments of directors and CEOs in water and sewage corporations will transfer from the Appointments Review Committee advising the Government Companies Authority, to the Committee for the Appointment of External Directors at the Water Authority. The said committee will discuss and decide on a candidate's matter within the periods specified in the Law, counted from the day on which all documents and information it required in order to reach a decision were submitted to it. Following this, the Amendment establishes a temporary provision whereby if the said committee has not reached a decision regarding a candidate for a director position within the specified periods, the local authority council may appoint the candidate as a director who will serve until the committee's decision on the matter, subject to the submission of documents by the local authority seeking to appoint him and a review by the corporation's legal advisor regarding the fulfillment of the eligibility conditions for his appointment. It is further determined that the head of a local authority or a member of a local authority seeking to be appointed as directors of a water and sewage corporation will not be required to meet the eligibility conditions for appointment regarding experience and education, since they are elected public officials. However, this provision will not apply to a council member nominated to serve as chairman of the board of directors. Another matter included in the Amendment concerns the distribution of dividends by water and sewage corporations. In this regard, it is determined that the Authority responsible for corporations at the Water Authority will be permitted to approve the distribution of a dividend to a local authority even if a water and sewage corporation owned by it has not completed a stage in the establishment process of a regional corporation. In addition, the Amendment renews temporary provisions that were previously in effect regarding an exemption from tax on dividends distributed by water and sewage corporations, until the end of 2023, and regarding an exemption from corporate tax on the corporations' income until the end of 2022.

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