Knesset Member Moshe Gafni (United Torah Judaism), chairman of the Knesset Finance Committee, has reiterated his opposition to the Arrangements Law, which bundles a wide range of legislative amendments together with the annual budget.
In an interview with Arutz Sheva Radio on Monday, the newly appointed committee chairman said that he has repeatedly registered his opposition to the omnibus law, which he called "a supermarket of laws." The Arrangements Law, attached to the budget legislation, has yet to come before the Finance Committee, but the recent Knesset approval of a two-year national budget has moved the issue of the Arrangements Law to the front burner.
First passed in 1985 as an emergency measure, in response to a highly unstable national economy, the Arrangements Law includes a large package of amendments and laws the government believes is necessary for implementation of the annual budget. Since that time, the Arrangements Law has become a consistent fixture of Israeli economic legislation.
"The Arrangements Law is an improper law," MK Gafni declared. "The law was a good solution for passing the budget for 1986, when inflation was running wild, and the law was part of a package deal. But the Finance Ministry saw that it was good and they have continued legislating it ever since."
Gafni objected to the habit to include in the Arrangements Law line items that have nothing to do with the budget in any direct way. "It is true that everything is in effect a function of money, and money is a function of activity, but things that are not specifically necessary for passing the budget in its proposed form must not be allowed to slip into the legislation. The legislative system must work in an organized fashion, with bills in the Knesset, and not through such shortcuts which cause significant harm."
It may be that we are now in a similarly difficult economic situation, as we were in the mid-1980s, Gafni suggested; however, "if someone thinks they can hitch a ride on the claim that an emergency situation requires drastic measures in the Arrangements Law, I will not allow such a thing to happen, nor will my colleagues in the Knesset. We must work in an orderly fashion. There is currently a large and stable coalition and the government can pass whatever laws it likes through the regular legislative process just as well."
In addition, Gafni believes that shortening the length of time needed for final approval of the national budget is critical. "It must be taken into consideration," he said, "that the lack of a budget broadcasts economic instability at a time when what we need is precisely the opposite."