Finance Committee Legal Advisor Rules Two Budget Transfers Illegal Over Procedural Violations

Shlomit Ehrlich, the legal advisor to the Knesset Finance Committee, declared on Tuesday morning that two budget transfers approved overnight by the committee are illegal. These transfers include 63.3 million shekels allocated to the Ministry of Culture and 970 million shekels to local authorities, with 67 million shekels already disbursed before committee approval. The transfers were brought to a vote by committee chairman MK Hanoch Milwitsky (Likud) against established committee procedures, which require a 48-hour review period for Knesset members before discussion and voting.

Ehrlich also addressed another budget request discussed under "miscellaneous expenses," involving a 1.4 million shekel overspend for compensation to families of Yemenite children and a credit modernization fund. This money was also transferred before committee approval. She warned that if this request proceeds to a vote, procedural defects must be corrected and the matter reconsidered.

In a letter to Milwitsky, Ehrlich criticized his deliberate violation of committee rules, stating it repeatedly undermines members’ ability to properly review budget transfers and hampers the legal counsel’s capacity to provide advice. She emphasized the damage to the committee’s work, procedural integrity, and public transparency, especially after the recent Knesset session ended.

This issue arose following a letter from MKs Naor Shiri and Vladimir Beliak (Yesh Atid) to the Knesset legal advisor, the Finance Ministry director-general, and the Accountant General, demanding immediate intervention. They accused the committee of blatantly violating a Supreme Court ruling by approving and executing budget transfers without proper committee authorization or adequate review time. They also noted the absence of necessary supporting information from relevant government ministries, which impedes informed parliamentary oversight.

Previously, at the end of 2023, the Finance Committee approved about 1.1 billion shekels for ultra-Orthodox institutions, but a Supreme Court petition revealed that one billion shekels had been transferred before committee approval, highlighting ongoing procedural breaches.