Finance Committee Legal Advisor Rules Two Budget Transfers Illegal After Night Vote

Shlomit Erlich, the legal advisor to the Knesset Finance Committee, issued a stern letter declaring that two budget transfer votes held overnight were illegal and invalid. The votes concerned the Prime Minister's Office budget and local authorities' budget surpluses. Erlich criticized the committee chairman, MK Hanoch Milwitsky, for violating procedural rules by holding votes without the required legal review and without distributing the proposals to committee members at least two days in advance.

Regarding the Prime Minister's Office budget request, Erlich noted the absence of a legal opinion, government decisions, budget history, and detailed plans, despite the request including coalition funding. Milwitsky initially said he would not bring the proposal to a vote but later proceeded, prompting opposition MKs to walk out in protest. Erlich concluded that the discussion and vote were unlawful and invalid.

Similarly, the request to transfer approximately 970 million shekels in local authorities' budget surpluses from 2025 to 2026 was also handled improperly. The request included a budget overrun of about 67.6 million shekels and was previously flagged by the Finance Ministry's legal advisor as legally flawed. Despite this, Milwitsky allowed the discussion and vote without legal review or completing necessary corrections, again rendering the vote invalid.

Erlich also addressed another budget request related to "miscellaneous expenses," which included overruns for compensation to families of Yemenite children and credit modernization activities. She warned that if Milwitsky wishes to bring this proposal to a vote, the legal deficiencies must be corrected and the discussion redone.

The legal advisor sharply criticized Milwitsky's deliberate breach of committee procedures, stating it undermines members' ability to participate, the legal counsel's capacity to advise, procedural integrity, and public transparency. The letter was shared with Finance Committee members, the Knesset legal advisor, the Finance Ministry legal advisor, and the deputy budget director at the Finance Ministry.