Industrialists lament rise in number of regulators in Israel
Prime Minister’s Office disputes that there are 216 regulators, up from 170 in 2014
Manufacturers Association of Israel president and Federation of Israeli Economic Organizations/Chambers of Commerce chairman Shraga Brosh has complained to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that the number of regulators has jumped from 170 in 2014 to 216, despite a cabinet decision to reduce the number of regulators, who constitute a burden on the business environment.
In his letter to Netanyahu, Brosh stated that the number of regulators comes from a comprehensive probe on the subject by the Manufacturers Association. The World Economic Forum rated Israel in 46th place in the regulatory burden index for 2016-2017, and the World Bank rated Israel 52nd in ease of doing business.
Brosh called on the prime minister to implement the model selected by US President Donald Trump for reducing regulation in the US economy, in which two existing regulations will be canceled for each new regulation. “One of the main reasons why regulation in Israel is not decreasing is that the cabinet decision on the subject includes a number of exceptions that are thwarting the efforts to reduce the regulatory burden in Israel,” Brosh asserted in his letter to Netanyahu.
Brosh cited private members’ bills in the Knesset as a significant source of regulation not subject to the cabinet decision. “Over 40% of the regulation in Israel originates in private members’ bills. Government ministries submit bills through MKs, and use this procedure as a way of evading the 2014 cabinet decision on the subject. Israel is in third place in the world after Mexico and South Korea in the proportion of regulation coming from legislation proposed by private members,” Brosh wrote.
The Prime Minister’s Office did not like Brosh’s attack on the increase in the number of regulators over the past two years, stating, “The allegation that the number of regulators rose is ridiculous. Not only has the number of regulators not increased, but regulation has been cut by 25% and is meeting the government targets. After many years, the government decided to address the problem of excess regulation and bureaucracy, and the results of the decision are already visible in the hotel business, cosmetics imports, electrical goods, medical equipment, and registration of contractors, among other things. Next week, regulation will be eased in the Land Registry, custodianship supervision, and patent registration.
“The Prime Minister’s Office agrees about the damage caused by private members’ legislation involving legislation, which is sometimes motivated by demagoguery. The Prime Minister’s Office is considering ways of introducing a regulatory impact analysis procedure like the one that has been implemented for government bills since early 2016,” the statement read.