A new amendment to the Party Funding Law, initiated by Deputy Knesset Speaker MK Sharren Haskel and MK Osnat Mark of the Likud and MK Miki Levy of Yesh Atid-Telem was tabled in the Knesset today. The bill to regulate the financing of elected officials, which has already been dubbed the "Nir Barkat Law", seeks to regulate the issue of expenses from the private pockets of elected officials for political purposes, and to limit these expenses to NIS 100,000 per year. Currently, with the exception of primaries, the use of personal money for political purposes in any amount is prohibited by law, but there is no reporting or enforcement. As a result, in recent years there have been claims that the current situation confers an unfair advantage on wealthy MKs, who can make almost unlimited use of their money for political expenses. The bill stipulates the obligation to report monthly donations from the private pocket of a Knesset Member to the Knesset accountant. The report will include the amount of the self-contribution and its purpose, just as it currently exists in expenses from the budget for voter liaison. According to MK Haskel: "Equality of opportunity and transparency are fundamental values in a democracy and this is exactly what the law comes to correct. Today, it's important to strengthen the public's trust in its elected representatives, and transparency is the best way to do that." MK Osnat Mark added: "The current situation, according to which donations are not defined in the law and are not reported, puts Knesset members in front of a broken trough. The bill will define a legal infrastructure for funding and donations."
