STATUS OF ANTI-TRAFFICKING LEGISLATION

UNCLAS TEL AVIV 001931 SIPDIS SENSITIVE DEPT FOR G/TIP: GAYATRI PATEL; NEA/IPA: WES REISSER E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PHUM KWMN SMIG KFRD ASEC PREF ELAB IS KCRM GTIP GOI INTERNAL SUBJECT: STATUS OF ANTI-TRAFFICKING LEGISLATION ¶1. (SBU) Minister of Justice Haim Ramon told Ambassador Jones May 17 that he will make the draft anti-trafficking bill "the first priority legislation" of the new government, setting it on a track that, under optimum conditions, will achieve final passage within two months. Ramon said that he will chair the May 21 government legislative committee meeting that will decide which bills from the former Knesset advance to the new Knesset under the "law on legislative continuity." Ramon said that he will ensure that the committee sends the anti-trafficking bill to the Knesset May 22 for a vote the minimum two weeks later on the bill's continuity status. Once MKs have approved the bill's continuity status, Ramon said, the bill will then go to the Constitution and Law Committee in preparation for its second and third readings. Ramon pledged that the Kadima-led Constitution and Law Committee will ensure that the bill proceeds at the fastest possible pace. ¶2. (U) NOTE: For a bill from a former Knesset to continue forward under the law of continuity, a simple majority of the new Knesset must vote to approve its continuity status. The vote to approve a bill's continuity status cannot take place less than two weeks from the date of its submission to the Knesset, in this case from May 22. During that two-week period, MKs can register any objections to the bill's continuity. Once MKs have approved the anti-trafficking bill's continuity status, it will then return to the Constitution and Law Committee. The Constitution and Law Committee will need to combine the bill that passed the first reading, submitted by the government, with another version, submitted by MK Zehava Gal-On, and add language to address funding of bill provisions. The committee will then submit the combined bill to the Knesset for its second and third readings. According to the bill's authors and sponsors, it is possible that the Knesset can complete this complex process and pass the bill into law as quickly as two months from now. End note. ********************************************* ******************** Visit Embassy Tel Aviv's Classified Website: http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/telaviv You can also access this site through the State Department's Classified SIPRNET website. ********************************************* ******************** JONES