Israel is a parliamentary unicameral democracy. The legislative body is called the Knesset and has 120 members who are elected in general elections every four years – although few governments have reached the four-year limit – since 2003 there have been four elections, and the next election took place in March 2015.
Legislation can be initiated by a single member of the Knesset, a group of Knesset members (these would be called private bills), by a Knesset committee, or by the government. A bill requires three readings to pass. After the first reading, it is referred to a committee for preparation for the second reading. The committee may propose amendments as long as they do not diverge from the subject of the bill. The voting on second reading is performed article by article. At this stage the bill may be returned to the Committee, to draft any reservations adopted in second reading, or be put immediately to the vote in third reading. Until the bill is adopted in third reading, the government is entitled to withdraw it.
If a bill has been approved to be placed on the Knesset agenda, it is usually done at least 45 days before it is brought to the plenum for preliminary reading. The plenum can remove it from its agenda, or refer it to a committee, for preparation for first reading. During first reading, the legislative process is similar to that of a government bill. A private members’ bill can be withdrawn until the end of the deliberation in the Committee, after the first reading. Since July 2002, any bill whose annual budgetary cost is over ILS5 million (USD1.3 million), and is not supported by the government, can only be adopted with the votes of at least 50 Members of the Knesset, at every stage of the legislation.