Bankruptcy Judgeship Act of 2017

Bill: 115-s-1107
Sponsor: Sen. Coons, Christopher A. [D-DE]
Introduced: 2017-05-11 in the Senate
Policy area: Law
Subjects: Bankruptcy
Caribbean area
Delaware
Federal district courts
Florida
Judges
Legal fees and court costs
Maryland
Michigan
Nevada
North Carolina
Puerto Rico
Specialized courts
U.S. territories and protectorates
Virginia

Summary:
action_date: 2017-05-11
text: 

Bankruptcy Judgeship Act of 2017 

 
This bill amends the federal judicial code to: 
 
 
convert certain temporary bankruptcy judges to permanent bankruptcy judges and authorize the appointment of additional bankruptcy judges in Delaware and Michigan; 
 
convert temporary bankruptcy judges to permanent bankruptcy judges in specified judicial districts in Florida, Maryland, Nevada, North Carolina, Puerto Rico, and Virginia; and 
 
authorize the appointment of an additional bankruptcy judge in the middle district of Florida. 

 
The bill increases the quarterly fee payable to the U.S. trustee by chapter 11 (reorganization) debtors whose disbursements equal or exceed $1 million in a fiscal year unless the balance in the United States Trustee System Fund exceeds $200 million.
 
For FY2018-FY2022, 97.5% of the quarterly U.S. trustee fees shall be deposited as offsetting collections to the United States Trustee System Fund and 2.5% shall be deposited in the general fund of the Treasury.

action_date: 2017-09-05
text: 

Bankruptcy Judgeship Act of 2017

 
(Sec. 2) This bill reauthorizes 14 temporary bankruptcy judgeships in specified judicial districts in Delaware, Florida, Maryland, Michigan, Puerto Rico, Virginia, Nevada, and North Carolina. 
 
(Sec. 3) It authorizes the appointment of four additional temporary bankruptcy judges in Delaware, Florida, and Michigan. 
 
(Sec. 4) The bill amends the federal judicial code to increase the quarterly fee imposed on certain chapter 11 (reorganization) debtors. Specifically, if the balance in the U.S. Trustee System Fund is less than $200 million, then a debtor with total quarterly disbursements of $1 million or more must pay a quarterly fee equal to $250,000 or 1% of disbursements, whichever is less. 
 
It also specifies that for FY2018-FY2022, 98% of the quarterly fees collected must be deposited as offsetting collections to the U.S. Trustee System Fund and 2% must be deposited in the general fund of the Treasury.
 (Sec. 5) This section amends the federal bankruptcy code to include an unsecured claim by a governmental unit (e.g., a tax claim by the Internal Revenue Service) resulting from the sale, transfer, exchange, or disposition of farming property in chapter 12 bankruptcy (family farmer or fisherman reorganization) proceedings. Such a claim that arises before a debtor's discharge, regardless of whether the claim is pre-petition or post-petition, must be treated as a pre-petition claim, is not entitled to priority status, must be provided for under the bankruptcy plan, and is dischargeable.

Legislative actions:
action_date: 2017-09-06
text: Held at the desk.
action_date: 2017-09-06
text: Received in the House.
action_date: 2017-09-06
text: Message on Senate action sent to the House.
action_date: 2017-09-05
text: Passed Senate with an amendment by Unanimous Consent.
action_date: 2017-09-05
text: Passed/agreed to in Senate: Passed Senate with an amendment by Unanimous Consent.
action_date: 2017-09-05
text: Measure laid before Senate by unanimous consent.
action_date: 2017-09-05
text: Senate Committee on the Judiciary discharged by Unanimous Consent. (consideration: CR S4956)
action_date: 2017-09-05
text: Senate Committee on the Judiciary discharged by Unanimous Consent.(consideration: CR S4956)
action_date: 2017-05-11
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
action_date: 2017-05-11
text: Introduced in Senate