[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2266 Engrossed Amendment Senate (EAS)]
<DOC>
In the Senate of the United States,
September 27, 2017.
Resolved, That the bill from the House of Representatives (H.R.
2266) entitled ``An Act to amend title 28 of the United States Code to
authorize the appointment of additional bankruptcy judges; and for
other purposes.'', do pass with the following
AMENDMENT:
Strike all after the enacting clause and insert the
following:
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Bankruptcy Judgeship Act of 2017''.
SEC. 2. EXTENSION OF TEMPORARY OFFICE OF BANKRUPTCY JUDGES IN CERTAIN
JUDICIAL DISTRICTS.
(a) Temporary Office of Bankruptcy Judges Authorized by the
Bankruptcy Judgeship Act of 2005.--
(1) Extensions.--The temporary office of bankruptcy judges
authorized for the following districts by subsection (b) of the
Bankruptcy Judgeship Act of 2005 (28 U.S.C. 152 note) are
extended until the applicable vacancy specified in paragraph
(2) in the office of a bankruptcy judge for the respective
district occurs:
(A) The district of Delaware.
(B) The southern district of Florida.
(C) The district of Maryland.
(D) The eastern district of Michigan.
(E) The district of Nevada.
(F) The eastern district of North Carolina.
(G) The district of Puerto Rico.
(H) The eastern district of Virginia.
(2) Vacancies.--
(A) Single vacancies.--Except as provided in
subparagraphs (B), (C), and (D), the 1st vacancy in the
office of a bankruptcy judge for each district
specified in paragraph (1)--
(i) occurring more than 5 years after the
date of the enactment of this Act, and
(ii) resulting from the death, retirement,
resignation, or removal of a bankruptcy judge,
shall not be filled.
(B) District of delaware.--The 1st, 2d, 3d, and 4th
vacancies in the office of a bankruptcy judge for the
district of Delaware--
(i) occurring 5 years or more after the
date of the enactment of this Act, and
(ii) resulting from the death, retirement,
resignation, or removal of a bankruptcy judge,
shall not be filled.
(C) District of maryland.--
(i) The 1st vacancy in the office of a
bankruptcy judge for the district of Maryland--
(I) occurring more than 5 years
after the date of the enactment of this
Act, and
(II) resulting from the death,
retirement, resignation, or removal of
a bankruptcy judge,
shall not be filled.
(ii) The 2d and 3d vacancies in the office
of a bankruptcy judge for the district of
Maryland resulting from the death, retirement,
resignation, or removal of a bankruptcy judge,
shall not be filled.
(D) Southern district of florida.--The 1st and 2d
vacancies in the office of a bankruptcy judge for the
southern district of Florida--
(i) occurring more than 5 years after the
date of the enactment of this Act, and
(ii) resulting from the death, retirement,
resignation, or removal of a bankruptcy judge,
shall not be filled.
(3) Applicability of provisions.--Except as provided in
paragraphs (1) and (2), all other provisions of subsection (b)
of the Bankruptcy Judgeship Act of 2005 (28 U.S.C. 152 note)
and section 2 of the Temporary Bankruptcy Judgeships Extension
Act of 2012 (28 U.S.C. 152 note) remain applicable to the
temporary office of bankruptcy judges referred to in paragraph
(1).
(b) Temporary Office of Bankruptcy Judges Extended by the
Bankruptcy Judgeship Act of 2005 and the Temporary Bankruptcy
Judgeships Extension Act of 2012.--
(1) Extensions.--The temporary office of bankruptcy judges
authorized by section 3 of the Bankruptcy Judgeship Act of 1992
(28 U.S.C. 152 note) and extended by subsection (c) of the
Bankruptcy Judgeship Act of 2005 (28 U.S.C. 152 note) and
further extended by section 2 of the Temporary Bankruptcy
Judgeships Extension Act of 2012 (28 U.S.C. 152 note) for the
district of Delaware and the district of Puerto Rico are
extended until the applicable vacancy specified in paragraph
(2) in the office of a bankruptcy judge for the respective
district occurs.
(2) Vacancies.--
(A) District of delaware.--The 5th vacancy in the
office of a bankruptcy judge for the district of
Delaware--
(i) occurring more than 5 years after the
date of the enactment of this Act, and
(ii) resulting from the death, retirement,
resignation, or removal of a bankruptcy judge,
shall not be filled.
(B) District of puerto rico.--The 2d vacancy in the
office of a bankruptcy judge for the district of Puerto
Rico--
(i) occurring more than 5 years after the
date of the enactment of this Act, and
(ii) resulting from the death, retirement,
resignation, or removal of a bankruptcy judge,
shall not be filled.
(3) Applicability of other provisions.--Except as provided
in paragraphs (1) and (2), all other provisions of section 3 of
the Bankruptcy Judgeship Act of 1992 (28 U.S.C. 152 note),
subsection (c) of the Bankruptcy Judgeship Act of 2005 (28
U.S.C. 152 note), and section 2 of the Temporary Bankruptcy
Judgeships Extension Act of 2012 (28 U.S.C. 152 note) remain
applicable to the temporary office of bankruptcy judges
referred to in paragraph (1).
SEC. 3. TEMPORARY OFFICE OF BANKRUPTCY JUDGE AUTHORIZED.
(a) Appointments.--The following bankruptcy judges shall be
appointed in the manner prescribed in section 152(a)(1) of title 28,
United States Code, for the appointment of bankruptcy judges provided
for in section 152(a)(2) of that title:
(1) Two additional bankruptcy judges for the district of
Delaware.
(2) One additional bankruptcy judge of the middle district
of Florida.
(3) One additional bankruptcy judge for the eastern
district of Michigan.
(b) Vacancies.--
(1) District of delaware.--The 6th and 7th vacancies in the
office of a bankruptcy judge for the district of Delaware--
(A) occurring 5 years or more after the appointment
date of the bankruptcy judge appointed under paragraph
(1) to such office, and
(B) resulting from the death, retirement,
resignation, or removal of a bankruptcy judge,
shall not be filled.
(2) Middle district of florida.--The 1st vacancy in the
office of a bankruptcy judge for the middle district of
Florida--
(A) occurring 5 years or more after the appointment
date of the bankruptcy judge appointed under paragraph
(1) to such office, and
(B) resulting from the death, retirement,
resignation, or removal of a bankruptcy judge,
shall not be filled.
(3) Eastern district of michigan.--The 2d vacancy in the
office of a bankruptcy judge for the eastern district of
Michigan--
(A) occurring 5 years or more after the appointment
date of the bankruptcy judge appointed under paragraph
(1) to such office, and
(B) resulting from the death, retirement,
resignation, or removal of a bankruptcy judge,
shall not be filled.
SEC. 4. BANKRUPTCY FEES.
(a) Amendments to Title 28 of the United States Code.--Section
1930(a)(6) of title 28, United States Code, is amended--
(1) by striking ``(6) In'' and inserting ``(6)(A) Except as
provided in subparagraph (B), in''; and
(2) by adding at the end the following:
``(B) During each of fiscal years 2018 through 2022, if the
balance in the United States Trustee System Fund as of
September 30 of the most recent full fiscal year is less than
$200,000,000, the quarterly fee payable for a quarter in which
disbursements equal or exceed $1,000,000 shall be the lesser of
1 percent of such disbursements or $250,000.''.
(b) Deposits of Certain Fees for Fiscal Years 2018 Through 2022.--
Notwithstanding section 589a(b) of title 28, United States Code, for
each of fiscal years 2018 through 2022--
(1) 98 percent of the fees collected under section
1930(a)(6) of such title shall be deposited as offsetting
collections to the appropriation ``United States Trustee System
Fund'', to remain available until expended; and
(2) 2 percent of the fees collected under section
1930(a)(6) of such title shall be deposited in the general fund
of the Treasury.
(c) Application of Amendments.--The amendments made by this section
shall apply to quarterly fees payable under section 1930(a)(6) of title
28, United States Code, as amended by this section, for disbursements
made in any calendar quarter that begins on or after the date of
enactment of this Act.
SEC. 5. CLARIFICATION OF RULE ALLOWING DISCHARGE TO GOVERNMENTAL CLAIMS
ARISING FROM THE DISPOSITION OF FARM ASSETS UNDER CHAPTER
12 BANKRUPTCIES.
(a) In General.--Subchapter II of chapter 12 of title 11, United
States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:
``Sec. 1232. Claim by a governmental unit based on the disposition of
property used in a farming operation
``(a) Any unsecured claim of a governmental unit against the debtor
or the estate that arises before the filing of the petition, or that
arises after the filing of the petition and before the debtor's
discharge under section 1228, as a result of the sale, transfer,
exchange, or other disposition of any property used in the debtor's
farming operation--
``(1) shall be treated as an unsecured claim arising before
the date on which the petition is filed;
``(2) shall not be entitled to priority under section 507;
``(3) shall be provided for under a plan; and
``(4) shall be discharged in accordance with section 1228.
``(b) For purposes of applying sections 1225(a)(4), 1228(b)(2), and
1229(b)(1) to a claim described in subsection (a) of this section, the
amount that would be paid on such claim if the estate of the debtor
were liquidated in a case under chapter 7 of this title shall be the
amount that would be paid by the estate in a chapter 7 case if the
claim were an unsecured claim arising before the date on which the
petition was filed and were not entitled to priority under section 507.
``(c) For purposes of applying sections 523(a), 1228(a)(2), and
1228(c)(2) to a claim described in subsection (a) of this section, the
claim shall not be treated as a claim of a kind specified in
subparagraph (A) or (B) of section 523(a)(1).
``(d)(1) A governmental unit may file a proof of claim for a claim
described in subsection (a) that arises after the date on which the
petition is filed.
``(2) If a debtor files a tax return after the filing of the
petition for a period in which a claim described in subsection (a)
arises, and the claim relates to the tax return, the debtor shall serve
notice of the claim on the governmental unit charged with the
responsibility for the collection of the tax at the address and in the
manner designated in section 505(b)(1). Notice under this paragraph
shall state that the debtor has filed a petition under this chapter,
state the name and location of the court in which the case under this
chapter is pending, state the amount of the claim, and include a copy
of the filed tax return and documentation supporting the calculation of
the claim.
``(3) If notice of a claim has been served on the governmental unit
in accordance with paragraph (2), the governmental unit may file a
proof of claim not later than 180 days after the date on which such
notice was served. If the governmental unit has not filed a timely
proof of the claim, the debtor or trustee may file proof of the claim
that is consistent with the notice served under paragraph (2). If a
proof of claim is filed by the debtor or trustee under this paragraph,
the governmental unit may not amend the proof of claim.
``(4) A claim filed under this subsection shall be determined and
shall be allowed under subsection (a), (b), or (c) of section 502, or
disallowed under subsection (d) or (e) of section 502, in the same
manner as if the claim had arisen immediately before the date of the
filing of the petition.''.
(b) Technical and Conforming Amendments.--
(1) In general.--Subchapter II of chapter 12 of title 11,
United States Code, is amended--
(A) in section 1222(a)--
(i) in paragraph (2), by striking
``unless--'' and all that follows through ``the
holder'' and inserting ``unless the holder'';
(ii) in paragraph (3), by striking ``and''
at the end;
(iii) in paragraph (4), by striking the
period at the end and inserting ``; and''; and
(iv) by adding at the end the following:
``(5) subject to section 1232, provide for the treatment of
any claim by a governmental unit of a kind described in section
1232(a).'';
(B) in section 1228--
(i) in subsection (a)--
(I) in the matter preceding
paragraph (1)--
(aa) by inserting a comma
after ``all debts provided for
by the plan''; and
(bb) by inserting a comma
after ``allowed under section
503 of this title''; and
(II) in paragraph (2), by striking
``the kind'' and all that follows and
inserting ``a kind specified in section
523(a) of this title, except as
provided in section 1232(c).''; and
(ii) in subsection (c)(2), by inserting ``,
except as provided in section 1232(c)'' before
the period at the end; and
(C) in section 1229(a)--
(i) in paragraph (2), by striking ``or'' at
the end;
(ii) in paragraph (3), by striking the
period at the end and inserting ``; or''; and
(iii) by adding at the end the following:
``(4) provide for the payment of a claim described in
section 1232(a) that arose after the date on which the petition
was filed.''.
(2) Table of sections.--The table of sections for
subchapter II of chapter 12 of title 11, United States Code, is
amended by adding at the end the following:
``1232. Claim by a governmental unit based on the disposition of
property used in a farming operation.''.
(c) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall
apply to--
(1) any bankruptcy case--
(A) that is pending on the date of enactment of
this Act;
(B) in which the plan under chapter 12 of title 11,
United States Code, has not been confirmed on the date
of enactment of this Act; and
(C) relating to which an order of discharge under
section 1228 of title 11, United States Code, has not
been entered; and
(2) any bankruptcy case that commences on or after the date
of enactment of this Act.
Attest:
Secretary.
115th CONGRESS
1st Session
H.R. 2266
_______________________________________________________________________
AMENDMENT