One Hundred Seventeenth Congress of the United States of America
2d Session
Begun and held at the City of Washington on Monday, the third day of January, two thousand and twenty two
S. 3823
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
AN ACT
To amend title 11, United States Code, to modify the eligibility requirements for a debtor under chapter 13, and for other purposes.
Short title
This Act may be cited as the Bankruptcy Threshold Adjustment and Technical Corrections Act
.
Bankruptcy amendments
Definition of small business debtor
Section 101(51D)(B) of title 11, United States Code, is amended—
in clause (i), by inserting under this title
after affiliated debtors
; and
in clause (iii), by striking an issuer
and all that follows and inserting a corporation described in clause (ii).
.
Adjustments for inflation
Section 104 of title 11, United States Code, is amended—
in subsection (a), by inserting 1182(1),
after 707(b),
; and
in subsection (b), by inserting 1182(1),
after 707(b),
.
Who may be a debtor under chapter 13
Section 109 of title 11, United States Code is amended by striking subsection (e) and inserting the following:
Only an individual with regular income that owes, on the date of the filing of the petition, noncontingent, liquidated debts of less than $2,750,000 or an individual with regular income and such individual’s spouse, except a stockbroker or a commodity broker, that owe, on the date of the filing of the petition, noncontingent, liquidated debts that aggregate less than $2,750,000 may be a debtor under chapter 13 of this title.
.
Definition of debtor
Section 1182(1) of title 11, United States Code, is amended to read as follows:
Debtor
The term debtor—
subject to subparagraph (B), means a person engaged in commercial or business activities (including any affiliate of such person that is also a debtor under this title and excluding a person whose primary activity is the business of owning single asset real estate) that has aggregate noncontingent liquidated secured and unsecured debts as of the date of the filing of the petition or the date of the order for relief in an amount not more than $7,500,000 (excluding debts owed to 1 or more affiliates or insiders) not less than 50 percent of which arose from the commercial or business activities of the debtor; and
does not include—
any member of a group of affiliated debtors under this title that has aggregate noncontingent liquidated secured and unsecured debts in an amount greater than $7,500,000 (excluding debt owed to 1 or more affiliates or insiders);
any debtor that is a corporation subject to the reporting requirements under section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (15 U.S.C. 78m, 78o(d)); or
any debtor that is an affiliate of a corporation described in clause (ii).
.
Trustee
Section 1183(b)(5) of title 11, United States Code, is amended—
by striking possession, perform
and inserting “possession—
perform
;
in subparagraph (A), as so designated—
by striking , including operating the business of the debtor
; and
by adding and
at the end; and
by adding at the end the following:
be authorized to operate the business of the debtor;
.
Confirmation of plan
Section 1191(c) of title 11, United States Code, is amended by striking paragraph (3) and inserting the following:
The debtor will be able to make all payments under the plan; or
there is a reasonable likelihood that the debtor will be able to make all payments under the plan; and
the plan provides appropriate remedies, which may include the liquidation of nonexempt assets, to protect the holders of claims or interests in the event that the payments are not made.
.
Technical corrections to the Bankruptcy Administration Improvement Act
Section 589a of title 28, United States Code is amended—
in subsection (c) by striking subsection (a)
and inserting subsections (a) and (f)
; and
in subsection (f)(1)—
in the matter preceding subparagraph (A), by striking subsections (b) and (c)
and inserting subsection (b)(5)
; and
in subparagraph (A), by inserting needed to offset the amount
after amounts
.
Effective date; Applicability
In general
Subsections (b) and (c) and the amendments made by subsections (b) and (c) shall take effect on the date of enactment of this Act.
Retroactive application of certain amendments
The amendments made by subsections (a), (d), (e), and (f) shall apply with respect to any case that—
is commenced under title 11, United States Code, on or after March 27, 2020; and
with respect to a case that was commenced on or after March 27, 2020 and before the date of enactment of this Act, is pending on the date of enactment of this Act.
Effective date of technical corrections to BAIA
The amendments made by subsection (g) shall take effect as if enacted on October 1, 2021.
Sunsets
In general
Effective on the date that is 2 years after the date of enactment of this Act—
subsection (e) of section 109 of title 11, United States Code is amended to read as such subsection read on the day before the date of enactment of this Act; and
section 1182(1) of title 11, United States Code, is amended to read as follows:
Debtor
The term debtor means a small business debtor.
.
Amounts
For purposes of applying subsection (e) of section 109 of title 11, United States Code, as amended by paragraph (1)(A), the amounts specified in such subsection shall be the amounts that were in effect on the day before the date of enactment of this Act.
Speaker of the House of Representatives
Vice President of the United States and President of the Senate
