Skip to main content
HR 139 115th Congress House

Protecting Employees and Retirees in Municipal Bankruptcies Act of 2017

Official title: To amend chapter 9 of title 11 of the United States Code to improve protections for employees and retirees in municipal bankruptcies.

Introduced: January 3, 2017 See on congress.gov
Finance and Financial Sector BankruptcyFederal appellate courtsGovernment employee pay, benefits, personnel managementJurisdiction and venue
More subjectsShow fewer subjects
Labor-management relationsSpecialized courtsState and local finance
Sign in to write a letter Sign in to watch
This bill died when the 115th Congress ended
It never became law before the 115th Congress (2017–2018) adjourned, and bills don't carry over to the next Congress. It would have to be reintroduced. You can still save it for reference, but it won't receive updates.
 Everywhere this bill has been 3 steps
Introduced
In committee
Reported out
Passed House
Passed Senate
To President
Became law
Jan 23, 2017
Referred to the Subcommittee on Regulatory Reform, Commercial And Antitrust Law.
Jan 3, 2017
Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.
Jan 3, 2017
Introduced in House
 Ask about this bill AI · grounded in the bill text

Have a question about what this bill does? Ask in plain English; the answer is drawn from the bill's actual text and official record, and it'll tell you when something isn't in the text rather than guess.

AI answers can be imperfect; always confirm against the full bill text.

 Latest action January 23, 2017

Referred to the Subcommittee on Regulatory Reform, Commercial And Antitrust Law.

 Plain-English summary Congressional Research Service

Protecting Employees and Retirees in Municipal Bankruptcies Act of 2017

This bill amends federal bankruptcy law to: (1) heighten criteria with respect to a municipality's eligibility for municipal bankruptcy, and (2) revise provisions related to judicial procedure and review in municipality bankruptcy cases.

In addition, the bill expands protections for employees and retirees in cases of municipal bankruptcy. Specifically, if a municipal bankruptcy plan modifies a collective bargaining agreement or retiree benefit, the covered employees' authorized representative must agree to the plan as a condition of the plan's confirmation by the court.

In general, the authorized representative shall be the labor organization that is signatory to the collective bargaining agreement. However, the bill establishes procedures for the court's appointment of a different representative under specified circumstances.

 Bill text 1 version

Source documents hosted by congress.gov.

 Committees of jurisdiction 2
 Cosponsors 2
All 2 Democratic 2
D
Cohen, Steve
Tennessee · Jan 3, 2017
 D
Johnson, Henry C. "Hank"
Georgia · Jan 3, 2017
Cite this page click to expand
APA
U.S. Congress. (2026). H.R. 139: Protecting Employees and Retirees in Municipal Bankruptcies Act of 2017. 115th Congress. Open America. https://openamerica.io/bill/115-HR-139/
MLA
"H.R. 139: Protecting Employees and Retirees in Municipal Bankruptcies Act of 2017." 115th Congress, 2026, Open America, https://openamerica.io/bill/115-HR-139/.
Bluebook (legal)
H.R. 139, 115th Cong. (2026), https://openamerica.io/bill/115-HR-139/.
Markdown link
[H.R. 139: Protecting Employees and Retirees in Municipal Bankruptcies Act of 2017](https://openamerica.io/bill/115-HR-139/)
Report a problem