Protecting Employees and Retirees in Municipal Bankruptcies Act of 2017
Referred to the Subcommittee on Regulatory Reform, Commercial And Antitrust Law.
Congressional Research Service
Official summary
Version 00 · Introduced in House · Jan 3, 2017
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.
Source last updated: Aug 11, 2025. Consult Congress.gov for the current record.
AI Conversation Starters
Explore the bill from different angles
Choose a perspective, copy a prompt, and paste it into your preferred AI. Each prompt includes the bill version and available official source links, and asks for counterarguments as well as supporting evidence.
Neutral evidence review
Objective
Analyze H.R.139 as objectively as possible. Explain its main provisions, who would be affected, possible benefits and harms, implementation, exceptions, and uncertainties. Present the strongest arguments for and against it, and identify evidence needed to assess its public impact.
View full prompt & sources
Fairness and public impact
Progressive lens
Examine H.R.139 through a progressive lens, focusing on fairness, access, economic inequality, and effects on vulnerable communities. Explain potential benefits, costs, and unintended consequences. Consider the strongest counterarguments and distinguish stated goals from demonstrated outcomes.
View full prompt & sources
Institutions and government scope
Conservative lens
Examine H.R.139 through a conservative lens, focusing on fiscal responsibility, institutional stability, federalism, and the scope of government. Explain potential benefits, costs, and unintended consequences. Consider the strongest counterarguments and any provisions that challenge this perspective.
View full prompt & sources
Individual rights and government power
Liberty lens
Examine H.R.139 through a civil-liberties and limited-government lens. Consider individual rights, privacy, voluntary choice, accountability, and government power. Explain tradeoffs, possible safeguards, and the strongest counterarguments without assuming the proposal is beneficial or harmful.