§589b Bankruptcy Data

Summary

Requires the Attorney General to make and update standard forms, within a reasonable time after the law takes effect, for final trustee reports in subchapter V of chapter 11 and chapters 7, 12, and 13, and for periodic reports by debtors in possession or trustees in chapter 11. The forms and filing rules must let officials compile data and let the public see the reports at central filing locations and online. The reports must give information useful to debtors, creditors, and the public to judge how the bankruptcy system works. When making the rules, the Attorney General must balance the public’s need for information, economy and simplicity to avoid undue burden, and privacy protections. Final trustee reports must cover 8 topics: (1) how long the case lasted, (2) assets abandoned, (3) assets exempted, (4) estate receipts and disbursements, (5) administration expenses including use under section 707(b) and actual chapter 13 costs, (6) claims asserted, (7) claims allowed, and (8) distributions to claimants and claims discharged without payment. Periodic chapter 11 reports must cover 7 topics: (1) the debtor’s industry code from the Department of Commerce, (2) how long the case has been pending, (3) full‑time employee counts at the order for relief and at each report period, (4) cash receipts, cash disbursements, and profitability for the latest period and cumulatively since the order for relief, (5) compliance with title 11 on timely tax filings and payments since the order for relief, (6) all court‑approved professional fees for the latest period and cumulatively, separated between fees that would have been incurred without bankruptcy and those that would not, and (7) plans of reorganization filed and confirmed and, by class, recoveries in dollar totals and as percentages of allowed class claims.