
Legislative Update
On June 30, 2016, President Obama gave his imprimatur to the Puerto Rico Oversight, Management, and Economic Stability Act, Pub. L. No. 114-187 (2016) (“PROMESA”) (H.R. 5278 and S. 2328). The bipartisan legislation was approved by both Houses of Congress in a flurry of legislative dealmaking that preceded a July 1, 2016, deadline for Puerto Rico to make $2 billion in bond payments. Despite the passage of PROMESA, Puerto Rico defaulted on its constitutionally guaranteed debt for the first time on July 1.
The enactment of PROMESA followed a June 13, 2016, ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court that upheld lower court rulings declaring unconstitutional a 2014 law, portions of which mirrored chapter 9 of the Bankruptcy Code, which law would have allowed the commonwealth’s public instrumentalities to restructure a significant portion of Puerto Rico’s bond debt (widely reported to be as much as $72 billion). See Commonwealth v. Franklin Cal. Tax-Free Tr., 2016 BL 187308 (U.S. June 13, 2016) (discussed elsewhere in this edition of the Business Restructuring Review).
Among other things, PROMESA provides for the establishment of an Oversight Board entrusted with determining the adequacy of budgets and fiscal plans for the instrumentalities of Puerto Rico and other covered territories. It also provides a mechanism for the implementation of voluntary out-of-court restructuring agreements between an instrumentality and its bondholders as well as bond debt adjustment plans (consensual and nonconsensual) in a case commenced in federal district court.
Set forth below is a brief summary of PROMESA’s most important provisions.
Effective Date |
June 30, 2016 |
Covered Territories |
Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and the United States Virgin Islands. |
Oversight Board |
An oversight board consisting of seven members appointed by the president for a three-year term (subject to renewal). |
Powers of the Oversight Board |
The Oversight Board has the power to, among other things:
|
Termination of the Board |
The Oversight Board shall terminate upon certification that PR has adequate access to short- and long-term markets at reasonable rates, that PR has developed an approved budget for at least four years, and that expenditures did not exceed revenues during that period. |
No U.S. Government Guarantee |
The full faith and credit of the U.S. is not pledged for the payment of any bond, note, or other obligation issued by PR or its instrumentalities after the enactment of PROMESA. |
Preemption |
PROMESA preempts any PR law purporting to implement a binding composition of indebtedness or moratorium without the consent of creditors. |
Jurisdiction |
The federal district courts shall have exclusive jurisdiction over all cases brought under PROMESA. |
Bankruptcy Code Provisions Applicable in PROMESA Cases |
Sections 101 (with certain exceptions), 102, 104, 105, 106, 107, 108, 112, 333, 344, 347(b), 349, 350(b), 351, 361, 362, 364(c), 364(d), 364(e), 364(f), 365, 366, 501, 502, 503, 504, 506, 507(a)(2), 509, 510, 524(a)(1), 524(a)(2), 544, 545, 546, 547, 548, 549(a), 549(c), 549(d), 550, 551, 552, 553, 555, 556, 557, 559, 560, 561, 562, 902 (with certain exceptions), 922, 923, 924, 925, 926, 927, 928, 942, 944, 945, 946, 1102, 1103, 1109, 1111(b), 1122, 1123(a)(1), 1123(a)(2), 1123(a)(3), 1123(a)(4), 1123(a)(5), 1123(b), 1123(d), 1124, 1125, 1126(a), 1126(b), 1126(c), 1126(e), 1126(f), 1126(g), 1127(d), 1128, 1129(a)(2), 1129(a)(3), 1129(a)(6), 1129(a)(8), 1129(a)(10), 1129(b)(1), 1129(b)(2)(A), 1129(b)(2)(B), 1142(b), 1143, 1144, 1145, and 1146(a) apply in a PROMESA case, and section 930 shall also apply (governing dismissal of a case), except during the first 120 days after the petition date. |
Confirmation of Plan of Adjustment |
To be confirmable, a plan of adjustment must:
|
Automatic Stay |
PROMESA provides that, effective upon enactment, and subject to a police and regulatory powers exception for governmental units, there shall be an automatic stay of all creditor collection efforts against PR and its instrumentalities until the later of February 15, 2017, or six months after the establishment of the Oversight Board. Certain extensions of the duration of the stay are permitted. Relief from the stay may be granted by the court for “cause.” The stay terminates automatically 45 days after a request for stay relief is made unless the court orders otherwise. Parties providing goods and services to PR or its instrumentalities must continue to perform under their contracts during the pendency of the stay, provided that PR or the instrumentality is not in default other than as a consequence of its insolvency or financial condition. If the Oversight Board determines it is feasible, PR shall continue to make interest payments on debt during the pendency of the stay. |
Liability of Transferees |
Transferees of PR or instrumentality property in violation of any applicable law for the benefit of creditors or security agreement shall be liable for the value of the property transferred. |
Solicitation of Plan |
Solicitation of votes on a proposed plan of adjustment must be accompanied by any approved fiscal plan and any other information required under applicable securities laws. |
Voting on Plan and Binding Effect |
A plan of adjustment is accepted by bondholders if the holders of at least two-thirds of the principal amount of bonds in each “pool” of bonds (secured, unsecured, guaranteed, and nonguaranteed bonds generally being separately classified) vote to accept the plan. |
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