BANKRUPTCY JUDGESHIP BILL ADVANCES TO THE SENATE

The House of Representatives on Friday passed H.R. 4506, the “Bankruptcy Judgeship Act of 2010,” authorizing the creation of 13 new permanent bankruptcy judgeships and the conversion of 22 temporary judgeships to permanent judgeships, as well as the extension of two temporary judgeships for another five years. To finance the positions, the bill also raises the filing fees for debtors filing chapter 7 or chapter 13 cases by $1 and for those filing chapter 11 cases by $42 to satisfy the “pay-go” budgetary offset requirement. The bill is sponsored by Rep. Steve Cohen (D-Tenn.) and was submitted at the request of the Judicial Conference of the United States. The last judgeship bill was introduced in 2005. H.R. 4506 was received in the Senate yesterday and referred to the Senate Judiciary Committee.