Puerto Rico Oversight, Management, and Economic Stability Act
A BILL
To establish an Oversight Board to assist the Government of Puerto Rico, including instrumentalities, in managing its public finances, and for other purposes.
Sec. 2 Effective date
In general— Except as provided in subsection (b), this Act shall take effect on the date of the enactment of this Act.
Title III— Title III shall apply with respect to—
cases commenced under title III on or after the date of the enactment of this Act; and
debts, claims, and liens (as such terms are defined in section 101 of title 11, United States Code) created before, on, or after such date.
Sec. 3 Severability
If any provision of this Act or the application thereof to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the remainder of this Act, or the application of that provision to persons or circumstances other than those as to which it is held invalid, is not affected thereby, provided that title III is not severable from titles I or II, and titles I or II are not severable from title III.
Sec. 4 Supremacy
The provisions of this Act shall prevail over any general or specific provisions of territory law or regulation that is inconsistent with this Act.
Sec. 5 Definitions
In this Act—
Agreed accounting standards— The term “agreed accounting standards” means modified accrual accounting standards or, for any period during which the Board determines in its sole discretion that a territorial government is not reasonably capable of comprehensive reporting that complies with modified accrual accounting standards, such other accounting standards as proposed by the Board.
Bond— The term “Bond” means a bond, loan, letter of credit, other borrowing title, obligation of insurance, or other indebtedness, including rights, entitlements, or obligations whether such rights, entitlements, or obligations arise from contract, statute, or any other source of law, in any case, related to such a bond, loan, letter of credit, other borrowing title, obligation of insurance, or other indebtedness in physical or dematerialized form, of which—
the issuer, obligor, or guarantor is the territorial government; and
the date of issuance or incurrence precedes the date of enactment of this Act.
Bond Claim— The term “Bond Claim” means, as it relates to a Bond—
right to payment, whether or not such right is reduced to judgment, liquidated, unliquidated, fixed, contingent, matured, unmatured, disputed, undisputed, legal, equitable, secured, or unsecured; or
right to an equitable remedy for breach of performance if such breach gives rise to a right to payment, whether or not such right to an equitable remedy is reduced to judgment, fixed, contingent, matured, unmatured, disputed, undisputed, secured, or unsecured.
Budget— The term “Budget” means the Territory Budget or an Instrumentality Budget, as applicable.
Puerto Rico— The term “Puerto Rico” means the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.
Compliant budget— The term “compliant budget” means a budget that is prepared in accordance with—
agreed accounting standards; and
the applicable Fiscal Plan.
Covered territorial instrumentality— The term “covered territorial instrumentality” means a territorial instrumentality designated by the Board pursuant to section 101 to be subject to the requirements of this Act.
Covered territory— The term “covered territory” means a territory for which a Board has been established under section 101.
Executive director— The term “Executive Director” means an Executive Director appointed under section 103(a).
Fiscal Plan— The term “Fiscal Plan” means a Territory Fiscal Plan or an Instrumentality Fiscal Plan, as applicable.
Government of Puerto Rico— The term “Government of Puerto Rico” means the government of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, including all its territorial instrumentalities.
Governor— The term “Governor” means the chief executive of a covered territory.
Instrumentality Budget— The term “Instrumentality Budget” means a budget for a covered territorial instrumentality, designated by the Board in accordance with section 101, submitted, approved, and certified in accordance with section 202.
Instrumentality Fiscal Plan— The term “Instrumentality Fiscal Plan” means a fiscal plan for a covered territorial instrumentality, designated by the Board in accordance with section 101, submitted, approved, and certified in accordance with section 201.
Legislature— The term “Legislature” means the legislative body responsible for enacting the laws of a covered territory.
Modified accrual accounting standards— The term “modified accrual accounting standards” means recognizing revenues as they become available and measurable and recognizing expenditures when liabilities are incurred, in each case as defined by the Governmental Accounting Standards Board, in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles.
Oversight Board— The term “Oversight Board” means a Financial Oversight and Management Board established in accordance with section 101.
Territorial government— The term “territorial government” means the government of a covered territory, including all covered territorial instrumentalities.
Territorial instrumentality—
In general— The term “territorial instrumentality” means any political subdivision, public agency, instrumentality, or public corporation of a territory, and this term should be broadly construed to effectuate the purposes of this Act.
Exclusion— The term “territorial instrumentality” does not include an Oversight Board.
Territory— The term “territory” means—
Puerto Rico;
Guam;
American Samoa;
the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands; or
the United States Virgin Islands.
Territory Budget— The term “Territory Budget” means a budget for a territorial government submitted, approved, and certified in accordance with section 202.
Territory Fiscal Plan— The term “Territory Fiscal Plan” means a fiscal plan for a territorial government submitted, approved, and certified in accordance with section 201.
Sec. 6 Placement
The Law Revision Counsel is directed to place this Act in chapter 4 of title 48, United States Code, as subchapter VIII.
Sec. 7 Compliance with Federal laws
Except as otherwise provided in this Act, nothing in this Act shall be construed as impairing or in any manner relieving a territorial government, or any territorial instrumentality thereof, from compliance with Federal laws or requirements protecting the health, safety, and environment of persons in such territory.