Sec. 105. Data collection
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/bill/116/hr/8902/ih/section-105A research copy — for the controlling text, always check the official state or federal source. Not legal advice.
Section 159 of title 28, United States Code, is amended by striking subsections (a), (b), and
(c)and inserting the following: When a case is filed under chapter 10 of title 11, each debtor in the case may file with the court the following information about the debtor: Marital status. Age. Sex. Race. Ethnicity. The Attorney General, in consultation with the Consumer Bankruptcy Ombuds of the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection and the Director of the Administrative Office of the United States Courts (referred to in this section as the Director ), shall prescribe a standard form for the collection of the information described in paragraph (1). Any information collected, stored, received, or published under paragraph
(1)shall— be so collected, stored, received, or published in a manner that protects the privacy of individuals whose information is included in such data; be de-identified or anonymized in a manner that protects the identity of all individuals whose information is included in such data; and be limited in use for the purpose of identifying and addressing disparities in the bankruptcy system and be protected from all other internal use by any entity that collects, stores, or receives the information and from any other inappropriate uses. Any information collected under paragraph (1)— shall not be part of the public record of the bankruptcy case; and shall be maintained in a nonpublic record by the court to fulfill its duties under subsection (b). The clerk of the district court, or the clerk of the bankruptcy court if one is certified pursuant to section 156(b), shall collect information regarding individual debtors seeking relief under chapter 10 of title 11. The information shall be in a standardized format prescribed by the Director so that the Director can fulfill the duties in subsection (c). In this subsection, the term qualified researcher means a person who has undertaken to protect the confidentiality and privacy of the information in the database in a protocol that has been reviewed and approved by an institutional review board that is established— to protect the rights and welfare of human subjects participating in scientific research; and in accordance with the requirements established under part 46 of title 45, Code of Federal Regulations, or any successor thereto. The Director shall— compile statistical tables from the information referred to in subsections
(a)and
(b)and make the tables available to the public; not later than July 1, 2022, and annually thereafter, prepare, and submit to Congress a report concerning the information collected under subsections
(a)and
(b)that contains an analysis of the information; and not later than December 31 of the year following the calendar year in which the information is collected, make available to— qualified researchers an electronic database containing the information collected under subsections
(a)and
(b)or used to create the compilation required by this subsection; and the public an electronic database containing the information collected under subsection
(b)or used to create the compilation required by this subsection. The compilation required under subsection
(c)shall— be presented in the aggregate and for each judicial district and division; and include information concerning— the total assets and total liabilities of the debtors and in each category of assets and liabilities, as reported in the schedules prescribed pursuant to section 2075 and filed by debtors; the current monthly income of debtors as reported on the schedules and statements that each debtor files under section 521 of title 11; the total compensation the debtors promised to pay to an attorney, the amount of the compensation paid to an attorney before filing, and the total number of cases in which a wage garnishment order or electronic funds transfer order was entered to pay an attorney; the total number of dependents of the debtors and the total number of dependents of the debtors under the age of 18; whether the debtors had an ownership interest in real estate that served as the debtors’ principal residence; whether the debtors had an ownership interest in real estate other than that served as the debtors’ principal residence; the minimum payment obligation of the debtors as determined under section 101(54) of title 11; whether the debtors filed a repayment plan, a residence plan, or a property plan; and the average period of time between the date of the filing of the petition and the closing of the case for cases closed during the reporting period. The Director may add other information to the compilations and databases required by this section that improve the understanding of the causes of bankruptcy and the functioning of the bankruptcy system. .