Checking-In: Chapter 9, Chapter 11 Or Ineligible?

Last week, President Trump unveiled his proposal to fix our nation's aging infrastructure. While the proposal lauded $1.5 trillion in new spending, it only included $200 billion in federal funding. To bridge this sizable gap, the plan largely relies on public private partnerships (often referred to as P3s) that can use tax-exempt bond financing. In evaluating bankruptcy and default risk with P3s and similar quasi-governmental entities it is important to understand whether such entities are eligible debtors under the Bankruptcy Code, and, if so, whether they are Chapter 11 or Chapter 9 eligible.

P3s often involve the issuance of bonds by quasi-governmental hybrids, including so-called "63-20 corporations" (named after an IRS Revenue Ruling) that meet IRS criteria for the issuance of bonds by a non-profit corporation "on behalf of" a state or municipality. Such hybrids are used because they have a sufficient nexus to a state or municipal government to satisfy federal