The United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas notifies you that:

1. The Court has adopted BLR 2016-1(e). This rule authorizes chapter 7 trustees to pay certain administrative expenses without first obtaining a Court order. The rule may be reviewed here. The rule was adopted on an emergency basis due to an unanticipated change in bank fees that will result in a substantial increase in the frequency of routine charges borne by chapter 7 estates. Your comments on the new rule are solicited. After receipt of comments, the Court will consider whether to amend the emergency rule and whether to continue it in effect.

2. The Court is considering changes to BLR 1007-1(d) and to the forms that implement various automated methods for payment of chapter 13 plan payments to the trustee. If adopted, every chapter 13 case will be required to have one or more of the following within the first 15 days following the petition date:

A. A proposed wage order.
B. A proposed Order for EFT Payments (On-Line Banking).
C. A proposed Order for ACH Payments.
D. A motion to waive the requirement for an automated payment method.

Your comments on the new rule and forms are requested. They may be accessed here.

3. The Court is considering publishing a model chapter 11 plan for voluntary use in individual chapter 11 cases. The plan has certain automated features. Instructions for use of the model plan and a copy of the model plan are available via this link (Microsoft Word document with macros). Your comments on the model plan are requested.

The comment period on each of these matters expires October 31, 2011. Comments should be sent to bankruptcy_comments@txs.uscourts.gov.