48 U.S.C. § 2141 — Approval of Fiscal Plans

(a) In general. After all Oversight Board^* members and the Chair are appointed under section 2121(e), as soon as practicable in the Board’s establishing fiscal year, and in each later fiscal year while the Board operates, the Board must give the Governor^* a notice with a schedule for developing, submitting, approving, and certifying Fiscal Plans. The notice may also schedule revisions to already certified plans; those revisions must later be approved and certified by the Board. The Board must consult the Governor when creating the schedule, but keeps sole discretion to set or change its dates by a later notice if the dates are appropriate and reasonably feasible.

(b) Requirements. (1) In general. A Fiscal Plan^* for a territorial government^* or covered territorial instrumentality^* must provide a way to achieve fiscal responsibility and access to capital markets, and must—
(A) estimate revenue and spending using agreed accounting standards^*, based on (i) applicable laws or (ii) specific bills that must be enacted to reasonably achieve the plan’s projections;
(B) ensure funding for essential public services;
(C) adequately fund public pension systems;
(D) eliminate structural deficits;
(E) for covered fiscal years when a stay under subchapter III or IV is not effective, provide a sustainable debt burden;
(F) improve fiscal governance, accountability, and internal controls;
(G) make it possible to reach fiscal targets;
(H) create independent revenue forecasts for the plan’s period;
(I) include an analysis of whether debt is sustainable;
(J) provide capital spending and investment needed to promote economic growth;
(K) adopt appropriate recommendations the Board submits under section 2145(a);
(L) include additional information the Board considers necessary;
(M) ensure that a territorial instrumentality’s assets, funds, or resources are not loaned, transferred, or otherwise used for the benefit of a covered territory^* or another covered territorial instrumentality^* of that territory^*, unless the territory’s constitution, an approved plan of adjustment under subchapter III, or a Qualifying Modification approved under subchapter VI permits it; and
(N) respect applicable lawful priorities and lawful liens in the constitution, other laws, or agreements of a covered territory or covered territorial instrumentality that were in effect before June 30, 2016.
(2) Term. The Board decides how many fiscal years a Fiscal Plan covers, but it must cover at least five fiscal years starting with the fiscal year in which the Board certifies it.

(c) Development, review, approval, and certification. (1) Timing requirement. The Governor may not submit a Territory Budget^* under section 2142 for a fiscal year unless the Board has certified that year’s Territory Fiscal Plan^* under this subsection. The Board may waive this requirement in its sole discretion.
(2) Plan developed by Governor. The Governor must submit each proposed Fiscal Plan the Board requires by the deadline in the subsection (a) notice.
(3) Board review. The Board must review a proposed plan to decide whether it meets subsection (b). If the Board decides in its sole discretion that the plan (A) meets those requirements, it must approve it; or (B) does not meet them, it must give the Governor (i) a violation notice with recommendations for revising the plan and (ii) an opportunity to correct the violation under subsection (d)(1).

(d) Revised Fiscal Plan. (1) In general. After receiving a violation notice under subsection (c)(3), the Governor must submit a revised proposed plan meeting subsection (b) by the deadline in the subsection (a) notice. The Governor may submit as many revised plans as that notice’s schedule allows.
(2) Board development. If the Governor does not submit, by the deadline, a plan the Board decides in its sole discretion meets subsection (b), the Board must develop and submit a compliant plan to the Governor and Legislature^*.

(e) Approval and certification. (1) Governor’s plan. If the Board approves a plan under subsection (c)(3), it must give the Governor and Legislature a compliance certification for it.
(2) Board’s plan. If the Board develops a plan under subsection (d)(2), the Governor is treated as having approved it. The Board must issue a compliance certification to the Governor and Legislature.

(f) Joint development. Despite the other provisions of this section, if the Governor and Board jointly develop a Fiscal Plan that meets this section for a fiscal year, and both certify that it reflects their consensus, that plan serves as the Fiscal Plan for the territory or territorial instrumentality for that fiscal year.