Committee backs bill letting municipal utilities keep unclaimed customer deposits for local assistance programs

The Colorado House Energy and Environment Committee voted unanimously to recommend Senate Bill 68, which clarifies how unclaimed customer utility deposits may be handled by municipally owned utilities and allows those funds to be used for local customer-assistance programs.

The bill’s sponsors said the measure aligns state statute with the Colorado Constitution and existing municipal practice. Representative Pascoe, a co-prime sponsor, told the committee that Colorado Springs Utilities relies on Article V, Section 35 of the Colorado Constitution to retain unclaimed deposits and to run local assistance programs. “This bill ... is an opportunity to get aligned constitutionally and to promote local control,” Pascoe said.

Why it matters: Sponsors and…