Colorado § 40-17-102 - Telephone disability access surcharges collected for the enterprise - Colorado telephone users with disabilities fund - created - remittance - rules.

§ 40-17-102. Telephone disability access surcharges collected for the enterprise - Colorado telephone users with disabilities fund - created - remittance - rules.

(1) The commission shall collect, on behalf of the communication services for people with disabilities enterprise, the telephone disability access surcharge to fund the enterprise. The commission shall collaborate with the enterprise to establish the amount of the surcharge once per year.

(2) (a) Each service supplier shall collect the surcharge from its service users. The surcharge is the liability of the service user and not of the service supplier; except that the service supplier is liable to remit all surcharges that the service supplier collects from service users.

(b) The surcharge shall be listed as a separate item that appears on a service user's monthly billing statement.

(3) (a) The service supplier shall remit the collected surcharges to the commission on a monthly basis in a manner established by the commission. The commission shall establish remittance procedures by rule. A service supplier is subject to the penalties and procedures set forth in section 40-17-103 for the failure to collect or correctly remit a surcharge in accordance with this section.

(b) A service supplier may deduct and retain one percent of the surcharges that are collected by the service supplier from its service users.

(c) (I) The state treasurer shall credit the surcharge collections remitted to the commission pursuant to subsection (3)(a) of this section to the Colorado division for the deaf, hard of hearing, and deafblind cash fund created in section 26-21-107 (1). Any surcharge transmitted to the state treasurer that is collected on behalf of the enterprise is excluded from state fiscal year spending.

(II) The commission may retain up to four percent of the collected surcharges necessary to reimburse the commission for its direct and indirect costs of administering the collection and remittance of surcharges for the enterprise, including costs related to conducting audits of service suppliers in accordance with section 40-17-103. Money that the commission retains pursuant to this subsection (3)(c)(II) shall be credited to the Colorado telephone users with disabilities fund, which fund is created in the state treasury. The fund consists of money credited to the fund pursuant to this subsection (3)(c)(II) and any other money that the general assembly may appropriate or transfer to the fund. The state treasurer shall credit all interest and income derived from the deposit and investment of money in the Colorado telephone users with disabilities fund to the fund.

(4) The surcharge imposed by the enterprise pursuant to section 26-21-103.5 (1)(a)(II) is the only direct communication services for people with disabilities funding obligation imposed upon service users in the state. No tax, fee, surcharge, or other charge to fund the enterprise is imposed by the state, any political subdivision of the state, or any intergovernmental agency upon a seller or consumer with respect to the sale, purchase, use, or provision of a telephone access line in the state.

(5) This section does not apply to prepaid wireless telecommunications services.

(6) The telephone disability access surcharge shall not be imposed on the service supplier or the service users with respect to federally supported lifeline service.

(7) Repealed.

Source: L. 2025: Entire article R&RE, (HB 25-1154), ch. 230, p. 1079, § 15, effective May 22; (7) added with relocations, (HB 25-1154), ch. 230, p. 1088, § 31, effective May 22.

Editor's note: (1) Prior to its repeal and reenactment in 2025, this section was similar to former § 40-17-102 as it existed prior to 1992.

(2) Subsection (7) was relocated to this section by HB 25-1154 from § 40-17-104 (7), as added by SB 25-264, in 2025.

(3) Subsection (7)(b) provided for the repeal of subsection (7), effective July 1, 2026. (See L. 2025, p. 1088.)