Colorado § 40-2-114 - Disposition of fees collected - telecommunications utility fund - public utilities commission fixed utility fund - appropriation.

§ 40-2-114. Disposition of fees collected - telecommunications utility fund - public utilities commission fixed utility fund - appropriation.

(1) (a) The state treasurer shall credit the fees collected under section 40-2-113 as follows:

(I) Notwithstanding any other provision of this subsection (1)(a), for any state fiscal year in which a grant match is required for the receipt of federal money under 49 U.S.C. sec. 5329 for rail fixed guideway public transportation safety oversight responsibilities under article 18 of this title 40, the amount the commission deems necessary to the public utilities commission fixed utility fund created in subsection (1)(b) of this section in order to obtain the federal grant match;

(II) For the 2017-18 fiscal year and for each fiscal year thereafter, the lesser of all of the fees remaining after fees are credited as required by subparagraph (I) of this paragraph (a) or an amount of the fees equal to two hundred forty thousand dollars plus a cumulative inflation adjustment of two percent for each fiscal year beginning with the 2017-18 fiscal year to the highway-rail crossing signalization fund created in section 40-29-116 (1); and

(III) Any remaining fees to the general fund.

(b) For the remaining ninety-seven percent of the fees collected, the state treasurer shall credit:

(I) Fees paid by public utilities that are telephone corporations to the telecommunications utility fund, which fund is hereby created; and

(II) Fees paid by other public utilities to the public utilities commission fixed utility fund, which fund is hereby created.

(2) (a) Money in the funds created in subsection (1) of this section shall be expended only to defray the full amount determined by the general assembly for:

(I) The administrative expenses of the commission for the supervision and regulation of the public utilities paying the fees;

(II) The financing of the office of the utility consumer advocate created in article 6.5 of this title 40; and

(III) With regard only to expenditures from the public utilities commission fixed utility fund created in subsection (1)(b) of this section, the administrative expenses, not to exceed five hundred thousand dollars annually, incurred by the Colorado electric transmission authority in carrying out its duties under article 42 of this title 40. The Colorado electric transmission authority shall remit to the public utilities commission fixed utility fund any amounts it receives in excess of its actual administrative expenses plus a fifty percent reserve margin.

(b) The state treasurer shall retain any unexpended balance remaining in either fund at the end of any fiscal year to defray the administrative expenses of the commission during subsequent fiscal years, and the executive director of the department of revenue shall take any such unexpended balance into account when computing the percentage upon which fees for the ensuing fiscal year will be based.

Source: L. 55: p. 697, § 1. CRS 53: § 115-2-15. L. 57: p. 600, § 1. C.R.S. 1963: § 115-2-15. L. 64: p. 654, § 10. L. 69: p. 930, § 11. L. 84: Entire section amended, p. 1047, § 4, effective July 1. L. 2015: Entire section amended, (HB 15-1372), ch. 247, p. 907, § 2, effective May 29. L. 2016: (1) amended, (HB 16-1186), ch. 212, p. 820, § 1, effective June 6; (1)(a) amended, (SB 16-087), ch. 217, p. 831, § 1, effective June 6. L. 2021: (2) amended, (SB 21-072), ch. 329, p. 2128, § 10, effective June 24; (2) amended, (SB 21-103), ch. 477, p. 3413, § 11, effective September 1. L. 2023: (2)(a)(III) amended, (SB 23-016), ch. 165, p. 744, § 17, effective August 7. L. 2026: IP(1)(a) and (1)(a)(I) amended, (HB 26-1326), ch. 210, p. 1237, § 38, effective August 12.

Editor's note: (1) Amendments to subsection (2) by SB 21-072 and SB 21-103 were harmonized.

(2) Section 50(2) of chapter 210 (HB 26-1326), Session Laws of Colorado 2026, provides that the act changing this section applies to conduct occurring on or after August 12, 2026.