HB 20-1412 Summary

• Transfers $4.8 million from Colorado's CARES Act federal funds to the Energy Outreach Colorado Low-Income Energy Assistance Fund to provide direct utility bill payment assistance to low-income households facing economic hardship from the COVID-19 pandemic.

• Requires applicants to certify in good faith that their need for assistance results from economic hardship caused by the COVID-19 public health emergency.

• Mandates the organization make direct vendor payments to utilities (including municipal and cooperative utilities) rather than payments to households, with no funds used for administrative purposes.

• Requires all funds to be spent by December 4, 2020, with any unexpended money returned to the state by December 30, 2020, for transfer to the Unemployment Compensation Fund.

• Establishes separate accounting and record-keeping requirements using generally accepted accounting principles, with funds held in a separately identifiable account that cannot be commingled with other organizational assets.