STRATEGIC PARTNERS
February 27, 2002
DENVER -- A proposal to ban ATM surcharges in Colorado is being dropped, at least for this year, according to the Denver Post.
The bill's sponsor, state Rep. Fran Coleman, D-Denver, moved to postpone indefinitely House Bill 1157 at a meeting of the House Business Affairs Committee.
"Postponing indefinitely" means the bill could be considered in a future legislative session, as opposed to killing a bill outright.
According to Coleman, while she still believes that banks should be barred from charging a fee when customers of other banks use their ATMs, she didn't get enough data from consumer advocates to show that the fees are harmful.
The bill was unlikely to pass anyway; several members of the Republican-dominated committee had spoken out against it.
Coleman said the bill was inspired by her conversations with senior citizens who want to visit ATMs for the convenience and safety of not having to walk around with a lot of cash, but are discouraged by the fees.
