70-9-203. Deposits and refunds held by utility. (1) The following funds held or owing by any utility are presumed abandoned:
     (a) any deposit made by a subscriber with a utility to secure payment for or any sum paid in advance for utility services to be furnished in this state, less any lawful deductions, that has remained unclaimed by the person appearing on the records of the utility entitled to it for more than 5 years after the termination of the services for which the deposit or advance payment was made;
     (b) any sum that a utility has been ordered to refund and that was received for utility services rendered in this state, together with any interest, less any lawful deductions, that has remained unclaimed by the person appearing on the records of the utility entitled to it for more than 5 years after the date it became payable in accordance with the final determination or order providing for the refund; and
     (c) a patronage refund made to a member of a rural electric or telephone cooperative organized under Title 35, chapter 18, that has remained unclaimed by the person appearing on the records of the cooperative entitled to it for more than 5 years.
     (2) The unclaimed funds provided for in subsection (1)(c) are not subject to or governed by any other provisions of parts 1 through 3 of this chapter. They must be used by the rural electric or telephone cooperative for educational purposes.

     History: En. Sec. 4, Ch. 244, L. 1963; R.C.M. 1947, 67-2204; amd. Sec. 4, Ch. 5, L. 1987; amd. Sec. 2, Ch. 263, L. 1993.