A bill introduced to the Colorado Legislature would charge lenders a $250 surcharge for each foreclosure filed at the county courthouse. The bill, sponsored by state Reps. Angela Williams (D-Denver) and Mark Ferrandino (D-Denver) passed a House committee in February. If it becomes law, counties can begin charging the extra fees July 1. The money would go into a foreclosure prevention counseling fund. From there, it would pay for initiatives at local housing counseling agencies approved by the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Lenders filed more than 2,500 notices of trustee sales in Colorado during February. One in every 239 properties in the state received a filing, which is the ninth highest foreclosure rate in the country. The bill is another example of Democrats looking to charge banks directly for foreclosure prevention programs that Republicans are trying to end. Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) introduced legislation in the House of Representatives that would charge the largest banks $2.5 billion to pay for two programs from HUD. A California state assemblyman introduced a bill recently that would charge lenders $20,000 for every foreclosure they conduct in the state. A spokesman for the Adams County Housing Authority, just east of Denver, said this bill does have bipartisan support unlike the others and is even sponsored by Republican state Sen. Steve King (R-Grand Junction). “Regarding Barney Frank’s bill and California’s proposal, Colorado’s proposal to charge lenders $250 seems downright paltry,” the spokesman said. Write to Jon Prior. Follow him on Twitter @JonAPrior.