Colorado’s Amendment 41—An Oops for College Scholarships

Many Colorado voters were quite satisfied with themselves back in November when Amendment 41 passed without a hitch. The measure was well intended: disallow political gifting. State politicians and government officials could no longer accept monetary gifts worth over $50 from anyone. While this sounds sane, the measure unfortunately was left a bit open-ended; enough to put some Colorado student’s college scholarships at risk.

Amendment Terms

The Final Text of Amendment 41 includes the Ethics in Government measures that come into question. The Amendment defines a “Government Employee” as:

“any employee, including Independent Contractors, of the State Executive Branch, the State Legislative Branch, a State Agency, a Public Institution of Higher Education, or any Local Government…”

The section on the “Gift Ban” says that no government officials, spouses or dependents may “accept or receive any gift or other thing of value having a fair market value or aggregate actual cost greater than fifty dollars ($50) in any calendar year…”

Okay, so nobody wants to see government officials taking money from their lobby groups or from constituents, colleagues or others. It just smacks of bribery. But c’mon, who wants to deny college students scholarship and grant money?

“The ban could prohibit school scholarships for children of clerks and janitors and other non-policymaking employees, for one example, or criminalize an auto dealer’s recreation-league sponsorships.” (Denver Post)

Amendment Implications Not Just a Hiccup

The Denver Post underscored Amendment 41’s flaws back at the beginning of January; the hub-bub is just in time for FAFSA and scholarship season. Measures like Amendment 41, the Post claims, are often the victims of careless drafting. In other words, the measure was so loosely sketched that the resulting phraseology may be interpreted to an extreme, even nonsensical proportion. Scholarships over $50 (monetary gift) awarded to dependent students of state employees and officials, could be legitimately argued to be illegal by a lawyer with an axe to grind.

But the language snags don’t end there. Sources have even suggested that keeping close to the letter of the new law, that even college professors (state employees) could lose monetary fellowships that allow them to conduct deeper research and studies:

“Critics of Amendment 41 are concerned that the measure could produce unintended results, such as denying the children of everyday government employees certain education scholarships, or even preventing university scientists from receiving Nobel Prize money.” (Denver Post)

Already at risk are the Daniels Fund Scholarships, a program that helps hundreds of Colorado students fund their education:

“A spokesman for the Daniels Fund…said Amendment 41 has caused his organization a ‘bit of heartburn’ throughout the scholarship-candidate-selection process.” (Daily Sentinel)

Reason for Concern

There’s wiggle-room, right? I mean no one really is going to dismiss a student’s scholarship because they are the son or daughter of a state employee….are they? According to some officials, “the law must be implemented as written—vague language and all.” But how many state voters actually had the inside dope on the “language of the law” prior to voting day? How many individuals really take the time to consider and weigh the rhetoric?

Are Work-Study Programs Also at Risk?

Consider this: students engaged in work-study programs at state universities could be argued to be state employees. Under the new Amendment, some students could lose their work-study programs that make it possible for them to go to college. As we speak, college officials are working closely with legal counselors to sort all this out. But in the meantime necessary student funding hangs in the balance. As if college didn’t cost enough.

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