A proposed constitutional amendment to prohibit gifts to public officials could affect everything from little league uniforms to college scholarships for government workers’ children, an opposition group said Wednesday.
Proponents, however, called the claims bogus distractions, previewing what promises to become a heated debate over just how much the measure would ban.
Amendment 41 would prohibit cash and gifts of more than $50 to government employees, state elected politicians, other officials and their families.
“It will impact hundreds of thousands of Coloradans who certainly are not corrupt and are certainly not in the position to do favors for lobbyists,” said Katy Atkinson, director of the No on 41 campaign that launched Wednesday.
For example, children of government employees probably could not accept college scholarships because it would be considered a gift of more than $50, Atkinson said.
The measure could also prevent businesses from sponsoring little league teams if a government employee’s child plays on the team because the purchase of a child’s uniform could be viewed as a gift, the group says.
Jenny Flanagan of Colorado Common Cause, an author of the measure, said, “We’re not going after people’s abilities to go live their lives.”
“The opposition are coming up with bogus claims to distract from the real issues of the campaign,” Flanagan said, adding that the measure is trying to prevent personal financial gain from public positions.
Atkinson also took aim at the ethics commission the measure would create, saying it would give individual members of the five-member panel subpoena power.
It also would not prevent lobbyists or lawmakers from sitting on the panel, she said, creating “real potential for a kangaroo court.”
Shepard Nevel, an Amendment 41 proponent, said the ethics commission would be governed by the amendment and administrative procedures.
“It’s simply not true that the commission could act in the manner they say it could,” Nevel said. “They are fabricating concerns.”
Staff writer Chris Frates can be reached at 303-954-1633 or cfrates@denverpost.com.
