At least one nonprofit that provides college scholarships isn’t willing to wait for state lawmakers or the Colorado Supreme Court to hammer out what it sees as the considerable flaws of Amendment 41.
The Boettcher Foundation has filed suit in Denver District Court asking a judge to rule that merit-based college scholarships to children of government employees – or to the employees themselves – are not prohibited by the voter-approved ethics law.
The amendment, approved by Colorado voters in November, prohibits lawmakers from taking anything from lobbyists and bans government workers and their families from receiving gifts worth more than $50 in most instances. The penalty for violating the law is double the financial benefit or its equivalent.
But according to an opinion by Colorado Attorney General John Suthers, the ambiguous language of the amendment can be construed to prohibit everything from children of government employees accepting scholarships to state college professors accepting money accompanying a Nobel Prize.
The foundation, which has granted nearly 2,000 scholarships totaling about $45 million since 1952, gives out 40 scholarships a year to Colorado high school students. It generally has an applicant pool of 1,000.
“These young people worked for these scholarships. They gave things up … and now they’re calling saying they’re scared, asking, ‘Can my scholarship be taken away?”‘ said Tim Schultz, the foundation’s president and executive director, noting that 160 students are currently receiving scholarships. “If only one student has to turn down a scholarship because of fear, it’s a major loss to us and the state.”
Along with top grades, high SAT scores and community service, recipients of the scholarships must agree to attend in-state colleges and universities.
Joining the foundation in the suit are four college students who fear their Boettcher scholarships may be in jeopardy because of Amendment 41.
“I know kind of in the back of my mind that everything will be OK, but it’s really stressful,” said Kelly Granado, 19, a student at the University of Denver majoring in international business and premed. Her father works for the Colorado Division of Youth Corrections. “It’s worrisome. We can’t afford twice my tuition,” she said.
Attorney Scott Bauer of Moye White, which is representing the foundation pro bono, said he planned to make a motion for an expedited hearing. The foundation is interviewing 72 scholarship finalists next week and expects to choose 40 recipients by the end of the month. Students have until April 16 to accept the award.
The suit was filed last week; however, an amended complaint was filed with the court Monday.
Even if the court agrees to fast-track the case, any ruling is likely to be appealed. As a result, the Supreme Court may hear the case first.
State Rep. Rosemary Marshall, D-Denver, is sponsoring legislation to clarify the amendment, although it hasn’t been introduced yet. House Speaker Andrew Romanoff said he will add a resolution asking the Supreme Court to rule on the legality of the measure ahead of time.
“We’d like to do this, this month,” he said. “We need an answer before the session is over.”
Attorney Mark Grueskin, drafting the legislation to clarify Amendment 41, said that once the court gets the bill and the resolution, it may take about two months to rule.
Staff writer Karen Crummy can be reached at 303-954-1594 or kcrummy@denverpost.com.
