Amendment 41 scholarship flap grows
The Boettcher Foundation may mount a legal challenge to Colorado's new ethics law that prohibits gifts to legislators, but also may ban private scholarships to the children of state employees, reports Myung Oak Kim.
Lawyers with Moye White of Denver, working pro bono, are looking for ways to ensure that children of state or local government workers can accept Boettcher scholarships and other merit-based awards despite restrictions imposed by Amendment 41.According to a strict interpretation of the law approved by voters in November, dozens, if not hundreds, of students are in jeopardy of losing scholarships from private organizations such as the Boettcher Foundation and the Daniels Fund, foundation officials said this week.
The amendment, passed overwhelmingly last November, may also impact scholarships for students who participate in work-study programs, which make them state employees.
And one state lawmaker is proposing an increase in the legislative per-diem because Amendment 41 forbids him from taking donations to help pay for official travel across his district, reports Alan Gathright.
PREVIOUSLY
The tentacles of Amendment 41 may sting some of the state's highest-achieving and most-deserving young scholars, reports Myung Oak Kim.
Administrators at the Boettcher Foundation and the Daniels Fund, who award the state's largest and most prestigious private scholarships, say a large percentage of their student finalists have close relatives who are state or local government workers.Daniels Fund officials say many of those candidates will no longer receive scholarships unless lawmakers exempt such awards. Boettcher Foundation hasn't decided what to do.
Both programs are crown jewels in the scholarship realm.
Backers of the law are drafting legislation to exempt scholarships but some legislative leaders won't support a bill that waters down the Amendment.
If you voted for Amendment 41, did you mean it to apply to kids whose parent drives a state maintenance truck? Shouldn't the legislature be able to come up with common-sense clarifications of the Amendment without hand-wringing about watering down the intent? Isn't that what they call leadership?
Wow I am shell shocked how expensive public college education is. My kid is trying to go to In state college next year. It has Doubled.
Did we republicans, and Tabor screw up? What happened? Or did we just decide not to fund higher education?
Posted by g on February 1, 2007 06:59 AMIn all of the reports - including today's Rocky Mtn News they mention the high percentage of Govt Employee Relatives being locked out. Why is no one asking why there is such a high percentage in the first place? There may well be another upside to 41 in that people who do not have Government Employed Relatives to lobby for them will have a shot at some of this money for once.
Posted by Mani on January 31, 2007 08:21 PMAnother fiasco by the state legilature. So busy passing laws willy-nilly, that they then become poor laws, or laws that should never have been written in the first place. You fools can't legislate every damn thing under the sun!
Posted by JS on January 31, 2007 09:37 AM
Hey, JS -- YOU pased this crap, not the legislature! It was on the ballot, placed their by "citizen" petitions funded by Jared Polis. But you're so dense you can't even tell the difference! Yet your vote counts the same as mine. That's democracy for ya!
Posted by C'mon, Think! on January 31, 2007 05:42 PM"The change to the smoking ban was a change to the statute. A change to Amendment 41 is a change to the State Constitution. "
Actually, upon reading the thing I see another legislative possibility. Simply declare that any "person" (which includes a bunch of non-persons, of course) that gives a scholarship is irrebuttably presumed to receive in return "lawful consideration of equal or greater value".
That's the case in reality, anyhow. Wal Mart gives scholarships to get good PR. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation gives scholarships to make B&M feel good. Universities give scholarships to sell football tickets.
ARTICLE XXIX ETHICS IN GOVERNMENT : Section 3. Gift ban.
"(2) No public officer, member of the general assembly, local government official, or government employee, either directly or indirectly as the beneficiary of a gift or thing of value given to such person's spouse or dependent child, shall solicit, accept or receive any gift or other thing of value having either a fair market value or aggregate actual cost greater than fifty dollars ($50) in any calendar year, ... from a person, without the person receiving lawful consideration of equal or greater value in return ..."
Posted by David Hakala on January 31, 2007 05:18 PMTrue data is bipartisan. Why are you so angry?
Hogar when you adjust UE for those that are no longer looking or who have settled for McJobs the rate is in the mid 6's, so I completely agree with you.
Trickle Down Economics does not work.
Posted by Greenspan on January 31, 2007 04:14 PMGreenspan,
I will counter your glass is half empty report with a glass is half full report. Unemployment, it seems to me is a better indicator of economic health than job growth. With a low enemployment already in place, it is difficult to grow more jobs as you don't have the bodies to fill them.
http://www.heritage.org/Research/Economy/wm1245.cfm
Posted by Hogar De Vuelta (العودة) on January 31, 2007 04:09 PM"data is bipartisan"
You really stupid enough to believe that?
Like the 10,000 people who died in Katrina? The 500,000 Iraqi children US forces killed?
Tool.
Posted by on January 31, 2007 03:44 PMhappy to:
http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2007/01/state_of_economy.html
great report to keep the rose colored glasses from getting to firmly attached to your nose
data is bipartisan
Posted by Greenspan on January 31, 2007 03:03 PM"Why does KJ always have it out for Polis?"
I've only mentioned him twice.
For the record, he is memorable to me because my father, a high school teacher at the time, once received one of Polis' favor-currying "care packages," which included things for teachers like mugs, pencils, and a music CD. The CD had all sorts of inadvertently hilarious sentimental kindergarten songs, such as "Don't laugh at me, don't call me names..."
Hence Polis' name is seared into my memory forever under the "Risible" category.
Posted by Kevin Jones on January 31, 2007 02:51 PMPosted by Greenspan on January 31, 2007 12:56 PM
Post your source. Do the job growth statistics take into acount the population growth, and the unemployment rate?
Posted by Hogar De Vuelta (العودة) on January 31, 2007 02:40 PMWhile George is making the rounds touting the spending consumers did on their credit cards in the quarter before the holidays, average folks are still in the hole:
– Job growth is the weakest on record. Job growth during the current business cycle, beginning in March 2001, has averaged an annualized 0.5 percent per month, the lowest of any business cycle since the Great Depression. In fact, this is less than a quarter of the average of all prior business cycles since World War II.
– Sharp spike in costs for necessities. From March 2001 through June 2006, prices for the five largest consumption items–medical care, housing, food, household operation, and cars–grew more than twice as fast as they did for the smallest five consumption items. At the same time, college costs continue to soar.
Why does KJ always have it out for Polis?
Posted by on January 31, 2007 12:51 PMSo what does this fiasco do to backer Jared Polis' chances for higher office?
Posted by Kevin Jones on January 31, 2007 12:49 PMAfter the way I've been treated by some state employees in the past... I'll call it poetic justice.
When there is a culture of corruption within any government entity it is up to the people to stop it. While that culture certainly doesn't include all state employees, enough were in on it to make it a problem. This wouldn't be at issue if the government employees had taken care of the problem by themselves. Unfortunately, much like a crack addict you have to take everything away before the idea sinks in.
Posted by It's called ethics, look it up. on January 31, 2007 12:22 PM"IF YOU'RE RELATED TO A GOV'T EMPLOYEE, PLEASE DO NOT APPLY! This levels the playing field for scholarship awards, folks." - 8:49am
And please tell us just why you think that the children of gov't employees should not be eligible for scholarships? If the playing field is indeed level, then the students should be looked at for their qualifications, not based on where their parents work.
I happen to be a State employee who works just as hard for my salary now as I did when I worked in the private sector. I also have a daughter on scholarship at CU. She EARNED that scholarship with a 4.0 GPA all thru high school, along with some pretty impressive athletic achievements, as well as community involvement. Why should her scholarship be in jeopardy because of who my employer is?
Posted by ML on January 31, 2007 12:08 PMDavid, The change to the smoking ban was a change to the statute. A change to Amendment 41 is a change to the State Constitution. Much different ball of wax... And the anti-41 forces DID bring this up prior to the election. They got drowned out by the feel good crowd who decided this was a good thing...
Posted by MensaMember on January 31, 2007 11:32 AMWhy did no one mention these problems during the "due deliberation and thoughtful debate" portion of the legislative process?
This is utter nonsense. Just pass a law defining scholarships are untaxable earned income, and they're outside the scope of "gifts or rewards" covered by the law.
Hell, the Lung Nazis were able to redefine "employee" to include unpaid volunteers. This defilement of the dictionary should be easy.
Posted by David Hakala on January 31, 2007 11:00 AM10:15 - You forgot the ever popular Thuggets and Broncos
Posted by on January 31, 2007 10:35 AMillegal immigration
snow plows
election commission
gay marriage
amendment 41
illegal immigration
snow plows
election commission
gay marriage
amendment 41
illegal immigration
snow plows
election commission
gay marriage
amendment 41
illegal immigration
snow plows
election commission
gay marriage
amendment 41
Posted by on January 31, 2007 10:15 AMAnother fiasco by the state legilature. So busy passing laws willy-nilly, that they then become poor laws, or laws that should never have been written in the first place. You fools can't legislate every damn thing under the sun!
Posted by JS on January 31, 2007 09:37 AMMaybe the student-friendly legislation recently passed in Congress will help those who needlessly suffered from this well-meaning but poorly-written law.
Posted by jay on January 31, 2007 09:14 AMThere's a SIMPLE solution to this "tempest in a teapot" dilemma--grandfather the award winners who applied BEFORE the law was passed.
That way, our legislators need not fret over amending the bill and put POLITICAL SPIN on this issue to get back all the freebies they've been used to getting. Legislators have had VALUE-ADDED J-O-B-S, for WAY too long (free trips, lunches, dinners, banquets, and under-the-table goodies already hard to track--pretty much doubles that salary for "service to de people.")
As for the kid of the truck-driver maintenance worker--give me a break. Maintenance workers get great benefits, and make good money for the level of skill required for the job, no?
BOTTOM LINE:
IF YOU'RE RELATED TO A GOV'T EMPLOYEE, PLEASE DO NOT APPLY! This levels the playing field for scholarship awards, folks.
What part of Ammendment 41 government workers/legislators not get?
Posted by on January 31, 2007 08:49 AMHogar, I did likewise. Anyone with half a brain would have voted against this. Apparently, the majority who voted for this were lacking in the gray matter department.
Posted by MensaMember on January 31, 2007 08:42 AMDitto.
Posted by JW on January 31, 2007 08:41 AMI voted against it for precisely this reason, it was flawed legislation to begin with.
Posted by Hogar De Vuelta (العودة) on January 31, 2007 08:38 AM