New gift ban law may bar college scholarships

State ethics law hangs up Daniels, Boettcher funds

Myung Oak Kim, Rocky Mountain News

Wednesday, January 31, 2007

Dozens, if not hundreds, of Colorado students - many of them low-income - are in jeopardy of losing major college scholarships because of the new gift-ban law known as Amendment 41.

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.

Up to half of the 72 finalists for the full-ride Boettcher scholarships - and as many as half of the 160 students currently receiving those funds - could lose aid if the law is interpreted in the strictest fashion, said Tim Schultz, president and executive director of the Boettcher Foundation.

Schultz said his board will decide in the next two weeks how to handle Amendment 41, a strict ban on cash and gifts to government workers that was designed to reduce the impact of lobbying on public policy.

"There are 72 kids out there who are right now on pins and needles - that are competing for something that for many of them is life-changing," Schultz said. "We have situations where individuals can get hurt. That's the travesty of what happens sometimes when . . . well-meaning people think it's easy to write a constitutional amendment."

A group led by Denver Internet entrepreneur Jared Polis and government watchdog Common Cause sponsored the measure approved in November by more than 60 percent of voters. Since its approval, criticism has mounted that the broad language will hurt everyday government workers and their families.

Exempting scholarships

Backers of the law say they are drafting a bill that would exempt scholarships from the scope of Amendment 41.

"That is nowhere within several time zones of what voters intended when they approved Amendment 41," said Eric Sondermann, a spokesman for the group supporting the legislation.

But legislative leaders on both sides of the aisle say they won't support a bill that waters down the intent of the law.

In the meantime, scholarship foundations are struggling to determine how to interpret the law.

"We have had tremendous heartburn over this," said Peter Droege, spokesman for the Daniels Fund, which will give out more than 150 scholarships to Colorado high school seniors in the spring. Some of those recipients are low-income, inner-city students.

The Daniels Fund is identifying finalists who could be affected by the law. During interviews with 15 finalists in Fort Collins last week, eight said they have direct relatives who work for state or local government, Droege said.

Droege said the Daniels Fund will continue to award scholarships - which can go as high as $37,000 a year - to relatives of government workers who fall under explicitly identified exemptions in the law, including school district and special district employees and those who work for home- rule jurisdictions that also have a gift ban law on the books - such as Denver and other large cities.

Dad voted for amendment

Weld Central High School senior Erin Marvin has been caught in the confusion.

Erin, a valedictorian candidate who plans to study agricultural journalism, found out Thursday during an interview for the Daniels Fund scholarship that she might not be eligible because her mother is a teacher's aide in the Keenesburg school district.

"All of a sudden you think you've got your ducks lined up and your world is in turmoil," said her father, Robert Marvin, a rancher.

But on Tuesday the family heard from Daniels Fund that Erin is still eligible because her mother is exempt from the law.

Erin is a finalist for the Boettcher and is waiting to hear from more than 15 other local and national scholarships.

That means high anxiety for the next several months.

The Marvins said Amendment 41 could affect many more families.

"The intent was good . . . I'm not sure right now that there's any real value to it other than hurting people," the father said. "It's turning the current senior class into turmoil."

Robert Marvin said he and many people he knows voted for Amendment 41 because it was presented as stopping elected officials from accepting gifts and gratuities.

"We had no idea that it would affect people like us," he said.

What is the Daniels Fund?

• Established: 1997 by Denver cable television pioneer Bill Daniels

• Who it helps: College-bound students from Colorado, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming

• How to qualify: Applicants must demonstrate financial need, strength of character, a well-rounded personality and a record of giving back to the community.

• How much: Depends on the estimated cost of a college or university, the amount of financial aid available to the student and the amount contributed by the recipient.

• Recipients: 200 this yearWhat is the Boettcher Foundation?

• Established: In 1937, the organization founded by industrialists Claude K. Boettcher and his father, Charles Boettcher, began distributing grants to groups. In 1952, the college scholarship portion was created.

• How to qualify: Applicants must be high school seniors ranking in the top 5 percent of their graduating class. They must score 1200 or higher on the SAT reading and math sections combined, or 27 or higher on the ACT.

• How much: Four-year full scholarship to a Colorado university

• Recipients: 40 per year