High court takes up Amendment 41 gift ban

April M. Washington, Rocky Mountain News

Published October 25, 2007 at midnight

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The Colorado Supreme Court will decide Thursday whether to uphold a lower court's ruling that blocked the gift-ban provision of a controversial ethics measure voters approved last fall.

The court will begin hearing oral arguments in an appeal filed by the Colorado Attorney General in June.

Denver District Judge Christine Habas issued a temporary injunction in May halting the enforcement of the gift-ban provisions of Amendment 41.

"On May 31, an estimated half-million Coloradans directly impacted by Amendment 41 won a reprieve from the measure's draconian restrictions," said Bill Becker, president of the First Amendment Council. "We're hopeful that Supreme Court will look at the strong findings from Judge Habas and support them."

The group filed a lawsuit last spring challenging the measure as unconstitutional, arguing it interfered with core political speech.

Amendment 41 was meant to curb the influence of lobbyists at the state Capitol and with elected officials, but Habas ruled the gift-van had a "chilling effect" on free speech and association and went well beyond the measure's intentions.

Nate Strauch, spokesman for the attorney general, said the state's legal challenge hinges on four arguments, including the ethics measure does not violate public employees' and elected officials' constitutional rights or prevent accepting college scholarships or gifts from family or friends.

"Is giving your granddaughter a birthday present really a violation of the public trust?" he said. "We're arguing it would not be because the measure only cover's breach of public trust, which essentially would be bribes."

The measure banned government workers, elected officials and contractors from accepting gifts worth more than $50.

Following the district court's ruling, Suthers sent a letter to 60,000 state employees warning them that Amendment 41 remains in effect and state workers are expected to live by the spirit of the measure.

Opponents said the ethics measure has had unintended consequences.

Earlier this year, some rural city council members resigned to prevent their children from being denied college scholarships. Also ranchers with part-time government jobs declined blizzard aid last December for fear of running afoul of the law.

Supporters of Amendment 41 include congressional candidate Jared Polis and the public-interest group Colorado Common Cause, which filed a brief in support of the state's appeal.

"We're optimistic that the courts will uphold the voter's law," said Jenny Flanagan, executive director of Common Cause. "To be clear, this lawsuit is about the intended consequences of the ethics law. There is no constitutional right to buy gifts to win policy."

washingtonam@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-5086

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