Making the Trojan Horse Illegal (Colorado Amendment 41)

Sigh. I keep reading these election proposals and hoping to find at least one that is a good idea and worth voting for. So far, no luck. Amendment 41 sounds good at least. It bans most gifts worth more than $50 to most elected officials and government employees in the state, as well as to their immediate families.

However, that's an awful lot of people who can no longer accept random acts of kindness. The amendment creates a 5-person ethics commission to enforce these new rules across all levels of government. Talk about a thankless job!

Suppose I have a friend who works for the city. According to this measure, I could take her out for dinner on her birthday, but not just for the heck of it. Her kid could not accept a scholarship, if it meant that she would have to pay less for his education. Forget about that free toaster from the bank for opening a new account. Her husband could buy her something nice for their anniversary, but he can no longer buy her a spur-of-the-moment gift.

There are some good things about this proposal too. For example, it bans gifts from lobbyists. It also prevents legislators and other statewide elected officials from becoming lobbyists for two years after they leave office.

Amendment 41 has good intentions, but seems to have lots of unintended consequences. And because it is a constitutional amendment, it will be nearly impossible to ever fix those problems.

Vote NO on Amendment 41.