Today, the Colorado Independent Ethics Commission issued an advisory opinion that state employees may not accept travel expenses for a cultural exchange trip to Turkey from a nonprofit that receives more than 5% of its funds from for-profit sources.  In 2009, Ethics Watch won a legal challenge to an opinion that permitted legislators to accept travel expenses for a similar trip.

Amendment 41, passed in 2006, prevents public officials from accepting gifts worth more than $50, with certain exceptions.  One exception applies to payments for "fact-finding trips"  if the payment is made by a non-profit organization that receives less than 5% of its funding from for-profit sources.  In 2009, the IEC adopted an advisory opinion allowing a legislator to accept travel payments for a cultural exchange trip to Turkey under the theory that the payments were a "gift to the state," even though the entity providing the payment could not demonstrate that it satisfied the 5% rule.  Ethics Watch filed a legal challenge to the opinion, and in December 2009, the Denver District Court voided the opinion for a violation of the Open Meeting Law.  Although the judge did not rule on the merits of the IEC's ruling, it is clear that the IEC has taken advantage of the opportunity to rethink its position regarding such paid trips.  The ruling vacated the prior opinion and cleared the way for the IEC to consider the question again now.

"The IEC deserves praise for reconsidering its position on gifts of travel," said Luis Toro, Director of Ethics Watch.  "Today's opinion sends a strong message that the IEC is committed to enforcing Amendment 41 as written.  We hope that in the near future, we will have a chance to work with the IEC to clarify when a gift might properly be considered given to the State instead of an individual state employee."