Amendment 41
 Voters
approve Constitutional Amendment 41
 Effective
January 1, 2007
 Prohibits
university employees, spouses,
dependent child from accepting gift or thing of
value > $50 in any calendar year
 Gift or thing of value=gifts, loans, rewards, promises or
negotiations of future employment, favors or services,
honoraria, travel, entertainment, or special discounts
from a person
 “Person” is not the University or the Regents
Amendment 41

Without the person receiving lawful consideration of equal or greater value in
return.

Lawful Consideration=Agreement to enter into a contract to do or not to do
something that is sufficient to support the particular transaction
EXCEPTIONS TO THE PROHIBITION ON GIFTS

Awards of Appreciation = Plaques, trophy, desk item, wall memento or similar
item

Items of Trivial Value < $50. Pens, calendars, plants, books, and note ads
Amendment 41

Admission to and the cost of food or beverages consumed
at a reception, meal, or meeting by an organization where
you are scheduled to speak or answer questions as a part of
a scheduled program

Reasonable expenses paid by a non-profit organization or
other state or local government for attendance at a
convention, fact-finding mission or trip, or other meeting if
you are scheduled to deliver a speech, presentation,
participate in a panel or represent state or local
government, provide that the non-profit receives less than
5% of its funding from for-profit organizations or entities.
Amendment 41
 A component
of the compensation paid or
other incentive given to you in the normal
course of employment.
 An
item given by an individual who is a
relative or personal friend of yours on a
special occasion.
Amendment 41

Implementing Legislation
Amendment 41 allows the state legislature to pass
implementing legislation

Independent Ethics Commission
5 member commission: will hear complaints, dismiss
frivolous complaints, conduct investigations (with
subpoena power), assess penalties and render advisory
opinions at the request of covered public officials.
Amendment 41
 Penalties
Applicable to any government employee
who breaches the public trust for private
gain
liable for double the amount of the financial
equivalent of any benefits obtained other
than compensation provided by law
Amendment 41
 However
the legislature may provide
additional penalites
Amendment 41
 Questions
and Answers Related to Specific
Situations
 Future legislation and Ethics Commission
and courts rulings will provide more
answers.
When you have questions, please call me.
x3820
Amendment 41
 How
will Amendment 41 affect university
employees’ private lives, not connected with
official university duties?
 Purpose of amendment was to prohibit
efforts to realize personal financial gain
through public office other than legal
compensation.
 However---------------
Amendment 41
 The Attorney
General is concerned that the
plain language of the amendment could
have broad effects. Until legislation is
enacted and court cases have been decided,
we are in somewhat of a grey area. The AG
has issued some guidance.
Amendment 41
 Can
a university employee or dependents of
university employees receive scholarships?
 University scholarships
 Business/individual/non-government
scholarships
 Requirement
of future performance
Amendment 41
 May
a university employee receive money
or a gift from someone who is not a relative
or personal friend, such as aid from a
private or non-profit entity connected to
servere illness or catastrophe (e.g., Make a
Wish Foundation or Red Cross?
Amendment 41
 May
a university employee receive a gift
from a relative or personal friend on nonspecial occasions? Mom wants to bring the
family along on a cruise, and a friend brings
you a nice bottle of wine for dinner.
Amendment 41

What about lottery winnings?

What about winning the Nobel Prize?

A private consulting firm that does business with the University offers
its university representative 2 tickets to sit in a luxury box at a
professional football game. The event is characterized as a social
event and the tickets are worth $100 each.
Amendment 41

The same consulting firm sends the university employee a
notebook and pen with the firm’s logo worth $30.

A company sends a periodical to some university
employees that deals with issues in higher education. The
employees didn’t ask for it and it is worth more than $50.

May an employee who is attending a conference also
attend a special event sponsored by a company and is part
of the conference agenda?
Amendment 41
You are invited to attend and speak at a dinner
reception by a private organization. It pays for
your dinner and is valued at $60.
 A vendor of computing equipment purchased by
the university invites IT employees responsible for
the maintenance to attend a seminar in California
to demonstrate use and maintenance of the
equipment. It’s in San Diego. You really want to
go, and they will pay your way. Should you buy
suntan lotion?

Amendment 41
 You
are a professor and you are invited to
speak at a symposium hosted by another
university and they offer you an honorarium
of $2,000, travel and lodging.
 Construe as lawful consideration
Amendment 41
 A business
purchases a table at a charity
event where the speaker is a famous author
and invites several administrators to attend.
The table costs $1,000 and seats 10. Can
you accept?
Amendment 41
 University
employees could take a course
for free—can they still?
 QUESTIONS?????
Part II, Electronic Discovery
Rules
 Since
1938, the Federal Rules of Civil
Procedure have required the University to
preserve and produce to an opposing party
paper documents that may be relevant in a
federal lawsuit.
 On December 1, 2006, the Federal Rules of
Civil Procedure have enlarged to include
“electronically stored information.”
Electronic Discovery Rules

What are electronic records?
 E-mail (or electronic mail)
 Voice mail
 Word documents
 Spread sheets
 Calendars
 Digital photographs or recordings
 Other records maintained in electronic or digital form
Electronic Discovery Rules
 Electronic
records may be stored on
University servers, desktop or laptop
computers, compact disks, flash drives and
other portable devices.
 The
federal rules compel the University:
(1) to have a clear understanding of the
Electronic Discovery Rules
type of electronic records that may be
relevant in a particular case; and
(2) to know where to locate such electronic
records so that they may be preserved.
Electronic Discovery Rules
 What
creates the obligation to preserve
electronic records?
 Triggering event
 Summons
and Complaint is received by the
University
 Certain types of subpoenas
 EEOC Complaints
 Notice of Claim under the Colorado Governmental
Immunity Act
 Demand letter from an attorney
Electronic Discovery Rules
 When
you are notified of a “triggering
event” by the Office of University Counsel,
you must preserve and save all electronic
records, as well as all paper records that
may be relevant to the disputed matter. You
have an obligation to assist University
Counsel in this endeavor.
Electronic Discovery Rules
 Do
not destroy any records that pertain to
the matter at issue. This could result in
monetary sanctions, denial of certain
testimony favorable to the University, or
even an “adverse inference” ruling which
means that a judge could instruct the jury
that the lost/destroyed record supports the
other side.
Electronic Discovery Rules
 How
do you keep the records?
 Maintain your records in a separate folder. This
will keep counsel from having to go through all
your unrelated emails.
 If you work at home on your personal computer
to create university records, you have to
maintain them as well.
Electronic Discovery Rules
Paper copies of electronic records are not
sufficient. You have to preserve the electronic
records.
 Different versions of the electronic record must all
be maintained.
 Once you are notified by University Counsel to
save records related to a particular matter, you
must save them until you get permission from
University Counsel to discontinue the
preservation.
 Questions??????

Amendment 41