Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Good afternoon. My name is Mark Heckler, Provost of the University of Colorado Denver. I am here at the request of CU-System President Hank Brown to testify on behalf of CU’s three universities in Boulder, Colorado Springs, and Denver and Health Sciences Center.

This testimony represents the concerns of thousands of students, our most needy and our most talented, whose scholarships are now in jeopardy.

This testimony represents the concerns of thousands of faculty, from our Nobel prize laureates and MacArthur “genius award” winners to beginning assistant professors testing out new ideas, whose ability to accept international awards or present their ideas in national forums are now in jeopardy.

This testimony represents the concerns of thousands of hard-working public employees, some of whom are experiencing serious medical issues and personal tragedy, whose private lives, in areas independent of the scope of their employment, are now compromised by the ambiguous language of this Amendment.

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It has been four months since Amendment 41 was approved by the voters, yet there is still a great deal of confusion about its reach and the University’s students and employees are experiencing negative and, we believe, unintended consequences of the amendment.

Here are three examples of these unintended consequences:

 

Student Scholarships:

·        It has become clear that confusion over the impact of the Amendment negatively impacts the ability of children of public employees to receive scholarships. 

·        Although recent lawsuits brought by the Boettcher and Pioneer Foundations have settled some of the questions around scholarships for these two foundations, questions still remain for many of CU’s scholarship dollars.

·        Many scholarships are still at risk, including scholarships that are based only on financial need, scholarships that are provided by service organizations for pre-college involvement in communities across Colorado, and scholarships that are based on academic excellence during high school.

·        The situation has caused several foundations to withhold scholarship funds from students pending clarifying legislation. Yesterday, even our own CU Foundation informed me that it will withhold scholarship funds from students of public employees at the Denver and Health Sciences Center until this issue is resolved. This decision directly impacts the ability of our undergraduate students to attend school next fall at UCD. Most of our students pay their way through school; 2,500 of whom are at or below the Federal poverty level.

 

Faculty Recruitment and Retention:

·        It has become clear that confusion over the impact of the Amendment negatively impacts the ability of the University to recruit and keep top faculty. 

·        We must now preclude professors and researchers from accepting prestigious academic awards like the Nobel Prize and many other types of professional recognition.

·        We must now restrict faculty participation, including our doctors, nurses, pharmacists, and dentists, in training and education programs that demonstrate the latest surgical techniques or medications necessary to advance their scholarship. This is because these seminars are frequently offered either by for-profit corporations or by non-profit organizations that receive more than 5% of funding from for-profit entities.

 

University Employees:

·        It has become clear that confusion over the impact of the Amendment negatively impacts private lives of our employees and their families. 

·        Pharmaceutical companies have been advised to stop providing medication samples to publicly employed physicians.  These sample medications assist patients who are adjusting to a new medication or who cannot pay for expensive medications. 

·        Patient Assistance Programs from non-profits, foundations and pharmaceutical companies are no longer available to public employees or their immediate families.  These programs provide assistance with co-pays, discounted medications, and other out of pocket expenses for our employees, oftentimes single parents, who may not be able to afford health insurance or deductibles.

·        Many of you have followed the story of one of our instructors, Frank Bingham, whose wife and two young children were killed in a pedestrian crosswalk in downtown Denver last fall. Frank is just one of many CU employees facing personal tragedy whose private lives are impacted by Amendment 41. Employees like Frank, or others who may be facing catastrophic medical expenses, are prohibited currently from accepting individual contributions exceeding $50.  If they do, the law requires that they pay a penalty that is double the amount of the contribution.

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It does not seem that Colorado’s voters intended these results.

We believe that HB 1304 defines terms that were left undefined by the Amendment, but could be discerned from both the Legislative Council Bluebook and information distributed by its proponents prior to the election. HB 1304 provides clarity to the Amendment, while still preserving fully the intent of the Coloradoans who voted to adopt it. It represents a sensible way to address Amendment 41’s myriad unintended consequences.

For these reasons, the University of Colorado supports HB 1304 to provide much need clarification. As our elected leaders, Our students, faculty, and employees place our trust in you, as our elected officials, to exercise leadership and to support this legislation.

Thank you.