The University of Colorado Foundation will hold off awarding scholarships to children of Colorado public employees until legislators clear up confusion surrounding a new state ethics measure.

Mark A. Heckler, provost of the University of Colorado at Denver and Health Sciences Center, asked lawmakers to pass legislation to deal with the unintended consequences of Constitutional Amendment 41, which was approved by voters last November, the Rocky Mountain News, a newspaper in Denver, reports.

Amendment 41 was meant to prevent public officials from accepting favors, but it also could bar public-university professors from taking award money that comes with a Nobel Prize or block state employees’ children from receiving certain scholarships (The Chronicle, January 2).

While Colorado’s governor has asked for patience while the snafu is worked out, a state judge ruled last month, in a lawsuit brought by the Boettcher Foundation, that the Denver-based nonprofit group could grant scholarships to children of government employees because the awards require students to earn good grades and stay in Colorado. Under the amendment, a gift is permitted if it requires future action, or if the recipient provides something in return. It is not clear, however, if the ruling would apply to awards given by the university foundation.