Court Tosses Challenge To State Employee Gift Ban

DENVER (CN) - DENVER (CN) - The full Colorado Supreme Court overturned an injunction barring the enforcement of a 2006 constitutional amendment prohibiting state employees from accepting gifts. The ruling tossed out a challenge from opponents of the "Ethics in Government" provision - including a lobbyist and a legislator - who claimed the amendment violated their First Amendment rights.

The district court agreed that the ban impermissibly chilled plaintiffs' speech and enjoined the enforcement of the gift-ban provisions.

Ruling en banc, the state Supreme Court held that the constitutional challenge is unripe, because there is not yet an ethics commission in place to implement the amendment.

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