Amendment 41 has snared a new and unexpected victim: a University of Colorado professor who lost his family when they were hit by a suspected drunk driver in downtown Denver.

Frank Bingham, his wife and two young children were hit Nov. 10. Only Bingham survived, although he sustained serious injuries.

Colleagues at CU raised money to help Bingham, who teaches in the school of education.

At a legislative hearing Thursday, a CU provost cited the Bingham case as an example of the unintended consequences of the ethics-reform measure.

"The money that was collected in the fall wasn't subject to the Amendment 41," said Mark Heckler. But after the law went into effect in January, all donations were limited to $50 per person.

If Bingham had accepted any larger amounts, he would have been subject to a penalty of double the contribution amount.

Heckler mentioned another example: A CU employee suffered a tragedy recently when his child committed suicide. Friends and co-workers collected money for the funeral, only to be instructed by the CU legal staff to adhere to the $50 limit.

That led to cases in which several family members individually contributed $50, he said.

"We don't want our people to be put in these types of situations," said Heckler, who urged legislators to amend the law.