Legislators on Wednesday blasted a new ethics law and said they aren't a "janitorial service" that the law's creators can order to clean up their mess.

The ethics measure - Amendment 41 - bans government workers and their families from receiving gifts valued at more than $50 in a calendar year. But it has had unintended consequences, including putting some college scholarships on hold.

Millionaire Jared Polis and government watchdog group Common Cause, sponsors of the initiative approved by voters in November, were blistered at a Senate hearing Wednesday.

"It's offensive for them to come to me and treat me like I'm a legislative bellhop in which you ring a bell and I'm supposed to clean up the mess they made," Sen. Peter Groff, D-Denver, said. "I suggest Common Cause and Jared Polis go back to the ballot and take to the people an ethics amendment they wanted to create in the first place."

The Senate State, Veterans and Military Affairs Committee punted and advanced a bill, as required under the new law, to create a five-member ethics commission to handle complaints and determine what's allowed under Amendment 41.

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