The Colorado legislature’s legal services arm has approved a request from a group of Democrats for legal representation to defend an ethics complaint that accuses them of accepting illegal contributions to fund a retreat in Vail last month.

On Thursday, the Committee on Legal Services, a bipartisan panel, unanimously approved the request to hire Mark Grueskin of Denver-based firm Recht Kornfeld to represent 15 senators and representatives in an investigation by the Independent Ethics Commission.

On Wednesday, the ethics commission found that Colorado Common Cause’s complaints against 15 members of the Colorado Opportunity Caucus, a group of moderate Democrats in the House and Senate, were valid.

While the investigation moves forward for 15 of the Democrats accused, Common Cause, the organization that levied the complaints, dropped Rep. Shannon Bird of Westminster, from the list after her attorney proved she had removed herself as chair of the caucus and did not participate in the retreat.

Common Cause alleged that One Main Street Colorado, a political organization that has been criticized as a “dark money” group, organized a closed-door “summit” at the Sonnenalp Resort in Vail for business advocates to “educate” Opportunity Caucus members on issues important to business interests.

Legislators couldn’t afford the $25,000 cost of their rooms at the hotel, the complaint said, “so they asked One Main Street to pay that bill.”

The complaint also alleged that One Main Street helped pay for lawmakers’ food, drinks, and travel expenses.

State law prohibits an independent expenditure committee from coordinating with candidates. Under the Colorado Constitution, lawmakers are not allowed to accept gifts valued at more than $75 per person per year. Common Cause’s complaint alleged that the group paid between $300 and $500 per night for rooms at the Sonnenalp, totaling about $25,000 for the three-day retreat.

If the lawmakers are found to have violated the law, they can be fined twice the cost of the event.

The complaints were made against the following Sen. Lindsey Daugherty of Arvada, the group’s chair. Reps. Tisha Mauro of Pueblo, Michael Carter of Aurora, Jacque Phillips of Thornton, Rebekah Stewart of Lakewood, Meghan Lukens of Steamboat Springs, Karen McCormick of Longmont, Cecelia Espenoza and Sean Camacho, both of Denver; Matthew Martinez of Alamosa, Katie Stewart of Durango, William Lindstedt of Broomfield; Senate President pro tem Dafna Michaelson Jenet of Aurora; and Sens. Marc Snyder of Colorado Springs, Kyle Mullica of Thornton and Judy Amabile of Boulder.

Mullica did not request counsel.

Under Colorado law, the Committee on Legal Services can retain counsel to represent the House, the Senate, the Colorado General Assembly as a whole, its committees, as well as members of the legislative branch. Funding for legal counsel for lawmakers comes from the Legislative Expenses Cash Fund and appropriations made to the Committee on Legal Services — this year, that appropriation amounted to nearly $11 million in General Fund dollars.

According to Office of Legislative Legal Services director Ed DeCecco, the state has retained counsel for lawmakers twice in recent history. The first occurred in 2016, when a constituent filed an ethics complaint against then-Rep. Kim Ransom, R-Lone Tree, for receiving a $600 “gold pass” to attend the Western Conservative Summit the year prior. The Independent Ethics Commission ultimately dismissed the complaint, contending that the pass met the requirements for an exception to the gift limit.

The second such case happened in 2017, when then-Sen. Vicki Marble, R-Fort Collins, was accused of hosting a community meeting paid for by an oil and gas company. In 2018, the ethics commission ruled that Marble violated the state’s gift rule and fined her a little over $2,000.

Marianne Goodland contributed to this story.