Colorado’s ethics commission voted unanimously Tuesday to advance 17 complaints against a group of state lawmakers , nearly all of whom attended a private Vail retreat funded in part by a dark money group .

The Independent Ethics Commission determined that the complaints were “nonfrivolous,” a first step in the ethics process that means the complaints will advance and be investigated further. The commission discussed the complaints, which are confidential, in closed-door deliberations and then voted to advance them in a bloc. They otherwise provided no comment on the complaints or their deliberations.

The vote came after negotiations to pull back the complaints, urged on by the head of the Colorado Democratic Party, failed to reach an agreement, and the commission’s decision to now i

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