An ethics complaint filed against Colorado state Rep. Kim Ransom, a Lone Tree Republican, may hinge on just how the Independent Ethics Commission views the funding for Colorado Christian University.

On Monday the commission discussed several issues that could decide whether Ransom violated the state’s limits on gifts to lawmakers.

Ransom was one of 10 lawmakers who attended the 2016 Western Conservative Summit and received an award from the group Principles of Liberty. The summit is hosted by the Centennial Institute, which is part of Colorado Christian University. Ransom was the only lawmaker of the 10 to be the subject of an ethics complaint.

A constituent in Ransom’s district, Charles Bucknam, filed the complaint in August 2016, about a month after the summit. In his complaint, Bucknam alleged that Ransom was given a “Gold Pass,” valued at $600, to attend the summit. The pass was given to cover the cost of meals and for attending the event, according to a preliminary investigation conducted by Dino Ioannides, the commission’s executive director.

But is that pass really worth $600? That’s the question Commissioner Bill Leone raised at Monday’s meeting, noting that the cost of meals was estimated at about $60. Leone, acting as the hearing officer on the complaint, asked Ioannides to find out what the other $540 was for, suggesting it could be “excess fundraising.”

There’s an exception to the gift limit when lawmakers are acting in their official capacity and speaking at an event. However, according to a video of the event, posted by CCU to YouTube, Ransom only accepted her award; she did not speak during the presentation. Leone asked Ioannides to talk with independent witnesses to the event.

Then there’s the question of CCU’s funding. According to IEC rules and state law, non-profit groups that received less than 5 percent of their funding from for-profit sources are exempted from the limit, which is valued at $59. The question becomes whether tuition should be counted under those sources. Tuition payments are the primary source of funding for CCU, Ioannides said. Leone said the commission is “leaning toward not counting tuition payments as private contributions,” which would mean that for-profit sources of funds might be a bigger factor.

Ioannides also suggested he might want to obtain subpoenas for information. A formal hearing on the complaint is tentatively scheduled for the end of November.