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Communicable disease rulemaking

The Division of Disease Control and Public Health Response and Office of STI, HIV, and Viral Hepatitis at the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment are proposing changes to 6 Code of Colorado Regulations 1009-1 (6 CCR 1009-1): Epidemic and Communicable Disease Control. 

On November 19, 2025, the Colorado Board of Health granted the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment’s (CDPHE) request for a rulemaking hearing for regulations related to 6 Code of Colorado Regulations 1009-1 (6 CCR 1009-1), Epidemic and Communicable Disease Control. Stakeholders can provide feedback before or at the rulemaking hearing on Jan. 21, 2026.

6 CCR 1009-1 names the communicable diseases that are reportable to CDPHE and local public health agencies in order to protect the public’s health. The rule includes:

  • An outline of public health’s authority to investigate causes of epidemic and communicable diseases to implement disease control measures,
  • Details on the conditions and outbreaks that must be reported, individuals and agencies responsible for reporting, timelines for reporting, and the method of reporting to CDPHE, and
  • Language about access to pertinent medical records and public health authority to access those records, as necessary, to perform investigations.

A copy of the rules with the proposed changes and memo providing additional context for those changes are linked below:

Since the September notification, and before the request for rulemaking hearing, small, clarifying changes were made to the rules. These include:

  • Specifying that congenital cytomegalovirus is reportable when the specimen was collected at less than 60 days of age, regardless of the date that the testing was performed.
  • Clarifying that liver function test values that were performed within 30 days before or after a positive hepatitis A, B, or C result must be reported.
  • Adding bat exposures to the text in Regulation 2 describing which conditions additional reporters must report.
  • Adding laboratory test information to the data elements that healthcare providers must report, when applicable to the conditions being reported. 

If you have suggestions, concerns, or questions about these proposed rule changes and wish to provide your feedback, you may:

  1. Use CDPHE’s online form or email cdphe_dcphr_rulemaking@state.co.us. Feedback provided this way is informal and will be reviewed by staff, but it will not be added to the official rulemaking record. Informal feedback must be received by 5 p.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 10, 2025.
  2. Email or write the Board of Health directly. All written comments and testimony are part of the public record and will be posted on the Board of Health website and made available to members of the Board. Refer to the Board of Health webpage for details on due dates and instructions.
  3. Provide written testimony or speak at the Jan. 21 Board of Health rulemaking hearing to testify in favor or against the proposed rules. See the Board of Health webpage for meeting details. 

On Jan. 21, 2026, the Board of Health will decide whether or not to approve the proposed rules. If the rules are approved, they will go into effect approximately 60 days after the meeting. Refer to the Board of Health webpage for more information about the hearings. 

If you have further questions about the rulemaking process, email cdphe_dcphr_rulemaking@state.co.us.