Colorado Regulatory Structure

What is a "Regulation?"

A regulation is a policy or procedure created by a state agency that has an impact on the public. The regulation is the state agency's action in implementing, interpreting, applying or enforcing a statute enacted by the legislature and signed into law by the Governor. Regulations range from the seemingly insignificant (the size of Swiss cheese holes) to the serious (dealing with Chronic Wasting Disease).

 
Rulemaking Procedure

Every state agency in the Executive Branch must adhere to the rulemaking process outlined in the Administrative Procedure Act or APA (Section 24-4-101, Colorado Revised Statutes) unless explicitly exempted. The rulemaking process involves four stages: Notice of Proposed Rule, Comment Period on Proposed Rule, Hearing on Proposed Rule and Final Adoption of Proposed Rule.
 

Flowchart of State Rulemaking Process

Due to the passage of Senate Bill 03-121, agencies must also send a copy of the proposed rule to the Office of Policy, Research and Regulatory Reform so that the Director can evaluate the proposed rule to determine if a cost-benefit analysis should be performed by the agency. If you sign-up to receive a Regulatory Notice, you will receive an e-mail telling you that a proposed rule has been submitted by an agency covering a subject matter of interest to you.

Statutorily, agencies are also required to notify any individual who has told the agency that they want to be notified of any proposed rulemaking. The individual needs to file the appropriate form with the agency. The agency then will send the notice to the individual either by ordinary mail or via electronic mail. There may be a small fee for those individuals who want to receive notice by ordinary mail.
 

Regulatory Notice subscribers will receive the contact information of the individuals in the agency submitting the proposed rule so that they can send comments or get further information. Citizens also can contact the Office of Policy, Research and Regulatory Reform to discuss the proposed rule.

Hearing on Proposed Rule 

At the hearing on the proposed rule, the agency accepts written and oral testimony about the rule. The testimony can be supportive of or in opposition to the proposed rule. Once the hearing ends, the public is no longer able to offer comments on the proposed rule unless the agency alters the proposed rule in a manner that requires the process to begin again.

Final Adoption of Rule 

Following the hearing on the proposed rule, the agency has 180 days to file adopted rules with the Secretary of State for publication in the Colorado Register. Adopted rules go into effect twenty days after publication or on such later date as is stated in the rule.

Timeline Illustrating the Regulatory Process

The following timeline illustrates the regulatory process. The timeline below assumes statutorily minimum days used by an agency, which means that a proposed rule could become final in no less than ninety-one days.