Tomorrow at 10:00 A.M. Mountain time, Colorado's mortuary regulator opens a webinar to take public comment on 24 rules, four times the number it adopted on an emergency basis in August. The notice says the revisions and additions are proposed "to implement Colorado House Bill 26-1258 (CONCERNING DEATH)." The hearing "will be held via WEBINAR ONLY," with registration through Zoom.
The rules adopted on an emergency basis on August 31 covered six provisions of the rulebook. Tomorrow's permanent package proposes revisions to 23 rules from Rule 1.2 through Rule 1.27, plus a new Rule 1.28 on subcontractors.
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Obitley traced the first phase in September: the emergency adoption of Rules 1.2, 1.3, 1.4, 1.18, 1.19 and 1.26, the same-day conversion of every Colorado funeral home and crematory registration into a single "Funeral Establishment" (FES) registration, and the statute behind it, signed by Gov. Jared Polis on June 4 and effective August 12 as session law Chapter 383 (https://obitley.com/stories/hb26-1258-colorado-first-phase-rules).
The August rules were temporary. Colorado agencies can adopt rules on an emergency basis when a new law demands fast action, and those emergency rules expire. Permanent rules carry forward until they are amended or repealed. The notice says comments will be accepted "on all rules being proposed to implement HB26-1258, including the rules adopted on an emergency basis on August 31, 2026," which puts the six August rules back in front of the public.
By the Numbers
FROM SIX RULES TO TWENTY-FOUR
The proposed revisions run from "Rule 1.2 – SCOPE AND PURPOSE" to "Rule 1.27 – POWERS AND DUTIES OF THE DIRECTOR," and the list skips Rules 1.15, 1.17 and 1.24. The set's one brand-new entry is "proposed new Rule 1.28 - SUBCONTRACTORS."
All of it amends 4 CCR 742-1, the Colorado Code of Regulations volume whose header reads "MORTUARY SCIENCE PROFESSIONAL LICENSURE RULES AND FUNERAL HOME & CREMATORY REGISTRATION RULES." The posted text is labeled "Draft Rules - Updated 10/15/2026," a refresh four days before the hearing. The office has also posted a Regulatory Analysis and recordings of two stakeholder meetings, held September 9 and October 7.
THE NOVEMBER 30 FUSE
Every FES registration in Colorado expires on the same date. "All FES registrations will expire on Nov. 30, 2026 and when renewing, only the new FES registration needs to be renewed," the regulator's news page says.
That is 42 days after tomorrow's hearing. Renewal season opens under whatever rule set is in force when the deadline arrives, and the permanent package is still in draft.
THE TWO FIGHTS
The draft document carries roughly 170 inline public comments alongside the rule text. The objections concentrate on two rules.
Rule 1.28 is the package's one brand-new rule, and the comments embedded in the draft describe its terms: a funeral establishment must keep every subcontractor contract for seven years, make those contracts available for inspection, and notify every consumer of every subcontractor involved.
The one detailed objection to Rule 1.28, from commenter Misty Niles, accepts the seven-year recordkeeping and accepts inspection. What she objects to is telling every consumer about every subcontractor. Her comment argues the disclosure requirement goes beyond normal business practices, that other licensed professions do not have to disclose every vendor, and that the funeral establishment remains responsible for the work either way. She asks the regulator to require disclosure only when a family asks.
Rule 1.26(E) draws the heavier fire. It lists what an affiliate location may be used for: family consultations, paperwork, selling urns or caskets, storing and distributing cremated remains, and equipment storage. Visitation is not on the list, and at least six commenters read that as a ban on viewings at affiliate locations. Their argument is rural: a family can hold a visitation at a church or an event center, they write, but not at a registered, inspectable affiliate location in the same town, so families drive long distances to the main establishment. Two commenters propose allowing embalmed remains at an affiliate location for up to 48 hours as a middle ground.
Both sets of comments name the backdrop: Return to Nature in Penrose, Davis Mortuary in Pueblo and Sunset Mesa. One commenter argues those failures should not be applied to every funeral home in the state; another, pushing for stronger oversight, writes that at Return to Nature "nearly two hundred improperly stored bodies were reportedly discovered."
WHAT HAPPENS MONDAY
Oral comment is capped: "Comments will be limited to no more than 3 minutes per participant." Written comments go through the regulator's page, under the instruction "Please submit written comments as soon as possible." No hard deadline is stated. Submissions are posted under the "Public Notices" tab, and rulemaking questions go to [email protected]. Zoom registration is open at https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_N7JJUdTYRymbeOdkWgkMYw.
Then it is the Director's call on adoption. The open question after the hearing is whether Rule 1.28 survives as the comments describe it, with seven-year retention and notification of every consumer, or comes back trimmed. Forty-two days later, every funeral establishment registration in the state comes up for renewal.
What This Means for You
Colorado's permanent rulemaking hearing runs Monday at 10 A.M. MDT, webinar only. The package proposes 24 rules against the six adopted on an emergency basis August 31, and the notice puts those emergency rules back up for public comment. The visible fight, per the public comments, is Rule 1.26(E), which commenters read as banning visitation at affiliate locations, and Rule 1.28's requirement to notify every consumer of every subcontractor involved. Every FES registration expires November 30, so the Director's decision arrives with the industry already on a renewal clock.
*Obitley will update this article after the October 19 hearing.*
*Sources: Colorado Office of Funeral and Mortuary Science Services rulemaking page, dpo.colorado.gov/MortuaryScience, reviewed October 18, 2026 (hearing notice, "Draft Rules - Updated 10/15/2026" link, written-comment links, stakeholder meeting recordings of September 9 and October 7, 2026, Regulatory Analysis); Notice of Permanent Rulemaking Hearing, Google Drive document linked from the regulator's page (rule list, "WEBINAR ONLY" designation, Zoom registration, 3-minute comment limit, comment-record language, contact email [email protected]); "Draft Rules - Updated 10/15/2026," draft 4 CCR 742-1 text with inline public comments, Google Doc linked from the regulator's page, reviewed October 18, 2026; Office of Funeral and Mortuary Science Services News page, FES expiration notice ("All FES registrations will expire on Nov. 30, 2026"); Obitley prior reporting on the August 31 emergency adoption and FES conversion, September 6, 2026, https://obitley.com/stories/hb26-1258-colorado-first-phase-rules.*
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