C.R.S. § 35-57.9-101 Short title
35-57.9-101. Short title. This article shall be known and may be cited as the "Livestock Information Security Act".
Confidentiality of Livestock Information
C.R.S. tit. 35, art. 57.9
in effectC.R.S. § 35-57.9-102 Definitions
35-57.9-102. Definitions. As used in this article, unless the context otherwise requires:
(1) "All-hazards security system" means a comprehensive data management system administered by the department in order to prevent, detect, respond to, mitigate, and manage the recovery of any livestock health and safety issues including, but not limited to, outbreaks of disease and injury sustained as a result of natural disasters. The system may compile and use data from sources including, but not limited to, the United States department of agriculture, geographic information systems and spatial modeling, the United States department of homeland security, the state board of stock inspection commissioners, the state veterinarian, the livestock industry, and laboratory tests performed by the department or external entities.
(2) "Commissioner" means the commissioner of agriculture.
(3) "Department" means the department of agriculture.
(4) "Livestock" means cattle, sheep, goats, bison, swine, mules, poultry, horses, donkeys, alternative livestock as defined in section 35-41.5-102, and all other bovine, camelid, caprine, equine, ovine, avian, and porcine animals raised or kept for profit.
(5) "Person in interest" has the meaning set forth in section 24-72-202, C.R.S.
C.R.S. § 35-57.9-103 Authority of commissioner to deny access to information - redaction - exceptions
35-57.9-103. Authority of commissioner to deny access to information - redaction - exceptions. (1) The commissioner may deny access to personal information about persons involved with the livestock industry if the commissioner reasonably believes dissemination of such information will cause harm to such persons.
(2) On the grounds that disclosure would be contrary to the public interest, the commissioner may deny access to the following:
(a) Specific operational details of livestock operations that constitute confidential commercial data pursuant to section 24-72-204, C.R.S. Such operational details include ownership, numbers, locations, and movements of livestock; financial information; the purchase and sale of livestock; account numbers or unique identifiers issued by government or private entities; operational protocols; and participation in an all-hazards security system.
(b) Information related to livestock disease or injury:
(I) That would identify a person or location; or
(II) That contains confidential data pursuant to the veterinary-patient-client privilege described in section 24-72-204 (3)(a)(XIV), C.R.S.;
(c) Records of ongoing investigations that pertain to livestock; however, such records shall not be withheld if the investigation has concluded and the person being investigated is found by the commissioner to have violated any provision of this title that pertains to livestock.
(3) If the commissioner denies access to information pursuant to paragraph (a) or (b) of subsection (2) of this section, the commissioner shall redact the confidential information and make the remaining portions of such record available for disclosure. If the commissioner is unable to redact the record within the time limits established in section 24-72-203 (3), C.R.S., such time limits shall be waived and the commissioner shall redact the information and provide the redacted record as soon as is practicable.
(4) Nothing in this article shall be construed to authorize the commissioner to obtain information not otherwise permitted by law.
(5) Nothing in this article shall:
(a) Preclude a person in interest from accessing his or her own information;
(b) Prevent the commissioner from releasing biological livestock samples to authorized external entities for scientific testing, so long as the testing entity agrees to maintain the confidentiality of the information it receives;
(c) Prevent the commissioner from disclosing information that is otherwise permitted or required to be disclosed; or
(d) Apply when the commissioner determines that disclosure of livestock information is necessary to prevent or address an immediate threat to the health and safety of a person or animal.
(6) When disclosing information pursuant to subsection (5) of this section, the commissioner shall release only as much information as is necessary to address the situation.
C.R.S. § 35-57.9-104 Restrictions on information in databases
35-57.9-104. Restrictions on information in databases. Any database created by the department that contains specific operational details that constitute confidential commercial data pursuant to section 24-72-204, C.R.S., shall not be merged or shared with any state, federal, or foreign government, industry partner, or other database that would modify the provisions with respect to how specific operational details that constitute confidential commercial data may be disseminated pursuant to section 35-57.9-103. Such data includes ownership, numbers, locations, and movements of livestock; financial information; the purchase and sale of livestock; account numbers or unique identifiers issued by government or private entities; operational protocols; and participation in an all-hazards security system; except that data within any all-hazards security system may be shared for response to or participation in any all-hazards event limited to the scope of each individual all-hazards event and to the scope of only those agencies directly involved in the all-hazards event. As used in this section, "all-hazards event" means the occurrence of any catastrophic event or incident that is either natural, such as a blizzard, fire, flood, tornado, earthquake, or disease outbreak, or man-made and that could be of biological, chemical, radiological, nuclear, or explosive origin.
Source: Open US Law by Vaquill AI (CC BY 4.0)URL: https://leg.colorado.gov/sites/default/files/images/olls/crs2024-title-35.docxFetched: 10/6/2026