Senate committee approves rewrite of Idaho reportable-disease rules, adds viral hemorrhagic fevers and tightens lead reporting

The Senate Health and Welfare Committee approved docket 16‑0210‑2501, a zero‑based rewrite of Idaho’s reportable‑disease rules, on a voice vote after a departmental presentation and brief questioning.

Jared Larson, chief of staff at the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare, told the committee the rewrite reduces duplicative language across chapters and preserves all existing reporting requirements. "No diseases are removed from any reporting requirement by the changes that were done in the reorganization here," Larson said. He also said the rules add viral hemorrhagic fevers — naming Ebola and Marburg as examples — so those infections will trigger immediate notification and statewide response when needed.

Larson said the rewrite aligns Idaho’s lead‑poisoning reporting requirement with federal guidance by lowering the reportable blood‑lead level from 5 micrograms per deciliter to 3.5 micrograms per deciliter. "We add viral hemorrhagic fevers as a reportable disease," he said. Dr. Christine Hahn of the Division of Public Health, who joined Larson at the committee table, explained that the department views the lower lead threshold as an alignment with current federal recommendations.

Committee members asked technical questions about testing provisions and enforcement. Senator Blaylock asked why rules allow testing without informed consent for listed diseases; Dr. Hahn said the provision, adopted about two decades ago, was designed to protect first responders exposed to blood or bodily fluids when a patient is unconscious or deceased and consent cannot be obtained. Senator Lenny asked why COVID‑19 is not listed; Larson and Dr. Hahn said COVID historically had not been on this specific reportable list and the department relied during the pandemic on broader statutory authority and an "extraordinary‑occurrence" category to collect outbreak information.

The motion to adopt the docket was moved and seconded on the floor and carried by voice vote. The committee did not record a roll‑call tally in the transcript.