A judge ruled Thursday that The GEO Group does not have to follow parts of a new state law requiring more frequent health and safety inspections at the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement processing center in Aurora.

Under the order of District Judge Daniel Domenico, GEO does not have to adhere to a section of House Bill 26-1276 through the end of its current contract on Oct. 15. The private company operates the facility as a federal government contractor.

The section states that GEO must allow unannounced inspections every three months, pay for those inspections and allow disease investigations.

GEO filed the lawsuit in early June to block the enforcement of the legislation, which expanded the state Health Department’s authority to conduct more frequent health and safety inspections at immigration detention facilities in the state. The new law imposes fines or even revokes licenses for refusing inspections.

Adhering to those rules would require the company to violate its contract with the federal government, GEO argued in court in late July.

State officials argued that the changes in the law simply make treatment for all private detention facilities in the state equal.

Colorado claimed it is fulfilling its police powers authority to supervise a facility within its borders. GEO countered that the state regulation is preempted by federal legislation.

GEO’s contract with the federal government expires on Oct. 15, and any new contract that the company gets after that could alter how its case against the bill moves forward, Domenico said.

The ruling comes several days after Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser filed a lawsuit against GEO over noncompliance in a state tuberculosis investigation.

While the injunction addresses elements of the new law, it does not impact the state’s existing public health and safety authority, a spokesperson for Weiser’s office told The Denver Gazette.

Weiser’s lawsuit seeks to enforce that existing authority, so it does not prevent the state from pursuing its case, the spokesperson insisted.

The Adams County Health Department confirmed an active case of tuberculosis at the facility in June.

Since then, the department has repeatedly requested information and access to investigate, but GEO has refused each time.

A GEO spokesperson told The Denver Gazette that there are currently no active or suspected tuberculosis cases at the facility. GEO has provided information to the state and county as authorized by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

Both DHS and the CDC are “actively involved” in disease control and prevention measures at the Aurora facility, the spokesperson said.