wa-law.org > bill > 2025-26 > HB 2094 > Original Bill
The legislature finds that county coroners occupy positions of significant public importance. By investigating unexpected deaths, coroners provide important public safety and public health services. Technical skill, and medical and legal investigative abilities are critical to perform this function. Coroner is not a political position, yet most counties are required to hold coroner elections.
Many coroners or medical examiners in the state are already appointed and serving successfully. Counties with less than 40,000 may appoint a coroner in lieu of electing a coroner, while those with more than 250,000 may appoint a medical examiner. Having all counties, including those in between those thresholds, appoint rather than elect a coroner will reduce taxpayer costs by removing an unnecessary elected office. Therefore, in order to better steward public funds, the legislature finds that coroners throughout the state should be appointed rather than elected.
Except as provided elsewhere in this section, in every county there shall be elected from among the qualified voters of the county a county assessor, a county auditor, a county clerk, three county commissioners, a county prosecuting attorney, a county sheriff, and a county treasurer. A noncharter county may have five county commissioners as provided in RCW 36.32.010 and 36.32.055 through 36.32.0556.
Each county legislative authority must appoint a coroner. If a county has an elected coroner as of the effective date of this section, the elected coroner may continue in office until the coroner's term of office expires, at which time the county legislative authority must appoint a coroner. In a county with a population of $250,000 or more, the county legislative authority may replace the office of coroner with a medical examiner system and appoint a medical examiner as specified in RCW 36.24.190. Any county may enter into an interlocal agreement under chapter 39.34 RCW with an adjoining county for the provision of coroner or medical examiner services.
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All coroners, persons serving as coroners, medical examiners, and all other full-time medicolegal investigative personnel employed by a county coroner's or medical examiner's office must successfully complete medicolegal forensic investigation training through the medicolegal training academy program within 12 months of being appointed or employed unless otherwise exempted by the commission. This section does not apply to elected prosecutors who are coroners in their counties.
All part-time medicolegal investigative personnel employed by a county coroner's or medical examiner's office must successfully complete medicolegal forensic investigation training through the medicolegal training academy program within 18 months of being employed unless otherwise exempted by the commission.
The commission, in conjunction with the Washington association of coroners and medical examiners and a practicing physician selected by the commission, shall develop the medicolegal forensic investigation training curriculum and adopt the standards for the medicolegal training academy and any exemption from the requirement to complete the medicolegal forensic investigation training. The commission shall exempt from this requirement any coroner, medical examiner, or medicolegal investigative personnel who has obtained training comparable to the medicolegal forensic investigation training by virtue of educational or professional training or experience.
The commission must certify successful completion of the medicolegal forensic investigation training or exemption from the medicolegal training requirement within 60 days from the receipt of proof of completion or request for exemption.
The medicolegal forensic investigation training required under this section must:
Meet the recommendations of the national commission on forensic science for certification and accreditation; and
Satisfy the requirements for training on the subject of sudden, unexplained child death including, but not limited to, sudden infant death syndrome developed pursuant to RCW 43.103.100 and missing persons protocols pursuant to RCW 43.103.110.
Certification under this section is a condition of continued employment in a coroner's or medical examiner's office.
A county in which a coroner, person serving as coroner, medical examiner, or other medicolegal investigative employee, who has not otherwise been exempted by the commission, is not certified within 12 months of being elected, appointed, or employed as required by this section, may have its reimbursement from the death investigations account reduced as provided under RCW 68.50.104 until the office is in compliance with all requirements under this section.
Every county official before he or she enters upon the duties of his or her office shall furnish a bond conditioned that he or she will faithfully perform the duties of his or her office and account for and pay over all money which may come into his or her hands by virtue of his or her office, and that he or she, or his or her executors or administrators, will deliver to his or her successor safe and undefaced all books, records, papers, seals, equipment, and furniture belonging to his or her office. Bonds of elective county officers shall be as follows:
Assessor: Amount to be fixed and sureties to be approved by proper county legislative authority;
Auditor: Amount to be fixed at not less than $10,000 and sureties to be approved by the proper county legislative authority;
Clerk: Amount to be fixed in a penal sum not less than double the amount of money liable to come into his or her hands and sureties to be approved by the judge or a majority of the judges presiding over the court of which he or she is clerk: PROVIDED, That the maximum bond fixed for the clerk shall not exceed in amount that required for the treasurer in the same county;
4.
Members of the proper county legislative authority: Sureties to be approved by the county clerk and the amounts to be:
a. In each county with a population of 125,000 or more, $25,000;
b. In each county with a population of from 70,000 to less than 125,000, $22,500;
c. In each county with a population of from 40,000 to less than 70,000, $20,000;
d. In each county with a population of from 18,000 to less than 40,000, $15,000;
e. In each county with a population of from 12,000 to less than 18,000, $10,000;
f. In each county with a population of from 8,000 to less than 12,000, $7,500;
g. In all other counties, $5,000;
Prosecuting attorney: In the amount of $5,000 with sureties to be approved by the proper county legislative authority;
Sheriff: Amount to be fixed and bond approved by the proper county legislative authority at not less than $5,000 nor more than $50,000; surety to be a surety company authorized to do business in this state;
Treasurer: Sureties to be approved by the proper county legislative authority and the amounts to be fixed by the proper county legislative authority at double the amount liable to come into the treasurer's hands during his or her term, the maximum amount of the bond, however, not to exceed:
In each county with a population of 210,000 or more, $250,000;
In each county with a population of from 125,000 to less than 210,000, $200,000;
In each county with a population of from 18,000 to less than 125,000, $150,000;
In all other counties, $100,000.
The treasurer's bond shall be conditioned that all moneys received by him or her for the use of the county shall be paid as the proper county legislative authority shall from time to time direct, except where special provision is made by law for the payment of such moneys, by order of any court, or otherwise, and for the faithful discharge of his or her duties.
Bonds for other than elective officials, if deemed necessary by the proper county legislative authority, shall be in such amount and form as such legislative authority shall determine.
In the approval of official bonds, the chair may act for the county legislative authority if it is not in session.
The county legislative authority of each county or a county commissioner or councilmember salary commission which conforms with RCW 36.17.024 is authorized to establish the salaries of coroners and of the elected officials of the county. The state and county shall contribute to the costs of the salary of the elected prosecuting attorney as set forth in subsection (11) of this section. The annual salary of a county elected official shall not be less than the following:
In each county with a population of 1,000,000 or more: Auditor, clerk, treasurer, sheriff, members of the county legislative authority, and coroner, $18,000; and assessor, $19,000;
In each county with a population of from 210,000 to less than one million: Auditor, $17,600; clerk, $17,600; treasurer, $17,600; sheriff, $19,500; assessor, $17,600; members of the county legislative authority, $19,500; and coroner, $17,600;
In each county with a population of from 125,000 to less than 210,000: Auditor, $16,000; clerk, $16,000; treasurer, $16,000; sheriff, $17,600; assessor, $16,000; members of the county legislative authority, $17,600; and coroner, $16,000;
In each county with a population of from 70,000 to less than 125,000: Auditor, $14,900; clerk, $14,900; treasurer, $14,900; assessor, $14,900; sheriff, $14,900; members of the county legislative authority, $14,900; and coroner, $14,900;
In each county with a population of from 40,000 to less than 70,000: Auditor, $13,800; clerk, $13,800; treasurer, $13,800; assessor, $13,800; sheriff, $13,800; members of the county legislative authority, $13,800; and coroner, $13,800;
In each county with a population of from 18,000 to less than 40,000: Auditor, $12,100; clerk, $12,100; treasurer, $12,100; sheriff, $12,100; assessor, $12,100; members of the county legislative authority, $11,000; and coroner, $11,000 or on a per case basis as determined by the county legislative authority;
In each county with a population of from 12,000 to less than 18,000: Auditor, $10,100; clerk, $10,100; treasurer, $10,100; assessor, $10,100; sheriff, $11,200; members of the county legislative authority, $9,400; and coroner, $9,400 or on a per case basis as determined by the county legislative authority;
In each county with a population of from 8,000 to less than 12,000: Auditor, $10,100; clerk, $10,100; treasurer, $10,100; assessor, $10,100; sheriff, $11,200; members of the county legislative authority, $7,000; and coroner, $7,000 or on a per case basis as determined by the county legislative authority;
In each county with a population of from 5,000 to less than 8,000: Auditor, $9,100; clerk, $9,100; treasurer, $9,100; assessor, $9,100; sheriff, $10,500; members of the county legislative authority, $6,500; and coroner, $6,500 or on a per case basis as determined by the county legislative authority;
In each other county: Auditor, $9,100; clerk, $9,100; treasurer, $9,100; sheriff, $10,500; assessor, $9,100; members of the county legislative authority, $6,500; and coroner, $6,500 or on a per case basis as determined by the county legislative authority;
The state of Washington shall contribute an amount equal to one‑half the salary of a superior court judge towards the salary of the elected prosecuting attorney. Upon receipt of the state contribution, a county shall continue to contribute towards the salary of the elected prosecuting attorney in an amount that equals or exceeds that contributed by the county in 2008.
Within 12 months of being appointed to the office, a coroner or medical examiner must have a certificate of completion of medicolegal forensic investigation training that complies with the standards adopted for the medicolegal training academy adopted by the criminal justice training commission in conjunction with the Washington association of coroners and medical examiners and a practicing physician selected by the commission pursuant to RCW 43.101.480. This requirement does not apply to an elected prosecutor acting as the ex officio coroner in a county. All medicolegal investigative personnel employed by any coroner's or medical examiner's office must complete medicolegal forensic investigation training as required under RCW 43.101.480. A county in which the coroner or county medical examiner has not obtained such certification within 12 months of assuming office may have its reimbursement from the death investigations account reduced as provided under RCW 68.50.104.
This act is necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety, or support of the state government and its existing public institutions, and takes effect immediately.