OHIO — In a letter signed by five Ohio county coroners, they express their opposition to House Bill 96 changing the county coroner position from an elected position to an appointed one.
“Burying such a proposal in a 5,000 plus page “budget bill” without communication with individually elected Coroners or the Ohio State Coroners Association is, frankly, unprofessional and reckless,” their letter reads, in part. “To our knowledge there were no public hearings to discuss any perceived challenges or possible solutions. Neither were there any town halls with the voters to discuss depriving them of their power.”
The bill maintains the four-year term for coroners, but it would make the coroner subject to appointment by the board of county commissioners.
You can see the language in the bill here, found on page 736:
In their letter, the coroners from Butler, Clermont, Hamilton, Highland and Warren counties said the elected position is a check “against institutional overreach.”
“Eliminating this role removes a layer of democratic oversight and risks consolidating investigative power in less accountable, potentially politicized hands,” their letter reads. “Further, the proposed change disrupts the current election process, making the Coroner beholden to the appointer rather than the citizens of the county.”
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, medicolegal death investigations are conducted by coroners, medical examiners or other county officials depending on the state.
The majority of Ohio is covered by elected coroners, according to this 2023 map from the CDC:
House Bill 96 passed the House on April 9. It was primarily sponsored by State Rep. Brian Stewart, R-Ashville.
