On March 18, Idaho Gov. Brad Little signed Senate Bill 1101, which creates a standard for when Idaho coroners must investigate a death. The law will take effect on July 1.
The Joint Legislative Oversight Committee first heard the bill, which Idaho Senate Minority Leader Melissa Wintrow, D-Boise, and Rep. Douglas Pickett, R-Oakley, sponsored in their respective chambers.
The bill passed the Senate 25-10. The House passed the bill with 60 votes in favor, six against, and four members absent.
INCONSISTENT
The legislation followed a 2024 report compiled by the Legislature's Office of Performance Evaluations, which found that Idaho code provided little direction for coroners on many of their duties. The report concluded that Idaho had an inconsistent death investigation system that varied by county.
Lawmakers requested the report due to inconsistencies in death reporting over the years, concerns about high-profile crimes and the impacts of population growth, and to get a better understanding of public health issues including suicide and substance abuse.
The report highlighted that only 3.9% of deaths in Idaho were autopsied from 2018-2022, nearly the lowest rate in the country. The nationwide average was 7.8% during the same time period.
Only 49% of child deaths from external or unknown causes were autopsied in Idaho, while the national average was 79%, making Idaho's rate the lowest in the nation. Idaho also had the lowest autopsied homicides at 92%, while the national average was 95%, again making Idaho the lowest in the nation.
The report also found that without state-level assistance, many coroners must rely on knowledge and assistance from other county coroners. Additionally, coroners must rely on autopsy labs in Ada and Canyon County in Idaho, as well as Spokane County.
Idaho code was also found to be ambiguous on who should certify deaths (the coroner or medical personnel), the responsibilities a coroner has over a death investigation, which types of deaths are autopsied, and what information a coroner can publicly release.
After receiving many recommendations on improving coroners' roles in Idaho, the Joint Legislative Oversight Committee determined that it was appropriate to collaborate with the Idaho State Association of County Coroners to draft a bill addressing these concerns.
According to Wintrow, every member of the eight-person committee, which includes four Democrats and four Republicans, acknowledged that this problem needed to be addressed, with many meetings held over the summer to address the legislation.
"We met with the coroners association a couple of times over the summer and facilitated meetings to really help pose questions, support and guide their work as they drafted the bill," Wintrow says.
WHAT'S THE ROLE?
The Idaho Constitution outlines that coroners are elected at the county level every four years, but it doesn't detail their role beyond that. There is no requirement that coroners be involved in the medical field to qualify for election; the only requirements are that they be at least 21 years old and attend coroner's school within a year of taking office.
A coroner is responsible for taking custody of the deceased and informing the next of kin, summoning a medical professional authorized to autopsy the deceased if appropriate, and determining the cause and manner of death.
Wintrow says that without specific qualifications or duties, there has been much confusion. However, with the new law, coroners will be required to undergo educational training approved by the coroners association and meet national standards for training.
"I think the biggest concern of the report was a lack of consistency throughout the state because there is no real place for oversight for the coroners," Wintrow says. "That didn't necessarily get addressed in this bill, but at the very least, we are starting now to see 'here's your duties for when to have a death investigation, and here's the training so that there will be more consistency throughout the state.'"
In Kootenai County, Coroner Dr. Duke Johnson supports the concept of creating standards in Idaho to help bring consistency to the coroners' offices across the state.
"I'm very much in support of the attempt to bring all of the coroners in the state up to a nationally defined standard and increasing the consistency," Johnson says. "We are one of the few accredited coroner offices in the nation, and so we are very much in favor of helping all of the coroners in the state as much as we can to reach the highest standards."
Johnson was one of the coroners who attended some of the early legislative discussions in Boise. He says the bill developed since his last meeting in January and will move the coroner's role in the right direction.
Kootenai County Commissioner Bruce Mattare says the county is growing, and the commissioners have begun allocating funds for an autopsy lab so that the coroner's office can conduct autopsies within the state instead of having to contract them through Spokane County.
Mattare says addressing the ability to handle future growth in Idaho and the county is essential, and the bill addresses a need for guidance and standards in many counties.
"The coroner plays an integral role in our criminal justice system," Mattare says. "I believe this [new law] in Boise is good for communities." ♦
