Ohio House lawmakers sent the state budget to the Senate last week with a last-minute tweak: county coroners would be appointed by county commissioners, no longer elected by the voters.
“A coroner shall be appointed quadrennially in each county by the board of county commissioners and shall hold office for a term of four years, beginning on the first Monday of January next after appointment,” reads section 313.01. (A) of House Bill 96.
The change is one of many in the GOP-majority version of the state budget, but it’s the focus for five local county coroners who collectively signed onto a letter to state lawmakers opposing the change.
“As elected officials and advocates for accountable public service, transparent death investigations, and trustworthy crime lab operations, we stand in opposition to the language in the House Bill 96,” the letter reads.
Coroners from Hamilton, Butler, Warren, Clermont and Highland counties submitted the joint letter on Wednesday. They include:
- Lisa K. Mannix, MD, Butler County Coroner
- Brian M. Treon, MD, Clermont County Coroner
- Lakshmi Kode Sammarco, MD, Hamilton County Coroner
- Jeff Beery, MD, Highland County Coroner
- Russell Uptegrove, MD, Warren County Coroner
The coroners said their positions are elected, not appointed, for a reason.
“The language of this bill poses a serious threat to the integrity, independence, and accessibility of death investigations within our communities,” the letter reads. “The office of the County Coroner—a position elected by the people—serves as a vital check against institutional overreach by ensuring that cause and manner of death determinations and forensic investigations are conducted impartially and without undue influence. Eliminating this role removes a layer of democratic oversight and risks consolidating investigative power in less accountable, potentially politicized hands.”
The five coroners behind the letter said none of them were consulted on the change added to HB 96, a subject they said would also need to be brought to voters in the form of town halls, which they say also didn’t happen.
“Burying such a proposal in a 5000 plus page “budget bill” without communication with individually elected Coroners or the Ohio State Coroners Association is, frankly, unprofessional and reckless,” the letter reads. “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.”
HB 96 now heads to the Senate, where that chamber is planning a June 12 floor vote.
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This article appears in Apr 16-29, 2025.