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Senate Co-Sponsorship Memoranda
Senate of Pennsylvania
Session of 2023 - 2024
Regular Session
MEMORANDUM
| Posted: | April 3, 2023 04:00 PM |
|---|---|
| From: | Senator Mike Regan |
| To: | All Senate members |
| Subject: | Coroners Education and Training Board |
| I plan to reintroduce Senate Bill 1037, which makes changes to the Coroners’ Education Board with the goal of properly preparing our county coroners for the demands of their job. Pennsylvania’s coroners bring a wealth of knowledge to their elected position, but it is of the utmost importance that they be trained and educated through a program that addresses all of the necessary topics and skills needed for their duties both in the field and while managing their offices. Currently, the Coroners’ Education Board is housed within the Office of Attorney General, but the Board has had little say in decisions regarding the training program, which coroners have found does not cover key subjects, nor is there a high standard for determining successful completion of the program. My legislation would move the Coroners’ Education Board to the purview of the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency (PCCD) and align the structure with that of the Sheriff and Deputy Sheriff Education and Training Board, which is already under PCCD. Additionally, the board will be made up of coroners empowered to bring professional insight to the table when determining what an education program should be comprised of. Last session, concerns were raised about the funding mechanism, which would direct $2 from the current $20 per death certificate fee to a Coroners Education and Training Account, and it is imperative that we reach an agreement on this matter. The Fiscal Note for SB 1037 shows the disparity between the current Coroners’ Education Board and that of Sheriffs and Constables. In Fiscal Year 2021-2022, the Coroners Board under the Attorney General was appropriated $125,000, and the Governor proposed only $25,000 in the 2022-2023 budget. Compare that to training costs for Constables, which have averaged $1.3 million over the last three fiscal years, and the Sheriffs and Deputy Sheriffs training, which has averaged $3.5 million annually. Our coroners are one of the last people to be with our friends, our loved ones, and members of our community. We trust them to give us answers about the cause of death of those individuals – and to know how to do their job. But they can’t do that without proper training and continuing education. Please join me in co-sponsoring this important piece of legislation for these individuals who willingly step up to serve their community in a way that many of us would not be able to do – nor choose to do. Previous co-sponsors of SB 1037 were: BAKER, BARTOLOTTA, FLYNN, GORDNER, HUTCHINSON, MARTIN, MASTRIANO, MENSCH, PHILLIPS-HILL, SCAVELLO, J. WARD, and YAW. |