AN ACT relating to the compensation of coroners.

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AN ACT relating to the compensation of coroners. 1
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Kentucky: 2
Section 1. KRS 64.185 is amended to read as follows: 3
(1) (a) Coroners shall receive out of the county, consolidated local government, 4
charter county government, urban -county government, or unified local 5
government treasury, whichever is appropria te, the annual[monthly] 6
compensation the fiscal court of each county shall fix, subject to this 7
subsection.[the following minimums:] 8
(b) 1. The salary schedule for coroners in subparagraph 2.b. of this 9
paragraph provides for nine (9) levels of minimum sala ries based 10
upon the population of the county in the year prior to the election of 11
the coroner. To implement the salary schedule, the Department for 12
Local Government shall, by November 1 of each year preceding the 13
election of the coroner, certify for each c ounty the population group 14
applicable to each county based on the most recent estimates of the 15
United States Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census. The 16
salary schedule shall remain as determined by the Department for 17
Local Government, regardless of changes in the population estimates 18
or the actual census count that may occur during the term for which 19
the coroner has been elected or appointed. 20
2. a. The salary schedule provides four (4) steps for yearly increments 21
within each population group. A coroner's salary shall be at a 22
minimum equal to the amount stated for the first step within the 23
applicable population group for the first year or portion thereof 24
the coroner serves in office. Thereafter, on January 1 of each 25
subsequent year, the coroner's salary shall be advanced 26
automatically to the next step in the salary schedule for the 27
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population group and shall be at a minimum equal to the salary 1
amount stated for that step. 2
b. Prior to a ssuming office, any person assuming the office as a 3
coroner shall certify to the commissioner of the Department for 4
Local Government the total number of years, not to exceed four 5
(4) years, that the person has previously served as a coroner. The 6
Department for Local Government shall place the coroner in the 7
proper step based upon a formula of one (1) incremental step per 8
full calendar year of service: 9
SALARY SCHEDULE 10
County Population Steps and Minimum Salary for Coroners 11
by Group 12
Step 1 Step 2 Step 3 Step 4 13
Group I 14
0-4,999 $36,000 $37,000 $38,000 $39,500 15
Group II 16
5,000-9,999 39,501 40,500 41,500 43,000 17
Group III 18
10,000-19,999 43,001 44,500 46,000 48,000 19
Group IV 20
20,000-29,999 48,001 49,500 51,000 53,000 21
Group V 22
30,000-44,999 53,001 55,000 57,000 60,000 23
Group VI 24
45,000-59,999 60,001 62,000 64,000 67,000 25
Group VII 26
60,000-89,999 67,001 69,500 72,000 75,500 27
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Group VIII 1
90,000-499,999 75,501 78,000 80,500 84,000 2
Group IX 3
500,000 and up 84,001 87,450 90,900 95,335.76 4
(c) By the second Friday in February of each year, the Department for Local 5
Government shall adjust the salary schedule in paragraph (b)2.b. of this 6
subsection accordingly by using the percent increase in the nonseasonally 7
adjusted annual average Consumer P rice Index for All Urban Consumers 8
(CPI-U), U.S. City Average, All Items, between the two (2) most recent 9
calendar years available, as published by the United States Bureau of Labor 10
Statistics. Once adjusted, the Department for Local Government shall notif y 11
each fiscal court of the adjusted salary schedule. The adjusted salary 12
amounts shall be retroactive to the preceding January 1, and shall not 13
exceed the amount determined by the annual adjustment required under 14
KRS 64.527. 15
(d) A coroner holding office on the effective date of this Act shall not receive a 16
reduction in pay as a result of this subsection. 17
(e) 1. In addition to the step increases based on service in office, each 18
coroner shall be paid an annual incentive of one hundr ed dollars 19
($100) per calendar year for the completion of the training courses 20
required in subsection (4) of this section. 21
2. The coroner shall report all completed training courses to the 22
Department for Local Government. 23
3. If a coroner fails, without goo d cause as determined by the 24
commissioner of the Department for Local Government, to obtain the 25
minimum amount of approved training in any year, the coroner shall 26
lose all training incentives previously accumulated. 27
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4. The training incentive provided in su bparagraph (e)1. of this 1
paragraph shall be adjusted by the Department for Local Government 2
on an annual basis for any increase or decrease in the consumer price 3
index in the same manner as salaries are adjusted under paragraph 4
(c) of this subsection. 5
5. The Department for Local Government may promulgate 6
administrative regulations in accordance with KRS Chapter 13A to 7
establish guidelines for the training incentive and the reporting of 8
training courses. 9
(f) All coroners shall be considered full -time workers and a local government 10
shall not reduce the salary of a coroner below the minimum salary set out in 11
paragraph (b)2.b. of this subsection due to the hours worked by the coroner. 12
[ County Monthly Minimum 13
Population Compensation 14
1. 10,000 or less $200 15
2. 10,001 to 20,000 300 16
3. 20,001 to 40,000 350 17
4. 40,001 to 60,000 400 18
5. 60,001 to 100,000 450 19
6. 100,001 to 150,000 800 20
7. 150,001 or more 1,000 21
(b) Coroners who hold a current certificate of continuing education, issued 22
jointly by the Department of Criminal Justice Training, Justice and 23
Public Safety Cabinet, and the Office of the Kentucky State Medical 24
Examiner, Justice and Public Safety Cabinet, and who have completed 25
the course described in subsection (4)(b) of this section, shall be paid the 26
following minimum monthly compensation set forth in this subsection 27
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in recognition of the training: 1
County Monthly Minimum 2
Population Compensation 3
1. 10,000 or less $400 4
2. 10,001 to 20,000 500 5
3. 20,001 to 40,000 650 6
4. 40,001 to 60,000 750 7
5. 60,001 to 100,000 850 8
6. 100,001 to 150,000 1,100 9
7. 150,001 or more 1,300] 10
(2) Deputy coroners who hold a current certificate of continuing education [, as 11
described in subsection (1)(b) of this sectio n,] and have completed the course 12
described in subsection (4)(b) of this section, shall receive out of the county, 13
consolidated local government, charter county government, urban -county 14
government, or unified local government treasury, whichever is appropr iate, the 15
monthly compensation the fiscal court of each county shall fix, subject to the 16
following minimums: 17
County Monthly Minimum 18
Population Compensation 19
(a) 10,000 or less $200 20
(b) 10,001 to 20,000 250 21
(c) 20,001 to 40,000 275 22
(d) 40,001 to 60,000 300 23
(e) 60,001 to 100,000 400 24
(f) 100,001 to 150,000 900 25
(g) 150,001 or more 1,100 26
(3) The fiscal court of any county, or the legislative body of a consolidated local 27
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government, charter county government, urban-county government, or unified local 1
government may compensate coroners and deputy coroners an additional amount of 2
up to three hundred dollars ($300) per month as an expense allowance. 3
(4) (a) The initial course of continuing education[ required under subsection (1)(b) of 4
this section] shall consist of a forty (40) hour basic training course prescribed 5
by the Justice and Public Safety Cabinet. Annually thereafter the coroner shall 6
attend and successfully complete at least eighteen (18) hours of appro ved 7
training in order to be compensated in accordance with subsection (1) (e)[(b)] 8
of this section. 9
(b) Within three (3) years of initially assuming office, in order to be compensated 10
in accordance with subsections (1)(e)[(b)] and (2) of this section, a co roner or 11
deputy coroner shall attend and complete a course of at least four (4) hours 12
provided by the Department of Criminal Justice Training that shall include 13
instruction on the grieving process and best practices for providing a notice of 14
death to a spo use or next of kin and may include instruction on other similar 15
topics. A coroner or deputy coroner that has completed the course shall not be 16
required to retake the course. 17
(c)[(5)] If a deputy coroner assumes the office of coroner after receiving the 18
training stipulated in this subsection[section], the deputy coroner shall be 19
compensated in accordance with [ the compensation schedule set forth in] 20
subsection (1)(e)[(b)] of this section. 21
(5)[(6)] The number of deputy coroners in a county shall not exceed on e (1) for each 22
twenty-five thousand (25,000) inhabitants, or fraction thereof, according to the most 23
recent federal census, but every coroner may, subject to the approval of the 24
legislative body of the county, consolidated local government, charter county 25
government, urban -county government, or unified local government, appoint 26
additional deputy coroners, regardless of population. 27
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Section 2. This Act takes effect January 4, 2027. 1