This bill amends existing law to change coroners from elected to appointed county officers, allowing currently elected coroners to serve out their terms before the appointment requirement begins. In counties with population 250,000 or more, a county legislative authority may instead replace the coroner with an appointed medical examiner under RCW 36.24.190. Counties may enter into interlocal agreements to share coroner or medical examiner services. The bill also removes the coroner from the list of elective county officers and adjusts related bond and salary provisions in RCW 36.16.030, RCW 36.16.050, RCW 36.17.020 and related sections; the text shown includes updated county salary amounts for several population brackets and a state contribution toward prosecuting attorney salaries. The bill creates a procedural and certification requirement: all coroners, appointed medical examiners, and full‑time medicolegal investigative personnel in coroner or medical examiner offices must complete medicolegal forensic investigation training through the medicolegal training academy program within 12 months of appointment or employment (part‑time personnel within 18 months), unless exempted by the commission. The criminal justice training commission, together with the Washington Association of Coroners and Medical Examiners and a practicing physician selected under RCW 43.101.480, must develop the curriculum and standards and may grant exemptions; the commission must certify completion or exemption within 60 days. Certification is a condition of continued employment, and counties whose required personnel are not certified within the required period may have reimbursements from the death investigations account reduced under RCW 68.50.104. An elected prosecuting attorney acting as ex officio coroner is expressly exempt from the certification requirement. The act is presented as an amendment to multiple RCW sections (including RCW 36.24.205 and others noted) and includes an emergency clause making it take effect immediately. Some details are not included in the provided text: the full amended language of RCW 36.24.205, the complete salary table for all population bands, the exact effective date language for allowing existing elected coroners to finish their terms, and the specific statutory identity of the “commission” responsible for exemptions beyond the references given.

If enacted, counties would stop electing coroners once current elected coroners finish their terms and county legislative authorities would appoint coroners; counties with populations of 250,000 or more could instead replace the coroner with an appointed medical examiner system. All coroners, medical examiners and medicolegal investigative staff must complete medicolegal forensic investigation training set by the Criminal Justice Training Commission with the Washington Association of Coroners and Medical Examiners and a practicing physician (full‑time within 12 months, part‑time within 18 months), prosecutors serving as ex officio coroners are exempt, and the commission must certify completion or exemption (within 60 days of proof). Counties may share services through interlocal agreements, and the act takes effect immediately. The people most affected are county governments and coroner/medical examiner offices: county boards will gain hiring control over the office, offices will likely incur time and training costs to meet certification rules, and counties risk reduced reimbursements from the death investigations account if required staff are not certified on time. The state continues to help fund prosecuting attorneys by contributing half a superior court judge’s salary. Important implementation details are missing from the provided text, including the full salary schedule for larger counties, the exact effective date language for appointment provisions, and the full text of the amendment to RCW 36.24.205.