HB 646: Coroners; provide minimum salaries

Georgia law currently sets minimum coroner salaries using population brackets tied to the 1990 census and gives coroners a per-call death investigation fee. This bill rewrites those rules. It updates the population brackets to the 2020 census and substantially raises the minimum salary tied to each bracket, ranging from $17,700 in the smallest counties up to $105,000 in counties with 500,000 or more residents. It also removes the old per-call death investigation fee coroners could charge in addition to salary. The bill changes how deputy coroners are paid, replacing automatic fee eligibility with a $250 minimum fee per case worked in the coroner's place and a $100 per diem (capped at 90 days a year) starting January 1, 2027, unless local law already sets deputy pay. It also lets counties give full-time, high-caseload coroners the same benefits as other elected county officials, and lets counties opt in to sharing retiree health insurance costs with certain long-serving retiring county officers. Most provisions take effect January 1, 2027, though some parts start July 1, 2026.

• Raises the minimum annual salary schedule for Georgia coroners, updating population brackets to the 2020 census and setting minimums from $17,700 to $105,000 depending on county population.
• Removes the old per-call death investigation fee coroners could collect in addition to their salary (O.C.G.A. § 45-16-27).
• Sets new deputy coroner pay starting January 1, 2027: a $250 minimum fee per death investigation performed in place of the coroner and a $100 daily rate capped at 90 days a year, unless local law sets deputy pay.
• Protects deputy coroners already earning more than the new formula from having their pay cut for the rest of the coroner's term.
• Requires counties to give coroners who work full time (2,080+ hours) and handle at least 100 death investigations a year the same benefits given to the sheriff, tax commissioner, or other named county officers.
• Lets counties opt in to paying 75 percent of retiree health insurance premiums for certain long-serving county officers (probate judges, sheriffs, tax commissioners, clerks of court, county commissioners) who retire between ages 55 and 65, capped by county cost savings.

Georgia's elected coroners and their deputy coroners, county governing authorities that fund coroner offices and set budgets, and other long-serving elected county officers such as sheriffs, tax commissioners, clerks of superior court, probate judges, and county commissioners who could gain retiree health benefits.

Coroner pay in many Georgia counties has not kept pace with cost of living for decades, and this bill would substantially raise the salary floor while restructuring how deputy coroners are compensated for casework. Counties would also gain new, optional tools to offer benefits and retiree health coverage to long-serving officials, at the county's own cost.

• Section 1 (O.C.G.A. § 45-16-7) sets new deputy coroner pay starting January 1, 2027: at least $250 per death investigation handled and a $100 per diem capped at 90 days a year, unless overridden by local salary law.
• Section 1 protects deputy coroners currently paid above the new formula from a pay cut for the rest of the coroner's term.
• Section 2 (O.C.G.A. § 45-16-11) replaces the 1990 census-based salary brackets with 2020 census brackets and minimum salaries ranging from $17,700 to $105,000.
• Section 2 adds a benefits requirement: full-time coroners handling 100+ death investigations a year must get the same benefits as the sheriff, tax commissioner, probate judge, or clerk of superior court.
• Section 3 (O.C.G.A. § 45-16-27) repeals the coroner's per-call death investigation fee provisions, designating that part of the code as reserved.
• Section 4 (O.C.G.A. § 45-18-5) lets counties adopt an ordinance to pay 75 percent of retiree health insurance premiums for eligible long-serving county officers retiring between ages 55 and 65, capped by realized salary savings.
• Section 5 sets effective dates: Sections 4 and 6 take effect July 1, 2026, while Sections 1 through 3 take effect January 1, 2027.

1. 2026-03-31Senate Tabled (Senate)
2. 2026-03-27Senate Read Second Time (Senate)
3. 2026-03-27Senate Committee Favorably Reported By Substitute (Senate)
4. 2025-03-10Senate Read and Referred (Senate)
5. 2025-03-06House Passed/Adopted By Substitute (House)
6. 2025-03-06House Third Readers (House)
7. 2025-03-04House Committee Favorably Reported By Substitute (House)
8. 2025-02-28House Second Readers (House)

• Patty Stinson (D, HD-150)Primary sponsor
• Will Wade (R, HD-009)
• Mack Jackson (D, HD-128)
• Teddy Reese (D, HD-140)
• Tangie Herring (D, HD-145)
• Clint Dixon (R, SD-045)

1. PassedHouse voteMarch 6, 2025

   170 yea, 4 nay (2 not voting, 4 absent)

   Passage: House Vote #243

2. PassedSenate voteMarch 31, 2026

   39 yea, 10 nay (2 not voting, 3 absent)

   Motion To Table Remaining Legislation On The Rules Calendar: Senate Vote #912

• coroner salaries
• county government pay
• death investigations
• public employee benefits
• local government funding