# Indiana HB 1031: County coroners. Indiana HB 1031, County coroners., is a Second Regular Session 124th General Assembly (2026) House bill sponsored by Karen Engleman (Republican); status signed, last action 2026-03-04 (Public Law 75); PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-11-01). - Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/IN-HB1031-2026 - As of: 2026-11-01 - Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts. ## Facts - Bill: Indiana HB 1031 - State: Indiana - Session: Second Regular Session 124th General Assembly (2026) - Title: County coroners. - Status: signed - Chamber: House - Introduced: 2025-12-01 - Last action: 2026-03-04, Public Law 75 - Sponsor: Karen Engleman (Republican) - Cosponsors: 3 - Subjects: local government, the senate, corrections and criminal law - Touches household money: yes - Roll calls: 3 (223 yes, 0 no in all) - Economic provisions PRIA read: 5 ## Summary Makes changes to the blood or tissue retention protocols at a hospital for purposes of conducting a death investigation. Makes changes to the training course requirements for coroners and deputy coroners. Makes changes to provisions governing the conduct of a death investigation.Provides that a coroner or deputy coroner who conducts a death investigation or signs a death certificate without completing certain training commits a Class B misdemeanor. Provides that, if a coroner or deputy coroner fails to complete the required training course within the time required, the county shall reimburse the coroners training board for the cost of the training. Provides that the county may recover from an individual the amount the county reimbursed the coroners training board. Makes technical corrections. ## Bill overview: provisions PRIA read - Coroners and police must coordinate investigations: benefit, low. Beginning July 1, 2026, Indiana police and coroners must coordinate death investigations and share information. Police secure and process the scene, collect evidence, interview witnesses, identify suspects, and prepare the criminal case. Coroners keep exclusive custody of the body and property on i… - Hospitals must preserve injury blood samples: benefit, low. Effective retroactively to January 1, 2026, hospitals must provide blood or tissue samples requested by coroners investigating deaths, without a warrant. Hospitals must also preserve the first emergency-care blood sample for inpatients with suspicious, violent, accidental, or overdose injuries deem… - Untrained coroners face penalties and repayment: cost, low. Beginning July 1, 2026, coroners and deputies without required training cannot investigate deaths or sign death certificates. Knowingly or intentionally breaking this rule is a Class B misdemeanor. Officials must show training completion to the county executive or city-county council; otherwise, pa… - Coroners must complete training and certification: cost, low. Beginning July 1, 2026, Indiana's coroners training board must offer certification training with at least 40 hours of instruction. Coroners and deputies must pass the program, including in-person classes and supervised field work, to earn a certificate. New coroners must finish within six months of… - Coroner witnesses lose fees and jailing: mixed, low. Beginning July 1, 2026, the law removes special witness rules for coroner investigations. The repealed rules allowed sworn questioning and required written, signed testimony and formal promises to testify in court. They also allowed witnesses who refused to comply to be jailed. Witnesses lose their… ## Sponsors and cosponsors - Sponsor: Karen Engleman (Republican), House - Cosponsor: Blake Doriot (Republican), Senate - Cosponsor: Dan Dernulc (Republican), Senate - Cosponsor: David Abbott (Republican), House ## Roll call votes | Date | Chamber | Motion | Result | Yes | No | Other | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 2026-02-26 | House | House concurred with Senate amendments | pass | 83 | 0 | | | 2026-02-24 | Senate | Third reading: passed | pass | 48 | 0 | | | 2026-01-13 | House | Third reading: passed | pass | 92 | 0 | | ## Actions (21) - 2026-03-04: Public Law 75 (House) - 2026-03-04: Signed by the Governor (House) - 2026-02-27: Signed by the President of the Senate (Senate) - 2026-02-27: Signed by the President Pro Tempore (Senate) - 2026-02-26: House concurred with Senate amendments; Roll Call 386: yeas 83, nays 0 (House) - 2026-02-26: Signed by the Speaker (House) - 2026-02-25: Motion to concur filed (House) - 2026-02-24: Third reading: passed; Roll Call 227: yeas 48, nays 0 (Senate) - 2026-02-24: Returned to the House with amendments (Senate) - 2026-02-19: Senator Dernulc added as second sponsor (Senate) - 2026-02-19: Second reading: ordered engrossed (Senate) - 2026-02-12: Committee report: amend do pass, adopted (Senate) - 2026-01-27: First reading: referred to Committee on Corrections and Criminal Law (Senate) - 2026-01-14: Referred to the Senate (House) - 2026-01-13: Senate sponsor: Senator Doriot (House) - 2026-01-13: Third reading: passed; Roll Call 43: yeas 92, nays 0 (House) - 2026-01-12: Second reading: ordered engrossed (House) - 2026-01-06: Committee report: amend do pass, adopted (House) - 2026-01-05: Representative Abbott added as coauthor (House) - 2025-12-01: First reading: referred to Committee on Local Government (House) - 2025-12-01: Authored by Representative Engleman (House) ## Bill text - Enrolled House Bill (H): [PDF](https://api.iga.in.gov/2026/bills/HB1031/versions/HB1031.04.ENRS?format=pdf) - House Bill (H): [PDF](https://api.iga.in.gov/2026/bills/HB1031/versions/HB1031.03.COMS?format=pdf) - House Bill (S): [PDF](https://api.iga.in.gov/2026/bills/HB1031/versions/HB1031.02.COMH?format=pdf) - Introduced House Bill (H): [PDF](https://api.iga.in.gov/2026/bills/HB1031/versions/HB1031.01.INTR?format=pdf) ## Related bills - HB 1277: Health and human services matters. (signed) - HB 1266: Department of education and education matters. (signed) - HB 1210: Department of local government finance. (signed) - HB 1249: Various criminal law matters. (signed) - HB 1200: Bureau of motor vehicles. (signed) - HB 1115: Homeowners association governance. (signed) ## Sources - [Enrolled House Bill (H) (PDF)](https://api.iga.in.gov/2026/bills/HB1031/versions/HB1031.04.ENRS?format=pdf) - [House Bill (H) (PDF)](https://api.iga.in.gov/2026/bills/HB1031/versions/HB1031.03.COMS?format=pdf) - [House Bill (S) (PDF)](https://api.iga.in.gov/2026/bills/HB1031/versions/HB1031.02.COMH?format=pdf) - [Introduced House Bill (H) (PDF)](https://api.iga.in.gov/2026/bills/HB1031/versions/HB1031.01.INTR?format=pdf) ## Related - [HB 1277: Health and human services matters.](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/IN-HB1277-2026) - [HB 1266: Department of education and education matters.](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/IN-HB1266-2026) - [HB 1210: Department of local government finance.](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/IN-HB1210-2026) - [HB 1249: Various criminal law matters.](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/IN-HB1249-2026) - [HB 1200: Bureau of motor vehicles.](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/IN-HB1200-2026) - [HB 1115: Homeowners association governance.](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/IN-HB1115-2026) - [Indiana bills](https://policyrisk.com/states/indiana/bills) - [Indiana state hub](https://policyrisk.com/states/indiana) - [All state legislation](https://policyrisk.com/state-bills) Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/IN-HB1031-2026 (as of 2026-11-01).