House bill that would set training requirements for county coroners in Missouri making progress

CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. (KBSI) – “What we have as the status quo is just not working well. We’ve got to do something better.”  

State Rep. John Voss said the qualifications to become a coroner in the state of Missouri are not at the level they should be.  

“The more we talk about this, the more evidence we find that these laws from the 1930s and 1940s really need to be reviewed and updated to the 21st century,” Voss said.

Voss is sponsoring House Bill 2777, which would establish EMT certification or training as well as death investigation certification to become a coroner in Missouri.  

Voss introduced the bill on February 21st, and the Elections and Elected Officials Committee heard the bill on Tuesday. Voss said this is rather quick progress, and he is optimistic about the direction the bill is heading.  

“I think we have a very compelling case,” he said. “There are a lot of steps that have to be completed before something becomes law, so I’m cautiously optimistic.”  

And Butler County Coroner Jim Akers agreed that something should be done. 

“I think that anything we do to make our elected officials serve the public better is a positive thing and I’m for that,” Akers said.

Akers proposed the idea of making coroners go through some sort of training after being elected.  

“I would be fine with, once elected, you had a certain amount of time to get that training, but I definitely think it needs to be there,” he said.

And while it’s an encouraging start for the bill, Voss said this progress is just the tip of the iceberg.  

“There is more work to do,” he said. “There is much work that we can do to improve this vital service for the citizens of the state of Missouri, and I’m happy to lead that charge.”

This bill was, of course, spurred by the actions of Cape Girardeau County Coroner Wavis Jordan, who is accused of making false reports on death certificates and stealing money from the wallet of a deceased person.

Jordan has a preliminary hearing on May 14.