Palm Desert council votes 4-1 to oppose bill splitting Riverside County sheriff, coroner offices

The Palm Desert City Council voted 4-1 at their Sept. 10 meeting to formally oppose a state bill that would split Riverside County’s sheriff and coroner offices, a measure now awaiting Gov. Gavin Newsom’s signature.

Councilmember Karina Moreno cast the dissenting vote, “I personally would not like this to go in my name as supporting it,” Moreno said, noting that as of the meeting, out of the 16 cities that contract with the Sheriff’s Department, Indian Wells was the only other city to submit a letter of opposition to the bill. 

Senate Bill 1379, authored by state Sen. Sabrina Cervantes, D-Riverside, would require Riverside County to abolish its coroner’s office and create an independent medical examiner’s office by July 1, 2027. The bill passed the Assembly in August, and Newsom has until Sept. 30 to sign it.

Cervantes cited a rise in Riverside County jail deaths, including 19 in 2022, as justification for the bill. 

The letter Palm Desert sent opposing the bill does not dispute concerns about deaths in Riverside County jails. Instead, it points to AB 1108, a state law taking effect Jan. 1, 2027, that already requires in-custody deaths in counties with combined sheriff-coroner offices to be investigated independently of the sheriff’s department. Palm Desert argues the county should be allowed to implement that law before facing a more sweeping, county-specific mandate.

Moreno acknowledged AB 1108, but added that it only applies to in-custody deaths. She said if the roles were split it would increase public transparency.

Riverside County’s Board of Supervisors rejected an earlier proposal to separate the offices in 2024, choosing instead to contract with neighboring counties for independent autopsies in jail deaths and use-of-force cases. In July 2026, the board formed an ad hoc committee to study oversight options for the Sheriff’s Department.

Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco opposes the bill, calling it politically motivated and warning it would impose costly new administrative burdens on the county.

“When we look at the wrongful death suits, that’s also very expensive,” Moreno said when referencing the potential cost of the split.

Palm Desert contracts with the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department for law enforcement and said in its letter that it has “a direct interest in the effective and efficient use of County public safety resources.”

If Newsom signs the bill, Riverside County would have until July 1, 2027, to transfer coroner’s office employees to a new medical examiner’s office and begin publishing detailed data on in-custody deaths, including demographic information and emergency response times.