HB174: HB174 Centerville, City of; Municipal Court; charge a technology fee

This bill gives the Municipal Court of the City of Centerville authority to charge a technology fee on top of criminal and quasi-criminal fines that people pay in that court. The judge sets the exact fee amount, but it cannot exceed $5.00 per fine. The money raised can only be spent on specific technology needs for the court and the city's police department, such as buying, leasing, maintaining, or installing computer hardware and software, or equipment like scanners, fax machines, projectors, and printers. The funds must be kept in a separate account managed by the city's chief financial officer and the clerk of court, spent only for these purposes, and only with the city manager's approval. The city's information technology department can also be reimbursed from this fund for services it provides to the court or police.

• Authorizes the clerk of the Municipal Court of the City of Centerville to charge and collect a technology fee on every criminal and quasi-criminal fine paid.
• Caps the technology fee at $5.00 per fine, with the exact amount set by order of the court's judge.
• Restricts use of the fee revenue to specific technology purchases, leases, maintenance, and installation for the court and city police department.
• Requires all collected fees to be kept in a segregated account separate from other city funds, managed by the city's chief financial officer and clerk of court.
• Allows the funds to reimburse the city's information technology department for services it performs for the court or police department.
• Repeals any existing laws that conflict with this new fee authorization.

People who are fined in the Municipal Court of the City of Centerville for criminal or quasi-criminal offenses, the court's clerk and judge, the city's chief financial officer, the city manager, the city's police department, and the city's information technology department.

Anyone paying a fine in this specific municipal court would pay up to $5 more, and that money would fund technology upgrades for the court and police rather than going into the city's general budget, changing how those purchases get financed.

• Section 1(a) lets the court clerk charge a technology fee as a surcharge on criminal and quasi-criminal fines, capped at $5.00 and set by the judge's order.
• Section 1(b) limits use of the fee to computer hardware and software and to imaging, scanning, fax, communications, projection, and printing equipment for the court and police department.
• Section 1(c) requires the funds to be held in a segregated account managed by the chief financial officer and clerk of court, spent only for authorized purposes with the city manager's approval, and allows reimbursement of the city's IT department.
• Section 2 repeals any conflicting laws.

1. 2025-05-13Effective Date 2025-05-13
2. 2025-05-13Act 135
3. 2025-05-13House Date Signed by Governor (House)
4. 2025-04-07House Sent to Governor (House)
5. 2025-02-12Senate Passed/Adopted (Senate)
6. 2025-02-12Senate Committee Favorably Reported (Senate)
7. 2025-02-06Senate Read and Referred (Senate)
8. 2025-02-05House Passed/Adopted (House)

• Bethany Ballard (R, HD-147)Primary sponsor
• Anissa Jones (D, HD-143)

1. PassedHouse voteFebruary 5, 2025

   160 yea, 1 nay (14 not voting, 5 absent)

   Local Calendar : House Vote #15

2. PassedSenate voteFebruary 12, 2025

   52 yea, 1 nay (1 not voting, 2 absent)

   Local Consent Calendar: Senate Vote #45

• municipal court fees
• local government funding
• Centerville Georgia
• court technology
• police funding