HB701: HB701 Terrell County; Probate Court; authorize assessment and collection of a technology fee

This bill authorizes the clerk of the Probate Court of Terrell County to charge and collect a technology fee, capped at $5.00, on each civil case filed with the probate court and as a surcharge of up to $5.00 on each criminal fine the court assesses. Because the probate judge in Terrell County also serves as the Magistrate Court judge, the bill extends the same authority to fees collected through magistrate court filings and fines. The money collected can only be spent on specific technology needs: buying or leasing computer hardware and software, maintaining and installing audio-visual and imaging equipment, and digitizing court records for public access. The funds must be kept in a separate account that the county government can audit. The authority to collect this fee ends on July 1, 2035, and any money left over at that point stays dedicated to general Terrell County technology purposes.

• Authorizes the Probate Court of Terrell County to charge up to $5.00 on each civil filing and up to $5.00 as a surcharge on each criminal fine.
• Extends the same fee authority to filings and fines in Terrell County's Magistrate Court because the probate judge also serves as magistrate judge.
• Restricts use of the collected fees to specific technology purchases, leases, maintenance, and digitization of court records.
• Requires the fees to be kept in a segregated, county-auditable account separate from other court funds.
• Sets a termination date of July 1, 2035 for the fee authority and directs leftover funds to general Terrell County technology uses.

People filing civil cases or paying criminal fines in the Probate Court or Magistrate Court of Terrell County, the clerk and judge of those courts who set and collect the fee, and the Terrell County government, which audits the segregated fee account.

Georgians who file cases or pay fines in Terrell County's probate or magistrate courts could pay an extra $5.00 per transaction, money that would fund court technology like scanning, digital record-keeping, and communications equipment rather than general county spending, with the fee authority automatically expiring in 2035.

• Section 1(a)(1) sets a $5.00 cap on a technology fee for each civil filing and a $5.00 cap on a surcharge per criminal fine in the Probate Court of Terrell County.
• Section 1(a)(2) applies the same $5.00 caps to filings and fines in the Magistrate Court of Terrell County when the probate judge presides there.
• Section 1(a)(3) lists the only permitted uses of the fee: computer hardware and software, equipment leasing and maintenance, audio-visual and imaging equipment, and digitizing court records.
• Section 1(b) requires the fees to be held in a segregated account subject to audit by a county-approved auditor.
• Section 1(c) terminates the fee authority on July 1, 2035 and dedicates any remaining funds to general Terrell County technology uses.
• Section 2 repeals any conflicting laws.

1. 2025-04-30Effective Date 2025-04-30
2. 2025-04-30Act 34
3. 2025-04-30House Date Signed by Governor (House)
4. 2025-04-07House Sent to Governor (House)
5. 2025-03-25Senate Passed/Adopted (Senate)
6. 2025-03-25Senate Committee Favorably Reported (Senate)
7. 2025-03-18Senate Read and Referred (Senate)
8. 2025-03-13House Passed/Adopted (House)

• Mike Cheokas (R, HD-151)Primary sponsor

1. PassedHouse voteMarch 13, 2025

   169 yea, 0 nay (5 not voting, 6 absent)

   Local Calendar : House Vote #273

2. PassedSenate voteMarch 25, 2025

   52 yea, 0 nay (4 not voting, 0 absent)

   Local Consent Calendar: Senate Vote #277

• court fees
• Terrell County
• probate court
• local government funding