Georgia CommonsHouse · Passed · 2025-2026 Regular Session
HB 1170: Spalding County; State Court; authorize assessment and collection of a technology fee
Last action May 11, 2026 · Effective Date
House Bill 1170 lets the State Court of Spalding County charge a new technology fee of up to $15 on civil filings and up to $15 as a surcharge on fines, with the money set aside for court technology.
The summaries below were written by an AI model (claude-sonnet-5) from the text of the bill and are not part of it. Quote the text, not the summary. The stored text is the Enrolled version, the latest the General Assembly's website lists.
In plain language
This bill applies only to the State Court of Spalding County. It authorizes the court clerk to charge a technology fee, set by the state court judge, of no more than $15.00 for each civil case filed with the court. It also allows a separate surcharge of up to $15.00 on every fine the court assesses. The money collected must be kept in a separate, segregated account and can only be spent on the court's technology needs: buying or leasing computer hardware and software, maintaining and installing that equipment, buying or leasing audio-visual, imaging, scanning, fax, communications, projection, recording, and printing equipment and software, and paying for technical support services. The chief judge of the court directs how the funds are used within those limits. The bill repeals any conflicting laws.
What the bill does
- Authorizes the clerk of the State Court of Spalding County to charge a technology fee of up to $15.00 on each civil case filed.
- Allows a separate surcharge of up to $15.00 to be added to each fine the court assesses.
- Restricts use of the collected fees to specific technology purposes such as computer hardware, software, audio-visual equipment, and technical support.
- Requires the fees to be kept in a segregated account managed by the clerk and used as directed by the chief judge.
Who it affects
People who file civil lawsuits in the State Court of Spalding County, people who are fined by that court, and the court's clerk and chief judge, who will collect, manage, and direct spending of the new fee revenue.
Why it matters
Litigants and people fined in Spalding County's state court would pay a new, capped fee that funds courtroom technology like computers, recording equipment, and technical support, potentially improving court operations without drawing on general county tax revenue.
Key provisions
- Section 1(a) sets the technology fee cap at $15.00 per civil filing and a separate $15.00 cap as a surcharge on each fine, with the amount set by the state court judge.
- Section 1(a) lists the four allowed uses of the fee: computer hardware/software purchases, hardware lease/maintenance/installation, audio-visual and related equipment purchases, and technical support services.
- Section 1(b) requires the funds to be held in a segregated account by the clerk and spent only as directed by the chief judge.
- Section 2 repeals any conflicting laws.
From the bill
“Such technology fees shall be used exclusively to provide for technological needs of the State Court of Spalding County.”
“Funds collected pursuant to this section shall be maintained in a segregated account by the clerk of the state court”
Discussed in meetings (5)
The House and Senate meetings that took this bill up, from their machine transcripts. Each account was written by Georgia Commons with AI and is not part of the record; the video is what was said.
House floor session, February 12, 2026 (legislative day 18)
From 1:00:32 · Watch on the General Assembly's Vimeo channel · Confirmed by the 2026 House Journal, p. 571
Summary by Georgia Commons: The clerk read a favorable committee report on HB 1170 and later listed it on the uncontested local calendar for Spalding County. No individual presentation or debate occurred. The House passed the entire local calendar in one recorded vote, 158 to 0.
- Read aloud: House floor session, February 4, 2026 (legislative day 12), 0:19:43
- Read aloud: House floor session, February 5, 2026 (legislative day 13), 0:44:47
- Read aloud: Senate floor session, February 17, 2026 (legislative day 19), 0:33:02
- Read aloud: Senate floor session, February 24, 2026 (legislative day 23), 0:21:01
Status timeline
- Effective Date
- Act 545
- House Date Signed by Governor (House)
- House Sent to Governor (House)
- Senate Passed/Adopted (Senate)
- Senate Committee Favorably Reported (Senate)
- Senate Read and Referred (Senate)
- House Passed/Adopted (House)
Show full history (13 actions)
- House Third Readers (House)
- House Committee Favorably Reported (House)
- House Second Readers (House)
- House First Readers (House)
- House Hopper (House)
Sponsors
- Beth Camp (R, HD-135)
- Karen Mathiak (R, HD-82)
Votes
- House voteFebruary 12, 2026
158 yea, 0 nay (11 not voting, 8 excused)
- Senate voteFebruary 24, 2026
53 yea, 0 nay (1 not voting, 1 excused)
Topics
- court fees
- Spalding County
- local legislation
- court technology
- civil filing fees