Georgia CommonsHouse · Passed · 2025-2026 Regular Session
HB 1172: Spalding County; Magistrate Court; authorize assessment and collection of a technology fee
Last action May 11, 2026 · Effective Date
A Georgia House bill would let the Magistrate Court of Spalding County charge a technology fee of up to $15 on civil case filings and up to $15 on fines, with the money earmarked 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 Spalding County's Magistrate Court, a local court that handles smaller civil disputes and some criminal matters. Currently the court has no specific authority to charge a technology fee. The bill lets the clerk of the court charge and collect a fee, set by the magistrate judge, of up to $15.00 for filing each civil action and up to $15.00 as a surcharge on each fine the court imposes. The money collected must be kept in a separate account and can only be spent on the court's technology needs, such as buying or leasing computer hardware and software, maintaining equipment, purchasing audio-visual and recording equipment, and paying for technical support services. The chief judge of the court directs how the segregated funds are used. The bill repeals any conflicting laws but does not state a specific future effective date beyond standard enactment.
What the bill does
- Authorizes the clerk of the Magistrate Court of Spalding County to charge a technology fee of up to $15.00 on each civil case filing.
- Authorizes an additional surcharge of up to $15.00 on each fine assessed by the court, also capped at $15.00.
- Restricts use of the fee money to specific technology purposes: computer hardware and software, audio-visual and communications equipment, and technical support services.
- Requires the fees to be kept in a separate, segregated account managed by the clerk and directed by the chief judge.
Who it affects
People who file civil lawsuits in the Spalding County Magistrate Court and people who are fined by that court would pay the new fee. The court's clerk and chief judge would manage the collected funds, and the court itself would gain a dedicated technology budget.
Why it matters
Litigants and defendants in Spalding County's Magistrate Court would face a modest added cost of up to $15 per filing or fine, while the court would gain a dedicated funding source to modernize equipment like computers, recording tools, and communications systems without relying on the county's general budget.
Key provisions
- Section 1(a) sets the fee cap at $15.00 for civil filings and a separate $15.00 cap as a surcharge on fines, with the amount set by the magistrate judge.
- Section 1(a) lists the only allowed uses: computer hardware and software purchases, leasing and maintenance of hardware, audio-visual and communications equipment, and technical support procurement.
- Section 1(b) requires the fees to be held in a segregated account and spent only as the chief judge directs.
- Section 2 repeals any conflicting laws.
From the bill
“Such technology fees shall be used exclusively to provide for technological needs of the Magistrate Court of Spalding County.”
“Funds collected pursuant to this section shall be maintained in a segregated account by the clerk of the magistrate 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 1:00:34 · 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 1172 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), 0:20:16
- Read aloud: House floor session, February 5, 2026 (legislative day 13), 0:45:09
- Read aloud: Senate floor session, February 17, 2026 (legislative day 19), 0:33:08
- Read aloud: Senate floor session, February 24, 2026 (legislative day 23), 0:21:03
Status timeline
- Effective Date
- Act 546
- 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
- Spalding County
- magistrate court fees
- local court funding
- court technology