---
title: HB 1358. Brooks County; Magistrate Court; authorize assessment and collection of a technology fee
collection: bills
id: 2025-2026/hb1358
cite_as: HB 1358, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.)
canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1358
md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1358.md
text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1358/text
source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/73337
date: 2026-05-11
status: passed
corpus_version: bills-2026-09-13
license: Public record of the Georgia General Assembly, via LegiScan; see about.md
publisher: Georgia Commons, an independent project of Georgia Civic Data. Not the State of Georgia. Not legal advice.
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index: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/index.md
omitted: votes and history
omitted_chars: 887
omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1358.md?full=1
bill_number: HB 1358
session: 2025-2026 Regular Session
session_slug: 2025-2026
chamber: House
bill_type: bill
status_date: 2026-05-11
last_action: Effective Date 2026-05-11
sponsors:
  - John LaHood
text_version: Enrolled
has_text: true
legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/HB1358/2025
upstream_id: 2119509
summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5
topic_tags:
  - Brooks County
  - Magistrate Court
  - court fees
  - local legislation
  - court technology
---

# HB 1358. Brooks County; Magistrate Court; authorize assessment and collection of a technology fee

## Text

House Bill 1358 (AS PASSED HOUSE AND SENATE)
By: Representative LaHood of the 175th
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
To authorize the assessment and collection of a technology fee by the Magistrate Court of
Brooks County; to provide for authorized uses of the proceeds of such technology fee; to
provide for the termination of such technology fee and dedication of residual funds; to
provide for related matters; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:
SECTION 1.
(a) The clerk of the Magistrate Court of Brooks County is hereby authorized to charge and
collect a technology fee to be set by the chief magistrate in an amount not to exceed $10.00
for the filing of each civil action with the court and not to exceed $10.00 as a surcharge upon
each fine assessed by the court. Such technology fees shall be used exclusively to provide
for the technological needs of the Magistrate Court of Brooks County. Such uses shall
include only the following:
(1) Computer hardware and software purchases;
(2) Lease, maintenance, and installation of computer hardware and software;
(3) Purchase, lease, maintenance, and installation of audio-visual, imaging, scanning,
facsimile, communications, projection, recording, and printing equipment and software;
and
(4) Procurement of services and equipment for the conservation of court records and
archiving the same to digital contents for public access.
(b) Funds collected pursuant to this section shall be maintained in a segregated account by
the clerk of the magistrate court and shall be used only for the purposes authorized in this
section.
(c) The authority to assess the technology fee pursuant to this Act shall terminate on
July 1, 2036, and any residual funds remaining in the account established by subsection (b)
of this section shall remain dedicated to general Brooks County technology uses.
SECTION 2.
All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.

## Summaries written by Georgia Commons

The following was written by claude-sonnet-5 from the text above and is not part of the bill. Quote the text, not the summary.

A local bill for Brooks County would let the Magistrate Court charge up to $10 in filing fees and fines to fund court technology, with the fee ending automatically in 2036.

### Plain-language summary

This bill applies only to Brooks County. It authorizes the clerk of the Magistrate Court there to charge a technology fee, set by the chief magistrate, of up to $10.00 for each civil case filed and up to $10.00 as a surcharge on each fine the court assesses.
The money collected must be kept in a separate account and can only be spent on the court's technology needs: buying or leasing computer hardware and software, audio-visual and imaging equipment, and services to preserve and digitize court records for public access. The bill sets an end date of July 1, 2036, after which the court can no longer collect the fee. Any money left in the account at that point stays dedicated to general Brooks County technology purposes.

### What it does

- Authorizes the Magistrate Court of Brooks County to charge a technology fee of up to $10.00 on each civil case filed.
- Authorizes an additional surcharge of up to $10.00 on each fine assessed by the court, also capped at $10.00.
- Restricts use of the fee money to specific technology purposes such as computer equipment, audio-visual and scanning equipment, and digitizing court records.
- Requires the fee proceeds to be kept in a segregated account managed by the court clerk.
- Ends the court's authority to collect the fee on July 1, 2036, with leftover funds staying dedicated to Brooks County technology uses.

### Who it affects

People who file civil lawsuits in the Brooks County Magistrate Court and people who are fined by that court would pay the new fee. The court clerk and chief magistrate of Brooks County would administer the fee and its spending.

### Why it matters

Civil litigants and people fined in Brooks County's Magistrate Court would pay a small added cost, while the court gains a dedicated funding source for equipment and record digitization instead of relying solely on general county budgets, with the arrangement set to expire in 2036.

### Key provisions

- Section 1(a) sets the fee amounts, up to $10.00 per civil filing and up to $10.00 as a fine surcharge, and lists the four categories of technology spending it can fund.
- Section 1(b) requires the funds to be held in a segregated account used only for the authorized purposes.
- Section 1(c) terminates the fee authority on July 1, 2036 and dedicates any remaining balance to general Brooks County technology uses.
- Section 2 repeals any conflicting laws.

## Status

- Status: Passed (2026-05-11)
- Last action: Effective Date 2026-05-11 (2026-05-11)
- Sponsors: John LaHood
- Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/73337

> The history, votes, and amendments (887 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1358.md?full=1