Georgia CommonsHouse · Passed · 2025-2026 Regular Session
HB 1504: Dekalb County; State Court; authorize the charge and collection of technology fees
Last action May 12, 2026 · Effective Date
House Bill 1504 lets the State Court and Magistrate Court of DeKalb County charge a technology fee on civil filings, creates a shared court administrator position, and updates pay rules for court officials.
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 amends the 1951 Act that created the State Court of DeKalb County. It allows the clerk of the state court and the clerk of the magistrate court to each charge a technology fee, up to $50, on every civil case filed, with the exact amount set by the judges or the chief magistrate. That money must be kept in a separate account and spent only on things like computer equipment, software, imaging and printing equipment, and digitizing court records. The bill also sets rules for a court administrator who oversees budget, staffing, technology, and other operations for both the state court and magistrate court, describing how that person is appointed, removed, and replaced. Finally, it revises how judges, magistrates, the court administrator, the clerk, the marshal, and the chief probation officer of DeKalb County's courts are paid, tying some salaries to a percentage of another official's pay and guaranteeing employee benefits like health insurance and retirement.
What the bill does
- Authorizes DeKalb County's state court and magistrate court clerks to each charge up to a $50 technology fee on every civil case filed.
- Requires technology fee money to be kept in a separate account and spent only on computer equipment, software, imaging or printing equipment, and digital record archiving.
- Creates a formal process for appointing and removing a shared court administrator for the State Court and Magistrate Court of DeKalb County, requiring at least eight state court judges plus the chief magistrate to agree.
- Gives the court administrator authority over budget, hiring, payroll, facilities, information technology, and other operations of both courts.
- Sets pay formulas tying the court administrator's and clerk's salaries to a percentage of other officials' pay, and guarantees county employee benefits like health and retirement insurance for several court officials.
Who it affects
People and businesses filing civil lawsuits in DeKalb County's state court or magistrate court, who would pay the new technology fee. It also affects the judges, chief magistrate, court administrator, clerk, marshal, and chief probation officer of those courts, whose pay and administrative roles are defined by the bill.
Why it matters
Civil litigants in DeKalb County could face a new fee of up to $50 per filing, with the money earmarked for court technology upgrades like digital record-keeping. The bill also clarifies who controls day-to-day court administration and locks in pay structures for several DeKalb County court officials.
Key provisions
- Section 1 (new Section 11B.3) authorizes the state court clerk and magistrate court clerk to each charge a technology fee up to $50 per civil filing, set by the judges or chief magistrate.
- Section 1 restricts fee revenue to a segregated account used only for computer hardware, software, imaging or printing equipment, and digitizing court records.
- Section 2 (new Section 20.1) requires the court administrator to be appointed and removable only by a vote of at least eight state court judges plus the chief magistrate, and sets a nomination process for filling vacancies.
- Section 2 lets the state court or magistrate court appoint separate administrators, removing the chief magistrate from the joint appointment process if that happens.
- Section 3 revises Section 21.2 to set the court administrator's salary at 90 percent of the Superior Court's court administrator salary, and the state court clerk's salary at 90 percent of the state court administrator's salary.
- Section 3 guarantees judges, magistrates, and other named officials county employee benefits including health, dental, vision, life insurance, retirement, and longevity pay.
- Section 4 repeals any conflicting laws.
From the bill
“The clerk of the State Court of DeKalb County is authorized to charge and collect a technology fee to be set by majority vote of the judges of the state court in an amount not to exceed $50.00 for the filing of each civil action with the court.”
“The technology fees authorized by this section shall be used exclusively for the technological needs of the court collecting the fee”
Discussed in meetings (7)
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, March 10, 2026 (legislative day 30)
From 0:50:33 · Watch on the General Assembly's Vimeo channel · Confirmed by the bill's status history (House Committee Favorably Reported)
Summary by Georgia Commons: The clerk first read the local committee's recommendation to pass the bill. Later, the local committee chair requested its return to committee at the sponsor's request. The clerk described it as authorizing the State Court of DeKalb County to collect a technology fee. Without objection, the House returned it to the Intergovernmental Coordination Committee and excluded it from the subsequent local-calendar passage vote.
House floor session, March 18, 2026 (legislative day 33)
From 0:51:10 · Watch on the General Assembly's Vimeo channel · Confirmed by the 2026 House Journal, p. 2703
Summary by Georgia Commons: The clerk reported a committee recommendation to pass a substitute for HB 1504. The substitute was included in the local calendar for DeKalb County, with no explanation of its changes or individual debate. The House passed the package, 161 to 2.
House floor session, March 31, 2026 (legislative day 39, part 2)
From 0:51:42 · Watch on the General Assembly's Vimeo channel · Confirmed by the bill's status history (House Agreed Senate Amend or Sub)
Summary by Georgia Commons: The chair explained that the local calendar included agreement to the Senate substitute for this DeKalb County bill. No substantive explanation of the changes occurred. The House approved the calendar as a group, 161 to 3.
- Read aloud: House floor session, March 4, 2026 (legislative day 27, AM), 0:45:24
- Read aloud: House floor session, March 6, 2026 (legislative day 28, AM), 0:59:43
- Read aloud: Senate floor session, March 19, 2026 (legislative day 34), 0:38:57
- Read aloud: Senate floor session, March 20, 2026 (legislative day 35), 0:37:11
Status timeline
- Effective Date
- Act 666
- House Date Signed by Governor (House)
- House Sent to Governor (House)
- House Agreed Senate Amend or Sub (House)
- Senate Passed/Adopted By Substitute (Senate)
- Senate Committee Favorably Reported By Substitute (Senate)
- Senate Read and Referred (Senate)
Show full history (16 actions)
- House Passed/Adopted By Substitute (House)
- House Third Readers (House)
- House Committee Favorably Reported By Substitute (House)
- House Withdrawn, Recommitted (House)
- House Committee Favorably Reported (House)
- House Second Readers (House)
- House First Readers (House)
- House Hopper (House)
Sponsors
- Omari Crawford (D, HD-89)
- Long Tran (D, HD-80)
- Karla Drenner (D, HD-85)
- Karen Lupton (D, HD-83)
- Billy Mitchell (D, HD-88)
- Shea Roberts (D, HD-52)
Votes
- House voteMarch 18, 2026
161 yea, 2 nay (7 not voting, 6 excused)
- Senate voteMarch 20, 2026
44 yea, 0 nay (5 not voting, 5 excused)
Topics
- DeKalb County courts
- court fees
- local legislation
- court administration
- state court funding