HB 1528: Franklin Springs, City of; Municipal Court; authorize assessment and collection of a technology fee

Currently the Municipal Court of the City of Franklin Springs has no separate fee dedicated to funding its own technology needs. This bill authorizes the court clerk, under an amount set by the municipal court judge, to add a surcharge of up to $15.00 to each criminal and quasi-criminal fine paid to the court. The money collected must be kept in a separate account, audited by an auditor approved by the city's governing authority, and can only be spent on computer hardware and software, related maintenance and installation, and imaging, scanning, communications, and printing equipment. The authority to collect this fee ends on July 1, 2036. Any money left over at that point stays dedicated to general city technology uses, unless the city government decides there is a surplus, in which case the court clerk can transfer the extra funds to the city.

• Authorizes the Franklin Springs Municipal Court clerk to add a technology fee of up to $15.00 to each criminal and quasi-criminal fine.
• Limits how the fee money can be spent: computer hardware and software, related maintenance and installation, and imaging, scanning, and printing equipment.
• Requires the fee revenue to be kept in a separate account subject to audit by an auditor approved by the city government.
• Sets the fee's collection authority to expire on July 1, 2036, with leftover funds dedicated to general city technology uses unless declared surplus.
• Allows the city's governing authority to have surplus leftover funds transferred to it by the court clerk.

People who pay criminal or quasi-criminal fines in the Municipal Court of the City of Franklin Springs, the court's clerk and judge, and the City of Franklin Springs' governing authority, which oversees the fee's audit and eventual surplus funds.

People fined in this municipal court would pay up to $15 more per fine, funding the court's own technology upgrades rather than relying on the city's general budget. The fee is temporary, ending in 2036, and its spending is restricted to specific equipment purposes.

• Section 1(a) sets the technology fee cap at $15.00 per criminal or quasi-criminal fine, with the exact amount set by the municipal court judge.
• Section 1(a) restricts fee spending to three categories: computer hardware/software purchases, hardware lease/maintenance/installation, and imaging/scanning/communications/printing equipment.
• Section 1(b) requires the fee revenue to be held in a segregated account subject to audit by a city-approved auditor.
• Section 1(c) terminates the fee authority on July 1, 2036, dedicating residual funds to general city technology uses unless declared a surplus.
• Section 1(c) permits the court clerk to transfer surplus funds to the city's governing authority if the city determines a surplus exists.

1. 2026-05-11Effective Date 2026-05-11
2. 2026-05-11Act 580
3. 2026-05-11House Date Signed by Governor (House)
4. 2026-04-06House Sent to Governor (House)
5. 2026-03-25Senate Passed/Adopted (Senate)
6. 2026-03-25Senate Committee Favorably Reported (Senate)
7. 2026-03-23Senate Read and Referred (Senate)
8. 2026-03-20House Passed/Adopted (House)

• Alan Powell (R, HD-033)Primary sponsor

1. PassedHouse voteMarch 20, 2026

   153 yea, 0 nay (14 not voting, 9 absent)

   Local Calendar : House Vote #734

2. PassedSenate voteMarch 25, 2026

   50 yea, 0 nay (2 not voting, 2 absent)

   Local Consent Calendar: Senate Vote #799

• municipal courts
• court fees
• local government funding
• Franklin Springs
• court technology