---
title: HB 1528. Franklin Springs, City of; Municipal Court; authorize assessment and collection of a technology fee
collection: bills
id: 2025-2026/hb1528
cite_as: HB 1528, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.)
canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1528
md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1528.md
text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1528/text
source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/73988
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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previous: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1527.md
next: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1529.md
index: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/index.md
omitted: votes and history
omitted_chars: 887
omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1528.md?full=1
bill_number: HB 1528
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:
  - Alan Powell
text_version: Enrolled
has_text: true
legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/HB1528/2025
upstream_id: 2131414
summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5
topic_tags:
  - municipal courts
  - court fees
  - local government funding
  - Franklin Springs
  - court technology
---

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

## Text

House Bill 1528 (AS PASSED HOUSE AND SENATE)
By: Representative Powell of the 33rd
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
To authorize the assessment and collection of a technology fee by the Municipal Court of the
City of Franklin Springs; to identify the authorized uses 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 Municipal Court of the City of Franklin Springs is hereby authorized to
charge and collect a technology fee to be set by the judge of the municipal court in an amount
not to exceed $15.00 as a surcharge to each criminal and quasi-criminal fine paid to the court.
Such technology fees shall be used exclusively to provide for technological needs of the
Municipal Court of the City of Franklin Springs. Such uses shall include only the following:
(1) Computer hardware and software purchases;
(2) Lease, maintenance, and installation of computer hardware; and
(3) Purchase, lease, maintenance, and installation of imaging, scanning, facsimile,
communications, projection, and printing equipment and software.
(b) Funds collected pursuant to this section shall be maintained in a segregated account by
the clerk of the municipal court, subject to audit by an auditor approved by the governing
authority of the City of Franklin Springs, 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 City of Franklin Springs technology uses;
provided, however, that, if the governing authority of the City of Franklin Springs determines
there to be a surplus of such funds, the clerk of said court may transfer such surplus to the
governing authority of the City of Franklin Springs.
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 Georgia House bill lets the Municipal Court of the City of Franklin Springs charge a new technology fee of up to $15 on criminal fines, with the money set aside for court technology through 2036.

### Plain-language summary

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.

### What it does

- 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.

### Who it affects

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.

### Why it matters

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.

### Key provisions

- 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.

## Status

- Status: Passed (2026-05-11)
- Last action: Effective Date 2026-05-11 (2026-05-11)
- Sponsors: Alan Powell
- Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/73988

> The history, votes, and amendments (887 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1528.md?full=1