Georgia Commons

House · Passed · 2025-2026 Regular Session

HB 1529: Canon, City of; Municipal Court; authorize assessment and collection of a technology fee

Last action May 12, 2026 · Effective Date 2026-05-12

A House bill from Representative Powell would let the Municipal Court of the City of Canon add a technology fee, up to $15, to criminal and quasi-criminal fines to help pay for court computer and communications equipment.

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In plain language

This bill authorizes the clerk of the Municipal Court of the City of Canon to charge a technology fee, set by the municipal judge, of no more than $15.00 as a surcharge on every criminal and quasi-criminal fine paid to the court. The money can only be spent on the court's technology needs: buying computer hardware and software, leasing or maintaining computer equipment, and purchasing, leasing, maintaining, or installing imaging, scanning, fax, communications, projection, and printing equipment and software. The fee money must be kept in a separate account managed by the court clerk and is subject to audit by an auditor approved by the City of Canon's governing authority. The authority to collect this fee ends on July 1, 2036. Any money left in the account at that point stays dedicated to the city's general technology needs, unless the city's governing authority decides there is a surplus, in which case the clerk can transfer the extra funds to the city.

What the bill does

  • Authorizes the Municipal Court of the City of Canon to add a technology fee of up to $15.00 to criminal and quasi-criminal fines.
  • Restricts use of the fee money to specific technology purchases such as computer hardware, software, and communications or printing equipment.
  • Requires the fee revenue to be kept in a separate, audited account managed by the court clerk.
  • Sets July 1, 2036 as the date the fee authority ends, with leftover funds dedicated to city technology use or transferable to the city if a surplus is declared.
  • Repeals any existing laws that conflict with these new rules.

Who it affects

People convicted of criminal or quasi-criminal offenses in the Municipal Court of the City of Canon, who would pay the added fee on their fines; the court clerk, who collects and manages the funds; and the City of Canon's governing authority, which audits the account and may receive surplus funds.

Why it matters

Anyone fined in Canon's municipal court would pay up to $15 more, generating a dedicated funding source for the court's computer and communications equipment rather than relying on the city's general budget, with that authority set to expire in 2036 unless renewed.

Key provisions

  • Section 1(a) sets the technology fee at up to $15.00 per fine, with the amount decided by the municipal court judge, and limits spending to computer hardware, software, and related communications, imaging, and printing equipment.
  • Section 1(b) requires fee revenue to be held in a segregated account managed by the court clerk and subject to audit by a city-approved auditor.
  • Section 1(c) terminates the fee authority on July 1, 2036, dedicates leftover funds to general city technology uses, and allows the clerk to transfer surplus funds to the city's governing authority.
  • Section 2 repeals any conflicting laws.

From the bill

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

This sets the maximum $15 technology fee added to fines in Canon's municipal court.

The authority to assess the technology fee pursuant to this Act shall terminate on July 1, 2036

This sets the expiration date for the court's authority to collect the fee.

Status timeline

  1. 2026-05-12Effective Date 2026-05-12
  2. 2026-05-12Act 670
  3. 2026-05-12House 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)
Show full history (13 actions)
  1. 2026-03-20House Third Readers (House)
  2. 2026-03-20House Committee Favorably Reported (House)
  3. 2026-03-12House Second Readers (House)
  4. 2026-03-10House First Readers (House)
  5. 2026-03-09House Hopper (House)

Sponsors

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

Votes

  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

Topics

  • municipal courts
  • court fees
  • local government funding
  • City of Canon
  • court technology

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HB1529: Canon, City of; Municipal Court; authorize assessment and collection of a technology fee | Georgia Commons