---
title: HB 1529. Canon, City of; Municipal Court; authorize assessment and collection of a technology fee
collection: bills
id: 2025-2026/hb1529
cite_as: HB 1529, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.)
canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1529
md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1529.md
text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1529/text
source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/73989
date: 2026-05-12
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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omitted: votes and history
omitted_chars: 887
omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1529.md?full=1
bill_number: HB 1529
session: 2025-2026 Regular Session
session_slug: 2025-2026
chamber: House
bill_type: bill
status_date: 2026-05-12
last_action: Effective Date 2026-05-12
sponsors:
  - Alan Powell
text_version: Enrolled
has_text: true
legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/HB1529/2025
upstream_id: 2131400
summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5
topic_tags:
  - municipal courts
  - court fees
  - local government funding
  - City of Canon
  - court technology
---

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

## Text

House Bill 1529 (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 Canon; 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 Canon 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 Canon. 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 Canon, 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 Canon technology uses; provided,
however, that, if the governing authority of the City of Canon 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 Canon.
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 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.

### Plain-language summary

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 it 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.

## Status

- Status: Passed (2026-05-12)
- Last action: Effective Date 2026-05-12 (2026-05-12)
- Sponsors: Alan Powell
- Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/73989

> The history, votes, and amendments (887 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1529.md?full=1