Georgia CommonsHouse · Passed · 2025-2026 Regular Session
HB 1539: Ware County; Probate Court; authorize assessment and collection of a technology fee
Last action May 12, 2026 · Effective Date
A local bill for Ware County would let the Probate Court charge up to $10 for filing a civil case and up to $10 as a surcharge on fines, with the money used only for court technology through 2036.
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 applies only to Ware County. It authorizes the clerk of the Probate Court of Ware County to charge a technology fee, set by the probate judge, of no more than $10 for each civil action filed and no more than $10 as a surcharge added to each fine the court assesses. The money collected must go into a separate account and can only pay for the court's technology needs, such as buying or leasing computer hardware and software, and buying, leasing, maintaining, or installing imaging, scanning, fax, communications, projection, and printing equipment. The authority to collect this fee ends on July 1, 2036. Any money left in the account at that point stays dedicated to general Ware County technology purposes, decided by the Ware County Board of Commissioners.
What the bill does
- Authorizes the Probate Court of Ware County's clerk to charge a technology fee of up to $10 on each civil filing.
- Authorizes an additional surcharge of up to $10 on each fine assessed by the Probate Court of Ware County.
- Restricts use of the collected fees to specific technology purchases, leases, maintenance, and installation for the court.
- Requires the fees to be kept in a separate, segregated account managed by the clerk.
- Ends the fee authority on July 1, 2036 and directs leftover funds to general county technology uses chosen by the Ware County Board of Commissioners.
Who it affects
People who file civil actions in the Probate Court of Ware County or who are fined by that court, the court's clerk and judge, and the Ware County Board of Commissioners, which decides how leftover technology funds are used after 2036.
Why it matters
People filing cases or paying fines in Ware County's Probate Court could pay a small additional fee, capped at $10 each, that funds the court's computers and equipment. The arrangement is temporary, ending in 2036, after which the county commission controls any remaining money.
Key provisions
- Section 1(a) sets the fee amounts, up to $10 per civil filing and up to $10 as a surcharge on fines, with the exact amount set by the probate judge.
- Section 1(a) limits fee use to computer hardware and software purchases, leases, maintenance, installation, and related office and imaging equipment.
- Section 1(b) requires the fees to be kept in a segregated account used only for the authorized technology purposes.
- Section 1(c) terminates the fee authority on July 1, 2036 and gives the Ware County Board of Commissioners discretion over any remaining funds for general county technology uses.
- Section 2 repeals any conflicting laws.
From the bill
“The authority to assess the technology fee pursuant to this Act shall terminate on July 1, 2036”
“Such technology fees shall be used exclusively to provide for technological needs of the Probate Court of Ware County.”
Discussed in meetings (5)
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 20, 2026 (legislative day 35)
From 0:49:23 · Watch on the General Assembly's Vimeo channel · Confirmed by the 2026 House Journal, p. 2903
Summary by Georgia Commons: The clerk reported a favorable committee recommendation for HB 1539 and later listed it as a Ware County bill on the uncontested local calendar. No separate presentation or debate occurred. The House passed the calendar as a group, 153 to 0.
- Read aloud: House floor session, March 16, 2026 (legislative day 32), 0:50:02
- Read aloud: House floor session, March 18, 2026 (legislative day 33), 0:45:06
- Read aloud: Senate floor session, March 23, 2026 (legislative day 36), 0:30:22
- Read aloud: Senate floor session, March 25, 2026 (legislative day 37), 0:36:45
Status timeline
- Effective Date
- Act 675
- House Date Signed by Governor (House)
- House Sent to Governor (House)
- Senate Passed/Adopted (Senate)
- Senate Committee Favorably Reported (Senate)
- Senate Read and Referred (Senate)
- House Passed/Adopted (House)
Show full history (13 actions)
- House Third Readers (House)
- House Committee Favorably Reported (House)
- House Second Readers (House)
- House First Readers (House)
- House Hopper (House)
Sponsors
- James Burchett (R, HD-176)
Votes
- House voteMarch 20, 2026
153 yea, 0 nay (14 not voting, 9 excused)
- Senate voteMarch 25, 2026
50 yea, 0 nay (2 not voting, 2 excused)
Topics
- Ware County
- probate court fees
- local government funding
- court technology