HB 1540: Ware County; State Court; authorize assessment and collection of a technology fee

This bill applies only to Ware County. It authorizes the clerk of the State Court of Ware County to charge and collect a technology fee, with the amount set by the state court judge, up to $10.00 for filing each civil action and up to $10.00 as a surcharge on each fine the court imposes. The money collected must be kept in a separate account and can only be spent on 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.

• Authorizes the State Court of Ware County's clerk to charge up to a $10.00 technology fee on each civil case filed with the court.
• Authorizes up to a $10.00 technology fee surcharge added onto each fine the court assesses.
• 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 court's authority to collect the technology fee on July 1, 2036.
• Directs any leftover money after that date to general Ware County technology uses, at the discretion of the county commissioners.

People who file civil lawsuits in the State Court of Ware County, people who are fined by that court, the court's clerk who collects and manages the fee, the state court judge who sets the fee amount, and the Ware County Board of Commissioners, which controls leftover funds after 2036.

Civil litigants and people fined in Ware County's state court would pay up to $20 more combined in new fees, money earmarked to modernize the court's computers, printers, and communications equipment rather than going to the county's general fund, at least until the fee authority expires in 2036.

• Section 1(a) sets the maximum fee at $10.00 per civil filing and $10.00 as a surcharge per fine, with the exact amount set by the state court judge.
• Section 1(a) limits fee spending to computer hardware and software purchases, leasing, maintenance, and installation, and to imaging, scanning, fax, communications, projection, and printing equipment and software.
• Section 1(b) requires the clerk to keep collected fees in a segregated account used only for these authorized purposes.
• Section 1(c) sets a termination date of July 1, 2036 for the fee authority and directs leftover funds to general Ware County technology uses as decided by the county commissioners.
• Section 2 repeals any conflicting laws.

1. 2026-05-12Effective Date 2026-05-12
2. 2026-05-12Act 676
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)

• James Burchett (R, HD-176)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

• court fees
• Ware County
• local legislation
• court technology funding