--- title: HB 603. Banks County; Probate Court; authorize assessment and collection of a technology fee collection: bills id: 2025-2026/hb603 cite_as: HB 603, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.) canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb603 md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb603.md text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb603/text source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/70729 date: 2025-05-13 status: passed corpus_version: bills-2026-08-28 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. up: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026.md previous: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb602.md next: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb604.md index: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/index.md omitted: votes and history omitted_chars: 884 omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb603.md?full=1 bill_number: HB 603 session: 2025-2026 Regular Session session_slug: 2025-2026 chamber: House bill_type: bill status_date: 2025-05-13 last_action: Effective Date 2025-05-13 sponsors: - Chris Erwin text_version: Enrolled has_text: true legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/HB603/2025 upstream_id: 1982098 summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5 topic_tags: - local legislation - court fees - Banks County - probate court - court technology --- # HB 603. Banks County; Probate Court; authorize assessment and collection of a technology fee ## Text 25 LC 61 0135/AP House Bill 603 (AS PASSED HOUSE AND SENATE) By: Representative Erwin of the 32nd A BILL TO BE ENTITLED AN ACT To authorize the assessment and collection of a technology fee by the Probate Court of Banks1 County; to identify the authorized uses of such technology fee; to provide for the termination2 of such technology fee and dedication of residual funds; to pro vide for related matters; to3 repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.4 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:5 SECTION 1.6 (a) The clerk of the Probate Court of Banks County is hereby a uthorized to charge and7 collect a technology fee to be set by the judge of the probate court in an amount not to8 exceed $5.00 for the filing of each civil action with the court and not to exceed $5.00 as a9 surcharge upon each fine assessed by the court. Such technolog y fees shall be used10 exclusively to provide for technological needs of the Probate Court of Banks County. Such11 uses shall include only the following:12 (1) Computer hardware, software, and accessory purchases;13 (2) Lease, maintenance, and installation of computer hardware; 14 (3) Purchase, lease, maintenance, and installation of imaging, scanning, facsimile,15 communications, projection, and printing equipment and software; and16 H. B. 603 - 1 - 25 LC 61 0135/AP (4) Procurement of services or equipment for the conversion of court records and archives17 to digital content for public access.18 (b) Funds collected pursuant to this section shall be maintained in a segregated account by19 the clerk of the probate court and shall be used only for the p urposes authorized in this20 section.21 (c) The authority to assess the technology fee pursuant to thi s Act shall terminate on22 July 1, 2035, and any residual funds remaining in the account established by subsection (b)23 of this section shall remain dedicated to general Banks County technology uses.24 SECTION 2.25 All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.26 H. B. 603 - 2 - ## 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. House Bill 603 lets the Probate Court of Banks County charge a technology fee of up to $5 on civil filings and fines to pay for court computer and digital record needs, ending in 2035. ### Plain-language summary This bill authorizes the clerk of the Probate Court of Banks County to charge and collect a new technology fee. The fee, set by the probate judge, can be up to $5.00 for each civil action filed with the court and up to $5.00 as an added surcharge on each fine the court assesses. The money can only be used for specific technology needs of the court, such as buying or maintaining computer hardware and software, imaging and printing equipment, and converting paper court records into digital files for public access. The funds must be kept in a separate account managed by the clerk and spent only on these approved purposes. The bill sets July 1, 2035 as the date the county's authority to collect this fee ends. Any money left in the account after that date must stay dedicated to general Banks County technology uses rather than being spent elsewhere. ### What it does - Authorizes the Probate Court of Banks County to charge a technology fee of up to $5.00 on each civil action filed with the court. - Allows a separate surcharge of up to $5.00 on each fine assessed by the court, also capped at $5.00. - Restricts use of the fee money to computer equipment, software, imaging and printing equipment, and digitizing court records for public access. - Requires the collected fees to be kept in a segregated account used only for these approved technology purposes. - Sets the fee's authority to expire on July 1, 2035, with any leftover money staying dedicated to general Banks County technology uses. ### Who it affects People who file civil cases in the Probate Court of Banks County, people who are fined by that court, the probate court clerk who collects and manages the fee, and Banks County government, which benefits from the dedicated technology funding. ### Why it matters Anyone filing a civil case or paying a fine in the Banks County Probate Court would pay a small added cost, up to $10 combined in some cases, that funds court technology upgrades like digital record conversion, rather than relying on the county's general budget for those improvements. ### Key provisions - Section 1(a) authorizes the clerk to charge up to $5.00 per civil filing and up to $5.00 as a fine surcharge, with the exact amount set by the probate judge. - Section 1(a) limits use of the fee revenue to four categories: computer purchases, hardware maintenance, imaging/printing/communications equipment, and digitizing court records. - Section 1(b) requires the fees to be kept in a segregated account used only for the authorized purposes. - Section 1(c) terminates the fee authority on July 1, 2035, and directs any remaining funds to general Banks County technology uses. - Section 2 repeals any conflicting laws. ## Status - Status: Passed (2025-05-13) - Last action: Effective Date 2025-05-13 (2025-05-13) - Sponsors: Chris Erwin - Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/70729 > The history, votes, and amendments (884 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb603.md?full=1