--- title: HB 623. Carroll County; Probate Court; authorize assessment and collection of a technology fee collection: bills id: 2025-2026/hb623 cite_as: HB 623, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.) canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb623 md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb623.md text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb623/text source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/70800 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/hb622.md next: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb624.md index: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/index.md omitted: votes and history omitted_chars: 884 omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb623.md?full=1 bill_number: HB 623 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: - Tyler Smith - David Huddleston - Jutt Howard - Lynn Smith text_version: Enrolled has_text: true legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/HB623/2025 upstream_id: 1986002 summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5 topic_tags: - Carroll County - probate court - court fees - local government technology --- # HB 623. Carroll County; Probate Court; authorize assessment and collection of a technology fee ## Text 25 LC 44 2959/AP House Bill 623 (AS PASSED HOUSE AND SENATE) By: Representatives Smith of the 18th, Huddleston of the 72nd, Howard of the 71st, and Smith of the 70th A BILL TO BE ENTITLED AN ACT To authorize the assessment and collection of a technology fee by the Probate Court of1 Carroll County; to identify the authorized uses of such technol ogy fee; to provide for the2 termination of such technology fee and dedication of residual funds; to provide for related3 matters; to 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 Carroll County is hereby authorized to charge and7 collect a technology fee to be set by the judge of the probate court in an amount not to8 exceed $10.00 for the filing of each civil action with the court. Such technology fees shall9 be used exclusively to provide for technological needs of the P robate Court of Carroll10 County. Such uses shall include only the following:11 (1) Computer hardware, software, and accessory purchases;12 (2) Lease, maintenance, and installation of computer hardware;13 (3) Purchase, lease, maintenance, and installation of audio-vi sual, imaging, scanning,14 facsimile, communications, recording, projection, and printing equipment and software;15 H. B. 623 - 1 - 25 LC 44 2959/AP (4) Purchase of local or remote technological support services and equipment which may16 be used to connect to cellular radio systems, remote internet s ervices, and any other17 remote access system;18 (5) Procurement of services and equipment for conserving court records and archiving19 the same to digital contents for public access, including but n ot limited to software,20 services, platforms, licensing and user fees for remote or cloud based storage platforms21 and cybersecurity services and insurance; and22 (6) Technology related training, including courses, certifications, and programs related23 to any technology that is specifically utilized for the operation of the court.24 (b) Funds collected pursuant to this section shall be maintained in a segregated account by25 the clerk of the probate court and shall be used only for the p urposes authorized in this26 section.27 (c) The authority to assess the technology fee pursuant to thi s Act shall terminate on28 July 1, 2035, and any residual funds remaining in the account established by subsection (b)29 of this section shall remain dedicated to general Carroll County technology uses.30 SECTION 2.31 All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.32 H. B. 623 - 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 623 lets the Probate Court of Carroll County charge up to $10 for each civil filing to pay for court technology, with the fee set to expire in 2035. ### Plain-language summary This bill applies only to Carroll County. It authorizes the clerk of the Probate Court of Carroll County to charge and collect a technology fee, capped at $10.00, on each civil action filed with the court. The judge of the probate court sets the exact amount up to that cap. The money can only be spent on specific technology needs of the court, such as computer hardware and software, audio-visual and imaging equipment, remote and cloud storage services, cybersecurity, and technology training for court staff. Collected fees must be kept in a separate account and used only for these purposes. The authority to charge the fee ends on July 1, 2035, and whatever money is left in the account at that point stays dedicated to general Carroll County technology uses. The bill also repeals any conflicting laws. ### What it does - Authorizes the Probate Court of Carroll County to charge a technology fee of up to $10.00 on each civil filing. - Lets the probate court judge set the exact fee amount within that $10.00 cap. - Restricts use of the fee money to a specific list of technology purchases, services, and training for the court. - Requires the clerk to keep the collected fees in a segregated account used only for the authorized purposes. - Ends the fee authority on July 1, 2035 and directs any leftover money toward general Carroll County technology uses. - Repeals any existing laws that conflict with these new rules. ### Who it affects People who file civil actions in the Probate Court of Carroll County, since they would pay the new fee, along with the clerk and judge of that court, who set and manage the fee, and Carroll County's local government, which would eventually receive any unspent funds. ### Why it matters Anyone filing a civil case in Carroll County's probate court would pay up to an extra $10.00 per filing, funding computers, software, digital records storage, and cybersecurity for the court. The fee is temporary, expiring in 2035, after which leftover funds go to county technology needs. ### Key provisions - Section 1(a) authorizes the clerk of the Probate Court of Carroll County to charge a technology fee, capped at $10.00 per civil filing, set by the probate judge. - Section 1(a)(1)-(6) lists allowed uses: computer hardware and software, audio-visual and communications equipment, remote technology support, digital record archiving and cybersecurity services, and technology training. - Section 1(b) requires fees to be kept in a segregated account used only for the listed technology purposes. - Section 1(c) sets the fee authority to expire on July 1, 2035, with any remaining funds staying dedicated to general Carroll 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: Tyler Smith, David Huddleston, Jutt Howard, Lynn Smith - Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/70800 > The history, votes, and amendments (884 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb623.md?full=1