--- title: HB 624. Carroll County; State Court; authorize assessment and collection of a technology fee collection: bills id: 2025-2026/hb624 cite_as: HB 624, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.) canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb624 md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb624.md text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb624/text source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/70801 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/hb623.md next: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb625.md index: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/index.md omitted: votes and history omitted_chars: 884 omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb624.md?full=1 bill_number: HB 624 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/HB624/2025 upstream_id: 1985862 summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5 topic_tags: - Carroll County - court fees - local government funding - technology funding - civil court filings --- # HB 624. Carroll County; State Court; authorize assessment and collection of a technology fee ## Text 25 LC 44 2954/AP House Bill 624 (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 State Court of Carroll1 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 State Court of Carroll County is hereby authorized to charge and collect7 a technology fee to be set by the judge of the state court in an amount not to exceed $15.008 for the filing of each civil action with the court and not to exceed $15.00 as a surcharge upon9 each fine assessed by the court. Such technology fees shall be used exclusively to provide10 for technological needs of the State Court of Carroll County. Such uses shall include only11 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. 624 - 1 - 25 LC 44 2954/AP (4) Procurement of services or equipment for the conversion of court records and17 archives 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 state court, subject to audit by an auditor approved by the governing authority20 of Carroll County, and shall be used only for the purposes authorized in this 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 Carroll County technology uses.24 SECTION 2.25 All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.26 H. B. 624 - 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 624 lets the State Court of Carroll County charge a technology fee of up to $15 on civil filings and up to $15 on fines, with the money restricted to court technology purchases through 2035. ### Plain-language summary This bill authorizes the clerk of the State Court of Carroll County to charge a new technology fee, set by the state court judge, of up to $15.00 for filing each civil action and up to $15.00 as a surcharge on each fine the court assesses. The money collected can only be spent on specific technology needs of the court, such as 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 court clerk and are subject to audit by an auditor approved by Carroll County's governing authority. The law authorizing this fee expires on July 1, 2035. Any money left in the account at that point stays dedicated to general Carroll County technology purposes rather than being refunded or moved elsewhere. ### What it does - Authorizes the clerk of the State Court of Carroll County to charge a technology fee of up to $15.00 on each civil case filing. - Authorizes an additional surcharge of up to $15.00 on each fine assessed by the State Court of Carroll County. - Restricts use of the fee revenue to specific technology purposes like computer equipment, printing and scanning tools, and digitizing court records. - Requires the fee money to be kept in a segregated account subject to audit by a county-approved auditor. - Sets the fee authority to expire on July 1, 2035, with leftover funds staying dedicated to Carroll County technology uses. ### Who it affects People who file civil lawsuits in the State Court of Carroll County and people who pay fines assessed by that court will pay the new fee. The court clerk, the state court judge, and Carroll County's governing authority also have new duties related to setting, collecting, and auditing the fee. ### Why it matters Anyone filing a civil case or paying a fine in Carroll County's state court could pay up to $30 more between the two fees, money that would fund computers, printers, scanners, and digitizing old court records instead of going toward general county costs. ### Key provisions - Section 1(a) sets the fee amounts, capping the filing fee and the fine surcharge at $15.00 each, with the exact amount set by the state court judge. - Section 1(a) lists the only allowed uses: computer hardware and software, imaging and printing equipment, and converting court records to digital format. - Section 1(b) requires the fees to be held in a segregated account and audited by an auditor approved by Carroll County's governing authority. - Section 1(c) terminates the fee authority 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/70801 > The history, votes, and amendments (884 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb624.md?full=1