--- title: HB 774. Dekalb County; Probate Court; authorize assessment and collection of a technology fee collection: bills id: 2025-2026/hb774 cite_as: HB 774, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.) canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb774 md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb774.md text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb774/text source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/71359 date: 2025-04-30 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/hb773.md next: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb775.md index: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/index.md omitted: votes and history omitted_chars: 884 omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb774.md?full=1 bill_number: HB 774 session: 2025-2026 Regular Session session_slug: 2025-2026 chamber: House bill_type: bill status_date: 2025-04-30 last_action: Effective Date 2025-04-30 sponsors: - Omari Crawford - Karla Drenner - Billy Mitchell - Imani Barnes - Mary Oliver - Doreen Carter text_version: Enrolled has_text: true legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/HB774/2025 upstream_id: 2006984 summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5 topic_tags: - DeKalb County - court fees - probate court - local government funding --- # HB 774. Dekalb County; Probate Court; authorize assessment and collection of a technology fee ## Text 25 LC 47 3585/AP House Bill 774 (AS PASSED HOUSE AND SENATE) By: Representatives Crawford of the 89th, Drenner of the 85th, Mitchell of the 88th, Barnes of the 86th, Oliver of the 84th, and others A BILL TO BE ENTITLED AN ACT To authorize the assessment and collection of a technology fee by the Probate Court of1 DeKalb County; to identify the authorized uses of such technolo gy 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 DeKalb 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 $5.00 for the filing of each civil action with the court. Such technology fees shall be9 used exclusively to provide for technological needs of the Probate Court of DeKalb County. 10 Such uses shall include only the following:11 (1) Computer hardware and software purchases;12 (2) Lease, maintenance, and installation of computer hardware and software;13 (3) Purchase, lease, maintenance, and installation of imaging, scanning, facsimile,14 communications, projection, and printing equipment and software; and15 H. B. 774 - 1 - 25 LC 47 3585/AP (4) Procurement of services and equipment for the conservation of court records and16 archiving the same to digital contents for public access.17 (b) Funds collected pursuant to this section shall be maintained in a segregated account by18 the clerk of the probate court and shall be used only for the p urposes authorized in this19 section.20 (c) The authority to assess the technology fee pursuant to thi s Act shall terminate on21 July 1, 2035, and any residual funds remaining in the account established by subsection (b)22 of this section shall remain dedicated to general DeKalb County technology uses.23 SECTION 2.24 All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.25 H. B. 774 - 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. A House bill would let the Probate Court of DeKalb County charge up to a $5 technology fee on each civil filing, with the money set aside to pay for court technology through July 2035. ### Plain-language summary This bill authorizes the clerk of the Probate Court of DeKalb County to charge a technology fee, capped at $5.00, on each civil action filed with the court. The judge of the probate court would set the exact amount. The fee money could only be spent on specific technology needs: buying or leasing computer hardware and software, maintaining and installing imaging, scanning, fax, communications, projection and printing equipment, and paying for services to preserve court records and convert them to digital form for public access. The funds would have to be kept in a separate account by the clerk and used only for these purposes. The authority to collect the fee ends on July 1, 2035. Any money left in the account at that point would stay dedicated to general DeKalb County technology uses rather than being spent elsewhere. ### What it does - Authorizes the DeKalb County Probate Court clerk to charge a technology fee of up to $5.00 on each civil filing. - Restricts use of the fee money to specific technology purchases, leases, maintenance and record digitization for the probate court. - Requires the fee revenue to be kept in a separate, segregated account managed by the clerk. - Sets an end date of July 1, 2035 for the county's authority to collect the fee. - Directs any unspent funds remaining after that date to go toward general DeKalb County technology uses. ### Who it affects People who file civil actions in the DeKalb County Probate Court, the court's clerk and judge who administer the fee, and DeKalb County's technology budget, which would receive any leftover funds after the fee authority ends. ### Why it matters Anyone filing a civil case in DeKalb County's Probate Court could pay up to an extra $5.00, money meant to fund court computers, records digitization and related equipment rather than general county operations, with the arrangement automatically expiring in 2035 unless renewed. ### Key provisions - Section 1(a) sets the fee cap at $5.00 per civil filing and lists the four allowed technology uses, including hardware and software, imaging and communications equipment, and digital archiving of court records. - Section 1(b) requires fee revenue to be kept in a segregated account and spent only on the authorized purposes. - Section 1(c) terminates the fee authority on July 1, 2035 and directs any leftover funds to general DeKalb County technology uses. - Section 2 repeals any conflicting laws. ## Status - Status: Passed (2025-04-30) - Last action: Effective Date 2025-04-30 (2025-04-30) - Sponsors: Omari Crawford, Karla Drenner, Billy Mitchell, Imani Barnes, Mary Oliver, Doreen Carter - Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/71359 > The history, votes, and amendments (884 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb774.md?full=1