--- title: HB 785. Crawford County; Probate Court; authorize assessment and collection of a technology fee collection: bills id: 2025-2026/hb785 cite_as: HB 785, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.) canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb785 md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb785.md text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb785/text source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/71407 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/hb784.md next: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb786.md index: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/index.md omitted: votes and history omitted_chars: 884 omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb785.md?full=1 bill_number: HB 785 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: - Robert Dickey text_version: Enrolled has_text: true legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/HB785/2025 upstream_id: 2010595 summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5 topic_tags: - Crawford County - probate court fees - court technology - local government funding --- # HB 785. Crawford County; Probate Court; authorize assessment and collection of a technology fee ## Text 25 LC 47 3555/AP House Bill 785 (AS PASSED HOUSE AND SENATE) By: Representative Dickey of the 134th A BILL TO BE ENTITLED AN ACT To authorize the assessment and collection of a technology fee by the Probate Court of1 Crawford County; to identify the authorized uses of such technology 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 Crawford 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 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 C ourt of Crawford County. 11 Such 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. 785 - 1 - 25 LC 47 3555/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 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 Crawford County technology uses.24 SECTION 2.25 All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.26 H. B. 785 - 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 785 lets the Probate Court of Crawford County charge a technology fee of up to $5 on civil filings and court fines to pay for court technology upgrades, ending automatically in 2035. ### Plain-language summary This bill authorizes the clerk of the Probate Court of Crawford County to charge and collect a new technology fee. The judge of the probate court sets the exact amount, up to $5.00 for filing each civil action and up to $5.00 as a surcharge on each fine the court assesses. The money collected can only be spent on specific technology needs: buying computer hardware and software, leasing and maintaining computer equipment, buying or leasing imaging, scanning, fax, communications, projection, and printing equipment, and converting court records to digital form for public access. The funds must be kept in a separate account used only for these purposes. The authority to charge this fee ends on July 1, 2035, and any money left in the account at that point stays dedicated to general Crawford County technology uses. ### What it does - Authorizes the clerk of the Probate Court of Crawford County to charge a technology fee of up to $5.00 on each civil filing. - Authorizes a surcharge of up to $5.00 on each fine assessed by the Probate Court of Crawford County. - Restricts use of the fee revenue to specific technology purchases, leases, maintenance, and digitizing court records for public access. - Requires the collected funds to be kept in a separate, segregated account used only for authorized technology purposes. - Sets July 1, 2035 as the date the fee authority ends, with leftover funds staying dedicated to Crawford County technology uses. ### Who it affects People who file civil actions in the Probate Court of Crawford County and people who are fined by that court will pay the new fee. The court clerk and judge administer it, and Crawford County's technology budget benefits from the funds it raises. ### Why it matters Anyone filing a civil case or paying a fine in the Crawford County Probate Court would pay a small additional fee, up to $10 combined in some cases, that funds computer equipment, digitizing records, and other court technology rather than coming from the county's general budget. ### Key provisions - Section 1(a) authorizes the fee, capped at $5.00 per civil filing and $5.00 per fine surcharge, with the exact amount set by the probate judge. - Section 1(a) limits fee spending to four categories: hardware and software purchases, equipment leasing and maintenance, imaging and communications equipment, and digitizing court records. - Section 1(b) requires the funds 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 dedicates any remaining funds to general Crawford 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: Robert Dickey - Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/71407 > The history, votes, and amendments (884 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb785.md?full=1