HB 790: Macon County; Probate Court; authorize assessment and collection of a technology fee

This local bill applies only to Macon County. It authorizes the clerk of the Probate Court of Macon County to charge and collect a technology fee, set by the probate judge, of no more than $5.00 for each civil action filed and no more than $5.00 as a surcharge on each fine the court assesses. The money can only be spent on specific technology needs: buying and maintaining computer hardware and software, buying or leasing imaging, scanning, fax, communications, projection, and printing equipment, and converting court records into digital form for public access. The funds must be kept in a separate account. The authority to collect this fee ends July 1, 2035, and any money left in the account at that point stays dedicated to general Macon County technology uses.

• Authorizes the Probate Court of Macon County's clerk to charge up to $5.00 per civil filing as a new technology fee.
• Authorizes a separate surcharge of up to $5.00 on each fine assessed by the court, also capped at $5.00.
• Restricts use of the collected fees to court technology purchases, equipment leases and maintenance, and digitizing court records.
• Requires the fees to be kept in a segregated account managed by the clerk, used only for the authorized purposes.
• Sets July 1, 2035 as the date the fee authority ends, with leftover funds redirected to general Macon County technology uses.

People who file civil cases in the Probate Court of Macon County and people who are fined by that court would pay the new fee or surcharge. The court clerk and judge, who administer and set the fee, and Macon County's broader technology budget, which receives any leftover funds after 2035, are also affected.

Anyone filing a civil case or paying a fine in Macon County's probate court could see a small added cost, up to $10 combined, that funds court computers, records digitization, and related equipment rather than going into the county's general fund.

• Section 1(a) caps the civil filing fee and the fine surcharge at $5.00 each and limits fee revenue to four specific technology uses: hardware/software purchases, hardware leasing and maintenance, imaging and communications equipment, and digitizing court records.
• Section 1(b) requires the clerk to keep collected fees in a segregated account used only for the authorized purposes.
• Section 1(c) terminates the fee authority on July 1, 2035, with any remaining balance dedicated to general Macon County technology uses.
• Section 2 repeals any conflicting laws.

1. 2025-04-30Effective Date
2. 2025-04-30Act 38
3. 2025-04-30House Date Signed by Governor (House)
4. 2025-04-07House Sent to Governor (House)
5. 2025-03-31Senate Passed/Adopted (Senate)
6. 2025-03-31Senate Committee Favorably Reported (Senate)
7. 2025-03-28Senate Read and Referred (Senate)
8. 2025-03-27House Passed/Adopted (House)

• Patty Marie Stinson (D, HD-150)Primary sponsor

1. PassedHouse voteMarch 27, 2025

   164 yea, 0 nay (12 not voting, 4 excused)

   Local Calendar: House Vote #317

2. PassedSenate voteMarch 31, 2025

   49 yea, 0 nay (5 not voting, 2 excused)

   LOCAL CONSENT CALENDAR: Senate Vote #339

• local legislation
• court fees
• Macon County
• probate court
• court technology