Georgia CommonsHouse · Passed · 2025-2026 Regular Session
HB 937: Berrien County; Magistrate Court; authorize assessment and collection of a technology fee
Last action May 11, 2026 · Effective Date
House Bill 937 would let the Magistrate Court of Berrien County charge a technology fee of up to $5 on civil filings and fines to pay for court computer and digital record equipment, ending in 2036.
The summaries below were written by an AI model (claude-sonnet-5) from the text of the bill and are not part of it. Quote the text, not the summary. The stored text is the Enrolled version, the latest the General Assembly's website lists.
In plain language
This bill applies only to Berrien County. It authorizes the clerk of the Magistrate Court there to charge a technology fee, set by the chief magistrate, of up to $5.00 for each civil case filed and up to $5.00 as an added charge on each fine the court assesses. The money can only be spent on the court's technology needs, such as buying or leasing computer hardware and software, maintaining imaging and printing equipment, and converting paper court records into digital files. The funds must be kept in a separate account managed by the court clerk and cannot be used for anything else. The bill sets an end date: the authority to collect this fee stops on July 1, 2036. Any money still left in the account at that point stays dedicated to general technology uses for Berrien County rather than being refunded or spent elsewhere.
What the bill does
- Authorizes the Magistrate Court of Berrien County to charge up to $5.00 on each civil filing and up to $5.00 as a surcharge on each fine.
- Restricts use of the collected fees to specific technology purposes, including computer hardware and software, imaging and printing equipment, and digitizing court records.
- Requires the fees to be kept in a segregated account controlled by the court clerk, used only for the authorized purposes.
- Sets July 1, 2036 as the date the fee authority ends, with any leftover money staying dedicated to Berrien County technology uses.
- Repeals any prior state or local laws that conflict with this new authority.
Who it affects
People who file civil cases in the Magistrate Court of Berrien County, people who are fined by that court, the court's clerk who collects and manages the fee, and Berrien County government, which retains any leftover technology funds after 2036.
Why it matters
Georgians who file civil suits or are fined in Berrien County's magistrate court would pay a small added cost, up to $10 combined in some cases, specifically earmarked to modernize the court's technology and digitize its records rather than going into the county's general budget.
Key provisions
- Section 1(a) sets the fee amounts, up to $5.00 per civil filing and up to $5.00 per fine surcharge, set by the chief magistrate, and lists four allowed technology uses for the money.
- Section 1(b) requires the fees to be kept in a segregated account by the court clerk and spent only on the authorized purposes.
- Section 1(c) terminates the fee authority on July 1, 2036 and dedicates any remaining balance to general Berrien County technology uses.
- Section 2 repeals any conflicting laws.
From the bill
“The clerk of the Magistrate Court of Berrien County is hereby authorized to charge and collect a technology fee to be set by the chief magistrate in an amount not to exceed $5.00 for the filing of each civil action with the court and not to exceed $5.00 as a surcharge upon each fine assessed by the court.”
“The authority to assess the technology fee pursuant to this Act shall terminate on July 1, 2036, and any residual funds remaining in the account established by subsection (b) of this section shall remain dedicated to general Berrien County technology uses.”
Discussed in meetings (5)
The House and Senate meetings that took this bill up, from their machine transcripts. Each account was written by Georgia Commons with AI and is not part of the record; the video is what was said.
House floor session, February 6, 2026 (legislative day 14)
From 0:54:36 · Watch on the General Assembly's Vimeo channel · Confirmed by the 2026 House Journal, p. 426
Summary by Georgia Commons: The clerk read a committee recommendation to pass HB 937 and later included it in the uncontested local calendar. No provisions were explained or separately debated. The House passed it with the other local bills in a single vote of 165 to 0.
- Read aloud: House floor session, January 13, 2026 (legislative day 2), 0:46:25
- Read aloud: House floor session, January 14, 2026 (legislative day 3), 0:52:01
- Read aloud: Senate floor session, February 9, 2026 (legislative day 15), 0:24:50
- Read aloud: Senate floor session, February 17, 2026 (legislative day 19), 0:34:25
Status timeline
- Effective Date
- Act 526
- House Date Signed by Governor (House)
- House Sent to Governor (House)
- Senate Passed/Adopted (Senate)
- Senate Committee Favorably Reported (Senate)
- Senate Read and Referred (Senate)
- House Passed/Adopted (House)
Show full history (13 actions)
- House Third Readers (House)
- House Committee Favorably Reported (House)
- House Second Readers (House)
- House First Readers (House)
- House Hopper (House)
Sponsors
- Jaclyn Ford (R, HD-170)
- Angie O'Steen (R, HD-169)
Votes
- House voteFebruary 6, 2026
165 yea, 0 nay (7 not voting, 5 excused)
- Senate voteFebruary 17, 2026
48 yea, 1 nay (2 not voting, 3 excused)
Topics
- court fees
- Berrien County
- magistrate court
- local government
- court technology