Georgia CommonsHouse · Passed · 2025-2026 Regular Session
HB 938: Tift County; Magistrate Court; authorize assessment and collection of a technology fee
Last action May 11, 2026 · Effective Date
A House bill would let the Magistrate Court of Tift County charge a technology fee of up to $5 on civil case filings and up to $5 as a surcharge on fines, with the money set aside for court technology through July 1, 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 Tift County. It authorizes the clerk of the Magistrate Court of Tift County, at an amount set by the chief magistrate, to charge up to $5.00 for filing each civil action and up to $5.00 as a surcharge on each fine the court imposes. The money collected can only be used for specific technology needs: buying or leasing computer hardware and software, maintaining and installing that equipment, buying or leasing imaging, scanning, fax, communications, projection and printing equipment, and converting court records to digital files for public access. The funds must be kept in a separate account and spent only on those purposes. The authority to charge this fee ends on July 1, 2036, and any money left in the account at that point stays dedicated to general Tift County technology uses.
What the bill does
- Authorizes the Magistrate Court of Tift County to charge a technology fee of up to $5.00 on each civil case filing.
- Authorizes a surcharge of up to $5.00 on each fine assessed by the court, with the exact amount set by the chief magistrate.
- Restricts use of the collected fees to specific technology purchases, leases, maintenance, and digitizing court records for public access.
- Requires the fees to be kept in a segregated account managed by the court clerk, separate from other county funds.
- Sets July 1, 2036 as the date the fee authority ends, with any leftover money staying dedicated to general Tift County technology uses.
Who it affects
People who file civil lawsuits in the Magistrate Court of Tift County and people who are fined by that court would pay the new fee. The court clerk and chief magistrate would administer it, and Tift County's technology budget would benefit from the funds.
Why it matters
Civil litigants and people fined in Tift County's Magistrate Court would pay a small additional cost, up to $10 combined in some cases, that would fund the court's computer systems, records digitization, and related equipment rather than coming from the county's general budget.
Key provisions
- Section 1(a) sets the fee structure: up to $5.00 per civil filing and up to $5.00 as a fine surcharge, with the chief magistrate setting the exact amount.
- Section 1(a) lists the only permitted uses: computer hardware/software, imaging and communications equipment, and digitizing court records.
- Section 1(b) requires the funds to be kept in a segregated account and spent only for the authorized purposes.
- Section 1(c) terminates the fee authority on July 1, 2036 and dedicates any remaining funds to general Tift County technology uses.
- Section 2 repeals any conflicting laws.
From the bill
“the clerk of the Magistrate Court of Tift 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”
“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 Tift 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 0:54:37 · Watch on the General Assembly's Vimeo channel · Confirmed by the 2026 House Journal, p. 427
Summary by Georgia Commons: The clerk read a committee recommendation to pass HB 938 and later identified it as a Tift County bill on the uncontested local calendar. There was no separate presentation or debate. 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), 0:46:39
- Read aloud: House floor session, January 14, 2026 (legislative day 3), 0:52:10
- Read aloud: Senate floor session, February 9, 2026 (legislative day 15), 0:24:57
- Read aloud: Senate floor session, February 17, 2026 (legislative day 19), 0:34:26
Status timeline
- Effective Date
- Act 527
- 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
- Tift County
- magistrate court fees
- local court technology
- court filing fees