Georgia CommonsHouse · Passed · 2025-2026 Regular Session
HB 939: Tift County; State Court; authorize assessment and collection of a technology fee
Last action May 11, 2026 · Effective Date
House Bill 939 would let the State Court of Tift County charge up to $5 on civil filings and up to $5 on fines to pay for court technology, with the fee ending in 2035.
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 authorizes the clerk of the State Court of Tift County to charge and collect a technology fee, set by the state court judge, of up to $5.00 for each civil case filed and up to $5.00 as a surcharge on each fine the court assesses. The money can only be spent on specific technology needs: buying computer hardware, software, and accessories, leasing and maintaining computer equipment, buying or leasing imaging, scanning, fax, communications, projection, and printing equipment, and paying for services to convert court records into digital files the public can access. The fee money must be kept in a separate account managed by the clerk, and it is subject to audit by an auditor approved by Tift County's governing authority. The authority to collect this fee ends on July 1, 2035, and any money left in the account at that point stays dedicated to general Tift County technology uses.
What the bill does
- Authorizes the clerk of the State Court of Tift County to charge a technology fee of up to $5.00 on each civil case filed with the court.
- Authorizes an additional surcharge of up to $5.00 on each fine the court assesses, also capped at $5.00.
- Restricts use of the collected fees to specific technology purchases, leases, maintenance, and digitizing court records for public access.
- Requires the fee money to be kept in a segregated account subject to audit by a county-approved auditor.
- Sets the fee's authority to expire on July 1, 2035, with leftover funds staying dedicated to Tift County technology uses.
Who it affects
People who file civil lawsuits in the State Court of Tift County and people who are fined by that court, since both groups would pay the new fee. It also affects the court clerk's office, which collects and manages the funds, and Tift County's governing authority, which approves the required audits.
Why it matters
Georgians who file civil cases or pay fines in Tift County's state court would pay a small additional fee, generating dedicated funding for court technology like computer equipment and digitized records, rather than relying on the county's general budget for those upgrades.
Key provisions
- Section 1(a) sets the fee amount at not more than $5.00 per civil filing and not more than $5.00 as a surcharge on each fine, with the judge setting the exact amount.
- Section 1(a) limits fee spending to four categories: computer hardware/software purchases, hardware lease and maintenance, imaging and communications equipment, and digitizing court records.
- Section 1(b) requires the funds to be kept in a segregated account subject to audit by a county-approved auditor.
- Section 1(c) terminates the fee authority on July 1, 2035 and dedicates any remaining funds to general Tift County technology uses.
- Section 2 repeals any conflicting laws.
From the bill
“the clerk of the State Court of Tift County is hereby authorized to charge and collect a technology fee to be set by the judge of the state court 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, 2035”
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 0:54:38 · 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 939 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), 0:46:53
- Read aloud: House floor session, January 14, 2026 (legislative day 3), 0:52:19
- Read aloud: Senate floor session, February 9, 2026 (legislative day 15), 0:25:01
- Read aloud: Senate floor session, February 17, 2026 (legislative day 19), 0:34:27
Status timeline
- Effective Date
- Act 528
- 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
- Tift County
- state courts
- local legislation
- court technology