--- title: SB 345. Magistrate Court of Crawford County; the assessment and collection of a technology fee; authorize collection: bills id: 2025-2026/sb345 cite_as: SB 345, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.) canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb345 md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb345.md text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb345/text source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/71479 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/sb344.md next: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb346.md index: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/index.md omitted: votes and history omitted_chars: 889 omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb345.md?full=1 bill_number: SB 345 session: 2025-2026 Regular Session session_slug: 2025-2026 chamber: Senate bill_type: bill status_date: 2025-04-30 last_action: Effective Date 2025-04-30 sponsors: - John Kennedy - Robert Dickey text_version: Enrolled has_text: true legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/SB345/2025 upstream_id: 2011447 summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5 topic_tags: - court fees - Crawford County - magistrate court - local government funding --- # SB 345. Magistrate Court of Crawford County; the assessment and collection of a technology fee; authorize ## Text 25 LC 62 0172 Senate Bill 345 By: Senator Kennedy of the 18th AS PASSED A BILL TO BE ENTITLED AN ACT To authorize the assessment and collection of a technology fee by the Magistrate 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 Magistrate Court of Crawford County is hereby authorized to charge and7 collect a technology fee to be set by the chief magistrate in an amount not to exceed $5.008 for the filing of each civil action with the court and not to exceed $5.00 as a surcharge upon9 each fine assessed by the court. Such technology fees shall be used exclusively to provide10 for technological needs of the Magistrate Court of Crawford County. Such uses shall include11 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 S. B. 345 - 1 - 25 LC 62 0172 (4) Procurement of services or equipment for the conversion of court records and archives17 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 magistrate court and shall be used only for th e purposes 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 S. B. 345 - 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. A Georgia Senate bill would let the Magistrate Court of Crawford County charge a technology fee of up to $5 on civil filings and fines, with the money earmarked for court technology and the fee expiring in 2035. ### Plain-language summary This bill authorizes the clerk of the Magistrate Court of Crawford County to charge a technology fee, set by the chief magistrate, of no more than $5.00 for each civil action filed with the court and no more than $5.00 as a surcharge on each fine the court assesses. The money collected can only go toward specific technology needs: computer hardware and software, leasing and maintaining computer equipment, imaging and communications equipment, and converting court records to digital form for public access. The funds must be kept in a separate account by the court clerk and used only for those approved purposes. The bill sets an end date: the court's authority to collect this fee ends on July 1, 2035. Any money left in the account at that point would stay dedicated to general technology uses for Crawford County rather than being refunded or spent elsewhere. ### What it does - Authorizes the clerk of the Magistrate Court of Crawford County to charge a technology fee of up to $5.00 on each civil filing and up to $5.00 as a surcharge on each fine. - Restricts use of the fee revenue to specific technology purposes such as computer hardware, software, imaging and communications equipment, and digitizing court records. - Requires the court clerk to keep collected fees in a separate, segregated account used only for the authorized purposes. - Ends the court's authority to collect the fee on July 1, 2035, and directs any leftover funds toward general Crawford County technology uses. - Repeals any existing laws that conflict with this new fee authorization. ### Who it affects People who file civil actions in the Magistrate Court of Crawford County and people who are fined by that court, since both groups would pay the new fee. The Crawford County court system and its clerk also gain new fee collection and accounting duties. ### Why it matters Civil litigants and people fined in Crawford County's magistrate court would pay a small added cost, up to $10 combined, that funds court technology upgrades like digital record access. The 2035 sunset means the fee is temporary rather than a permanent addition to court costs. ### Key provisions - Section 1(a) sets the maximum technology fee at $5.00 per civil filing and $5.00 per fine surcharge, with the exact amount set by the chief magistrate. - Section 1(a) lists the only allowed uses: computer hardware and software purchases, leasing and maintaining computer equipment, imaging/scanning/communications equipment, and digitizing court records for public access. - Section 1(b) requires the fee revenue to be kept in a segregated account and used only for the authorized technology purposes. - Section 1(c) terminates the fee authority on July 1, 2035, with leftover funds staying dedicated to general Crawford County technology uses. - Section 2 repeals conflicting laws. ## Status - Status: Passed (2025-04-30) - Last action: Effective Date 2025-04-30 (2025-04-30) - Sponsors: John Kennedy, Robert Dickey - Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/71479 > The history, votes, and amendments (889 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb345.md?full=1